The story is interesting enough - Watkin Stench is a rat aboard one of the first European ships to land in Australia in 1788 - but the plot is a little dry and needs a bit more real adventure. Partly this is a problem with the narrative style. I did enjoy the historical detail though, and the character of Watkin Stench and his compatriots is well portrayed - London lads arriving in a strange land bereft of buildings and the squalor and clamour of an 18th century city. ( )