The Kindle Store has a number of timeless classics available for free on the Kindle and Kindle DX. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is one of them. It is an exciting tale of treachery and adventure for both children and adults.
Jim Hawkins is the official protagonist of the book. He is a young boy who gets swept along on a pirate treasure hunt with Billy Bones, Long John Silver and several other interesting characters. Long John Silver outshines everyone else in the story as he is involved with a group who plot to kill everyone on the ship and take the treasure themselves.
It has been awhile since I’ve read the book. Since it is free for the Kindle and has such raving reviews, I think I need to sit down and read it again.
Many are familiar with Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but very few have actually read the book. It is a quick read. The Kindle edition is free. Once you read it, you’ll find that there’s much more to the book than the dual personality comparison we all like to reference to.
Dr. Jekyll creates a potion that turns him into a different man. This is Mr. Hyde. The best way to describe him is “the devil on our shoulder.” The story is told from the point of view of Mr. Utterson, a friend of Dr. Jekyll’s. There is a lot of emotion and grief in this story, as well as a disturbing plot that takes many twists and turns.
One reviewer sums up the book’s theme well: “It’s a book on morality and what would happen if we gave in to every evil thought we ever had. The theme is timeless and so this book will remain a classic.”
A couple more books by Stevenson that are lesser known, but still excellent, are The Black Arrow and Kidnapped. The Black Arrow is set during the War of the Roses. Sixteen year old Dick Shelton is thrust in the middle of the war and forced to battle pirates, an evil priest and even Sir Daniel Brackley, his legal guardian. His ultimate goals are to become a Knight and rescue his true love. You’ll find an little bit of everything: action, mystery and romance all mixed into one book.
Kidnapped is another action packed novel that portrays a hero who outlasts treachery and deceit to claim his rightful inheritance. This time, the hero is David Balfour. After his father’s death, he seeks to claim his inheritance from his evil uncle. Balfour gets caught up in a number of crazy events including a murder mystery throughout his adventure.
Stevenson does an excellent job of portraying the language of the time: pirate vernacular, Middle age dialect and Scottish dialect. If you have never used your Kindle’s look up tool, now’s your chance.
i’m a huge fan of RLS, too, but of his short stories. they are a bit like 19th century versions of ‘the twilight zone.’ highly recommended.