I enjoy reading Pope's Ramage series. I am half way through that series and decided to try the YORKE series. To say I was disappointed is an understatement.

The magic in the Ramage series is lost in this book. Since both books are set in naval settings back in the 15th and 18th centuries. It is hard not to make comparisons in writing style and story.

I initially thought that the Ramage series was written after the Yorke series. The Yorke series writing style is terrible compared the the Ramage style. At first I assumed the Yorke series was an example of Pope's earlier writing with the improved Ramage style writing coming afterward. But this proved false... the first Ramage book was written in 1961 whereas the the Buccaneer was written in 1985!!!! Somehow Pope's writing degraded with time.

Where in the Ramage series you get in the head of several major characters and understand their motives and point of view. The Buccaneer has the entire book focused on the thoughts of Ned Yorke. There is little development of other characters in that book. There is little realism in the Yorke series whereas you really feel you are a part of the ship with Ramage.

Even in the Buccaneer plot, Pope steals a scene shamelessly from another Ramage book where the outgunned Griffin without a shot fired defeats a Spanish coastal ship. The cover art shows a pirate ship attacking a Spanish ship... did not happen!!! The Griffin did not fire one canon ball in the whole story at an enemy ship. A very misleading cover.

I will finish the Ramage series but I see little point in continuing the Yorke series ( )