The topic of pirates is one of the most fascinating to me, not for the romanticized notions of dashing ne'er-do-wells or swashbuckling heroes, but for the historical significance of piracy and the way it changed the world. This book was a well-researched and captivating account of a pirate who made his name as one of the most bloodthirsty pirates to ever sail the seas. While Ned Low wasn't as famous as Blackbeard or Black Sam, he was certainly infamous in his own right, in his own time.

This is clearly a well researched and balanced case study of a pirate who perhaps isn't as famous as many of his contemporaries, however had a successful and bloodthirsty career.
The writer has interpreted primary sources and offered a number of theories rather romanticised suppositions or cliched tropes. It's a refreshing and engaging read, and I would definitely recommend to those with a historical interest in piracy.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

This is an interesting and well-researched account of the life of a pirate - albeit not one I have ever heard of, and yet he attacked over 100 ships and in his day was a force to be reckoned with. The tale is told well, with clear reference to contemporary events and people, and relies on first hand accounts written at the time.

The author tells of Ned Low's humble beginnings, and how he drifted to a life of piracy, relying on primary resources where possible, and doesn't try to fill the gaps with supposition or fantasy. You therefore believe what you are reading, which is of a life far removed from anything we could understand today.

It was an interesting read and I learned a lot about the life of pirates (not at all as glamorous as Hollywood portrayed), their codes of behaviour and the way they gathered a crew. Fascinating stuff.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a well researched, informative, and entertaining book about a new to me pirate. I appreciated the style of writing and I learned a lot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

When it comes to Pirates, there are things we know. There are things we know we don't know. And then there are things we think we know which we really don't and probably never will. Perhaps. They are a fascinating topic but also increasingly frustrating. Dr. Nicky Nielsen starts this study on the Pirate Captain Ned Low by admitting as much. I appreciated the honesty. Nielsen lists upfront where his sources are coming from and how much we can truly trust their statements.

Ned Low himself is an interesting pirate. From his humble beginnings, I was ready to go on this journey with him. I'm a bit divided on the outcome. On one hand, everything Nielsen promised us as readers was delivered. We are given as much of Ned Low's life as we know and can piece together from various documented accounts. There's still a nagging part of me that wonders if anybody else, at any time, said something we just don't know was truly connected to the Captain. Maybe a passing story that will unearth another chapter in this brutal Pirate's life. So it's not against Nielsen that I feel this way. They are very good at introducing other sources and proving why those sources or stories about Ned Low were fabricated.

What is remarkable about Pirates is how different the ones we know the most about were from the ones we know so little. Captain Kidd has tons of documentation. I admit I feel a soft spot for him since out of all the Pirates, he seems to get the short end of the straw. His benefactors turned tail to save themselves and he was labeled a Pirate and hung. The proof of his innocence was noted as existing and then mysteriously vanished during his trials. Meanwhile, we have Ned Low and only know bits and pieces of his story and he's an absolute monster brute. Same thing with Blackbeard. Now I'm thinking of Vane and maybe this doesn't hold as much weight as it did when I first thought it.

A good portion of this book follows one of Low's captives, named Ashton. He never wants to join the Pirates and ultimately escapes. Then he has to survive, seemingly alone, on an island until help eventually arrives. It is a story-within-a-story. Ashton's tales show us glimpses of what it must have been like to live aboard one of Ned Low's ships but Low himself becomes more of a figurative presence. When we do return to Low and his crew, after Ashton's story is officially done, it felt a little lackluster for a while.

We don't know what Ned Low looked like. While we know his wife dying leads him to abandon his daughter and live life at sea, the unpredictable rages he is prone to are not defined. This is an instance where he was too successful of a pirate. By not getting captured, he never is forced to tell his own tale. He fades away with every excuse for his actions unknown. Was he truly as horrible as everyone made him out to be? We may never know. This book is the closest we will get right now to discover the man as he was known then. Clearly, I would consider this a great resource on the facts alone gathered. Would I put this proudly on my shelf of other Pirate-related books? Absolutely. I'm hoping Nielsen, who primarily publishes Egypt-related works, does another.

I have often struggled to find nonfiction books about pirates that fall in that sweet spot between academic and entertaining. Either the research seems suspect on a very readable book, or the content is so dry I can barely focus on what I'm reading. This book about a relatively unknown pirate Ned Low hits the mark of being fascinating and accurate at the same time. The author gives an excellent explanation of maritime life, not just aboard pirate ships, and reveals the fascinating life of a man I had never heard anything about. The information is readable while not being boring and the author was skillful at weaving in other parts of history from that time period without seeming like he was going down rabbit trails. Following the exploits of Ned Low and sprinkled with titillating stories of other facets of the naval world, I found myself reading this book incredibly quickly as if it were a novel I needed to find out the end of. I was highly impressed by the nonfiction writing and felt I walked away understanding pirate culture far more than I did before reading this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword History for giving me the ARC copy.