Frequently compared to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island (1883), The Dark Frigate strongly differs from its predecessor in authorial intent.

Most striking is that Hawes chose lawabiding characters such as Captain Candle and Sir John Bristol as Philip's mentors, whereas Stevenson selected Long John Silver, the pirate captain, as the surrogate father figure in his novel.

Hawes firmly wished to impress upon his readers the horror of piracy, and fashioned Tom Jordan as the embodiment of cold-blooded cruelty. Although Long John Silver remains one of young adult literature's most engaging characters, his world is one that Hawes would expose, through his own work, as purely fictional. Nonetheless, because of the overlapping subject matter in the two novels, The Dark Frigate is unlikely ever to escape from the shadow of Treasure Island.

Although many critics have deemed its ending unsatisfying, The Dark Frigate remains a thrilling suspense...