On a Barbarous Coast

by Craig Cormick (co-author), Harold Ludwick (co-author)

On a Barbarous Coast is an alternative retelling of Captain James Cook's story co-written by Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick in the tradition of imagined histories.

We were becoming the wild things we most feared, but could not see it at the time.

On a night of raging winds and rain, Captain Cook's Endeavour lies splintered on a coral reef off the coast of far north Australia. A small disparate band of survivors, fracturing already, huddle on the shore of this strange land - their pitiful salvage scant protection from the dangers of the unknown creatures and natives that live here.

Watching these mysterious white beings, the Guugu Yimidhirr people cannot decide if they are ancestor spirits to be welcomed - or hostile spirits to be speared. One headstrong young boy, Garrgiil, determines to do more than watch and to be the one to find out what exactly they are.

Fierce, intriguing and thoughtful, On a Barbarous Coast is the story of a past and future that might have been.

'Australia's "origin" story brilliantly re-imagined, in which Indigenous Australians rightfully assume their central place.' Susan Johnson, author of The Broken Book

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Indigenous, Australia

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2020

About the author

Craig Cormick in an Australian science communicator and author. He was born in Wollongong in 1961, and is known for his creative writing and social research into public attitudes towards new technologies. He has lived mainly in Canberra, but has also in Iceland (1980–81) and Finland (1984–85). He has published 15 books of fiction and non-fiction, and numerous articles in refereed journals. He has been active in the Canberra writing community, teaching and editing, was Chair of the ACT Writers Centre from 2003 to 2008 and in 2006 was Writer in Residence at the University of Science in Penang, Malaysia.

Cormick's creative writing has appeared in most of Australia's literary journals including Southerly, Westerly, Island, Meanjin, The Phoenix Review, Overland, Scarp, 4W, Redoubt, Block, as well as in overseas publications including Silverfish New Writing (Malaysia) and Foreign Literature No 6 (China). He has previously been an editor of the radical arts magazine Blast, and his writing awards include the ACT Book of the Year Award in 1999 and the Queensland Premier's Literary Award in 2006. As a science communicator he has represented the Australian Government at many international science forums including APEC and OECD conferences, presenting on issues relating to public concerns about new technologies.

Reviews

[Krystal · Rating 1 out of 5]

*heavy sigh*

Honestly, I hate writing reviews like this for books given to me by publishers, but WOW was this a piece of work.

My biggest problem with it - aside from being incredibly boring - is that it basically feels like an old white dude trying to cram anti-racism down your throat. I'm all for supporting anti-racism, but the delivery was all wrong and I found it so patronising.

There's also just no story to it. It's so dull! I blame Jock Serong's Preservation for giving me unrealistic expectations for this book. I was expecting a fascinating survival story set in the early days of Australia. I was expecting unprepared white fellas confronted by harsh climate, unforgiving scrubland, and the perplexing conundrum of interacting with the local Indigenous population when they're (the white dudes) all racist bastards. I was expecting insight into the fascinating practices, customs and general way of living of older Aboriginal cultures. I was expecting a thoughtful exploration of this early racism in the midst of a great story.

What did I get?

White dudes fighting with white dudes. White dudes complaining about everything. White dudes talking about murdering the locals coz they're black. One white dude reflecting on FRIGGING EVERYTHING instead of ACTUALLY TELLING THE STORY.

Not gonna lie, I skimmed the last 200-odd pages HARD.

This was supposed to be a 'fierce, intriguing and thoughtful retelling' and none of those things are true. The basic history is that the English invaded Australia, murdered a bunch of the locals then spent their lives trying to convert the rest of them to the 'white people' way of living. This book doesn't even come close to turning that on its head. This book is essentially just white people complaining and I had no time for it. Then you've got random chapters here and there finally told from the point of view of a local, and he just wants to throw random words at you and tell you random Aboriginal legends. This book STILL doesn't care about telling his story.

I just found the whole mess so frustrating.

When there are man-eating crocodiles around and I'm still bored, it's a bad sign.

