BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
(Print: ©10/06/2020; 978-1728206028; Sourcebooks Landmark; 480 pp.)
(Digital: Yes).
*Audio: ©4/24/2018; 978-1705268452; Hachette Audio; Duration 9:58:00; unabridged
(Film: No.)

Characters (not comprehensive)
Samuel Pipps - Prisoner
Arent Hayes – Prisoner’s protector
Govenor General Jan Haan
Sara Wessel – wife of General Haan
Lia Jan – daughter of General Haan
Creesjie Jens – mistress to General Haan
Marcus Jens – son of Creesjie
Osbert Jens – son of Cressjie

Series: No

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
This was one of the many I somewhat randomly picked from Goodreads best of 2020 nominations. I picked one from each genre, going with whichever of the genre was available in audio format. I’d hoped I might like a few books I would not have ordinarily read just based on my tastes. I think this is a good book for its genre, but that it’s no longer a genre that appeals to me. I suspect when I was younger, I would have liked this book, but I didn’t connect with it. I do love the dedication though! I hope she likes it when she can read it too. I strongly suspect she will.

AUTHOR:
Stuart Turton (1980). According to Wikipedia, “Turton was born and raised[2] in Widnes, England and educated at The University of Liverpool, where he received a BA (Hons) in English and Philosophy. After graduating, he spent a year working as a teacher in Shanghai,[3] before becoming a technology journalist in London. He moved to Dubai to become a travel journalist, living there for three years until he returned to London to write his first novel.”

NARRATOR:
James Cameron Stewart. IMDb has a one-line bio on James, “James Cameron Stewart is an actor, known for Outlander (2014) and Jericho (2016).”

GENRE:
Occult fiction; Historical Thriller, Supernatural Thriller

LOCATIONS:
Batavia, The ship Saardam sailing the ocean to Amsterdam

TIME FRAME:
1634

SUBJECTS:
Occult; Lepers, Ghosts, Mystery, Curses

DEDICATION:
“To Ada, Right now, you’re two years old, asleep in your cot. You’re very strange and you make us laugh a lot. By the time you read this, you’ll be somebody else entirely. I hope we’re still pals. I hope I’m a good dad. I hope I don’t make too many mistakes and you forgive the ones I do. Truth is, I have no idea what I’m doing. But I’m always trying hard.
I love you, kid. This is for you. Whoever you’ve become.”

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1
“Arent Hayes howled in pain as a rock slammed into his massive back.
Another whistled by his ear, a third striking his knee, causing him to stumble, bringing jeers from the pitiless mob, who were already searching the ground for more missiles to throw. Hundreds of them were being held back by the city watch, their spittle-flecked lips shouting insults, their eyes black with malice. “Take shelter, for pity’s sake,” implored Sammy Pipps over the din, his manacles flashing in the sunlight as he staggered across the dusty ground. “It’s me they want.”
Arent was twice the height and half again the width of most men in Batavia, including Sammy. Although not a prisoner himself, he’d placed his large body between the crowd and his much smaller friend, offering them only a sliver of target to aim at.
The bear and the sparrow, they’d been nicknamed before Sammy’s fall. Never before had it appeared so true.
Sammy was being taken from the dungeons to the harbor, where a ship waited to transport him to Amsterdam. Four musketeers were escorting them, but they were keeping their distance, wary of becoming targets themselves.
“You pay me to protect you” snarled Arent, wiping the dusty sweat from his eyes as he tried to gauge the distance to safety. “I’ll do it until I can’t anymore.”

RATING:
3 stars.

STARTED-FINISHED
10/8/2021-10/27/2021
( )

*4.5
( )

Jälle vau-elamus.
Absoluutselt teistsugune kui Turtoni esimene (ka väga hea) "Evelyn Hardcastle'i seitse surma", ja ma ütleskin, et isegi parem. Tegevus toimub Bataviast (Indoneesia) Madalmaadesse suunduval laeval, sajand on 16 ja otse loomulikult hakkavad toimuma kummalised mõrvad. Lausa müstilised, ma ütleks.
Natuke häiris lõpp, natuke liiga konstrueeritud, aga suurepärane lugemine sellegipoolest. ( )

I liked this book, it was pretty good and gripping intermitenly, I wouldn't say I loved it though, but still worth the reading journey. I was slightly disappointed because after reading 7 1/2 Deaths I was very intrigued by this story's summary. I enjoyed the premise and the story throughout but it ultimately falls into the mystery/thriller "let's reveal everything at the very end of the book with little to no hints or info about what's actually happening" trope. This is fine and all, making a big reveal, but it bothers me when something that the reader couldn't have deduced or known at all and is a huge plot twist is revealed at the end like in this book. I mostly spent the book throwing my own suspicions at the wall and seeing if anything stuck since there wasn't much to go off of. I loved Arent and Sarah though, they were cute and I loved their stories throughout. Actually, all the characters were pretty solid, both in a good way and bad way, just the reveal could have been panned out better in my opinion. ( )

Made the mistake of reading the same author with the same terrible narrator twice. The book might have been an OK read as a hardcopy, but James Cameron Stewart's godawful narration made it a chore. He read several female characters in a falsetto. I mean...

It was interesting enough that I stuck with it, if only to see if the antagonist really was supernatural. Because the (unintentionally) highly unreliable narrator said things that would lead one to believe that there would be no possible way humans could have pulled off such a caper. And yet, at the end, of course it was humans pulling all the strings. That's not to say it was disappointing: the only thing more disappointing than thinking the villain must be supernatural would be to find out that it really is supernatural. HOWEVER - there's simply no way people could have done the things they did and gotten away with it. So that pissed me off. The last chapter, where everything is expositioned away, was so fucking annoying. 'Yeah, we whispered threats to the other passengers through these little holes we drilled in the walls and plugged with caulk'. Mmmmkay. Also, there must have been 150 named characters in that story. Also, why on earth wouldn't you lay a trap to CAPRUTE the leper haunting the hold? Hoe big is this ship? The size of Manhattan? Come on! ( )