Flying Dutch

Flying Dutch (ISBN 1-85723-017-5) is the third humorous-fantasy novel by popular British author Tom Holt. first published in the UK in 1991 by St. Martin's Press.

Inspired by Wagner's opera, The Flying Dutchman, the novel asserts that the famous Dutchman and his crew were not, in fact, cursed by the Devil, but were instead the victim of a flawed alchemical experiment which made them immortal, but, as a side effect, gave them a horrible, unbearable stench. Every seven years, the stench wears off, briefly, and the crew can land and reprovision. However, modern technology is catching up with the Dutchman, and compound interest on his ancient life-insurance policy threatens the entire world's economy.

While the ship’s crew includes twenty members, all except for Captain Julius Vanderdecker, are flat characters of little intelligence used only for comedic effect. Vanderdecker is the Python-esqe sane man in the insane world of his ship. His one goal is to find a cure to “the Stench” or die trying.