Capitana

What a tremendous tale of pirates and the empire that they are trying to bring down! Ximena has a burning ambition to become a Cazadore, the pirate hunters who uphold the Law and keep the empire safe.  However, her heritage is against her, as both her parents were renowned pirate captains, until they were captured and killed.  With the rising threat from a new pirate legend called Gasparilla, Ximena becomes part of the crew sent to capture this danger.  Unfortunately, the party also includes her nemesis, Dante de Leon, the son of the High Minister, and someone who takes delight in irritating her.   As the hunters search the seas and islands for their quarry, how will all of the characters develop, and will they maintain their belief in the rightness of the empire’s Law?

This is a story that I was not sure of to begin with, but by the halfway stage I was devouring it at a great rate.  The characters really draw you in and the developing relationship between Ximena and Dante is quite fascinating.  The author has twisted our expectations of them, so that Dante is the one who questions the empire; while Ximena is so heavily brainwashed that she will not consider that she has false loyalties.  Whilst the story is set in a mythical world, there is a close resemblance to the Caribbean and the Spanish Empire in particular; the use of Spanish phrases and names helping us to feel a link to the imagined world.  One of the underlying themes seems to be about the treatment of people who are part of a great empire.  The resources are taken by the authorities in order to maintain their central structure, leaving the people they rule to live on the remnants of their labours.  It is something that has been seem throughout history, in the real world.  The book ends with the promise of even more adventures to come, but how will the two main protagonists react to each other; I can’t wait to find out, I must admit.