My third Steinbeck book and the first of his that has ever been published. As I'm slowly making my way through his bibliography, it was interesting to see where he came from. There were glimpses of the writer he would become but overall this book felt a bit disjointed. The pacing, style and tone changed dramatically numerous times. Still, there were some really good parts, especially in the last third when they

made their way towards Panama and the dissection of Henry Morgan's character began

. I don't think I would have finished it without the incentive of reading everything by Steinbeck, but I'm so glad I stuck with it.