Although rated as a children's book, there is some real terror at the beginning as well as a murder. This is a classic and wonderful tale of pirates that has been made into innumerable films and features characters that have entered deeply into the imagination of children that now they have heard of the characters but have no idea what book they came from and almost assume that they were historical figures. Perhaps the best screen adaptation I have enjoyed of Treasure Island is the prequel series called Black Sails that happens before Flint hides his treasure. That however is definitely NOT for kids as there is loads of sex, violence and language. Treasure Island on the other hand, features some scary scenes at the beginning but once the ocean adventure is underway, it is pure joy to read - even as an adult.

★★★★★★★★☆☆[8/10]



When you encounter a haggard and bedraggled fellow in the middle of an uninhabited island that you have sailed to to find treasure, and the fellow in question claims that he is rich, you could undoubtedly decide that you have succeeded in your mission. Claim the prize. Flee the scene. End of the story.

Alas, that is not how Robert Louis Stevenson envisaged the ending. At this point, you have more than two thirds of the book to finish. Yet you carry on as if you haven't a clue about how the mariners who are on a death-mission will return absolutely unscathed, to enjoy the riches that the island bestowed upon them.
Yes, because it is Stevenson.

So, if you are not someone who is directionally- and spatially-challenged like me, and is fond of cursing like an old English sailor (or a buccaneer) (Anu, are you reading this? Man! That was seriously messed up even for dootiful followers of the parlance!), and utterly bored with life's real quests, then hop onto Captain Smollett's schooner and head for Treasure Island. Remember, you'll only have young Jim Hawkins to save your butt in case you get caught in trouble. And, may luck be with you. As for the sheer literary brilliance of the book, I leave it up to you to decide (I am not particularly partial to piratealect!).

[The only thing that troubles me is how people treat Long John Silver like a glorified villain. He stabbed a faithful seaman in cold blood at the first chance he got-- and there's no glory in that, I tell you. He is an oleaginous wretch as Jim Hawkins has rightly said, and I have only that much regard for him.]


(Can't say "no" to that, eh?)

A young man’s tale of adventure worthy of the moniker “classic”!

Make no mistake! TREASURE ISLAND, despite being a tale intended for adventure-minded young readers, is not a picaresque tale of a dandified Captain Hook. TREASURE ISLAND is a skillfully plotted tale of treachery, deceit, murder, mayhem and greed contrasted against honour and bravery replete with fully conceived characters.

The introduction in the edition that I read summed it up quite expertly: “… so vivid [is] his story that we all now take it for granted that pirates looked and behaved as he portrayed them.”

You’ve got it all in your mind, don’t you? You know you do – a peg leg; buried treasure and maps with “X” marking the spot; heavy wooded tropical islands with steep cliffs and a secure anchoring inlet; a bloodthirsty murderous crew speaking a colourful, seafaring “flash” argot with guttural, raspy voices; a well-spoken parrot mascot; cutlasses, double dealing and keel-hauling of enemies or marooning of hapless prisoners. Those pre-conceived images of pirates that we’ve all got? Guess where they came from!

Thoroughly enjoyable from first page to last. Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

I remember reading this when I was young (probably 10) and reading it again resonated like a true adventure story should. It took me back to when I was young and first became an avid reader. The English is a little difficult to follow. Pirate-speech almost like a distinct language will do that to you, but the plot is great. Language is all about following the idiomatic expressions and unless there is a shared culture some of the idioms will fall flat. The story will not appear original, because it’s been borrowed from so liberally. (Practically EVERY pirate movie has swiped elements of this particular story.) Still great with scary dangerous parts. The characters are larger than life and might be read as caricatures by a modern audience. (Very Pirates of the Caribbean for instance.) I loved it back then. Love it even more now. Truly a classic because it meets the three criteria of longevity (more than 50 years of greatness), exceptional (5 stars, duh), and paradigm creating (meaning it is the standard emulated and flat out copied.)

I wonder how I missed reading this book when I was a child. The adventures of Jim Hawkins and his friends, the treasure hunt, and pirates would have been alluring to my young mind. No matter, I'm happy that I read it at last.

