Voyage of Slaves: A Tale From Castaways of the Flying Dutchman [Hardcover]

Brian Jacques (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

Adrift in the Mediterranean Sea, Ben falls captive to a band of slave traders and their leader Al Misurata. With his faithful dog Ned at his side, Ben must plot escape as the ship of scoundrels sails up the Libyan coastline toward Italy, where a trap awaits. Ruthless enemies and hard times appear around every bend, but Ben and Ned have quick wits to rely on and, just as important, one another.

Fans of the New York Times bestselling Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series will only want more after this latest installment – a rousing yarn that’s full of high-seas adventure!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–Having escaped from the Flying Dutchman and its odious Captain Vanderdecken, Ben and his dog, Ned, are cursed to wander the Earth for eternity, never growing older. In this third account of their adventures, the castaways are again shipwrecked and separated. Ben is captured by the slave trader Al Misurata, while Ned is rescued by a company of itinerant entertainers. The two are reunited when the entertainers, the Rizzoli Troupe, are forced to perform for the trader, and all of them end up on Al Misurata's ship to be sold as slaves. Ned speaks to Ben telepathically, and since no one would expect a dog to understand human language, he overhears the villain's plans. This is just the beginning of the swashbuckling adventure as Ben and his black Labrador attempt to escape the ship and to rescue the Rizzoli Troupe, while, at the same time, avoiding recapture by the ghostly sailors of the Flying Dutchman. Numerous footnotes translate various snatches of dialogue in German or Italian. This can be either helpful or annoying, depending on your way of looking at it. However, it is easy to just enjoy the compelling and readable adventure. This book is a good choice for any library in which Jacques's books in general and the Castaways stories in particular are popular.–Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The third book in Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series continues the adventures of Ben and the black labrador Ned. Guided by the angel who spared them the fate of the Flying Dutchman's crew, they find themselves once again being used in heaven's fight against evil. This time they escape from a barbaric pirate and slaver, who relentlessly pursues them. As in The Angel's Command (2003), coincidence and fortuitous accidents forward the plot; however, the harrowing action, leavened by humor, makes this yet another riveting tale. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (September 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399245499
• ISBN-13: 978-0399245497
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,181,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A well-known radio personality in his native Liverpool--as well as an actor, stand-up comic, and playwright--Brian Jacques (1939-2011) was the host of "Jakestown" on BBC Radio Merseyside. Ever the performer, Jacques was well-known for applying his acting and entertainment background to his lively presentations to legions of young fans at schools across the United States and England. Brian Jacques was born in Liverpool, England on June 15th, 1939. Along with forty percent of the population of Liverpool, his ancestral roots are in Ireland, County Cork to be exact. He grew up in the area around the Liverpool docks. His interest in adventure stories began at an early age with reading the books of: Daniel Defoe, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Thomas Malory, Robert Michael Ballantyne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Kenneth Grahame. He attended St. John's School, an inner city school that had its playground on the roof. On his first day at St. John's, at the age of ten, he had an experience that marked his potential as a writer. When given an assignment of writing a story about animals, he wrote about the bird that cleaned a crocodile's teeth. The teacher could not, and would not, believe that a ten year old could write that well. When young Brian refused to falsely say that he had copied the story, he was caned as "a liar". He had always loved to write, but it was only then, that he realized that he had a talent for writing. "My favourite teacher was Mr. Austin Thomas. He looked like Lee Marvin. Big Man. A Captain in World War II. He came to school on a big bush bike with the haversack on back. He was a man's man. Always fair. I was fourteen at the time when Mr. Thomas introduced the class to poetry and Greek literature. (Because of him, I saved seven shillings and sixpence to buy The Iliad and The Odyssey at this dusty used book shop.)" This interest in poetry extended to Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Goldsmith. It was also at St. John's that Brian met a teacher, Alan Durband (who also taught two Beatles, Paul McCartney and George Harrison), who, more than thirty years later would bring about a major change in his life. After Brian finished school at fifteen, he set out to find adventure as a merchant seaman. He travelled to many far away ports, including New York, Valparaiso, San Francisco, and Yokohama. Tiring of the lonely life of a sailor, he returned to Liverpool where he worked as a railway fireman, a longshoreman, a long-distance truck driver, a bus driver, a boxer, a bobby (Police Constable 216D), a postmaster, and a stand-up comic. Jacques passed away in February of 2011 at the age of 71.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best book of the three so far, October 31, 2006

