Pirate Jack : A Podcast Novel

The 'Pirate Jack' blog posts and podcast are being moved to their mother-ship, CandlelightStories.com . We've put together a nice new site design that is fully blog-oriented but maintains all of our great story, game and movie content.

So make sure you subscribe to the Candlelight Stories feed to keep getting our posts.

This will probably be the last post here. You'll like the Candlelight Stories feed much better. We promise!

Download Robinson Crusoe - Part 12

Make sure you switch over to the new Robinson Crusoe podcast feed before next week's part 13.

Here's the feed url: http://feeds.feedburner.com/RobinsonCrusoe

Or you can search in the podcast area on iTunes for 'Robinson Crusoe.' We're the one with the book and candle logo.

Crusoe worries about being attacked if his presence is discovered by cannibals who visit the island. He finds a spectacular cave and then, during a night storm, hears a cannon shot.

Download Information on How to Keep Listening to Robinson Crusoe

We are moving Robinson Crusoe to its own podcast. The 'Pirate Jack' novel will stay here in its entirety. Robinson Crusoe will now be offered via this feed:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/RobinsonCrusoe

Or you can just go to http://www.candlelightstories.com/Stories/RobinsonCrusoePodcast.asp to get the feed link.

You can also just go into the iTunes podcast area and search for "Robinson Crusoe." We are the podcast one with the candle and book logo.

Part 12 will be the last part offered here at the Pirate Jack podcast. So try to switch over this week so you don't miss part 13.

Download Robinson Crusoe - Part 11

Crusoe makes another shocking discovery and sets himself on a course of action that leads him to one of the book's most interesting passages. It is here, in Crusoe's struggle with his own outrage and his ideas about what makes for civilized behavior, that Defoe begins to turn the novel in a new direction. He is examining the underpinnings of Western civilization. What makes a person civilized? What does the right of self defense really mean? This kind of thinking and questioning is perhaps somewhat lacking in certain countries today. Notice also how religion, for Crusoe, seems to have a moderating, calming influence. He resists using it to justify himself or his actions.

Download Robinson Crusoe - Part 9

Let's get on with our story, shall we? It's a good story and reading it is a lot of fun. Difficult, but fun. Defoe's language is up and down and backward and forward. It makes you think fast. Try picking up the book and reading any part of it out loud and fast. It's tricky. But it's a very good way to learn more about how Defoe's mind worked. Amazing. Are you starting to wonder why Crusoe constantly reminds us of things and says things like: 'As I told you before,' or 'As I said earlier?'

He almost insists that you follow the correct sequence of events, but he skips ahead in order to achieve a much more important goal. He wants you to follow along with his state of mind. That's why his story-telling language is so twisty and folds back on itself so often. This is certainly one of the most fantastic things about Defoe's novel. Its obsessive focus on the man's state of mind sets a precedent that influences almost all of literature following Defoe. It is really this that makes the book so modern.

This story holds surprises for us. Stay tuned until next week...

Download Robinson Crusoe - Part 8

Robinson Crusoe struggles to harvest his corn, make bread, build a boat and sew some clothes. The efforts he makes are constantly set back by mistakes and errors in judgement. He deals with his lack of expertise in the various arts that he must call upon with a certain amount of humor. Pay attention to how Crusoe constantly monitors his state of mind and is ever willing to discuss his mistakes and to poke fun at himself.

Download Robinson Crusoe - Part 7

Crusoe details how he learns to grow crops that will help sustain him when his ammunition runs out. He journeys to the far side of the island, finding better land and more plentiful game there. He describes the difficulties overcome in learning to weave baskets and cut lumber from a tree. He also writes about his religious thinking and how he begins to come to terms with his solitary condition.

Download Robinson Crusoe - Part 6

Crusoe continues to offer the reader his journal entries, describing how he brought supplies from off the shipwreck. He battles sickness and finds a way to speed his recovery. He begins to read a copy of the Bible that he finds in one of his chests. This causes him to ponder the nature of his deliverance and he begins to read the book regularly for the first time in his life. Defoe is here beginning his fascinating analysis of a human being's place in the world and how hardship can lead a person to question the very nature of existence.

As Crusoe recovers from his sickness, he begins to venture farther abroad on the island, discovering things that will assist his survival efforts.

The illustration is by NC Wyeth (1920). Crusoe reads his Bible and ponders the nature of his deliverance

Download Robinson Crusoe - Part 5

Crusoe explains how he made his own tools and built his home on the island. He begins to show us his journal entries which track each day's activities. He goes hunting and, much to his surprise, begins to use agriculture. All his mental efforts are bent toward making his survival upon the island long-term. He even considers what he will have to do to ensure his survival when his health and strength begin to fail. The inclusion of the journal entries, which actually repeat some of the very things Crusoe has already told us, are a striking literary device on the part of Daniel Defoe. Pay attention to how the voice (I mean the literary voice, not the audio voice!) of Crusoe changes ever so slightly with these journal entries as compared to the rest of his narration. Crusoe also begins struggle with religious thoughts and wonders whether some sort of divine providence is behind his being the sole survivor of the shipwreck.

Download Robinson Crusoe - Part 3

In this section of the novel, Crusoe continues making good on his escape. He then makes a series of fateful decisions as he tries to get on his feet and make a life for himself.

Defoe begins to get into the slavery issue and how it plays the major role in Crusoe's single most important decision.

The illustration is by NC Wyeth (1920). It illustrates the conversation between a young Robinson Crusoe and his father from the first part of the podcast novel.

