Moving.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. A great story tinged with all the emotions. Highs and very lows and knowing that the events actually occurred give the story an added edge. Highly recommended.

What did you like best about this story?

Apart from the historical significance and actually having visited the Abrolhos Islands more than once, the characters were brought to life by superb narration.

Which character – as performed by Richard Aspel – was your favorite?

Pelesart

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but impossible.

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Great Australian History

What did you love best about Batavia?

It was unbelievable! However it was true! This story just proves that fact is stranger than fiction.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Dutch soldier who rescued many of the passengers and crew from the depravity of Jeronemus and the mutineers.

Which scene was your favorite?

The description of the executions of the mutineers including the summing up in the epilogue. Justice was crude and rough in the 17th century!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was amazed by the events that took place.

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Disaster, Mutiny, Murder, Survival

After being recommended this book by my father-in-law, I was intrigued to hear this stunning tale of disaster. Peter Fitzsimons has crafted a terrific retelling of the ill-fated voyage of the Dutch East India Company's flagship vessel. Eloquently narrated by Aspel, the story seems so fantastic that one cannot deny that truth IS stranger than fiction.

From the telling of the VOC's founding, to the Batavia's journey and subsequent shipwrecking on the Abrolhos Islands, to the murderous tyrannical short-lived island regime of Jeronimus Cornelisz, this tale is both amazing and horrifying.

Every Australian should read of this disaster that took place off the coast of Western Australia. It paints a chilling portrait of just how far power can corrupt those who have naught to fear from the outside world. Murderous executions, sexual slavery, survival and heroism: these are all present in this adventure that many have forgotten or are not even aware of.

Although told in present tense and actual dialogue spoken could be contested, Fitzsimons states this at the beginning of the book. It makes for a vivid story that places the reader there at every chilling moment.

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Wow! What a story.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, One of the best stories I've ever heard.

What did you like best about this story?

It's a true story that just keeps getting better through the listen. If you read, be sure to view the location on Google Earth. You can still see where the ship hit 400 years later.

What about Richard Aspel’s performance did you like?

Great reader. Ability to pronounce Dutch terms and names added greatly to the listen.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The treatment of the women.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend. If you like true adventure, this book has it all. I've read most, and this is the best.

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History brought to life with excitement and grief

This story once underway is amazing, edge of your seat, can't stop listening stuff. What makes it so riveting is that it is a true story that could be a horror movie in the Hostel series but set in the 1600's.

Peter FitzSimons has filled the gaps in the historical accounts of the Batavia shipwreck in a way that is seamless to the reader / listener and that shows respect to the people who suffered in this tragedy. As he says in the forward he completed a 1000 piece jigsaw with only 500 pieces available to him and made the picture look real.

I am a lover of fiction usually. My dad encouraged me to read this and fortunatly it was in the Audible book store. I am very glad I listened to dad (and the book) on this occasion. It is a part of Australian history that I was ignorant to, even though I have seen the replica of the ship. Presented the way it has been in this story, the history and the horror has been brought to life in a way that is interesting and dare I say, given the nature of the tale, enjoyable. Though if you read this, joy is not an emotion that you will feel, rather horror to read what desperate men can stoop to in the absence of law.

The build up and character backgrounds make it start a little slow, but you do need this, so hang in there and discover the history of the Dutch East India company, the spice trade and the Batavia.

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Real life Lord Of The Flies circa 1620s

What an amazing story. Narrated very well by Richard Aspel.
If you like historical true crime and or maritime history this is the book for you.
A stunning and horrible tale.

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Great

I couldn't put it down. May have been a bit gruesome at times, but that didn't slow me down. Both the story and narration were the best. It was hard to believe that it was true.

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A fine researched book and read perfectly

What did you love best about Batavia?

The history, the visionary its a well written and describe story

What was one of the most memorable moments of Batavia?

Still working through this, and I am hooked

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not laugh or cry but the history, a history which even Mr. Fitzsimmons admits is a story very little known in Australia, but should be.

Any additional comments?

I will certainly be listening to other Peter Fitzsimmons books if they are all as well researched and read as this one. What history, what a great listen. You can almost hear the history develop

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Partly fiction

The structure and narration of the story are excellent and relatively easy to follow. I expected a historical record of events but the story has too strong feel of fiction. The author colors certain characters too strongly, especially the predikant and Lucretia. The nightmarish events on the graveyard island were like from a terrorist camp and were not so nice to follow because of all the cruelty and lunacy. Reading Mike Dash's book Batavia's Graveyard should provide a more objective view of the events.

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A must Audible book ! Absolutely nail bitting

I heard Peter Fitzsimons on an interview about this book. I purchased it and heard it over a single weekend ! Even if you are not interested in this time in history you will absolutely love this book. I could not recommend this any more even if I tried. Peter has combined real events and his flare to bring together events that you would think were all fantasy or a Hollywood movie. Purchased this book and you will not regret it.

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