There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment. Self-deprecating and funny, Egg’s first-person account is compelling, and the dialogue and vivid setting, as well as the full cast of quirky characters, make it easy to get lost in this adventure.įans of pirates and perilous quests will certainly enjoy this tale of hijinks on the high seas and eagerly anticipate the next installment of Egg’s story. Readers will really begin rooting for Egg after his family-who is actually pretty awful to him-is killed off and he is left to discover his strengths and make his own choices. What does Egg have on his side? His wits and courage, a strange best friend named Guts, the questionable loyalty of the misfit pirates who once worked for his father and, perhaps most significantly, Millicent. Corrupt and exploitative Pembroke has discovered that there is a Native treasure on the ugly fruit plantation owned by Egg’s family, and he is desperate to find it.

Then, one awful day, Egg realizes that his benefactor was responsible for the death of his family and is now, in fact, trying to kill him as well. Egg lives quite comfortably for a while with the wealthy Roger Pembroke and his family, including his spunky, dreamy daughter Millicent. On his 13th birthday, Egg’s entire family is lost in a hot-air balloon accident. This promising new series starts out strong with a story filled to the brim with pirates, treasure, intrigue and swashbuckling suspense.

Deadweather and sunrise by geoff rodkey