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Feb. 25th, 2011 12:31 pmI cannot believe we are up to eight Jacky Faber books. This is ridiculous.
Anyway: The Wake of the Lorelei Lee! In which Jacky Faber, who has previously been a:
1. thief turned crossdressing cabin boy in the British navy (Bloody Jack)
2. boarding school student turned downstairs maid turned schoolgirl again, while also moonlighting as a fiddler, dancer and actress (Curse of the Blue Tattoo)
3. midshipman turned pirate turned merchant trader (Under the Jolly Roger)
4. boarding school student again turned leader of band of angry kidnapped schoolgirls (In the Belly of the Bloodhound)
5. owner and chief performer on a floating casino showboat (Mississippi Jack)
6. ballet-dancing spy turned crossdressing lieutenant in the French army (My Bonny Light Horseman)
7. deep-sea diver (Rapture of the Deep)
and all before reaching the age of seventeen, has become, in this latest book, a CONVICT on a FEMALE PRISON SHIP on her way to AUSTRALIA. I was looking forward to this one because my favorite Jacky books have always been the ones where she's surrounded by other girls, and also because the back cover mentioned Ching Shih, AWESOME CHINESE LADY PIRATE.
Sadly in many respects this, the eighth book, did not live up to my hopes; the other girls are not really fleshed out, and also there is a really really horribly problematic scene in India that I was cringing all the way through. And this would not be so bad except then Jacky problematically picks up a little kid from India during that episode, so I could not even forget that the whole thing had happened.
On the other hand, the section with Ching Shih is even MORE HILARIOUS than I'd hoped, involving as it does Ching Shih RECRUITING JACKY AS HER CONCUBINE HAHAHAHA. Jacky's reaction is pretty much, "Well, I'd kind of like to get back to my fiance one day . . . but on the other hand she's an even more badass lady pirate than me, and also really hot, and I always wanted to have adventures in this half the world, so I'm pretty cool with this too!" Canon bi has long been my suspicion for Jacky, but now it is officially confirmed. (I still ship Jacky/Clarissa Worthington-Howe more than anything else.)
On a less lulzy note, though, ( some thoughts about Jacky and sexuality and the picaresque hero )
Anyway: The Wake of the Lorelei Lee! In which Jacky Faber, who has previously been a:
1. thief turned crossdressing cabin boy in the British navy (Bloody Jack)
2. boarding school student turned downstairs maid turned schoolgirl again, while also moonlighting as a fiddler, dancer and actress (Curse of the Blue Tattoo)
3. midshipman turned pirate turned merchant trader (Under the Jolly Roger)
4. boarding school student again turned leader of band of angry kidnapped schoolgirls (In the Belly of the Bloodhound)
5. owner and chief performer on a floating casino showboat (Mississippi Jack)
6. ballet-dancing spy turned crossdressing lieutenant in the French army (My Bonny Light Horseman)
7. deep-sea diver (Rapture of the Deep)
and all before reaching the age of seventeen, has become, in this latest book, a CONVICT on a FEMALE PRISON SHIP on her way to AUSTRALIA. I was looking forward to this one because my favorite Jacky books have always been the ones where she's surrounded by other girls, and also because the back cover mentioned Ching Shih, AWESOME CHINESE LADY PIRATE.
Sadly in many respects this, the eighth book, did not live up to my hopes; the other girls are not really fleshed out, and also there is a really really horribly problematic scene in India that I was cringing all the way through. And this would not be so bad except then Jacky problematically picks up a little kid from India during that episode, so I could not even forget that the whole thing had happened.
On the other hand, the section with Ching Shih is even MORE HILARIOUS than I'd hoped, involving as it does Ching Shih RECRUITING JACKY AS HER CONCUBINE HAHAHAHA. Jacky's reaction is pretty much, "Well, I'd kind of like to get back to my fiance one day . . . but on the other hand she's an even more badass lady pirate than me, and also really hot, and I always wanted to have adventures in this half the world, so I'm pretty cool with this too!" Canon bi has long been my suspicion for Jacky, but now it is officially confirmed. (I still ship Jacky/Clarissa Worthington-Howe more than anything else.)
On a less lulzy note, though, ( some thoughts about Jacky and sexuality and the picaresque hero )
