This was my 35th book finished in 2024.

I really wanted to like this book, but I was really quite disappointed. The blurb makes it sound more exciting than it ultimately was.

I completely understand that this was not meant to be a novel - it simply inspired latter ones. It was written to be read by learned societies, the government, the navy etc. Therefore there are a lot of notes and time spent on directions, wind speed, weather... Things that are just dull and irrelevant today.

It was interesting to read about other cultures and places, but a few extra footnotes would have helped with the understanding.

At the end of the day, I've read more interesting naval narratives.