Get ready for adventure on the high seas in Pinquickle’s Folly by R.A. Salvator, coming April 16th, 2024, and starting off a new trilogy from the best-selling author. Quauh loves the water and water loves her. She understands the ocean better than almost anyone, it just speaks to her. This special ability has allowed her to rise rapidly in the Xoconai Armada. At just 24, she is already the captain of her own ship.
When Quauh’s extremely important secret mission goes sideways, she is pressed into service as a pirate and begins to question everything her entire life. But don’t worry, this isn’t a book of existential dread, her questions are fit in neatly around her new life full of pirate adventures.
[Note: While I am reviewing this novel independently and honestly, it should be noted that it has been provided to me by Saga Press for the purpose of this review. Warning: My review of Pinquickle’s Folly contains some spoilers!]
Pinquickle’s Folly and the start of DemonWars: The Buccaneers
Ever heard that history is written by the victors? Well, I’ll raise you one and say reality is written by the victors. Quauh has spent her entire life being told that the Xoconai are perfect and that the other races in her world are all sidhe, goblins, not even real people. So of course she wants to join the armada and go off to fight these creatures. And while she does question some of the more despicable treatment of the sidhe, she doesn’t speak up or question the Xoconai prejudices at all.
Then one day everything changes. She’s given a very special mission to carry out. A decoy group of ships is going to appear to be carrying a large amount of gold in a different part of the sea that Quauh sails in. Meanwhile, her ship will be loaded to the max with the real gold shipment at a different location. And she’ll sail without any protection. A clever ruse. If only there wasn’t a traitor in Quauh’s crew.
So, instead of sailing off undetected, her ship is surrounded by a pirate crew and, after a short battle, sunk. Quauh manages to survive and swim to a nearby island, but her mission, her career, and most likely her life are now all blown to hell. She knows if she returns to the Xocanai Armada, she’ll be executed for losing all that gold, even if it wasn’t really her fault.
While she’s trying to decide what to do, Quauh’s captured by the same pirates that sunk her ship. She’s sure they’ll kill her too, but to her surprise, another pirate crew shows up and buys her to be part of their crew. Quauh has no choice but to become a pirate, the very thing she’s been fighting for years.
But becoming a pirate comes with a new perspective on the world. The people she’s been told are sidhe are nothing like the stories she’s heard. In fact, Quauh begins to question everything she’s ever been told about the world. Including whether the Xoconai are really the good guys, and whether she even wants to be an Xoconai, or if she wants to be a buccaneer!
A slow start to R.A Salvatore’s new novel, but it gets better
Pinquickle’s Folly starts off really slow. Most of the first two sections of the book could have been skipped with no actual impact to the story. In fact, I think that starting the book at chapter seven is a great idea. It cuts out a lot of backstory that is unnecessary (and mostly gets rehashed later anyway) while getting right to the interesting part. The initial part did nothing to enrich the story telling or endear the characters, it just felt like page filler. The name Pinquickle didn’t even show up until chapter eight, and the title didn’t make sense until chapter thirteen.
That being said, once the action does get started, the story was very interesting and the characters were quite relatable. Quauh really goes through some shocking changes that shake up her entire world view. The nice thing is that she’s able to actually change and adjust her thinking instead of continuing to close her eyes.
And she’s surrounded by a nice supporting cast that are kinda like the Guardians of the Galaxy’s crew if they were sea pirates instead of space pirates. There was very good chemistry between the different characters, and it allowed for a lot of humor to be infused into the story.
R.A. Salvatore was wise to infuse the story with so much humor and adventure. Because the author has artfully hidden a deeper story about hate and prejudice inside the swashbuckling tale that could easily have turned preachy and unreadable. Instead, it stays fun and exciting while getting across a deeper message.
Anyone looking for a nice ocean vacation will enjoy checking out Pinquickle’s Folly later this month, but maybe start it off at chapter seven? Just a suggestion.
Rating: 7/10
Pinquickle’s Folly by R.A. Salvatore releases on April 16, 2024. Do you plan to pick up this book? Let us know what you think on social media @mycosmiccircus or in The Cosmic Circus Discord.
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