Around the Globe in 52 Books
[Prompt: A Book in a Series]

I always feel I begin a review of a Brian Jacques book raving about how action packed his novels are, and how action oriented the writing is, and that is still true in this novel. He just has a way with words that just makes them leap off the page. It definitely makes this feel like a classic thrilling adventure.

Voyage of Slaves is the finale to the Castaways series (unfortunately, I have absolutely fallen in love with this series and am sad to see it go) and it is a proper grand adventure as a final sendoff for our two heroes, Ben and Neb. While it is a bit darker than his past two stories, Voyage of Slaves is a blast. It is a grand adventure filled with many smaller adventures within it, and each one with a cast of very memorable characters.

The audiobook in my opinion, is still the way to go. The quality and production of Record Books still blows me away with each installment of the Castaways series, and this one is no different. The actors make it feel as if they are really acting out the scenes rather than reading from a book. The music production for one, is just outstanding. I cannot imagine reading the lyrics in the book without the same production put behind it in this recorded version. They absolutely killed it! And overall, it definitely makes you feel like you are watching a live play. It is just fantastic and truly, truly memorable.

I first started reading this series as part of a book club monthly read, the theme of that month being 'Books that haven't been turned into tv/streaming series yet', and having read this final one, I really, really wish it could be made into it. It has a classic adventure feel to it, a very homey like vibe but also very high spirited and exciting. I would absolutely love to watch a live action series of this book trilogy. I will say that the audiobook by Recorded Books is definitely the closest you will get, and will be ones that I will continue to cherish.

Also, pat on the back for me for ACTUALLY FINISHING a series that I started.

Well, I did it. I made it through this trilogy even though I lost inspiration after the first book. Honestly, they weren't bad books--just not the style of books I'm interested in. I did like this one better than the other two... until the end.
Because it wasn't much of an ending at all. This whole time I've been expecting Ben and Ned to meet the crew of The Flying Dutchman again and have a final confrontation. That was what I looked forward to reading throughout the whole series. Or, if I couldn't have that, I at least wanted some sort of resolution for the main characters.
Sadly, there's no resolution to be found here...

I read this book because it is part of a series that I started years ago. I enjoyed the story however it took awhile to get into~ The commentary between Ben and Ned is absolutely priceless and it is what kept me going!! The writing style is very childlike/predictable which makes sense because these are not adult books~ They are meant for young adults and it is very apparent, but the story itself is full of adventure and is worth reading if you ever get the chance:)

It's pretty good so far and it has a lot of drama and action in it. I also like the character Ben, a kid who is the age of 14 yet he has the brain and mind of a person who is over 100. I felt extremely sad when Serefina died in while falling and I felt even more depressed when hear "ghost/spirit" came back and said that she would be waiting for Ben. =[

My book, Voyage of Slaves, is about a boy and a dog, who in previous books escaped from the Flying Dutchman. When they escaped, the boy, Ben, was given the ability to speak any language and both him and his dog, Ned, were given eternal youth and are able to speak to each other in their minds. My favorite character was Ned because he was always sarcastic while trying to keep Ben from getting into any trouble. He is also a typical dog and thinks about food all the time and makes fun of and banters with a cat. My least favorite character was the pirate Al Misurata. In the book he is the bad guy and tries to sell Ben’s friends, the Rizzouli Troupe, into slavery. A part of the book that captivated me was Ben and Ned’s encounter with some female bandits that help him called the Istrani Wolves. What kept me reading the book was that there was constant action and an interesting plot. I guessed part of the ending but some of it I don’t think would happen. The book made me laugh a lot, and in the ending it was sad. My favorite line from the book is at the very end and it sums up the series of books, “Orphans of the seas, bound through the years to only the Lord knows where. Waiting for the angel’s command.” I think that the author wrote this book because he likes pirates and pirate stories and maybe he had a dog that he could sometimes know what he was thinking. I don’t know what actors I would choose to be in it if it was a movie, but I do know that Ned would need to be a black lab. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read fantasies, or books about pirates, or even people who like dogs.

