The Ship of Adventure - Review

The sixth book of the series originally supposed to be the grand finale of an exciting series. After two highly adrenaline packed stories we are back to comfort zone. This time the story is set in a relaxed setting of a ship. The first third or so is just fun on the deck. The initial conflict is about getting Kiki on board. Then Phillip finds an exotic pet. The descriptions of the ship journey, the various facilities within the ship and islands in Europe they call on, make delightful read. A new character Lucien comes in providing comic relief along with Kiki the parrot and Phillip's new pet. There are no birds for Jack though. Nor are there any of the usual squabbles between Phillip and Dinah because he can't keep a bunch of insects and rodents on his person while abroad a ship. We see Lucy-Ann's ability to bond with people due to her deep empathy.

Even when the excitement starts, it is of the fun kind. There is no real danger facing the children. It is more like some of the stories in the Blyton's other series. A treasure hunt with evil men being competing adult treasure hunters. Only settings are more exciting with the search happening on a Greek island. The children are never all alone and lost and in serious danger. So overall the book has a much cozier feel compared to the earlier books. There are of course no secret passages etc. due to this story taking place most part on a ship. The treasure island has exploration of old buildings to find the treasure.

Some of the things from this books excited my imagination. I was fascinated by the idea of visiting Greek islands. I was so excited to visit an island Thassos many years later. Similarly I was fascinated by the idea of a ship in a bottle. So I got myself one while visiting Amsterdam. It was quite a small one though - not a big one like in the story.

Of course towards the end, we have some fights with the bad men, chases and escape. Phillip's pet plays a key role throughout in development of the story. Kiki plays a negative role. In the end, we have movement in the overall story with an important event happening in the life of the children - something for which grounds were being laid over the earlier 5 books.

From an overall series perspective, this book is a kind of relief after all the action and danger.