The Holy Terror

First off, I have to say this is only my second Crichton novel. I read Jurassic Park back when the movie came out but haven't felt like reading anything else by him since. That being said, I enjoyed Pirate Latitudes. The novel does have its shortcomings but you have to wonder if this is because it wasn't truly finished. It's hard to say. This book was found on Crichton's computer after his death so it's possible that this wasn't the intended finished product. I liked it though and I'm curious to see how it's adapted for film, Spielberg grabbed up the rights before the book was even published!I think the main problem I had was the lack of character development. It was hard for me to keep track of all the different pirates, sorry, privateers, and I completely forgot who the final villain was, vaguely remember him from the beginning. There's a lot of gruesome parts to the book that I think most people would have trouble with, but honestly didn't bother me, I think I'm just twisted. But there were some really creative ways that people were killed!The story was pretty crazy and action-packed and it's one of those where you are on the edge of your seat wondering what's going to happen next or what else could possibly go wrong for Captain Hunter as his crew. It was a different type of novel than I normally read and it was a nice divergence for me. It also really makes me want to go back and try something else from Crichton.All and all, a good final effort.