There is definitely a lot of interesting information about the practices of Aboriginal people, but if I was interested in the facts of things delivered as bluntly as this I'd pick up a non-fiction book (I am, in fact, slowly working my way around to Dark Emu, which has been highly recommended for this kind of information). This book purports to be an intriguing re-telling, which automatically suggests everything about the story is false, and then it doesn't even give a story worthy of all the 'what if?'s.

It was utterly disappointing.

There were some moments that were interesting, but they were so scarce it felt like too little, too late. For a book that implies a necessary appreciation for the importance of Indigenous culture, it was told an awful lot from a white guy's point of view, and is predominantly about the discomfort of these white dudes. I HAD NO TIME FOR IT.

I'm just incredibly frustrated by how much this missed the mark. Maybe others more detail-oriented will appreciate it but for me it was too much about the author trying to make his own points rather than any kind of decent story.

If you are interested in a great story from the early days of Australian settlement, I'd highly recommend Preservation, my review of which can be found HERE
I also want to link to a friend's review of Dark Emu because it provides some great insight into the book, as well as other resources to check out. You can read Patty's review HERE

With thanks and apologies to A&U who sent me an ARC to read and review

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an alternate history where the Endeavour is wrecked on the reef of far North Queensland in 1770 . ( In reality the ship was damaged but after spending 7 weeks ashore it was repaired and the voyage continued.)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The beginning is a gripping telling of the shipwreck and how Magra, a midshipman, our narrator, manages to survive. What follows is the story of the survivors and how they try to live in this new land. The history of the voyage and the various interactions with other indigenous people of Tahiti and New Zealand are given. Magra is haunted by dreams where Gandhaar, the crocodile taunts him.
Interspaced with this story is commentary from Garrgiil, an indigenous boy. We learn language and customs and the connection with the land.
I loved the structure of the novel. It flows easily between the two narratives and while I would’ve liked even more of the Aboriginal point of view, there’s enough that it makes you wonder what Australia would be like if it was never colonised.
“I knew the way explorers looked at a new land - as I had once looked at such lands myself - wondering what resources there might be to exploit, what riches to be squeezed from the land and taken back to Europe.”

[Kahlia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very poorly marketed, in my opinion. It wasn't necessarily a bad book (it was competently written, at least) but it wasn't what I expected. I do think it’s disingenuous to pitch A Barbarous Coast as centring indigenous voices when it emphasises the voice of a white man above all others, and it relies on the reader’s knowledge of what actually happened to critique the racism inherent throughout said white man’s thoughts. We know the main character is misguided, because we know how history turned out, but some of the ideas he had aren’t that far removed from modern racism, and I think they could have been more explicitly called out.

A good 80% of this book is told from the POV of Magra, a British-American naval officer who spends as much of his time pondering European politics, botany, and the social divisions among his fellow shipmates as he does the Aboriginal tribe nearby. The two groups don't even formally attempt to communicate until the last quarter of the book (when circumstances finally bring them together), at which point we get a hurried montage of what non-indigenous people engaging with and learning from indigenous people might have looked like.

The other 20% of this book is told from the POV of Garrgill, and these sections are have a lot of potential - rich in culture and seamlessly incorporating the local language. But they’re very short. Where Magra is surrounded by a group of fellow castaways with unique personalities, we learn very little about the people Garrgill spends his time with, or about the experiences that shape him growing up. It felt very imbalanced as a result.

I can see how other people might like this book, or interpret its aims differently, but it really didn’t land for me.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Allen and Unwin - thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

[Ella Hart · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was incredibly excited to read a fictional retelling of Captain Cook’s arrival that would explore a marriage of European and Aboriginal culture and that didn’t involve the genocide of Australia’s First Nation People. What I read instead was utterly boring and disappointing. Majority of the book was in the perspective of a white and racist European/American dude, who is primarily concerned about his next meal and the in-house politics of his shipmates. While historically accurate, it was such a huge led down to what could have been a really interesting fictional piece. Not only that, but Bama man Garrgiil’s chapters, which were some sort of insight to dreamtime and connection to land, were super short. It only got kind of interesting in the last 50 pages where the white marines and the Bama people met and shared culture. Thank you, next.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the lead-up to #IndigLitWeek 2020 in July, here's a most unusual novel to pique your interest!

