This is an iconic book and I read it over and over again when I was younger, so this certainly counted as a nostalgic read for me! I was able to view it with fresh eyes and overall, I did generally like what I read, although it's hardly a slam-dunk, knocked-it-out-of-the-park work of literature. It's certainly Jacques through and through--his voice is unique and very easy to pick up on from the Redwall series. His dialogue is on point, even though he really only knows how to write it in one specific style. His character descriptions are alright, if a bit repetitive; although I was amused to see how "animalistic" they were (characters described as "weaselly" or "catlike")--again, perhaps a nod to his more famous works in Redwall. I'd classify this series as squarely MG for its relatively simple characterization and plot, as well as for its shorter length. Feels a bit overdramatic in some places, a bit melancholy in others. Perhaps a bit underwhelming on the whole, which lines up perfectly with my former opinions on this series--there are just too many tropes that I'm not a huge fan of. To my recollection, however, the next book in the series was my favorite, so I'll just keep plugging along and see what difference a revisit might make in my opinion there as well.

What a delightful story.... Brian Jacques is a wonderful storyteller!

This was one of my favorite books after reading Jacques' Redwall series as a kid and, to my surprise, I enjoyed it just as much 20 years later - if not, more! The story is built upon simplistic ideas of adventure, friendship, and treasure-hunting (things I loved as a kid).

However, reading this as an adult brought more bittersweet elements to the surface. As a child you haven't yet experienced the pains of life and maybe that is why I missed some of those deeper themes back then.

Reading this as an adult made me more aware to those pains - primarily the pain of leaving friends behind no matter how much you want it to last forever. Unfortunately, that is an important part of living. It reminds me of the quote, "One day you and your friends went out to play for the last time, only none of you knew it."

This book aged like a fine wine that I hope to rediscover again years from now.

"All you need for real happiness is the sun on your face and a friend by your side."

I really, really, really enjoyed this book.

This book is setup into three parts: The Ship, The Shephard & The Village

I have to admit, for most of the first part, I was constantly asking myself what the heck I was reading! I started to grow fond of the two main characters during the second section...and then the treasure hunt in section three sucked me in.

This would be a great novel for young people to read, boys especially! It's adventurous, intriguing and above all it has a wonderful message about good people being rewarded for their willingness to help others.

So as I began reading this book, I thought, "Yes! Finally! No more mushy, unrealistic stories! He's mute! He suffers and endures hardship! Death! Yay!" Then they get to shore. Ok he can talk now. He and his dog have some weird Firestorm from DC comics thing going on. The old guy dies, and now they can go off into the world doing all the things we would do if we could live forever! Spend decades learning martial arts in the mountains! Become a doctor only because you have spare time! Become a historian and write down what's happening then publish it in a 1000 years! Right?! Nope. He's going to go to boring towns and save them like an episode of Highway to Heaven. You'd also think that around your 200th birthday, you'd stop acting like a kid. Yes, he's more mature than the average kid, blah blah blah, but so am I and I'm not 200! Also, why did the angel have him look 14? That is such an awkward age to be stuck at forever! Why couldn't he age a year every decade then stop at 25, or something like that? Then, he could do anything.

About two thirds through the book got really boring. I was juggling the dialogues of all these other characters I didn't even know or care about, and they went around solving this mystery that didn't change the book's universe in any way or matter to me. Even if he had to include the boring town and characters and treasure hunt, have the outcome have something to do with the Flying Dutchman or SOMETHING! Oh, we saved the town. Yay. So dumb. This book had a lot of potential. He could have gone to multiple different towns, traveled the world, or done something interesting. As long as it had something to do with the Flying Dutchman! It's called Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, not Michael Landon the Time Lord and Wilfred Go to Chapelvale. There's so much more to complain about, but I have to stop somewhere. I give it 2 stars only because of the chapters that actually took place on the ship and the books potential.

i feel like comparing this book to redwall is kind of pointless because theyre very different books, but the writing in general was weaker in this one. i didn't get much farther than once they got off the flying dutchman, cause it just didn't really keep my attention.

I love this series. I read the second book when I was a child, and never knew it was part of a series until recently. With pirates and sailors, angels, legends, and a divine mission, this book is filled with adventure, friends, and mystery.

My favorite book as a kid, one of the best.

Around the Globe in 52 Books (11/52)
[Prompt: A Book with a Boat]
[Book Club Nomination]

An incredibly charming and adventurous book, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman follows a young boy and his dog as they essentially act as angels to help people in dire need. It is full of charm, some great humor, fantastically written characters, and overall, has a meloncholic ending to it that just makes it beautifully memorable.

Its been a year since I read Redwall for the first time (unfortunately I missed out on it in my childhood), I was immediately reminded of why I love the way Brian Jacques writes within just the few two chapters of this book. He has such a way with characters and action, that really keeps the pace going, but also, really makes for animated storytelling. His characters literally leap from the page. And he's able to write so many of them in one scene, without you losing track of who's who, because they all have their own distinctive voice. I know Jacques originally started writing stories after reading at a children's hospital, and his books have that very distinctive style of being a campfire storyteller, basically being animated, energetic, and charming. It really shows in his stories and characters.

This book also feels very wholesome, with a very wholesome adventure that spans most of the book as the the duo of Neb and Ben attempt to help a small town called Chapel Vale. Its also wholesome particularly in the relationship between Neb and Ben, the boy and the dog. Its such a great companionship, and both really serve as the protagonist very well. I loved their banter, particularly Ben's Observations of the world and those around him, and I loved how they worked as a team. Jacques also does a great job of having very strong moral characters and lessons through his book. They never feel preachy, but they are there. In Redwall (The first book at least), it teaches the importance of being courageous in spite of overwhelming odds, and the importance of teamwork. Here, in Castaways, Jacques highlights the importance of wisdom and wit, as well as the importance of kindness to others. Neb is a boy afterall, and while he can handle other boys his age, there are certain dangers that are too dangerous or too perilous for a young boy to handle. Yet in those instances, its his wit that comes through.

The theme for this book club nomination (all laid out by my good friend Armando) was 'Books published between 1985 - 2005 that haven't been made into a tv/streaming series yet.' And I could absolutely see this book being made into a tv series. Whether animated or live action, aimed primarily at kids or just family in general, I think this would be a series that could do very well.

Overall, this was a very wholesome adventure filled with some great perils and just fantastically charming, witty, and funny characters to boot. It was a pleasure to read another work by Brian Jacques, and I'm looking forward to diving back into the Redwall series or just reading more of his additional works.

It was so frustrating to know that only 65 pages of the book is about pirates!
The remains pages are just about a city who might become a place for a industry (or not).
Sorry for the spoilers, but when you buy a book with a cover remembering something of piracy, and the summary is about pirates, you get very frustrated when the rest of the book is NOT ABOUT PIRATES ANYMORE!

This book is wonderful!!
The plot is thick and well written and the story is very witty and cleaver.
You know it's a good book when you cry. ;-)

Brian Jacques really should have stuck to anthropomorphic animals. This book is just weird.