Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom is a 2011 adventure novel written by Ann C. Crispin. The book details the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow as a young man after the events of Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow and before the events of Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the Brethren Court.

Plot
Twenty-five-year-old Jack Sparrow is a clean-cut merchant seaman pursuing a legitimate career as a first mate for the East India Trading Company. He sometimes thinks back to his boyhood pirating days, but he doesn’t miss Teague’s scrutiny or the constant threat of the noose. Besides, he doesn’t have much choice—he broke the Code when he freed a friend who had been accused of rogue piracy, and he can no longer show his face in Shipwreck Cove.

When Jack’s ship is attacked by pirates and his captain dies in the altercation, he suddenly finds himself in command. The wily sailor’s skillful negotiations with the pirate captain—who turns out to be a woman from his past—result in a favorable outcome that puts Jack in line for an official promotion.

After making port in Africa, Jack is summoned by Cutler Beckett, who makes him captain of a ship called the Wicked Wench. Beckett gives Jack an assignment. He has heard a legend about a magical island named Zerzura whose labyrinthine bowels are said to contain a glorious treasure. Beckett suspects that one of his house slaves, a girl named Ayisha, is from Zerzura. He asks Jack to take her along on his voyage and seduce her into divulging the island’s whereabouts. In payment for his services, Beckett promises Jack a share of the treasure.

But this task isn’t as easy as Jack initially believes. Before she agrees to reveal the location of her home, Ayisha insists that Jack take her to the New World to rescue her brother, who has been sold into slavery in the Bahamas. Their voyage is long and arduous, and as they weather a vicious storm and a surprise attack from an old pirate foe, Jack grows to respect and admire Ayisha’s bravery. He knows that Beckett intends to enslave her people after robbing them of their treasure, and Jack’s moral compass revolts at the idea. It might be possible to deliver Ayisha safely to Zerzura, obtain some of the treasure, and convince Beckett that he never found it... but the greedy E.I.T.C. official has eyes everywhere, and if he learns that Jack has foiled his plans, he could take away the thing that Captain Sparrow loves most: his ship—and his freedom.

Characters

 * Jack Sparrow - a former pirate working for the EITC, captain of the Wicked Wench.
 * Cutler Beckett - the EITC director for West Africa.
 * Amenirdis/Ayisha - the lost princess from the island of Kerma.
 * Robby Greene - a former pirate, Jack's friend and first mate of the Wicked Wench.
 * Esmeralda - the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, Jack's love interest.
 * Edward Teague - Jack's father, the Pirate Lord of Madagascar and Keeper of the Pirate Code.
 * Ian Mercer - Beckett's right-hand man.
 * Borya Palachnik - the Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea, leader of the rogue pirates.
 * Christophe-Julien de Rapièr - Jack's former friend, one of the rogue pirates.
 * Davy Jones - Lord of the underwater realms.
 * Don Rafael - Esmeralda's grandfather, the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean.
 * Hector Barbossa - a pirate captain in the Caribbean.
 * Pintel and Ragetti - Barbossa's crewmembers
 * Eduardo Villanueva - the Pirate Lord of the Adriatic Sea.
 * Mistress Ching - the Pirate Lord of the Pacific Ocean.

Ships

 * Wicked Wench, an EITC merchant ship owned by Beckett and captained by Sparrow.
 * Fair Wind, an EITC merchant brig.
 * Venganza, a pirate frigate captained by Don Rafael and Esmeralda.
 * La Vipère, Christophe's pirate brigantine.
 * Koldunya, Borya's pirate sloop.
 * Troubadour, Teague's pirate ship.
 * Sentinel, an EITC brig, Beckett's flagship.