Title: More Valuable Than Gold by: Mark Robert Mazziotti – Book Review
From the pages of classic literature to modern stage and screen translations, a story featuring legendary pirate characters with their devious personalities and pursuits often attracts a large audience. Whether you’re witnessing Peter Pan and the infamous Captain Hook, reading Robert Louis Stevenson’s intricate revelations about Long John Silver in Treasure Island, or watching the modern-day eccentricities of Johnny Depp portraying the unforgettable Captain Jack Sparrow in the latest installment in the film franchise “Pirates of the Caribbean”. , all these famous sea adventurers leave an indelible mark.
In Mark Robert Mazziotti’s More Precious Than Gold, this strong attraction continues. Here the author weaves a fascinating and complex story that embodies all the key elements of an adventure on the high seas. The year is 1717 and two young men, Bob and Ben, find themselves shipwrecked off the coast of Virginia. After the unexpected storm, the novel takes place on a remote island where madness, mystery and romance will intertwine. Nestled in the legend of the dastardly Blackbeard, known as the ‘Pirate King’, Mazziotti presents a fascinating world filled with a wealth of pirate lore and an uncertain quest for treasure that can have dire consequences for new arrivals on the island. In the beginning, they meet Captain John and his wolf dog Shark. Two years earlier, his ship was hijacked and he was forced to land on the tropical island with his small crew and raven-haired Lydia. Now in their greed to find a hidden boat and buried treasure rumored to be hidden by Blackbeard, Bob and Ben witness the sudden death of two crew members. They quickly sense the harshness and unpredictability of this crazy captain. Since the story is told from Bob’s first-person POV, the style and structure of the words seem reminiscent of an earlier time. It has a quiet tone that seems to reflect a diary entry, which can convey a growing anxiety amid uncertain circumstances. The forty-five day time frame imposed to find the treasure adds to the tension of the narrative.
With the threat of death hanging over their heads, a central map, drawings and messages from Blackbeard himself, they all give impetus to the search. Here the island becomes a character in itself. The terrain is littered with secret doors and caves, underground tunnels and dangerous rope bridges. Clues are revealed with natural elements of carved inscriptions, stone patterns and arrowheads. From gold and silver skeleton keys, to stone statues and the proverbial message in a bottle, Mazziotti presents an environment full of detail. Like the cane used as an aid and as a weapon, the secret passageways, and Blackbeard’s own diamond ring, the author wisely chooses elemental pieces that artfully reappear throughout the course of this perilous treasure hunt.
Like the massive piece of gold found in a room on an island, this book shines with a well-planned and well-executed plot. From start to finish, Mazziotti crafts a formative narrative peppered with developing characters, underlying themes, and intricate details that bring us full circle in a troubled situation. Against the background of this great predicament, the author skillfully lures readers into this island conundrum, and in return, we become enthralled with the outcome. In this self-contained literary landscape, like the island itself, Mazziotti creates a world of questions, conflicts, and moral dilemmas, with characters who rise to the occasion to challenge and prove their loyalty, friendship, and love.
Beyond the scope of the traditional adventure tale, at its very core the book illuminates what is truly important in our everyday lives. The real hidden treasure comes to the surface in the next words of this entertaining read. “… some aspects of life are more valuable than the value of all the gold in the world. Health, love and happiness cannot be bought with money because they are matters of body and spirit.” This work and the feeling it gives are undiscovered gems.
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