The book really surprised me. I expected a complete children's story. But this is not so. It has a mature substance. There is treachery, mutiny, and murder to please the mature audience while there are adventure and heroism to please both young and adult audiences.

Jim Hawkins was a likable hero. His friends - the doctor, the captain, and the squire were an interesting lot and a good blend to the story. I was also taken in by the pirates, especially the cunning and double-dealing John Silver.

It was a fun and exciting read, overall, and I enjoyed it.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the 1880s were a great decade for exciting classics. We got the introduction of such famous characters as Sherlock Holmes (in a Study of Scarlett) and Alan Quartermain, (in King Solomon’s Mines) but also Long John Silver and young Jim Hawkins. Of the three stories I mentioned above, Treasure Island is to my mind the far most entertaining (though personally I like some of the later Sherlock stories better… but that is beside the point).

I won't bother with a plot description. You all know the story; it has been parodied, homage, and adapted into films, cartoons, television episodes, video games, radio plays and more countless times. The number of alternate takes to this story are just mind-boggling. It is an entertaining tale, and the adaptations both good and bad, are in a way about the biggest praise that can be shown for it, as it is a tale that every generation wants to put their own spin on. Personally I think the Muppets did it best.



Personally I found the most interesting thing about the novel, especially given the time period of the writing, is that the two most intimidating character both have physical disabilities. Pew is blind and Silver has only one leg… despite these aspects they both come off as strong and far more menacing than any of the other pirates presented in the book. Stevenson presents them as threatening, capable, and frankly badass pirates… and that is rather refreshing.

For the most part, I have very little to complain about on this one. While I don't find it to be a perfect book by any means, it is one I found myself smiling at constantly. My criticisms would all come off as nitpicks. It is what it is, and it is very entertaining. The only issue I would even mention is that the section titled “My Sea Adventure” was a bit too slow. It could possibly be very exciting for those with a great love of descriptions of ships and waves, but I found it a bit dull… there was also a distinct lack of Silver in it.

Now let’s go ahead and cover this; Long John Silver makes this book. Yes, he is iconic for a reason. Silver is disloyal, greedy, a constant liar and seemingly quite often devoid of human empathy (save maybe for Jim)…, he is also charismatic and constantly entertaining. He is the obvious inspiration for pretty much every charming (but amoral) buccaneer in pop culture.

In closing: this book is a classic for good reason. While some may consider it a young adult novel (and indeed it was publish initially in a publication for children) it is still a wonderful adventure and a great read. A well deserved 4/5 stars.

Remember when pirates briefly became ironically cool, and all of your annoying friends were joining facebook groups for International Talk Like A Pirate Day? And the first Pirates of the Carribbean movie came out and was surprisingly awesome? And then the second Pirates of the Carribbean movie came out and was decidedly less awesome, but you didn't really realize it until the third one came out and you discovered you couldn't remember and didn't care about number two's cliffhanger ending (it was like The Matrix in that way actually)? And then you finally saw the third one on DVD when you were home from the hospital after almost dying of mono,who knew that could happen, but apparently it really messes with your liver, and the movie was so bad you couldn't even stay awake through the literally 45-minute long action sequence that caps it all off, and besides, it makes no sense at all, with everyone betraying everyone else so many times you need a flow chart to follow the plot?

I suppose we have RLS and Treasure Island to blame for all that. Because this is the book that established what we think of when we think of pirates, from skull & crossbones banners to peg legs to squawking shoulder-mounted parrots to maps with big red Xs and yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum. It's kind of weird to think about: those concepts are so ingrained in our culture (see: International Talk Like a Pirate Day), and yet they all stem from this rather innocuous adventure story for children.

But it is a really great adventure, which is probably why it became so iconic. This book is 130 years old but exhibits none of the mustiness of late Victorian-era fiction (turgid description being the chief offender, which you know if you've tried to slog through Jules Verne, and how in the world do you make submarines and sea monsters boring? Ask Jules). The adventure clips along quite nicely, moving from murder and mayhem on dry land to mutiny and more murder on the sea, and then to a creepy island filled with treasure and other dangers. Long John Silver is a crafty and compelling villain, switching sides more often than Benjamin Linus (hey, speaking of islands). Even though I knew basically where the story was going, it was a fast and engaging read, with a lot of creative sequences of suspense.

