From the pages of classic literature to modern translations on stage and screen, a story involving legendary pirate characters with their rebellious personalities and daring activities often draws the audience. Whether it’s witnessing Peter Pan and the infamous Captain Hook, reading the complex revelations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Long John Silver in Treasure Island, or watching the contemporary antics of Johnny Depp playing the unforgettable Captain Jack Sparrow in the latest release of the film franchise Pirates of the Caribbean. , these notorious marine adventurers leave an indelible mark.
In Mark Robert Mazziotti’s “More Precious Than Gold,” that powerful appeal continues. Here the author weaves together a captivating and intricate story that embodies all the key elements of an adventure on the high seas. The year is 1717 and two young men, Bob and Ben, are shipwrecked off the coast of Virginia. In the aftermath of the unexpected storm, the novel takes place on a remote island where madness, mystery and romance will intertwine. Set in the legend of the nefarious Blackbeard, known as “King of the Pirates,” Mazziotti presents a fascinating world filled with a bounty of pirate lore and a precarious treasure hunt that could have dire consequences for newcomers to the island. At first they meet Captain John and his wolf dog Shark. Two years earlier, his ship was hijacked and he was forced ashore on the tropical island with his small crew and the black-haired Lydia. Now, in their greed to locate a hidden ship and buried treasure rumored to have been hidden by Blackbeard, Bob and Ben witness the sudden deaths of two crew members. They quickly sense the toughness and unpredictability of this crazed Captain. As the story is told from Bob’s first-person point of view, the style and word structure seem reminiscent of an earlier time. There’s a calm tone that seems to mirror a diary entry that might convey growing apprehension amid uncertain circumstances. An imposed forty-five day time frame to find the treasure adds to the tension of the narrative.
With the threat of death looming over their heads, a central map, drawings, and messages from Blackbeard himself, it all provides the impetus for the quest. Here the island becomes a character in itself. The terrain is riddled with secret doors and caves, underground tunnels and dangerous rope bridges. Clues come to light with natural elements of carved writing, stone patterns, and arrowheads. From gold and silver skeleton keys to stone statues and the proverbial message in a bottle, Mazziotti presents a richly detailed environment. Like the staff used as an aid and weapon, the secret passageways, and Blackbeard’s own diamond ring, the author wisely chooses elemental pieces that artfully resurface within the circumference of this perilous treasure hunt.
Like the piece of solid gold discovered in an island vault, this book shines with its well-planned and well-executed story. From start to finish, Mazziotti traces a formative narrative intertwined with evolving characters, essential themes, and intricate details that bring us full circle in a troubled situation. In the midst of this grand situation, the author deftly draws readers into this island conundrum, and in response, we engage in the outcome. In this self-contained literary landscape, like the island itself, Mazziotti creates a world of questions, conflicts, and moral dilemmas, with characters rising to the occasion to challenge and prove their loyalty, friendship, and love.
Beyond the scope of a traditional adventure tale, at its core, the book illuminates what is truly important in our everyday existence. The true hidden treasure emerges in the following words of this entertaining read. “…some aspects of life are more precious than the value of all the gold in the world. Health, love and happiness cannot be bought with money because they are matters of the body and spirit.” This work and the feeling it conveys are discovered gems.
