Reviews

The Phantom Ship by Frederick Marryat

codeling's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A ghost tale, introducing the flying Dutchman; lots of interesting theological discussion; but also lots of shipman-lingo, old-timey speeches and long-winded descriptions of ships going somewhere (and getting wrecked, more often than not). If ships back then really shipwrecked that often it's truly a wonder why anybody would chose to go to sea.

As for the story often things are a bit unclear or feel off; why Phillip for example does not investigate first where his father went- there must be records of it at the company? Similar for the demonic figure Schriften - couldn't he check his employment status with the company? Doing research just wasn't a thing back then? Also, Philip gathers seafaring experience very quickly, from one or two voyages, while one of the other captains he encounters seems to have none at all? So he's just the superman protagonist who's very good at learning, or whatever... The ending also feels a bit rushed, with an additional werewolf story mixed in, quite unexpectedly (and also not really fitting well - just there to somehow "justify" Krantz'es quick death?).

paul_cornelius's review against another edition

5.0

A ghost ship, a nuatical adventure, a tale of a werewolf, all against the background of a grand theological discourse. Each element is present in Frederick Marryat's pioneering sea tale that is among the first literary works to make use of the legend of the Flying Dutchman in its pages. No wonder Joseph Conrad was impressed and influenced by Marryat. Like Conrad, Marryat does much more than tell a simple tale of the ocean and the men in ships that ply its waves. He leaves the readaer with a melancholy story that bespeaks of vengeance, love, greed, and, finally, redemption through forgiveness. Quite a work. Along with Conrad, Melville also found it influential.

The novel is an epic one. It crosses through two lifetimes and looks back on a world even older than that. It spans the entire globe in its setting. And best of all, for an adventure novel, it gives a psychological dimension to its developing characters, Phillip Vanderdecken, his wife, Amine, Krantz, the mate, and Schriften, the demonic representative of all that causes pain and sorrow. There is something of a medieval morality play in it as well. For something penned in the first half of the nineteenth century, The Phantom Ship still has the power to teach and pull in the reader of the this century--if they are willing to listen.

allylund9's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Found this lying in my dads library- and it really wasn’t what I expected it to be. There isn’t much in the story dedicated to the actual ghost ship, sadly. If it had I probably would’ve liked it more. 

Wouldn’t recommend reading it for the sole fact that it has aged terribly in a lot of ways- perhaps especially in its racist views.

emmilouise's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5