The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook
I’ve never quite understood the whole Pirates of the Caribbean thing. A film franchise based exclusively on a rollercoaster is, to me at least, an example of the world gone mad. But who am I to criticize? The Pirates of the Caribbean series has made millions at the box office and has proven to be one of Disney’s biggest selling film series’ of recent years.
To tie in with the impending release of the fourth film in the ever popular series, Quirk Fiction has released The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook, a swashbuckling guide to all things pirate-y. With chapters ranging from how to become a pirate to maritime skills and that age-old question ‘how to cope with mermaids’, The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook is a book brimming with features on the many aspects of pirate life.
The first thing that comes to the attention of the reader the first time they get their hands on The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook is the quality. Quirk has done a really good job both in terms of the production and the materials used in the construction of the book itself. The nicely designed hardback cover feels sturdy in the hands, and goes some way to helping justify the £12.99 price tag. But it’s in the book’s interior that it really starts to shine.
Author Jason Heller has done a really fine job of writing an interesting and engaging book that balances just the right amount of ‘ye olde English’ with text that is easily accessible to the book’s teenage target market. As a writer myself, I really admire the nice balance of function and form in the book’s text. While it could certainly be criticised for perhaps lacking in enough detail — enough facts — for a more advanced market, I feel what Heller has produced here places the content at just about the right level, and is complimented nicely by a range of stills taken from the Pirates film series.
I have to say it really is hard to find too much wrong with The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook. While it had the potential to be yet another low quality film tie-in, my initial fears for The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook were quickly assuaged by what is a good, solid, quality product written and produced to a high standard that sets a fine example of how any film tie-in should be done. Coming from a non-fan such as myself, there really can be no higher praise.
