"They hanged him in the hottest part of the afternoon and we stood on deck and watched........." I knew as soon as I read the opening sentence that this was going to be an extremely intriguing and thrilling book and I was not disappointed! Inspired by the true story of Anthony Knivet and his perils during his admirable adventures to South America during the 16th century, this is one of the best stories I have read covering adventures on the high seas and the arrival on the recently discovered land of Brazil. Although predominantly based in Brazil this swashbuckling tale is of the highest order and is truly captivating. I love all things nautical and the historic time of the Age of Exploration and find it fascinating that the countries we know now as civilised and very modern, were once barbaric yet looked like paradise. Anthony met and travelled with some really evil and bizarre characters, uncivilised, devious and even cannibalistic, concerned purely on survival and dominance and the author has brought these people to life with such vivid imagination. The Roebuck is one of the fleet of ships traveling under the command of explorer Thomas Cavendish on the ill-fated circumnavigation of the globe. Knivet, desperate to prove his worth to his father and his betrothed, embarks on the brave journey witnessing death, disease, madness and treachery. I was particularly interested in the sugar production the author covered in the story. I loved the perfect writing style and narrative suitabkle to the era and with a beautiful cover showing you exactly what to expect from the book, "Roebuck" is a hugely entertaining and interesting story. It was also an excellent idea by the author to add foot notes to aid in the historical facts or information relating to a particular item. Written by celebrated travel writer Luke Waterson and published by Urbane Publications I highly recommend the sophisticated, riveting and compelling "Roebuck" and I look forward to his next novel "Song Castle" set in 12th century Wales which is to published March 2018. 5 stars