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voyage of Slaves: A Tale From Castaways of the Flying Dutchman (Hardcover)

At last, a pretty good book by Brian Jacques on his series, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman. I found this book to be pretty entertaining and fun to read although there's a pattern developing here that began to look pretty redundent. In this book, our eternal young Ben and his dog, Ned got themselves captured by Barbary pirates and spent most of the book trying to get away from them and at the same time, trying to save his new found friends who he would have to abandoned anyway. The book have Ben and Ned virtually being passed on from one benefactor after another as they are led to safety and toward danger at the same time. Ben also learned a new aspect of this angelic curse when he realized that a love of a girl will be one thing he would never have for long since he have to keep on moving by angel's command. Since the story take place a lot on the sea, the curse of the Flying Dutchman and her crew remains always in the distance as they continued to haunt Ben and Ned.

As always, the ceaseless banters between Ben and Ned keep the story flowing and the book is well written enough that almost anyone of any age could enjoy it with ease.

One question I have is, if Ben looked like a 14 years old blond boy but have a life span of hundred generations, will he still act like a boy with such experiences and wisdom built into him?? You might think that by his 200th or 250th year of life, Ben might behaved more like an aged, overmatured wise man who look like a 14 years old blond boy!!

Anyway, any fan of this series should enjoy this book and considering the improvement over the previous two books, fans of the series won't be disappointed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Entertaining Read, August 3, 2007

By 

J - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voyage of Slaves: A Tale From Castaways of the Flying Dutchman (Hardcover)

I've read the other two in the series and I finally got my hands on this.

I'll keep this short.

Ben and Ned are back and for a whole lot more adventures. The story drew me in and had me turning pages. I finished the book in one day. If you loved, or even liked, the other books in the series, then this book will not disappoint.

5.0 out of 5 stars girls will enjoy the story, February 19, 2007

By 

Reader Views "Reviews, by readers, for readers" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voyage of Slaves: A Tale From Castaways of the Flying Dutchman (Hardcover)

Reviewed by Kim Peterson for Reader Views (1/07)

Ben and his dog, Ned, survived the destruction of the Flying Dutchman years ago. Spared the doom of the ill-fated crew, these castaways were still affected by the avenging angel's curse--they live forever without growing a day older. Constantly on the move so no one detects their ageless nature, they roam the earth together. Due to the angel's benevolence, Ben and Ned can communicate with each other through thoughts.

In "Voyage of Slaves"--the third book of the series--Ben and Ned are adrift in the Mediterranean Sea when they are accosted by pirates. The cruel men toss the black Labrador into the ocean and take Ben to Al Misurata, a slave trader feared along the Barbary Coast. He keeps Ben for his knowledge of languages.

Meanwhile a traveling troupe of performers finds Ned and nurses him back to health. They make him a part of their traveling show. When Al Misurata drafts them to entertain, Ben and Ned are reunited. But their happiness is short-lived. Al Misurata takes them all to sea, and they soon realize that the Rizzoli troupe have been tricked and will be sold as slaves.

Ben wants to save his new friends, especially the beautiful girl, Serafina. But Al Misurata and his ruffians remain determined to succeed. The rest of the story ranges from seafaring adventures to perils on land where Ben and Ned encounter benefactors and villains. They must use their wits to survive and pray for good fortune as they try to outsmart their adversary and free the entertainers from a horrible fate.

"Voyage of Slaves" provides rough and tumble adventure for young adult males, though girls will enjoy the story, too. Set in the early 1700s, Jacques brings the nautical past to life with its harshness, dangers and glories. The bond between Ben and Ned resounds with poignancy and humor and will be appreciated by anyone who ever wished they could communicate with their four-legged childhood friend.

In "Voyage of Slaves," Jacques's cast of characters who befriend Ben and Ned is well-developed and diverse. The antagonists are intriguing and evil, yet believable. The author provides a compelling yarn where good triumphs over evil. Young adult "Redwall" fans will want to read this series, too.

Book received free of charge