On a Barbarous Coast is a collaborative work of speculative fiction. It tells an alternative history of Lieutenant James Cook's landing in far north Queensland in 1770.

Craig Cormick is an Australian science communicator and author of 30+ books of fiction and non-fiction. His co-writer is Harold Ludwick, a Bulgun Warra man from the Guugu Yimidhirr & Kuku Yalandji nations, and a Fellow of the National Museum of Australia. Together, they have woven a story that revisits the landing from two perspectives...

Magra is a midshipman on the Endeavour, and Garrgiil is a boy from the Guugu Yimidhirr people. The story departs from history when the Endeavour comes to grief on the Great Barrier Reef. The real-life Cook beached the badly damaged ship for repairs for seven weeks and then continued his voyage; in this novel the ship breaks up and Cook is washed up insensible along with other survivors. Magra is a disaffected man of failed ambitions, while Garrgiil is on the cusp of manhood. Both fear the Other, but both are curious as well.

In alternating narratives, the reader sees the catastrophe from the observations of the Indigenous people and from the British PoV. Puzzled by the behaviour of people they think are spirits returned from the dead, the Guugu Yimidhirr people keep their distance, but maintain a watch on events, while — deprived of authoritative leadership — the survivors are divided amongst themselves. The marines take off with the only weapons and build themselves a fort, while Magra and the rest of them are focussed on shelter from the elements and finding food and water. The botanists Joseph Banks and Mr Solander are invaluable for identifying edible plants as a food supply, but the marines, led by a ruffian called Judge, kidnap Solander to help them when they fail to catch and kill wildlife. Garrgiil, watching unobserved, notes however that none of the survivors are following laws and customs about where and when to gather food. As the survivors soon find out, their food sources are not sustainable, and malnutrition and sickness are the result.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/06/11/o...

[Zachary Ashford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had the pleasure of chatting to the author at the Aurealis Awards ceremony, and when he told me about his book, I knew I had to check it out. Glad I did. It's a fun time - and it gets bonus points due to its crocodile.

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing alternate history involving Captain James Cook and the Guugu Yimidhirr people, who watch the white beings and cannot decide if they are ancestor spirits to be welcomed, or hostile spirits to be speared.

[readingwithcake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly this would have been a four star review except I found it disjointed due to the storyline jumping all over the place and I also didn’t like our main character, Magra. I didn’t connect with his part of the storyline and it was predominantly his POV. My favourite part of the book was the POV of Garrgiil, I enjoyed learning about the Guugu Yimidhirr people. It was fascinating to learn about their traditions and how misinterpreted their actions were by the British. Obviously this is a fictitious story however I do not doubt that similar occurrences happened between the two peoples meeting. My other favourite part was at the end when the men assimilated into the Guugu Yimidhirr tribe. This was what I was waiting for and offered the alternative ending to the colonisation of Australia. I found this book, particularly at the end, to be thoroughly educational and enjoyed this new take on the discovery of Australia by Cook and their interactions with First Nations people. This take on history demonstrates what could have happened if there had been a different approach to making contact with the Indigenous peoples and every other continent that was colonised by Europeans.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

What if Captain Cook shipwrecked his boat, and needed to rely on Indigenous knowledge to survive?

That would have been an interesting premise to this book, if we’d gotten there in the first 200 pages. This book took a long time to unravel, and for a book set in the dangerous lands of far North Queensland, not a lot happens (yes, there’s a crocodile.)

It flips in between the perspective of one crew member and a local Indigenous man (Garagill.) I found Garagill’s chapters were the heart of the book, and offered a compelling perspective - I was excited by how his story ends, even if we’re left with a new beginning for him. Which is why it was a shame there were so few of these chapters.

[Roger Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of this story might be imagined but the characters, the setting, the insights into indigenous culture, are rich and real. Captain Cook loses his ship and most of his crew while exploring Australia's coastline in 1770. It becomes a tale of survival, but more than that, an observation of two cultures coming together. A great concept, immaculately delivered.

