The early 21st century is a turbulent time with outbreaks of war, the rise of populism and climate change. Mankind’s actions are blamed for the ever increasing harm being done to society and the planet. But it seems it is not just our world that is being damaged, but the fabric of everything is also being decimated. Nature begins to fight back by resurrecting four unlikely heroes, the 18th Century pirates Anne Bonny, John Rackham, Mary Read and Angus McTavish.

Why have they been reborn, and what possible advantage can they have in stabilising the causal nexus?

Through a series of strange and mysterious events, they are forced to relive their violent past lives. But in doing so, they also remember the cruelty and abuse they once suffered and the circumstances, beyond their control, that led them to become pirates in the first place. This in turn ignites their long-forgotten humanity and gradually they begin to feel empathy for others and discover a new meaning to their lives.

Gradually, their actions begin to affect human behaviour, which in turn, creates a positive change in the attitude of humanity. But what of their own revelations about who they really are? Are they merely ghosts or are they real? Why do other versions of themselves suddenly appear and what is behind the fog that emerges when they most need help? These are the answers they must ultimately discover in the pursuit of their legacy, The Buccaneers Legend.

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Resurrection

When the discovery of an ancient rhyme written on 18th century paper was discovered behind the walls of a house in California, it created much debate about who wrote it and what it meant. The writing seemed to foretell a time of global upheaval and threats of war where ordinary people would turn on each other, blaming those different to themselves for all their problems. The prophecy declared that at such a time, “all good pirates shall rise again.” No one could decipher when such a time would be, but it seemed irrelevant as the rhyme seemed nonsensical. Little did they realise that the time was now and something fantastical was about to happen.

During a violent storm late at night off the Northwest coast of Scotland an 18th century pirate ship emerges from the mist. On board are the remains of 4 long dead pirates, but with the sound of a long-forgotten sea shanty and the roar of the storm, the pirates, Anne Bonny, John Rackham, Mary Read and Angus McTavish come back to life. The question is why? With no memories of their past, they struggle to discover who they are and why are they in this strange new world.

(Out Now on Amazon)

"There was no mistaking the fact that this ghostly vessel was a pirate ship! The lightning exploded once more across the heavens and this time the brief illumination gave witness to four creatures, if they could be called creatures, clambering up the sides of the strange vessel. As the creatures climbed onto the deck and into the soft orange haze of the oil lamps, their true horrific appearance became apparent. They resembled corpses that had not been in the ground for that long. They were dressed in robes, apparently made from seaweed and other debris from the floor of the ocean. Their pungent rotting robes consisted of a hood, beneath which, long dead faces stared out with dead eyes. The faces were skull like but with putrid bits of flesh still weakly clinging to the discoloured bones of the skull. The creatures, or ghouls would be a better description, lurched backwards and forwards with seawater cascading from their decaying attire and leaving pools of water on the deck as they moved about. They heaved themselves around as if searching for something. They seemed inquisitive as they explored the furniture on board as if trying to recall distant memories of their past."

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Revelations

Six weeks after their awakening in the modern world, The Buccaneers find their new lives somewhat of an anti-climax. After all the furore and vows to fight injustice, everything just grinds to a disillusioned halt. But when a fighter jet screeches across the sky above them and destroys a ship in a terrific and frightening explosion, they realize this new world is a violent and dangerous place. Heading for the arctic circle to retreat from the aggression they have witnessed, they embark on a series of adventures where finally they start to make a difference in the new world. But many strange and peculiar events keep occurring that are mystifying and defy all logic. What is it about the unworldly fog that keeps assisting them in times of danger? Why does the past and future of those they meet on their voyage suddenly change? And why does a person who is murdered, suddenly appear alive and well again?

By witnessing our world through the eyes of four people from 300 years ago, we are shown just how cruel and selfish mankind has become. But is there hope for the future and what does their revival mean for everyone today? All they can do is follow the path laid down for them and ultimately to seek out the truth.

(Out now on Amazon)

"The sound was just a low rumble at first, but it quickly grew in pitch and volume. At the same time the wisps of fog that had hung around the deck all morning suddenly swirled together, and more fog seemed to emerge from nowhere causing a thick mist around the ship. It didn’t surround them entirely and they could still see the sky above and the ocean in front of them. The screeching reached deafening proportions which made all of them look upwards. Out of the clouds shot what one might describe as a bird made of iron….

The iron bird sped like lightning out in front of them. There was a streakof light and instantly an object far out in the distance erupted in flames. A great fireball engulfed whatever it was that lay several leagues ahead of them and expanded in a terrifying globe of pure flame. Anne stood up slowly, her mouth dropped open, ‘what is this hell on earth?’ she screamed out at the fireball ahead of them. For the first time in both their lives, the once notorious fearless pirates felt afraid.”

Legacy

After four months of their new lives have passed, unbeknown to them, stories and tales of strange pirates unfold among communities around the world that speak of “The Buccaneers” who came to their assistance in time of need. Unscrupulous individuals and certain disreputable organisations and political movements complain of unknown interferences causing strategies to go awry. But no one can show any distinctive proof that these so-called Buccaneers exist. No one can claim to have ever seen them, nor have they been able to produce any photographic evidence of their actual existence. With time these tales fall into the realm of myth and legend and parents tell their children to be good or the pirates will get you. Everyday expressions arise such as “Oh, never mind, the pirates will look after me” when people bemoaned their fortune.

For The Buccaneers themselves there are many unanswered questions, and they are desperate to find the answers, especially when they realise they are ageing so quickly. In their quest for answers, they find themselves back at sea, off the coast of Scotland and that is where they discover not only the answers they seek, but also their fate.

(Out in Spring 2025)

“- Who the hell are these Buccaneers? he shouted down the phone. Brian Gullis was a successful property developer who did not let anything get in his way.

Another of these so called eco warriors’ groups, I suppose. He moaned to the unknown recipient of his anger at the other end of the phone line. He had come up against these protesters on many occasions when he had acquired land ripe for development. It was easy with these “drop outs” as they invariably committed criminal activities and it was an easy matter to use the full force of the law to move them out of his way. Normally these fanatics would chain and padlock themselves to trees or even take to living in them, but although they caused a lot of disruption the only real harm they did was to delay operations for a few days. This new group, however, were different. They were never seen, so, no one to physically arrest. Machinery got broken during the night and workers refused to turn up for work ridiculously complaining of ghosts haunting the site.

As he felt his blood pressure rising with what he was hearing, he toyed with a small piece of paper on his desk and as he turned it over he gazed at the symbol of a grinning skull with two crossed swords below it."

About the Author

Ian Britten-Hull was born in London in the early sixties but grew up in the north of England. Ian returned to London to study dramatic art at Middlesex University in the early 1980’s. Whilst there, he trained to become an actor as well as studying stage management and theatre history. Upon graduating Ian worked as an actor for many theatre and TV companies, playing a wide range of parts from Shakespeare to Pantomime. Throughout his career Ian has also directed many theatre shows and devised shows of his own. During the pandemic lockdown, Ian along with his partner Anna-Maria Albici, conceived the idea of a show about pirates but, because of the restrictions, they made the original show as a one-hour video which they streamed over the internet. It was whilst making the video production that Ian became fascinated by the history of Anne Bonny, Mary Read and John Rackham. Researching the history and backgrounds of the three famous pirates, it became clear that the reasons people became pirates was more complex than one would imagine. A question that came to mind was, what if these three characters were alive today, how would their lives turn out with different opportunities and would they be so different from the lives they led 300 years ago? Having written so many plays for his own shows, Ian was compelled to try his hand at writing this trilogy, and thus the idea of The Buccaneers Legend novels.

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