5 stars! Absolutely wonderful. I bought this at a thrift store for my teenage son, but he hasn't read it yet. Full of pirates, adventure, an Angel's curse, traveling troubadours, and young love - this book has it ALL!! Highly recommend for any age!

In this book, Ben and Ned get taken to be slaves on some ship, and they make some clever traps to free everyone on board. I haven't read this for a long time, so that's all I can remember. I need to re-read this book.

Chronologically, the events in Brian Jacques's Castaways of the Flying Dutchman trilogy don't follow the books' order of publication. Most of book one is set in 1896 Europe, almost three hundred years after thirteen-year-old Ben and his black Labrador Ned were cast off the ship called the Fleiger Hollander. The ship's captain, Philip Vanderdecken, endured much worse: because of his blasphemy, God's angel cursed him to sail the high seas eternally as a ghost, who became known in folklore as the "Flying Dutchman." Book two of the series, The Angel's Command, takes place in 1628, less than a decade after Ben parted ways with Vanderdecken. Now we're at the trilogy's finale, Voyage of Slaves. Set in approximately 1703 on and around the Mediterranean Sea, the story follows Ben and Ned on an adventure that pits pirates against performers, and goodhearted voyagers against men driven by greed and bitterness. Though the boy and his dog were spared most of Captain Vanderdecken's curse, they are compelled by the angel to wander forever, never aging, fated to eventually lose every friend they meet. What new adventure will they find at the dawn of the eighteenth century in the Middle East?

"It is not wise to be seen out in the open by hawks, if you are a dove."

—Eli Bar Shimon, Voyage of Slaves, P. 162

Captured by slave traders, Ben is sold to the notorious Al Misurata, pirate owner of a ship called the Sea Djinn. The last Ben saw of Ned, the Labrador had been thrown overboard into the choppy waters of the Mediterranean, presumed dead, but the angel has taken care of him. Otto Kassel, a German strongman entertainer, finds the unconscious canine washed up on shore and carries him back to where the rest of the Travelling Rizzoli Troupe is camped. Otto and the troupe—consisting of owners Augusto and Rosa Rizzoli, along with two young ladies from Mozambique named La Lindi and Serafina, and a pair of clowns named Buffo and Mummo—are unable to communicate telepathically with Ned as Ben does, but they like the good-natured dog right away, and adopt him as a traveling companion. Meanwhile, Al Misurata confines Ben in darkness for days with minimal food, attempting to break his defiant spirit. The Barbary pirate tolerates no disrespect; Ben will humbly serve him, or die a torturous death. Assured by the angel in a dream that Ned is alive, Ben hopes to find him, but escape seems a bleak prospect.

It's a matter of time before the Rizzoli Troupe and Al Misurata's crew meet, leading to a joyful reunion for boy and dog. The Rizzolis are glad to meet Ben, but none fancies him more than Serafina, whose stunning beauty, lovely singing voice, and kind, curious disposition give Ben plenty of reason to like her in return. It appears obvious to the troupe that the friendship could blossom into more, but Ben knows a wife and family isn't in his future; sooner or later the angel always commands him to move on, and he is obligated to obey. At the moment, however, there's a more pressing concern: Al Misurata is impressed by the Rizzoli Troupe's show, and makes secret plans to sell them as slaves. When they see a glimmer of a chance to get away, Ben, Ned, and the Rizzolis take it, fleeing Al Misurata with the knowledge that their lives are at stake. The Barbary pirate gives chase obsessively, knowing that for a kid like Ben to defy him would crush his reputation as the most feared blackguard on the Mediterranean. Our heroes have no intention of letting this evil man catch them, but defeating him won't be easy; liberty will come at devastating cost to Ben and the Rizzolis.