[Iwasaplatypus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved reading On A Barbarous Coast. An alternative retelling of Captain James Cook and the beaching of the Endeavour on the coast at what is now Cooktown in Northern Queensland.
The beauty of this piece of speculative fiction is that it is from two points of view. History is quite often from one, those with the most power. We see the story of Cook and his crew from the point of view of Magra, the midshipman, who is at odds with Cook at the time of the shipwreck. And from Garrgiil, a young member of the local Guugu Yimiddhirr people.
On a wild and stormy night the Endeavour is shipwrecked. The survivors gather on the shore, with a comatose James Cook. Here they stay, dividing into two groups, trying to survive in this hostile land they have no knowledge of.
Meanwhile the local Guugu Yimiddhirr people are watching from afar unable to understand just who these people are, or even if they are people, and not spirits come to visit. {And if they are spirits then why don’t they know the rules!}
I enjoyed the machinations and misunderstandings within and between each group as they slowly made contact.
The story is exciting and thought provoking. What would’ve happened if when the two cultures had met, they had met on an equal footing? With respect? Sadly, we will never know. Terra Nullius was assumed and history written.
I recommend On A Barbarous Coast for those who enjoy a well rounded tale that might have been, if only.
{If only Cook had really been comatose!}

On A Barbarous Coast is written by Craig Cormick {Magra} and Harold Ludwick {Garrgiil}

Published by Allen & Unwin

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*
An alternate history where Cook's Endeavour sinks off the coast of northern Australia. Told in alternating perspectives of one of the shipwreck survivors and a local Aboriginal boy.
I would have liked a more balanced split between the two narratives; the white man had most of the story, the Aboriginal perspective came only in short bursts. It was a great read though. Lots of tension, both poetic and a page turner.

[Tim Almonte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I'm still getting back into the habit of reading, but I can't remember the last time I read a whole book so quickly. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

However, given that this book was a collaborative effort between an Indigenous and a non-Indigenous author, I would have loved to have seen more balance between the two narrative perspectives. The story is primarily told from the point of view of the White shipwreck survivors with occasional commentary from an Indigenous perspective every now and then, usually only lasting a few pages each time. Stories of first contact are rarely ever told from an Indigenous perspective and I think this book was a kind attempt at remedying this, but it ultimately replicates the same problem with one narrative still dominating the other.

Aboriginal/Māori/other Polynesian readers may find it difficult to stomach the ways White characters speak about them (non-humans, sex objects, etc.)—I cannot speak to this—but I will say that personally, it was mildly satisfying to see these characters be humbled by their inability to survive in the very land they arrogantly thought they could conquer.

Some of the writing towards the end is a little ethnographical, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, given the moment in the story. But if this were a fantasy novel, it would read like a massive worldbuilding infodump where any plot is put on pause in order to direct the reader's attention to complex descriptions of custom and ritual.

While the book manages to avoid the White Saviour trope found in many stories about race relations, it does still carry an air of "I'm one of the good ones", which makes me roll my eyes just a little bit. However, at the end of the day, I found its optimism endearing.

[Christina Donoghue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published on www.onthetown.net.au

On the 250th anniversary of Cook’s landing in Australia, the intoxication with writing about Captain James Cook shows little sign of subsiding. On a Barbarous Coast by Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick joins a slew of fiction that attempts to re-story Captain Cooks landing on the coast of Australia.

On a Barbarous Coast poses an imaginary conundrum of what would have happened if after leaving Botany Bay, the Endeavour had wrecked on a coral reef off the far north coast of Australia. Escaping the wreck is a small band of shipwreck survivors, including a comatose Captain James Cook, together they must then survive the unknown dangers of this foreign land and each other as survival strips away the last illusions of civility and order.

As the mythology surrounding colonialism is stripped away, it is near impossible for any writer to not include the indigenous perspective in any arrival story. Within the writing and academic communities there is an awareness of allowing First Nation’s People to speak for themselves and tell their own stories. It seems that this was the reason for the co-authorship between Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick.

Craig Cormick is an accomplished writer and academic. Harold Ludwick is a Bulgun Warra man who identifies with the Black Cockatoo group and works for the National Museum of Australia. In relation to On a Barbarous Coast, Ludwick lends his knowledge of country and language to give the story a strong sense of place and context through the eyes of both the character Garrgiill, a young boy of wandaar (white cockatoo) group and Gandhaarr the crocodile that lives in the river.

