Reviews - Die Gestrandeten / Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

82 reviews for:

Die Gestrandeten / Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

I ended about halfway through this book just because the Biblical/Christian messages are literally shoved down the reader's throat - it was too much. I thought the plot was super cool - how this boy and his intellectual dog are immortal after a brutal storm on the Flying Dutchman and they spend eternity around the world helping people. Like, that's super cool!! But, this boy and his dog constantly mention how wholesome they are for the Lord and how grateful they are for God - the religious messages get extremely biased when they travel into this small village where everyone (except the antagonists w o w) are proud Christians and they have to let the world know 24/7. Sorry if this review sounds offensive, but when any religion (especially any form of Christianity) is constantly mentioned to the point where the media is pretty much saying "if you're not Christian, then you're a bad person," then I can't stand it! Besides, you could replace the overuse of Christianity in this book with anything and it would still be annoying...
Nevertheless, I did love how the author wrote dialogue like the stuttering librarian was actually stuttering and when the dog was learning how to speak, he was actually barking in his dialogue. As a writer who does the same thing, I really like that stylistic dialogue choice!

dwheeler88's review against another edition

4.0

This is really more like two separate short stories in one. The first was sad and real. The second felt just like the first red wall book where Mathias sets out to find Martin's armor. Jacques even uses accents like he does with the rats and such. Could very well have been a redwall book! A fast and fun 2nd half.

obscurefangirl's review against another edition

5.0

I read this when I was in middle school, I'm going to have to read it again, because its so fuzzy in my mind, but I do remember that it was fantastic.

elusivesue's review against another edition

4.0

This book is not part of the Redwall series, but I enjoyed it. The main characters, a boy and his black labrador retriever, were on the Flying Dutchman as it sank, but being innocents, were spared the fate of the ghost ship, and instead travel magically through time to help avert injustice. They are given some special skills, including a telepathic link between themselves (which lends a lot to knowing what they are thinking and helping the story along.)

ladulcinella's review against another edition

3.0

Read it for A challenge. Enjoyed it, but would never pick it myself. So out of the comfort zone.Nice book. An easy read too. But not something special.

forsidious's review against another edition

3.5

mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This book is a childhood favorite of mine so I'm probably rating it higher than it really deserves. The first third of the book is a blast (and frankly the only part I actually remembered from reading it as a kid). You have a mute boy who got caught on a pirate ship and becomes the cabin boy. He smuggles a dog on board and ends up stuck at sea as the captain tries an impossible feat. During a storm, the captain curses god and for some reason god takes offense to this and an angel comes to curse them but saves the boy and dog (and magically allows them to communicate to each other and the boy can talk now for reasons). The boy is found by a shepherd

who ends up dying

then the boy leaves and we skip ahead 200 years for a completely different book that no one asked for about a town that's going to be sold unless this old lady can prove her husband owned the town by solving a series of riddles (cause that's how people hide their deeds) Where are my pirates!?

The plot with the flying dutchman is completely dropped for a Christian story about a boy who can't die who sometimes has dreams or visions about the dutchman that amount to literally nothing. It feels like the author wanted to write a pirate book but then got converted to Christianity and didn't want to throw out his frankly great start to a pirate story so just reworked it. Honestly, read the first section as a short story then stop reading and it's 5 stars. The rest isn't worth reading, but childhood me liked it so giving it 3.5 for nostalgia and the start. 2 stars otherwise for false advertising (if advertised as not a pirate story, 3 stars).