It is 1738 and 11-year-old Tobias Crane is about to start a new life as a ship’s lad on board the Merry Maiden. His alcoholic father has indentured him to Captain Tremaine in exchange for a year’s wages, so he has no choice but to leave his home and family and go to sea, as his father did before him. But something happened to Ebenezer Crane that totally altered his life and career – something he won’t tell Tobias.
While Tobias quite enjoys his new hardworking life, dangers are ever present. Attacks by pirates are a constant threat and one ship in particular, Hades’ Damnation, is out for revenge. It is skippered by Captain Ryker, who holds a personal grudge against Bentley Tremaine. Also after revenge against the evil Ryker is the ghost ship Majestic Maria, called the Galleon of Time. Ryker’s ship sank the Majestic Maria even though it was skippered by his brother Lisbon. The crew were given the choice of joining Ryker or going down with the ship. Most chose to live, including Tobias’ father. The phantom ship with its ghost captain has also reappeared to complicate matters further.
How Tobias joins Lisbon’s ship, has exciting adventures on an island and helps right some dreadful wrongs makes for fast-paced reading. Life on board a galleon in the 18th century may not in reality have been quite so enjoyable, but the bad feelings between the brothers Lisbon, Ryker and Bentley drives the action.
The ending of The Quest for the Galleon of Time gives rise to expectations that the adventures are not over yet.
Reviewed by Lynne Babbage
Age Guide 9+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHORTanya Hunter’s love of adventure stories began as a child living in Nottingham, England, when she regularly explored the same countryside as the fabled Robin Hood.
A former primary school teacher, Tanya has been a police officer for nearly twenty-five years. She is also a proud ambassador for Multiple Sclerosis QLD and has a passion for disability advocacy.
