The Last Bookaneer

Loved this book,with its 19th century prose, and brave deeds done on both sides of the law. Did not find the opening slow. The Audiobook reader seems the ideal choice and listening to him is a treat. He brings it all to life wonderfully.

This historical action, adventure yarn finds a couple of "bookaneers" on the search for the latest Louis F Stevenson novel; before the copyright laws change with the coming of the new century. A bookaneer is someone who flouts copyright laws to bring "literature to the masses". They never saw it as breaking the law; but others did. Really fast paced and full of action, more like Dante Club than his other titles.

Although the story line seemed to ramble at times, this was an interesting take on 19th century copyright laws and those who sought to operate "above the law".

I have not enjoyed Matthew Pearl's subsequent books nearly as much as the Dante Club. This one took 200 pages to take off. The first half of the book could be a lot les descriptive and pedantic and a bit more believable. Very slow plot development. Lots of vague action without much build-up or background. Lacking specific details. I did read a book recently on Robert Louis Stevenson's wife, so the bit about Samoa was easier to relate to.

Pretty good but not nearly as good as I hoped based on the book blurb. I thought it was a bit slow for something that was supposed to be an adventure story.