A delightful read & imaginative novel, Brian Jacques does not disappoint!

I was very disappointed with this book. My friend had told me about it and it sounded really cool so I got it. I'd never really been into Redwall (the very popular series by this author), but this book is very different than those, so I decided to give it a try, unfortunately it only served to remind me of all the reasons I had never finished a Redwall book.

The story is about a boy and his dog, two unfortunate beings unwillingly taken onto the Flying Dutchman(pre-curse). They are mistreated but remain strong and loyal to each other, and when the captain angers the gods and dooms the entire ship, the boy and his dog are spared because of their innocence. They get the good end of the deal and are immortal like the rest of the crew, but are allowed to leave the ship. Cool idea, right? Too bad it's about the only good thing about the book. The rest of the story is unoriginal and extremely predictable. The writing is mediocre, and the unnatural and forced dialogue makes me cringe. There was so much you could do with this idea, so many interesting stories could come from this young boy and dog who've been alive for hundreds of years, never aging, never able to stay in one place very long and never allowed to get attached to anyone. But the story is so predictable, so uninspired. The characters were flat and uninteresting, and I got attached to none of them, not even the two main characters. It's too bad that such a cool, original idea was so poorly executed.

I absolutely love this book! I once got grounded in eighth grade for getting in trouble at school , so my dad took away my TV he took away my PlayStation and he said you’re not going nowhere this weekend and I had this book in my backpack for about six months before that. I was never into reading so it sat. Since I had nothing to do, I picked up the book thinking I might as well read it. and I read the whole thing in two days and it was my favorite book for a long time this book got me into reading and I’ve loved books ever since ! but it all began with this one book, it had me lost in another world ! Very easy read

This is a great book! It’s a really good story and I really really enjoyed the whole series. I think one of my favorite parts might be how he bonded with his dog. I think it was nice that even after all they went through the dog still stuck with him.
Definitely recommend

This series is what started my love for stories about immortals.

I found this book to be disappointing. The author took a great and magical premise and wasted so much of what it had to offer. The book starts in 1620 with two immortal main characters and then the author skipped 200 years of high adventure only to park the majority of his story in a small English village for what became a sleuthing story without an of magic or adventure that I was expecting from a book about immortals. I also expected the Flying Dutchman to play a large roll in the book but no that ship was used only to unsuccessfully give the book an air of mystery. The premise had the potential to be great but the story did not even try to reach that potential.

This one got 5 stars for the cozy, feel-good vibes it gave me and Ned. That said, there were some problems, and it really overall was probably more of a 4 star based on expectations. I originally read the second book in this duology, not knowing it was part of a series. I think the second book was definitely more fitting to the theme. In this book, the Flying Dutchman really only plays a small part in the beginning, with Ben then having a few flashbacks throughout the rest of the story. There is a small portion after the ship before we jump ahead, and the main plot line begins. The bulk of the story has Ben and Ned in a small village that they need to help save. In order to do so, they have to follow clues to find what they need. Along the way, they stand up to bullies and make friends with villagers who band together to save their home. I like how there are different age ranges in the group and unique personalities. I am definitely not mad about the story we got, though I was expecting a story fully based on the Flying Dutchman going in. As such, the beginning did feel disconnected from the rest, but having already read the second book, I know that one focuses more on the nautical theme and Ben being haunted by the ship.

i might be biased since it’s a dear book from my childhood but i’m fine to give four starts for the general vibes, the kinda surprising displays of trauma symptoms in a (maybe?) children’s book, and warm, friendly characters rooting for each other. a feel good book despite very feel bad start.

Excellent book for teenagers, and older who like reading adventure books for kids.
Scary, in the good Brian Jacques way, not too safe, but reliable, in the good Brian Jacques way, nothing too traumatic happens, and everything is said in a way that makes one feel good about it.

This is a story of the adventures of Neb or Ben and his dog companion Denmark, or Ned.
Neb is a boy without a past. He is mute and was thrown into the sea, and then fished up by the cook of the Flying Dutchman, and named Nebuchadnezzar. Neb feeds a hungry young dog, barely more than a pup, and the youngsters stay together from that time.
The crew of the Flying Dutchman is horrible, and so during a storm, an angel is sent to punish them, and the Flying Dutchman is doomed. Neb and Den are innocent, so the angel rescues them, and gives them a gift - a speech - and a mission - to wander around the world to help victims of horrible people.
In this book, there are two adventures of the boy and the dog. The first one is more of a coming-of-age story, where he is healed from the Flying Dutchman experience. The second one is a mystery, where they are finding clues and treasures. Very nice. :-D
Reminds me of Tordyveln flyger i skymningen.

With apologies to Mr. Jacques ... this book was all over the place.

It started out well, though. The first part of this book--the Flying Dutchman part--was really great. It was actually quite terrifying, and life on board the ship was gripping and scary (and wet, and salty, and nausea-inducing).

But it's only the first quarter of the book. After Neb and Den fall overboard and wash ashore, Jacques really lost me. I wanted more than just two time-travel stories, 280 years apart. I was really hoping that he was going to have the two heroes (who make a really good team), bounce around in time, all over the world, and we'd see them every 50 years or so, doing something sweet and helpful for the downtrodden. They'd been granted immortality and wisdom by an Angel of the Lord, after all. They should have been all over the place doing good deeds (that's also what the book jacket implies).

Instead, we get two stories, and the second was much, much too long and frankly a little dull. I realize this is part one of a trilogy, so presumably there are lots more possibilities and stories to come. But as far as instalment #1 goes? I'm sorry, but I'd hoped for more.

I'm not going to read more of this series, but I AM going to read book one of the Redwall series (holy cow, 24 books? He published the last one right before he died?), which sounds terrific.

Only the beginning of the book really matched the title on the cover, and it was by far the most interesting part of the book. Jacques knows what he is writing about when he depicts the dangers of life at sea, and the vivid sensory language really allows the reader to become immersed in the thrill and terror of a ship in stormy waters. The novel take on the origins of the Flying Dutchman and her captain and crew is interesting at first when we are introduced to the cast of characters, but then it takes quite an anticlimactic turn. The ensuing story of the two titular castaways continues on the anticlimactic trend and essentially becomes a wholly different book than the first part. The Chapelvale section, while wholesome in a children’s storytelling way, drags on, and the voices of the characters is downright cringe in many places.

A boy on a ship in the year 1620 is saved from the curse out on the crew to live on that ship always in the storm for eternity. He will also never die, but he (and his faithful dog) are to live their lives through the centuries doing good and helping people. Kind of a Quantum Leap mixed with The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, except written for kids. This is the first book in the series and the majority of the story is in a little English village in 1896, where he helps a widow keep her property. He and some locals have to solve a kind of treasure hunt and unravel the clues they find so they can locate her deed and have proof of her ownership.