In 1519 a jester named Juanillo joins an expedition to search for the Spice Islands led by a Portuguese navigator Fernando Magellan, which will result in the first circumnavigation of the globe. As the five black ships set sail their crews are filled with dreams of adventure and the unknown, and of the cloves, saffron and cinnamon that will make them rich and bring them titles and honours. Always in his armour, their leader paces the deck.
As Juanillo jokes and plays tricks to beguile the sailors, he spins a yarn of men and ships, of seaweed dark and soft as moss, giant crabs that glint blue like sword blades in the moonlight, fish like jewels, and the sad howling of sea lions on deserted coasts.
Capturing the overwhelming effect of the new on the men who made the voyages of the age of discovery, this is a marvellous novel about explorers who face hardship and suffering for the age-old dream of eluding death by leaving their mark on the world.
