I shared a guest post from Jonne Kramer today and I wanted to share my review of this incredible book as well!
Ravian waits patiently for his fisherman father to get home to celebrate his 12th birthday. While his dad travels for most of the year, he always returns for his son’s birthday.
While washing dishes in the local pub, Ravi begins to piece together a tale that may explain his missing father. Determined to find him and bring him home, Ravi sets off for a quiet hamlet where a huge galleon is loading supplies for its onward journey.
This is the ill fated Night Raider, a pirate ship under a curse. Certain his father is being held captive, Ravain tries to board the ship. A young boy, Kars, tries to stop him but as soon as Ravian’s feet touch the ship, he is destined to live the rest of his life on board. Pirate Bank, Kars and now Ravian are cursed by the sea and they will face many trials and hardships as they travel on.
Ravian and Kars form a brilliant friendship and begin to look out for and help each other. Bank has his moments of clarity and others of anger but just when Ravian was beginning to lose hope, his seagull companion Marvin returns with a hopeful sign of his father.
A brilliant and exciting tale of facing your fears, finding friendship and making difficult decisions awaits the reader. A superb translation and with epic illustrations from Karl J Mountford.
So many events take place in this tale, from Ravian hearing his father’s song leading him onboard the cursed ship to Bank surprising them all with his quick actions to soaking giant jellyfish in rum to stop them sinking the ship.
I loved Ravian and his determination to find his father, even when it was clear he had lost the chance to ever step foot on land again. He was willing to sacrifice himself for his father. Bank is a superb pirate, spending much of his time lost in the bottle of rum and Kars is just enough of a son figure for Bank to make a difference.
Honestly, this is a wonderful story of keeping hope alive, facing fears that threaten to overwhelm you and being true to yourself! Superb storytelling!
My Shelves Are Full 