Tom Bristol’s career as first mate of the Maryland bark Randolph abruptly ends during shore leave when he is press-ganged into serving aboard the British HMS Terror.

Toil under the cruel whip of England is merciless: Crew members are treated as little more than chattel barely fed, made to work past the brink of exhaustion and kept in line with a cat-o’-nine-tails. Fate finally smiles on young Bristol when the vessel is overtaken by pirates and he gladly turns coat and joins them.

Yet Tom’s new pirate mates desert him quickly after he’s found guilty of killing a mutinous pirate and unwittingly harboring a woman on board. Marooned on a deserted island, Tom has nothing but a small supply of water, a gun and just enough bullets to kill himself. But Tom dreams up a devious plan that will return him to the high seas and make his past adventures pale compared to what he has in store for his many enemies.

My Thoughts:

I enjoy taking a break from my other book review reads and reading the pulp fiction of L. Ron Hubbard. The books are an easy read that typically only take me a few hours to read, but take me to a different place altogether.

Under the Black Ensign

made me giggle as I found myself reading much of the book in pirate talk.

The joy of this quick, easy read is that it has the suspense, action and romance all wrapped into one short story without it taking me forever to get to the point and spending days reading it.

This was a fun read set on the sea with royalty and buccaneers. A fun escape from the real world when you have a few extra moments here and there!

About the Author:

With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 280 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most acclaimed and widely read authors of our time. As a leading light of American Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and ’40s, he is further among the most influential authors of the modern age. Indeed, from Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, there is scarcely a master of imaginative tales who has not paid tribute to L. Ron Hubbard.

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