Bookworm Speaks! - The Jupiter Pirates: The Curse of the Iris

Bookworm Speaks!

Jupiter Pirates: Curse of the Iris

by Jason Fry

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Acquired: Barnes and Noble Booksellers

Series: Jupiter Pirates (Book 2))

Hardcover: 368 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins; Reprint edition (May 17, 2016)

Language: English

Subject: Science Fiction

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The Story: It's been a tough year for Tycho Hashoone and his family. Hostilities between the Jovian Union and Earth have reached a boiling point. The privateering business hasn't exactly been booming. And the ongoing contest for the captain's seat of the Shadow Comet has the three Hashoone siblings perpetually on edge. Then the Hashoones intercept a ship—one with a long-dead crew, its final mission a warning to all who seek their fortunes in space. The Hashoones don't have time for ill omens; they need a payday. Following clues from the mysterious ship, they embark on a hunt for the long-lost treasure of the Iris—a treasure that Tycho's own great-grandfather Johannes had a hand in hiding. But in his quest for the Iris cache, Tycho is going to dig up much more than he bargained for. Because like old pirate treasure, family secrets never stay buried for long.

The Review: One of the best things about this book and series is that is very refreshing for a young adult novel to take place in a setting that is not a dystopic hellhole or some knight and castle fantasy. Bookworm’s favorite setting is space opera and genuinely hopes that more authors will take this writer’s lead and put more teenagers in space. 

Now on to the book itself. 

For a book that is ostensibly marketed toward children, this is a surprisingly (not to mention refreshingly) mature novel that even adults can find something to enjoy. Sibling rivalry is nothing new in the world of fiction (or nonfiction, for that matter) but here it is given a bittersweet edge. 

Something that Tycho and his siblings have been taught since they were too young to really understand was that: The ship is family. It has been this way for generations and Tycho never really questioned it. Until now. 

Every Hashoone sibling is vying to become Captain of the Shadow Comet. It is the driving force of their lives. Tycho wants it, Yana wants it, and so does Carlo. What comes after, on the other hand remains foggy. It seems like, up until this point, Tycho never really considered what would happen to him if one of his siblings became captain and vice versa. 

It’s always the silver medalists that are the unhappiest. 

For book that takes place in outer space, with spaceships and cyborg pirates, this novel is actually a lot more grounded in regards to pirate lore than what many other novels in the genre can say. The Hashoone’s are not true pirates anymore, they are privateers and their actions have political repercussions for the powers-that-be. 

Not to mention, there is a lot minutiae in their line. The book takes time to mention paperwork and meetings and dealing with bureaucrats as necessary part of their line of work. All of the Hashoones hate this though. 

Pirates are idealized in popular culture due to the image of freedom they represent and the universal sentiment of ‘sticking it to the man.’ What people tend to forget is that the man can’t stick back. Tycho is starting to understand his place in the world is not as simple as he though it was. 

This is no more exemplified than the enigmatic character of DeWise, an agent for a shadowy organization that does help Tycho every now and then but may skew the deal too heavily in his favor as time goes by. The author does a good job of putting DeWise firmly in the grey area of characterization. There is a lot of intrigue to be found in this solar system and it makes sense considering the powers that rule this future

Realism can coexist with fantastical settings. The key is striking the right balance. 

Finally there is the biggest factor of all: Second-Volume Syndrome. A common criticism of the second volume, whether it be a book or a movie, is that the story doesn’t really move forward but rather take time to introduce new elements to the story that will come into play later on. There are shades of this syndrome in this book but thankfully, the aforementioned new elements are given to us as part of the coherent storyline. Tycho is definitely going through some changes but it is presented in a natural way. No training montages here. 

Final Verdict: For the record, Bookworm thinks Tycho should be Captain. It may seem obvious, but Tycho has the heart of a captain. This book has plenty of heart, about growing up, finding your place, and power of family. 

Rating: Four Icons of Jupiter out of Five

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