Voyage of Slaves: A Tale From The Castaways of The Flying Dutchman
Grade 5-8–Having escaped from theFlying Dutchmanand 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 theFlying 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, AZCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.