Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

I loved it! Surprisingly, Ben didn't actually spend much time on the Flying Dutchman. And the captain was not Davy Jones like in the Pirates of the Caribbean, he was Vanderdecken, who I have never heard of. Brian Jacques is a great, descriptive writer. If you like riddles, animals, ships or sweet old ladies, this book is for you. And it was kind of religious... I wasn't expecting that. But again, I loved it.

This was a reread of a book that had been a favourite when I was younger. While it hasn't held up quite as well as the Redwall books have, it was still a delight to plunge back into the story. The strongest parts of Castaways of the Flying Dutchman are definitely the earlier parts that are set on the ship itself (which is not as much of the book as you might expect), and the research is evident without being overbearing. The characters at this part of the book - with the exception of Ben and Ned - are the richest in the whole book, as those later on do not feel quite as well-rounded, and I love the grittiness of the start. That said, the rest of the book is not bad, as Jacques has an eye for a detail and a talent for storytelling, but it just pales a little in comparison to that first part.

A note on the audiobook - I'm discovering that I particularly enjoy audiobooks that use a cast rather than a single narrator, and this was an excellent example of that and it really brought the characters and narrative to life.

This book averages out to three stars. I give five starts to the parts actually set on the Flying Dutchman. Brian Jacques' descriptions of shipboard life in the 1600s are both thrilling and terrifying. He's obviously done his research and the book's first few chapters made me want to rush out to the library and grab more books in a similar vein. (Patrick O'Brian's novels are much higher on my to-read list as a result of reading this book.)

I wish I could give five stars to the rest of the novel, too, but I'll have to stick with a mere 2 for the sections set in the rural, English town of Chapelvale. These sections were okay, but weren't nearly as good as the parts set on the ship itself. The Chapelvale characters were a bit one-dimensional and, after awhile, the book's sledge hammer moralizing (use. good. grammar! Read the Bi-ble. Bullying is bad.) just got old.

But The Flying Dutchman isn't a bad book. Jacques' keen ear for dialect is on display, here, and he demonstrates the same eye for detail (both in his descriptions of the physical setting and the personality quirks of his characters) that made the Redwall series great. Castaways of the Flying Dutchman would probably be perfect for younger readers already familiar with Jacques' previous novels.

Reread. ✨

Brian Jacques is renowned for his long-running Redwall series of books, but fifteen years after the first installment, he authored an unrelated trilogy, centered on the maritime legend of the Flying Dutchman. A story populated by humans rather than animals, set in our world rather than a fantasy realm, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman follows a mute boy and his dog who (mostly) escape the curse that befalls Captain Philip Vanderdecken and the tormented crew of his ship in the year 1620. The boy has had a rough life ever since his mother married a herring merchant named Bjornsen. The boy's mother died, leaving him vulnerable to Bjornsen's cruel whims until the boy stows away on the Fleiger Hollander, a commercial ship better known as the Flying Dutchman. The boy, given the name "Neb" by the crew, apprentices under the ship's cook, but no one other than Captain Vanderdecken treats him any better than Bjornsen did. Neb's only lucky break is finding a black Labrador dog at a port in Denmark, and Neb smuggles the starving animal onto the Flying Dutchman so he'll have a bit of companionship. Relations between Vanderdecken and his crew perpetually verge on mutiny, but the captain trusts Neb, putting the boy in a bad position with the sailors. Can this voyage possibly end well?

Intrepid as Vanderdecken and his men are, the Flying Dutchman is no match for the raging seas off Cape Horn. Vanderdecken repeatedly tries to navigate them, nearly destroying his ship, but when he dares profane God's name, his doom is sealed. Neb and his Labrador, Den, don't avoid the curse entirely, but the avenging angel spares them the dark side of doing penance. Neb and Den will live forever, but not to roam the oceans aimlessly. Their task is to do good on earth, obeying the angel whenever he tells them to move on. Neb's muteness is healed, and the boy and dog can now communicate with each other telepathically, strengthening their already close friendship. Eternity is a long time to live as a thirteen-year-old boy, never aging, but can Neb make the most of it?

After being mentored by a wise shepherd named Luis on the coast of Tierra del Fuego, Neb and Den wander for a few centuries before finding their way to England in 1896. The angel leads them to the village of Chapelvale, where Ben and Ned—as the boy and his Labrador are now called—are accepted with open arms by people offering something the two vagabonds have rarely felt: affection. Chapelvale's rich history goes back centuries, but a land developer named Obadiah Smithers plans to uproot the village's families and corporatize the area. Winifred Winn, the widow of heroic Captain Rodney Winn, has a claim to much of Chapelvale's land, but lacks the documents to prove it and halt Smithers's encroachment. She graciously provides Ben and Ned a place to stay, and Ben makes friends with a girl his age named Amy and her younger brother Alex, who wish they could protect Chapelvale from Smithers. After finding a clue that teases the possibility of proving Mrs. Winn's ownership of the land, Ben and his new friends embark on a quest to solve the mystery before Chapelvale as they know it is gone. The time will come when the angel requires Ben and Ned to move on, but for now they'll cherish their stay with the people of Chapelvale. Perhaps eternity needn't feel so long if you're surrounded by friends.

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman doesn't measure up to the best Redwall novels. Their exquisitely detailed plots, language, and characterization are almost unique in juvenile literature, true works of art. Castaways of the Flying Dutchman is more cliché and less emotional, but there are parts worth mentioning. One is a piece of advice from Captain Vanderdecken to Neb about managing a ship of aggressive men. "(S)hould the voyage prove risky and the returns valuable, it is wise to sign up your crew from all nations. That way they lack any common bond. A disunited crew is the easiest one to control." A sure way to keep people divided is to discourage a common social fabric, and instead sow resentment so they won't join forces against the real enemy. Crazy as Vanderdecken is, he understands human nature and how to manipulate it. Castaways of the Flying Dutchman isn't one of the author's better books, but the ending is good enough that I'd rate it at least one and a half stars and might consider the full two. What will happen in the next leg of the trilogy? I look forward to finding out.

What a find! I expect to be teaching in a middle school classroom next year and have been searching for books to keep in a 'classroom library'. Totally by coincidence I found this book on a 'leave one take one' shelf and picked it up. While in the middle of reading it, I reached into the bag of audiobooks I keep in the car (I pick them up for $2 at my library when they are taken out of circulation) and grabbed Rakkety Tam, of the Redwall series by Mr. Jacques. As much as I enjoyed Castaways, I was totally enchanted by the characters of Redwall and now have a new author to keep an eye out for.... and I do hope there are more stories in the Flying Dutchman series.

I have read this book a few times, but not recently.
I think it's completely delightful and a fun read. When I first read it I liked the boy and his dog angle, that they could actually communicate with each other in a way other people couldn't hear. I think if I read it now I'd read it differently, but I don't think I'd like it less.
It seems a little bit random almost, from the beginning "how they got this way" part, and then going to the "this is the main story" part, but I still enjoyed it.
I think there are two more books that go with this (? or at least one ...) I have never read them, but I would like to :)

-M

Extremely boring, does absolutely nothing with the concept and despite the protagonist being immortal he doesn't change in way across the entire series. Overall very shity book, would suggest ignore if you see it in a bookstore. I've only read the entire series because it was offered to me