<DIV>In THE PYRATES, the author of the celebrated <I>Flashman</I> novels pays tongue-in-cheek homage to the swashbuckling books and movies that have always stirred his imagination. In these rollicking pages you'll find tall ships and desert islands; impossibly gallant adventurers and glamorous heroines; devilishly sinister cads and ghastly dungeons; improbably acrobatic duels and hair's-breadth escapes; and more plot twists than you can shake a rapier at. A deliriously entertaining combination of Errol Flynn action-adventure and <I>Naked Gun</I> pastiche, in a new package geared to the legions of <I>Flashman</I> fanatics.<BR></DIV>