As in the first two novels, Ben meets a varied cast of characters throughout Voyage of Slaves. There's Eli Bar Shimon of Ascalon, an intrepid warrior merchant; Kostas Krimboti, the gold-toothed treasure hunter; and Janos Cabar, a whip-wielding woman who runs a gang of freedom fighters called the Istrani Wolves. Ben repeatedly ends up in the company of heroes who lend personality and pizazz to his eternal sentence as a globetrotting vagabond. The curse is ever-present, a sobering reminder that no matter what happiness Ben and Ned attain, it can never be theirs for long. The guarantee of eternal life on earth does hamper some of the story's suspense elements; if Ben and Ned can't die, what's the worst that can happen when enemies try to kill them? Regardless, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman is a decent series, if not nearly as powerful as the author's Redwall saga, and I might rate Voyage of Slaves two and a half stars. It's the second-best book of the trilogy; The Angel's Command is best, and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman is a distant third. If you love a good junior sea yarn, I recommend Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island or Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle before this series, but you'll have some fun with the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman. Brian Jacques's novels always have vim and vigor to spare.

I've always loved Brian Jacques' storytelling skills, but I kind of hate how formulaic his stories are (see the Redwall series). The man literally never deviates from his "good-is-good and evil-is-evil" characterizations, and it'd be infinitely more interesting if he was willing to blur the line a lot more. But I digress. While the first two books of this series were very imaginative (it's fun to see him tackle human characters for a change and explore Ben and Ned's 'immortal damnation;), the fact that the two protagonists are "practically perfect in every way" really irritated me. Oh, and the countless reference to Ben's "mysterious, clouded, unfathomable grey-blue eyes"? They never go away. I had a checklist with me this time and I managed to get around 11 references. So just in case the reader forgets, Ben's eyes are BLUE. Not green, brown, or orange: blue.

In this book I love the complexity given to Ben's new love interest (a beautiful African girl) and the story that unfolded around them. It also didn't hurt that Ben and Ned are separated for the majority of the first half of the book and Ben gets slapped around quite a bit by his handlers (I'm kinda evil...I enjoyed that). Jacques is brilliant as usual, and I can't wait to see the next installment in this series.

Heavy like a Chevy.

Not my favorite in the series but it started to address some of the more fundamental issues with eternal life and relationships. Strong ending.

Third in series. Possibly the saddest of the three Dutchman novels and the most violent. The boy and his dog continue their Angel's mission to travel the world and help others.
Another one to listen to on audio.

I wish I had more positive things to say about this book.

I've been a long-time fan of Jacques' Redwall series, so I picked this book up without realizing it was the third of a series. It does explain what happened previously to the characters, so I did not feel out of the loop. However, the writing was very weak.

The main issue was the characters. Jacques creates colourful characters who are fun and interesting, and he excels at writing witty, lighthearted dialogue. Unfortunately, aside from that, his characterization was weak. The characters are fairly one-dimensional, and a lot of them tend to sound so similar that their dialogue is nearly interchangeable.

Things come a bit too easily to Ben and Ned at times. Most of their plans go off without a hitch. They make friends quickly and easily, and are always rewarded with free meals, lodging, and even money. The fact that they see the ghosts of the Flying Dutchman ship whenever danger is near is also ridiculously convenient. Hearing about how "mysterious" Ben and his grey eyes were all the time was quite repetitive.

I also need to complain about the love interest, Seraphina. The book won't shut up about the "black-skinned beauty" and how much Ben loves her, and it is painful. She has little to no personality, and I thus found her the least interesting member of the Rizzoli troupe. At the end of the book, I just could not care about her or what happened to her.

A minor nitpick is Jacques' portrayal of animals in terms of intelligence is widely inconsistent. Ned the dog is witty, smart, perceptive, and he might as well be human. Dogs and cats in this novel both seem pretty intelligent, yet horses and snakes seem like ordinary animals who can't communicate.

Lastly, the punctuation was abysmal. Whoever edited this does not know how commas or semicolons work, and it was frustrating.

Overall, I was incredibly disappointed by this book. I preferred the parts where Ben and Ned were separated from the Rizzoli troupe and meeting all of these fun characters, but even then so much time was spent with Ben and Seraphina angsting over missing one another. I would highly recommend Jacques' Redwall series as opposed to this - it was not worth the time.