The only sections that bogged down a bit were the brief but somewhat technical descriptions of the ship, the sails, how the waves turned it this way and that, etc. I don't know starboard from port, and I don't care to, RLS. So get back to the parts with the talking parrot.

Argh matey! I finally got to this classic!

I’ve wanted to read Treasure Island for most of my life. This book is not only a classic but it brings forth the lore of pirates, lost treasure and a love for adventure.

While moving, I wanted an audiobook that would entertain me while packing up the mess.

Looking through the Audible Originals, I came across Treasure Island and thought,
“Why not! Let’s give this one a try and hope for this best.”

The Audible Original was well done for this book and I loved all the different narrators that they used for the characters.
Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins, Ben Gunn to the parrot Captain Flint were all fun to listen to while the swashbuckling was going down.

If you struggle with reading this classic, maybe try the audiobook for this one.
I vastly enjoyed this one while dealing with the chore of moving!

Un romanzo di avventura super godibile! Forse mi aspettavo di più soprattutto per quanto riguarda la presenza di scorribande e misteri, ma c'è da dire che rientra nei canoni tipici dell'epoca in cui è stato scritto. Resta comunque un ottimo libro per approcciarsi alle storie di pirati.

“If you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel!”

“Treasure Island” is a novel I had not read since I was a teenager. I had forgotten about it frankly. Then while I was rereading it this time, images from past readings and the iconic Disney 1950 film (which I devoured as a kid) were jogged back into my mind by the words I was reading. The youthful fear I felt about the treacherous Israel Hands, the frustration at Squire Trelawney’s big mouth, and others all came roaring back at me. It was a very pleasant experience.
On this reading, I appreciated the world Robert Louis Stevenson created, and I was impressed by his use of dialect and dialogue to establish and distinguish character. It is really well done. You can tell a lot about Long John Silver or the castaway Ben Gunn by the manner in which they speak.
On top of that, it is just a ripping good yarn that also happens to be well written. It is not often that the two go together. The book keeps your attention and I found myself wanting to pick it up and read.
A note about the Barnes & Noble classics edition…the Introduction by Angus Fletcher is overwrought and pretentious and adds nothing to your enjoyment of the text. Skip it.
I have returned to “Treasure Island” after many years. I will be returning again.

I have toured the Stevenson House in Monterey, California where it is said Stevenson conceived the idea for “Kidnapped”. Stevenson said he got the basis for the story of “Treasure Island” after drawing a map of an imaginary island for his stepson but when he lived in Monterey the scenery triggered the story. I had read the book, years and years ago when in elementary school. I reread it in 1959 after first touring the Stevenson house. When Audible displayed the book I thought I would reread the classic even though it is a children’s story.

The story takes place in the mid 1700s, on the west coast of England. Our protagonist is Jim Hawkins, the son of an inn keeper. An old sailor “the Captain” Billy Bones is a logger at the inn and pays Jim to keep an eye out for a one legged seafaring man. Billy has a stroke and dies, and then Jim’s father dies. Jim and his mother open Billy’s sea chest and discover money, a journal and a map. The district Squire Trelawney obtains a ship and hires the local physician Dr. Livesy as the ship’s doctor and Jim as cabin boy. He hires a crew including Long John Silver as the cook along with his talking parrot. They sail off to find the pirate Captain Flint’s Treasure Island.

The story was published as seventeen weekly installments in the “Young Folks Magazine” from 1 October 1881 to 28 January 1882. It was later published as a book. Stevenson wrote “The “Amateur Emigrant,” “The Pavilion on the Links,” and “A Vendetta in the West” while living in Monterey. Stevenson said his time in Monterey influenced his writing in many ways, the scenery; the people of many nations living together gave him many ideas for stories. Needless to say the book is well written and Neil Hunt did a good job narrating the book. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible.

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