Download Robinson Crusoe - Part 2

Crusoe learns more of what it means to be a seaman. He is captured off the west coast of Africa and made a slave.

In this section of the novel we get into Defoe's treatment of the issues of slavery and race. Reading the early parts of the novel, one might get the mistaken impression that Defoe is intolerant of other races. This is not the case. One must remember that he was writing his book before 1719. His continued treatment of the slavery issue throughout the novel is many years ahead of its time and shows him to be a deeply thoughtful and serious commentator on the social injustices he saw around him.

Listen to the Sound Story Promo

Pirate Jack and Robinson Crusoe are free podcasts. In order to help finance the continuing operations here at the blog and at CandlelightStories.com , I offer this little promotional piece of audio that tells you a little bit about the audio stories available in the Sound Story Club.

It's only a one-time fee of $9.95. For that, you get all of the audio files. Every purchase over there actually helps keep Candlelight up and running so it can make all those stories, games and movies.

Thank you for listening.

Click here to download Robinson Crusoe - Part 1

Here is the little surprise I promised last week. 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe is one of the greatest novels in existence. It marks the start of English novel-writing. There's so much more in this book than one would ever know from the silly movies that have been based upon it. In fact, there has never been a remotely good movie made of this incredible book. It goes so much farther than most writing at exploring the human spirit and the foundations of civilization. It is one of the most modern books I have ever read. It was written in 1719. You'll know what I mean if you listen to it. It just keeps coming at you without any letup.

I may move this over to a new blog site specifically for Robinson Crusoe. But for now, this will do just fine. I will try to add some introductory information about Defoe over the next week or so.

Listen and have a good time.

Click here to download Chapter 20 of 'Pirate Jack'

We have reached the end of our story! It's been a lot of fun reading my book to all of you loyal podcast listeners. I hope you have enjoyed this adventure. Thank you very much for being interested enough to subscribe to this. I have enjoyed reading this book so much that I think I may have a surprise to offer next week right here on the Pirate Jack Podcast. I am going to check the feasibility of this idea and if I can manage it, I'll have something really excellent for you. In fact, it would be a reading of one of the very best books ever written.

Now for my little sales pitch: if you want to hear and download lots more MP3 audio of classic children's stories like Snow White, Cinderella, Puss In Boots, Aesop's Fables, etc., just head over to http://CandlelightStories.com and spend just $9.95 for a bunch of audio files that you can download to keep.

Thanks again for listening along with Jack and Captain Jameson.

Here's a list of all the chapters in the completed podcast novel:

Chapter 1 - Stones
Chapter 2 - The Boat House
Chapter 3 - The Land
Chapter 4 - Inspectors
Chapter 5 - Murtaugh
Chapter 6 - Bulldozers
Chapter 7 - Fire
Chapter 8 - The First Bottle
Chapter 9 - The Boat
Chapter 10 - Pirates
Chapter 11 - Captain Jameson
Chapter 12 - Ship's Boy
Chapter 13 - Opportunity
Chapter 14 - The Fort
Chapter 15 - Prisoners
Chapter 16 - Escape
Chapter 17 - Taking the Galleon
Chapter 18 - The Island
Chapter 19 - Finley
Chapter 20 - Helicopters

Click here to download Chapter 16 of 'Pirate Jack'

It's been a month since the last chapter was posted. Well, the pirates are back and they're not happy about their situation. So, listen on and let's get going with the adventure. Jack and Jameson are in a tight spot and they will need to do something bold to avoid a hanging at sunrise.

I'll have another chapter ready by Friday night. So stay tuned...

Click here to download Chapter 14 of 'Pirate Jack'

Here's your second chapter for the week. It's a rough one. But there are no real pirate stories that are not violent. There's lots of action in this one.

I've been podcasting this story without ever actually owning an iPod or similar device. No longer is this the case! I've recently acquired one of those Creative Zen Vision things. It plays videos and MP3s. I love this little toy. I carry it all over the place and watch old movies on it. I download public domain titles from the Internet Archive and get to see great old movies on my little screen like 'The Lost World,' 'The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari,' and Flash Gordon serials. Hey, those movies are all free and look good on my little Zen. So now I'm an earphone guy, I guess. But those bud things hurt my ears. I need bigger headphones.

Click here to download Chapter 13 of 'Pirate Jack'

All right, listeners... let's get back to pirate work. I've had a few obligations for the past several weeks, but I'm back in the studio reading my characters and fighting battles.

I hope you enjoy this chapter because it's a hectic one. You'll get a dose of pirate attack here. And it's all based on actual witness accounts of how some pirate attacks were conducted.

Hey, want to read a really good non-fiction, grown-up book about a famous pirate? Try Richard Zacks' book, 'The Pirate Hunter.' It's a first-rate account of the life of Captain Kidd. It has lots of great research and completely absorbing chase action as Kidd tries to avoid capture. I picked it up on a whim at a bookstore and have never read a better non-fiction book about pirates. It's available at Amazon.com.

Click here to download Chapter 12 of 'Pirate Jack'

Too many zombies. Back to pirates. I put a 12-foot witch outside my home in hopes of terrifying the little squirts who happened by with bags held open at my front door. Instead, the smallest members of this beggar's group, almost every last one, ended up posing for pictures before my giant, horrible, frightening witch.

I'll try again next year.

Jack has an interesting meal. He seems to like pirate food. He also tackles another job aboard ship.