And then I heard them. The pirates. A clash of screams pierced the air, mixed with a screeching wail of trumpets, violins, drums, flutes. Hair prickled on the back of my neck. Panicked, I glanced about the captain’s quarters. I needed some sort of weapon to defend us.
Suddenly, everything turned quiet. Deathly quiet.
Then I smelled it. The stench of smoke. The nightmare of every sailor. My voice shook. “The ship is afire. We can’t stay down here or we’ll burn alive.”
Daniel Markham loved his father’s mysterious friends, visiting in the dead of night but always gone by morning. He never imagined they could be pirates. But when the Markhams’ merchant vessel is plundered by the pirate ship Tempest Galley and his father shot dead, Daniel can’t deny the truth. And now, orphaned and alone, Daniel is trapped and faced with a choice: join the crew or die.
As the Tempest Galley sets sail for the Red Sea, where finding treasure ships is as easy as dropping a bucket of pitch, Daniel vows to avenge his father. But nothing is that simple.
Unprepared for the temptations of pirate life and for the captain’s inexplicable kindness toward him, Daniel knows only one thing for certain: one false step on a pirate ship could be deadly, and he’ll do anything to stay alive.
Click here to read chapter one (.pdf)
Click here for a discussion guide (.pdf)
Reviews and Honors
- “. . . An absorbing tale whose narrator ultimately wins past both physical and mental torture to a bruised, hard-won peace.” – Kirkus Reviews – READ FULL REVIEW
- “A sea yarn that can stand solidly beside other classic pirate stories. . .” – Booklist – READ FULL REVIEW
- “The high quality writing style, the strong cast of characters, and the twisting conclusion are sure to captivate readers.” – School Library Journal – READ FULL REVIEW
- “Voyage of Plunder is far from a clichéd melodrama, but it still offers up a tantalizing stew of Treasure, Revenge, Moral Dilemma, Tropical Paradise, Adventure, Murder, and Piracy.” – Staff pick, Elliot Bay Book Company
- “. . . a swashbuckling read” – Winston-Salem Journal
- “Torrey does little to romanticize and nothing to excuse the brutality of late-seventeenth-century buccaneering, but the Tempest Galley’s sanguinary exploits are set fairly within the context of an equally bloodthirsty system of justice and the double-dealings of capitalists and Crown.” - The Bulletin
- “This gritty and realistic novel has swashbuckling adventure on the high seas . . . with an authentic feel of historical accuracy.” – VOYA (Voices of Youth Advocates)”This is a coming of age book, a historical novel, a breathtaking adventure, and a book with a theme worthy of class discussion. By the end of this short novel, literary classics readers who have some experience with Dickens will turn the final page with ‘It’s a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done’ ringing in their ears.’” – Kathy Bjorklund, Middle Books“Pirates also play a major part of Michele Torrey’s exciting Voyage of Plunder. Set in the early 1700s, this is the swashbuckling story of Daniel Markham, who, after his father’s murder aboard their merchant ship, has no choice but to join the Tempest Galley and work for its captain, the pirate Josiah Black.” – Nancy Pearl, Book Crush
“Voyage of Plunder is a fast-paced novel written for young adults, but one that any pirate will want to read. The story captivates the reader from the start, and while some may surmise the ‘truths’ before Daniel does, no one will forget the final outcome. One of the strengths of this story is the seamless way in which Ms. Torrey inserts facts into the fiction to accurately portray pirates and the life they lived.” Cindy Vallar, Editor and Reviewer, Pirates and Privateers, The History of Maritime Piracy
- “This fast-paced story about pirates, storms, and life at sea will have the reader turning pages quickly.” – Interchange (Journal of the Oregon Association of School Libraries)
- “I would also like [you] to know that after reading Voyage of Plunder . . . it opened up a whole new door to me, and I have become very interested in books that take place in the sea, or pirate books.” – Lauren, age 15
- “I have just finished reading your book titled, “Voyage of Plunder”. It was wonderful. Very captivating and moving. The ending was so sad I cried!” – Timarie, a teen
- Winner of 2001 Zola Award
- 2007 Sakura Medal Nominee
- 2008 Sequoyah Award Nominee
- 2007 WA State Book Award Finalist