The central narrative is told through the recollection of the protagonist Magra, a midshipman from the Endeavour. Magra is modelled after James Mario Magra, who is believed to be the author of A Journal of a Voyage Around the World in His Majesty’s Ship Endeavour published in 1771. Thinly dispersed throughout the book are chapters narrated by Garrgiill, seemingly with the vision of creating balance in the narrative. This is not the result due to the dominance of the central narrative of the shipwreck survivors and the overarching presence of Cook. The failure to create fully rounded characters from the Bama and the amount of page real estate awarded them, causes the bama to remain two dimensional place holders for what could have been a more nuanced contrast between the white cockatoo group and the aliens on their shore.

The book is very easy to read. Cormick’s style is simple, journalistic and undecorated and moves the story forward at a steady pace. Ludwick’s educational style is rather like a guidebook of Guugu Yimidhirr words and cultural practices which is, while interesting, unable to match the status of the shipwreck survivors. The impact of projecting an unpolished imagining onto the survivors and position of those men into a situation that humanises was an ambitious project. It was thought-provoking observing the subtle evolution of the group dynamics when placed in an unfamiliar landscape. How swiftly and completely civilities so prized by the white Europeans slip away when their survival is tenuous.

On a Barbarous Coast is an easy read that questions the legitimacy of Captain Cook’s myth through changing the ending to one that doesn’t destroy the Aboriginal population, but depends upon them for their very survival. But, whilst this was an interesting diversion that uses its fictional narrative to shift the scale to one where the Indigenous population is on top, as real life stakes are so high for First Nation’s People in Australia my tolerance for reading accounts of Captain Cook, even fictional ones, is non-existent particularly where I feel the white story is still being prioritised over the Indigenous one.

[Rhoda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Allen & Unwin for sending me an uncorrected proof of this book to review.

This book is the re-telling of Captain Cook’s landing on Australian soil and is mostly told from the perspective of Magra, a midshipman. There is also a small part of the book narrated by Garrgiil, an indigenous boy. To give much more detail than this would spoil the book for other readers.

Soooo, the sections narrated by Garrgiil on Aboriginal customs, language and connection to land make this book worth reading as they are both interesting and beautiful. However this only accounts for about 20% of the book. I wish this had been much more of a focus of the book, as these parts were delightful.

The majority of the book is from the white man’s perspective and for the most part, they spend their time whingeing and complaining and generally behaving badly and like complete savages 🙄 .

In all honesty, not a lot happens in this book and there is not a lot of individual character development either. Development occurs towards the end of the book, but from a group perspective rather than an individual perspective. I didn’t find the majority of this book overly engaging and it was a bit difficult to get into. As I already mentioned though, the observations of Garrgiil ultimately made this book worthwhile reading. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

[Fruzsi Gal · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a Barbarous Coast by Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick is a reimagination of Captain James Cook’s arrival to Australia. It's the story of a past and a future that might have been.

In this past, Captain Cook’s Endeavour is shipwrecked off the coast of far north Australia, leaving only a small band of survivors who make it to land.

The storytelling is split into two, the perspective of the survivors on this strange land interwoven with the perspective of the Guugu Yimidhirr people, who are trying to decide whether these strange spirits are friend or foe.

As the fate of all these men unfolds and as both groups struggle with the dangers that lie ahead (often at the hand of the people you consider your own), this book takes you to the heart of what it means to belong.

It’s a meditation on fear of the unknown, on natural curiosity, and on humanity - on both sides of history. On the ugly and the beautiful, on the old and the new. On what it is we consider the natural way of things, and how might that differ for others.

It’s filled with the type of self-awareness each of us would’ve liked to have. It’s a fairytale, in a way, and yet there are unexpected moments of questioning yourself: could things really have turned out this way?

On a Barbarous Coast is hopeful and it isn’t, but it’s precisely this duality that took me on the ride, and I came out on the other end knowing more than before.

I think it’s a must read.

