Queen of Black Sails by P J Daniels is essentially a short story set in a world of fantasy and magic. Sarah Chartimands is the pirate captain of the Lady Flotsam, who plunders from those who work for the king. She earned her command by right as a powerful and ruthless fighter. When Sarah rescues an old friend, a wizard who taught her much about magic, she has in mind an audacious plan to raid the king’s main treasury, which is buried in a vault deep beneath the sea, in a place where even divers cannot venture. The wizard is Sarah's ace-in-the-hole. He can do things with magic that make such an outrageous plan not only possible but, Sarah is sure, a certainty. What she doesn’t gamble on is the king’s own magic defenses and soon Sarah, her first mate and the wizard himself will find themselves in a battle of swords and magic that will test them all to the limits.

I thought Queen of Black Sails had a fantastic premise and author P J Daniels did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life. There was, however, so much more that I wanted to know about Sarah, her previous life (it was hinted at one point that she was previously a princess), how she came to choose a pirate’s life over the one she had. Although this was touched on briefly, a longer book would have given more room for expansion. I also had questions about the wizard, his relationship with Sarah and why they were so close. That being said, the author produced a real rollicking yarn in the space available. The fight scenes were fantastically written, exciting, exhilarating and frequent. I did enjoy the sort of out-of-body experiences Sarah and her first mate experienced at various times. If you like a jolly good yarn, with plenty of swashbuckling and magic thrown in, you’ll love Queen of Black Sails. It certainly awakened my interest in this author’s work.