The Quest for the Galleon of Time

The Quest for the Galleon of Time by Tanya Hunter. Midnight Sun Publishing August 2023. Middle-Grade paperback RRP $17.99. E-Book RRP $9.99. ISBN 9781922858191.

Reviewed by Debra Williams

1738. 11-year-old Tobias Crane is sent by his bullying father to work as a cabin boy on the ship The Merry Maiden. It’s a daunting prospect for one so young, who doesn’t want to leave his mum and younger brother. His father has a secretive, suspicious past. There is a shadow hanging over his life. Young Tobias is well-treated by the ship’s captain, Bentley Tremaine, and learns to become a skilled navigator.

Tremaine has a family secret, one which concerns his twin brothers. One of them is the captain of the Majestic Maria. The other is the captain of the pirate ship Hades Damnation. These brothers are at war, and one of them is dead. Which one is at the helm of a ghost ship?

After the Merry Maiden is attacked, many are stranded. Tobias finds himself on an island with some of the survivors, where there is a deep mystery to unravel. The former residents of the island disappeared years before, with little or no clues. Where are the parents of his fellow shipmate Quinn, who was rescued by Captain Tremaine when Quinn was just 5 years old?

What follows is an epic adventure, waiting to find a way off the island, culminating in a battle with pirates. However, there is much to be endured and learned. Debut author Tanya Hunter has left this MG story open for the next one in the series. Will Tobias ever see his family again?

It will be interesting to see what MG readers will make of a rollicking novel which doesn’t have any mention of technology!