When I started this book, I couldn't help but make some comparisons to Jack London's, Sea Wolf. The protagonist is picked up by a boat at sea and wants to be dropped off on shore, but the captain refuses and, instead, solicits his help on the ship's voyage, hoping to teach him something about real work along the way. And right about there the two novels diverge. While Jack London's, Sea Wolf goes through an increasingly complicated plot and conflict, Rudyard Kipling's, Captains Courageous simply lets us in on the cruise. Though they take two very different courses, I think that they both succeeded in their separate endeavors. Kipling relies on his description and scenes to set the story before us, and he achieves this masterfully. Describing life on board a fishing vessel could very easily turn out to be tedious, but Kipling uses such nice language and great characters that you almost feel as if you are there experiencing it with them, through the good and the bad. The ending is hardly surprising, but more importantly it feels right. One thing to note is that, while Kipling does describe things fairly well, this is still written back in the age of sail, so many of the terms are taken for granted for someone not well versed in that era. If that is the case, the reader might feel lost for a good portion of the story. Still, the writing is pleasant enough that you almost don't need to know what is going on, you're just happy to be along for the ride.