Castaways Of The Flying Dutchman (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
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.
tAfter reading 22 excellent Redwall novels, I wondered why I have never tried Jacques' Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series. The books sounded interesting enough and different enough from the Redwall ones to get my curiosity up. Sadly, however, I found the book as a whole a bit of a disappointment after all those fun Redwall novels. It is not exactly bad, and the first third of the story is fantastic and got my hopes up. The rest was a massive let down for me though. Of all the neat and interesting things that the boy and his faithful dog (Neb & Den or Ben & Ned) could have been a part of (wars, the forming of the United States, great catastrophes and such) they end up having to save a boring little village from being destroyed because it is built on a large amount of limestone which is wanted to further "progress" which means the erecting of buildings, forming of roads, and further human expansion. Sure the book takes place in the early 1600s and then in the late 1800s and the historical aspects of the story are interesting, but the village section just dragged on and on, plagued with hardly any action, a dull conflict too similar to Hiaasen's Hoot, and riddle and puzzle solving similar to the Redwall books. Even the simple folk's reaction to some of the riddles was expected and annoying. "Well, what do you make of that?" I don't know but I'm sure you will figure it out and save the town in the end. I really want to move on to the Angel's Command, the next book in the series, because my hopes are still high. I see so much potential in this story and I hope that the sequels can do a better job of taking full advantage of the possibilities provided by the character's abilities and destinies.
What do You think about Castaways Of The Flying Dutchman (2003)?
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.
—Elizabeth
This was a funny and completely unbelievable story but I don't sat that in a bad way. Yet it is true that I just can't imagine someone living forever at the same age. The story is funny though and quite like other Books by Brian Jacques. Mainly because of the young characters and them going from clue to clue to save something or other. I would recommend this for any age but age 5-15 will probably enjoy it the most. Younger people would find it easier to believe more things in it and after all the hero is a young boy ad his dog.
—Clare Farrelly
Actually this is one of the most disappointing book I ever read.The title firstly promising me about adventure! Flying Dutchman! the legendary pirates!!But the scurvy pirates presence is perhaps not more on the first 15 pages (okay, it's more than that actually, but it still a teensy bit of it).I disappointed. badly.The story also dull as hell (perhaps much because my disappointment), and the storyline is highly predictable. The characters personae (and fate) also too good to be true.But there's
—Lee
