Reviews for The Angel's Command

The average rating for The Angel's Command based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-08-26 00:00:00 Teresa Orolin In some ways Brian Jacques's Flying Dutchman trilogy is drastically different from his Redwall series, but they're more similar than is apparent at first glance. The Flying Dutchman books primarily feature human characters rather than anthropomorphized animals, but the speech patterns, battles between heroes and villains, and the passion for good vittles and great adventure are themes the two series share on an elemental level. At the start of The Angel's Command it has been only eight years since Captain Philip Vanderdecken and the crew of the Fleiger Hollander'a ship known to one and all as the Flying Dutchman'were cursed by an angel to roam the seas forever as ghosts. Ben'age fourteen when the curse was pronounced'and his black Labrador Ned were spared eternal confinement aboard the Flying Dutchman, but must wander the earth forever, ageless and homeless as they carry out the angel's mandate to do good for people in need. We catch up with the pair in the year 1628 at Cartagena, Colombia, where they happen upon a gathering of seamen at a tavern called the Rhum Tigre. Raphael Thuron, buccaneer captain of the French ship La Petite Marie, is engaged in a high-stakes game of skill and chance against Rocco Madrid, pirate captain of the Spanish Diablo. Madrid consistently bests Thuron at their game, winning large quantities of gold and diminishing the Frenchman in the eyes of his own crew, until Ned figures out he's cheating. Taking advantage of their unique telepathic link, the dog communicates the thought to Ben, who passes it along to Thuron. The captain of La Petite Marie turns the tables on Madrid, reclaims his gold, and sets out on the high seas before the Spaniard can gather his wits and stop him. Thuron insists Ben and Ned accompany him as good luck charms, for Madrid would slay Ben for his part in Thuron's reversal of fortune. Merciless as a pirate captain has to be, Thuron adores Ben and Ned, and can see in their eyes that they are more than they appear to be. After retaking his gold from Madrid, Thuron considers a quiet retirement in France; perhaps he can emulate his brother, who chose the priesthood rather than piracy. But Madrid and his crew are hot on La Petite Marie's trail across the turbulent Caribbean Sea, hell-bent on killing the French captain for his gold. It's a battle of wills and wits between two proud buccaneers with everything to lose, but the Diablo and La Petite Marie aren't the only players. Redjack Teal, privateer captain of the English Devon Belle, orders his crew to join the fray when he spots these two handsome ships speeding away from Cartagena. Son of an esteemed British family, Captain Redjack could become enormously wealthy by seizing either ship, and his reputation as a privateer would grow by orders of magnitude. Thuron, Madrid, and Redjack are in a wild chase across the Caribbean, but only Thuron has Ben and Ned, who have already seen much in their lifetimes and whose wisdom may tip the balance in Thuron's favor. The Frenchman is faultlessly loyal to his two favored passengers, but will his allegiance save him from death so he can enjoy retirement in rural France? "There are good men and bad men. All my life I have tried to be good, but I am no saint. Just a man who likes to help others." 'Padre Esteban, The Angel's Command, P. 73 Now traveling on land at the border of France and Spain, Ben and Ned adjust to the sudden end of their life's recent maritime chapter. Boy and dog soon fall in with a spirited teen girl named Karay and a boy of about Ben's apparent age named Dominic, who sketches faces to earn his keep. The "Facemaker of Sabada," Dominic's talent is seeing beyond external features to what resides in the souls of his sketch subjects, and not everyone is happy with what they see when he renders their likeness. What would he draw if he peered into Ben's eyes, a boy fated to remain fourteen forever, never allowed to settle down to a normal life? As a unit, Ben, Ned, Karay, and Dominic seem capable of earning a living wage in the village of Veron, but the angel did not bring Ben and Ned here for mundane reasons. Remanded into the custody of Comte Vincente Bregon, a community leader, the four wanderers learn the old man's sad story. Years ago, the comte's brother Edouard married into a family of dark magicians called the Razan. It was doomed to end badly, and after Edouard's death, the Razan abducted his son, Adamo. The comte hasn't seen his nephew in the eighteen years since; he would lead a posse into the Pyrenees to challenge the Razan matriarch, Maguda, but the family has sworn to wreak destruction on Veron should the comte ever leave in search of Adamo. Weakened and heartbroken at the loss of the only kin he had left, the comte has resigned himself to never seeing Adamo again, but Ben, Ned, Karay, and Dominic have something to say about it. The comte pleads with them not to risk their lives, but our heroes launch a daring rescue attempt, knowing the Razan would gladly slay them on sight. If they somehow gain entrance to the Razan mountain fortress, a confrontation with Maguda is inevitable; are even Ben and Ned capable of withstanding her miasmic powers? And after all that, would Adamo still be alive after decades of captivity? The angel's mission is daunting, but if Ben, Ned, and their new friends accomplish it they will leave a wondrous legacy, mysterious though Ben and Ned's role in it is sure to become in the proceeding years. Will a blue-eyed boy and his good-humored Labrador ever completely satisfy the angel's command? This book improves considerably on the first of the trilogy, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman. Captain Vanderdecken is an eerie presence on the exotic seas; is he as close on Ben and Ned's heels as they believe, or is fear magnifying the threat in their minds? This sub-narrative adds texture to The Angel's Command. It's notable that the story takes place centuries prior to the previous book, which was set in 1896 England. The ending is quite good, a fitting picture of the legend that Ben and Ned leave in their wake as they trot the globe searching for meaning and security. I hope the trilogy's conclusion, Voyage of Slaves, allows a measure of closure to the eternal task imposed on them by the angel. I'd probably rate The Angel's Command two and a half stars; it isn't nearly so wonderful as the best of Redwall, but it's a quality read that sets up intriguing possibilities for the finale. I hope to see you there.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-10-10 00:00:00 Drahoslav Reznicek Every bit as good as the first book. It is kind of like two stories for every book, with only two of the same characters: Ben, a fourteen-year-old boy that never grows old, and Ned, a black Labrador. In the first book, the first story was Ben aboard the Flying Dutchman, and the second story was Ben in a peaceful village called chapelvale. The first story in this book had Ben aboard an honorable French Buccaneer vessel. The second story placed the boy and his dog in the woodlands, on the border of Spain and France, where he and new friends take on a bloodthirsty band of savage Rosan. I loved this book!