Everyone knows who the buccaneers were, right? The word "buccaneers" is synonymous for "pirates" and refers to savage, bloodthirsty freebooters who plagued the Caribbean in the Age of Sail.

Well, not exactly. Although that is, indeed, how buccaneers are best remembered, they got their start in a very different role. As is explained by britannica.com: "The term buccaneer comes from the French boucan, a grill for the smoking of viande boucanee, or dried meat, for use in ships at sea." So yeah, they were basically hunters who killed and cooked wild pigs, selling their wares to passing ships and living rough on the western shores of Hispaniola (later Haiti) in the early 17th century.

So it's appropriate that Jean-Baptiste LeBoeuf, one of the main characters of The Buccaneer Coast, makes his first appearance on a pig hunt.

LeBoeuf is one of a handful of protagonists in the novel, which kicks off a new series by author James L. Nelson. This is cause for celebration, as Nelson is a gifted author who knows the nautical lifestyle from stem to stern and has, in my opinion, not written enough books yet. (If you're not familiar with his work, check out some of his fiction and nonfiction books, reviewed here.)

While Nelson has previously tackled eras including colonial America and the Revolutionary and Civil wars, this novel goes further back to 1629, the birth of the buccaneers, when Spain ruled the West Indies while the English, French and Dutch powers struggled to gain a foothold there.

LeBoeuf is one of a band of hunters and "pig chefs" -- he slogs through life in a camp of rough and rowdy men and a small group of women (mostly thieves and prostitutes) who were relocated there by the French (part colonization, part punishment). Their lives change when a massive hurricane destroys their camp but leaves in its wake a shipwrecked brigantine packed with valuable goods.

While LeBoeuf's peers see only the immediate profit to be gained from selling the cargo -- and drinking the barrels of wine -- he sees potential in repairing the wreck and returning to sea.

The second protagonist is Don Alonso Menendez de Aviles, a minor Spanish nobleman en route to Hispaniola on the galleon Nostra Sennora de Regla. Once there, he will take up the mantle of lieutenant governor -- but island life is not what he expected, and his schemes for wealth-building in the New World will run into significant complications.

And then there's Benjamin Graves, an itinerant ship's captain who stole the wrong man's cargo, and Maja, his ruthless pursuer.

Their lives will eventually entwine as the plot develops. LeBoeuf in particular is much more than he seems, but his compatriots (among them his female companion, of sorts, Henriette) cannot be trusted. Before the book's end, his world will be torn apart by storm, fire and cannon shot.

His knowledge of naval matters is unquestionable, but Nelson also crafts amazing, believable characters that make readers want to know more about their lives.

Meanwhile, there is a great deal of intrigue, crime and political chicanery unfolding on Hispaniola, where not everyone is who they seem.

The Buccaneer Coast is a great book to launch a new series, and I for one cannot wait to read the next volume in Blood, Steel & Empire. (Unfortunately, Nelson is by all accounts juggling a few projects at the moment, so I may have to wait after all.)

By the way, Nelson's description of the hurricane, from both LeBoeuf's and Don Alonso's perspectives, is some of the tautest, most thrilling descriptions of a major Caribbean storm that you're likely to read. It's just the start of this particular adventure, but it kicks the book off in spectacular fashion.

[ visit James L. Nelson online ]