I love Crichton's stories more than any other author. Pirate is the one that was finished posthumously, right? I've been meaning to pick that one up.

Yes, it was published posthumously. There is another book that was actually finished by another author after Crichton died which is called Micro.

I get the feeling Pirate Latitudes was closer to a first draft than a final draft - but it's still Crichton.