FernFolio

Tom Tin and his four teenaged companions find themselves in desperate straits; aboard a stripped down, lumbering hulk of a steamboat lost on the ocean in the southern hemisphere, half a world away from England, and rapidly running out of water, food and fuel to run the steam engine.  It seems they have escaped from an island inhabited by cannibals only to die of dehydration at sea.
When a great three-masted sailing ship appears on the horizon, Tom is at first filled with relief but, when he describes the approaching vessel to Measley, his blind and yet oddly insightful friend seems convinced that this ship is, in fact, the famous Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship whose captain is doomed to sail the seas for all time plucking shipwrecked sailors from the ocean.  Tom, Measley, Weedle, Penny and Boggis climb aboard to find that they seem to be alone on the ship.  Alone, save for the ghostly groans of its phantom crew.
The boys take shelter on the ship’s deck, too repelled by the stink of rotting fruit and by the accompanying clouds of fruit flies to explore the rest of the vessel.  True to Measley’s dark predictions, they find themselves unable to turn the ship from its southern course and soon find themselves in the iceberg filled waters off Antarctica.  It is there that the ship comes upon two men standing back to back upon an ice floe, fighting off vicious fish that are throwing themselves out of the water at the pair.
As soon as they come aboard the men, who identify themselves as Mr. Beezley and Mr. Moyle, take charge of the ship and set the boys to work unfouling the rigging as they prepare to lay a course for America where, rumours have it, gold has been found.  But it soon becomes obvious that Beezley and Moyle’s plans for becoming wealthy do not include the five boys, and that they know far more about the ship, and its cargo, than they have been letting on.
The third of a trilogy that includes The Convicts, and The Cannibals, The Castaways is a breathtaking adventure full of excitement and danger.  Lawrence’s deft descriptions bring the sea and the great sailing ship to life; the plot will have you wanting to read ahead, just to find out how it all ends!
FernFolio Editor