[Marles Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you @allenandunwin for this gifted ARC. 'On A Barbarous Coast' is the retelling of Cook's journey along the far north coast of Australia. The dependence on local Aboriginal tribes for survival replaces the history we know, where so many of the Aboriginal population lost their lives because of Cook and his crew. This collaboration - between a Bulgan Warra man / researcher and an australian writer/ academic - gave a voice to those from long ago. Ludwick's ancestral connection and deep knowledge of the land, water and culture is delivered through a young male named Garrgiill. Cormick provides a narrative through Magra, who was based on a shipman who was believed to write an account of the Endeavour and James Cook in the 1700s. If this was the history record left before us, would things be different, and by how much? The observations in each chapter make so much sense. The deliberate watching and curiousness between the white sailors and Aboriginal tribes of each other seemed surreal, but so possible and equally heartbreaking that this part of history never occured this way.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 'what if' story. What if Captain Cook had been seriously injured and the Endeavour not been able to be repaired when the hull was damaged in 1770. How would Australian history be different?

Written by two people (Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick): Magra narrates the story of Captain Cook's crew who manage to get onto the mainland of Australia and an Indigenous boy, Garrgiil, (which means hawk in the Guugu Yimidhirr language), who is watching and later on interacts with the shipwrecked crew. The story is grueling as the crew struggle for power and for for food in a totally foreign environment. Fear of starvation and of the unknown dangers drive men to do horrible things.

A quote towards the end of the book - "After a while they understood that we have survived in the land by being part of it, and not trying to dominate it in any way or form, and that our very existence is tied to worshipping and respecting everything that sustains us."

This book gives you a lot to think about.

[Alex Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a pity - such a great concept, but so poorly executed. I loved the idea, and was really looking forward to reading it - and a collaboration between whitefella and Aboriginal writers could have been really interesting too. But I found it quite dull, actually - it never really got going as a story. And what a story it could have been - shipwrecks, castaways, first encounters, crocodiles, aboriginal culture meets western but on their own terms .... but while well researched and placed in an accurate historical context, it never gelled as a story, and read more like a morality tale. The Aboriginal insights and stories were so short as to be peripheral, and didn't develop much in the way of insight into that aspect of the story. I didn't warm to the main character Magra - or have much sympathy for any of the castaways - but neither did it really add anything new to my understanding of the aboriginal inhabitants. Not a bad book - I read it to the end - but a real missed opportunity.

[Jaslyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really did not meet my expectations. I was expecting it would fast-forward somehow to today and suggest how things might have been if Britain had never colonised Australia. Maybe there would be prosperous trade between Australia and the rest of the world, who knows? Read more...

[Staraice]

Book club pick.

This book was ok, but my main issue with it is that the blurb and promotion around it set me up to expect something different. The interaction between the two cultures is a much smaller part of the narrative than I thought it would be, with much of the book focussed on the survivalism and recollections of the sailor Magra.

A very interesting idea, and worth giving a read even if just to learn something new.

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating reimaging of Cook's landing on the coast of far north Queensland. Imagine that Cook was near to death, that the Endeavour foundered on the reef, unable to be repaired and then imagine how history may have played out.

This is the fascinating scenario painted by Craig Cormick and indigenous writer Harold Ludwick. The story unfolds, in alternating chapters, though the eyes of James Magra, a Midshipman from the Endeavour, and Garrgiil, an indigenous youth.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read with some interesting ideas but I would have liked to hear more from the indigenous narrator. This would have made it stand out from other Cook-centric/Cook-worshipping texts.
Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the ARC.

[John Riley]

I can't wait to read this as I know one of the authors and it sounds like a cracker of a read

[Brianna Franks · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My selected reading for a train journey on Australia Day, informative and thought-provoking.

[Nelle]

DNF - I just couldn't get into it and I never felt the need to pick it up...

[Robyn Bowman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not at all what I expected. Couldn't get into this one of them. Giving up after a few chapters.

[Chris Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent idea. Alternative history was plausible. Narrative switch from sailor to indigenous perspective generally worked. Perhaps a bit light and sweeping.

[Jennifer Carrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book and it’s alternate history. Very easy to read.