Treasure Island

This book contains everything you could expect from a story like this. Although this is one of the well-known classics, I had not read it yet. I am very happy that I have done so now.

The story follows Jim Hawkins who lives with his mother in the “Admiral Benbow” inn in a seaside town. When pirate Bill, who is a client at the inn, leaves a treasure map after his death, Jim sets off on an adventure to find the treasure. It is written in short chapters and after each chapter you want to know what Stevenson has in store for Hawkins and co. Because of the interesting story and the short chapters I read this fairly quickly.

If you have not yet become acquainted with this classic, it is highly recommended.

This probably deserves 4 stars just for the creation of Long John Silver, one of the most magnificent characters in English literature. The reader winds up rooting for him as he manipulates his way out of each scrape, even though we know he's a conniving murderer. Stevenson is probably responsible for the entirety of modern pirate lore - our mythical notion of piracy full of amiable rogues and high adventure. Everything from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean to Talk Like a Pirate Day to Spongebob Squarepants owes so much to this story. And this story still stands up well against its more modern iterations.

I'd say the only thing I didn't like was the repeated cycle of Jim acting like a colossal idiot, only to find that his brainless decision has saved the whole crew. Often I'd pause and think, “Yup, this was clearly written to entertain a 12-year-old boy!” But at least Stevenson has the Doctor call Jim out on it!