The Feathered Cape by Hal Goodwin

Bookseller image from AbeBooks.com

Hal Goodwin wrote the Rick Brant series under the pseudonym John Blaine.  He also wrote The Feathered Cape, which was published in 1947, the same year as the first Rick Brant book.  The Feathered Cape is set in 1792 and features Jonathan Blaine, a young man with red hair.

Jonathan Blaine was picked up by a British ship near the coast of Massachusetts.  The British used the pretense that Jonathan and others were renegade Englishmen, thereby forcing them into service.  Jonathan attempts to escape more than once and finally succeeds while in the Hawaiian islands.  Jonathan takes part in the battle for control of the Hawaiian islands as Kamehameha seeks to unite the islands.

The overall atmosphere of this book is similar to the Rick Brant books set in exotic locations in the Pacific Ocean.

The book contains many Hawaiian words.  The book has a glossary with the definition and pronunciation of every Hawaiian word used in the story.  I really like that the book gives information on how to say the words.  However, after a while, I began to find the Hawaiian words to be distracting, similar to how I felt with the Greek words in The Greek Symbol Mystery.

I did not enjoy the last one-third of the book very much.  The book isn't bad; rather, this is the kind of book that appeals more to a boys' series fan.  I didn't get much out of the battle scene and was not that interested in the last part of the book.  I wasn't overly interested in what happened to Jonathan.  I read it all mainly for the sake of reading the entire book and also to see whether I was correct about whether Jonathan would stay or leave Hawaii.