Sparrowhawk One: Jack Frake by Edward Kline

When I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, I loved reading about Ragnar Danneskjold--a pirate who "robbed" from the poor and gave to the rich (he was actually returning stolen goods looted by the government in the name of the poor). I thought it would make great reading to have a book just about the exploits of Danneskjold, and perhaps Edward Kline did too (he's a fan of Ayn Rand as well). Sparrowhawk One details the life of noble smugglers in mid-nineteenth century England who live as criminals on principle by selling goods without paying the excise taxes.

While I like the premise of this book, the execution was lacking. Cline tells too much and shows too little. Instead of showing in a dramatized scene the bravery and skill of these smugglers, Cline relates in exposition years worth of exploits, resulting in unfortunate boredom in the reader. Cline also has noble characters, but instead of continuously dramatizing their virtues, he too often simply states their virtues and trusts the reader to take the author's word for it.

I know I'm being harsh, but it's only because this book could have been so much more. However, I'll shut up now until I can see how well I do at creating suspense and drama in my own work.