Book Description
From the moment that Master and Commander, the first of Patrick O'Brian's sequence of 20 novels about the 19th century British Royal Navy officer Jack Aubrey and his surgeon colleague Stephen Maturin, was published in 1970, critics hailed his work as a masterpiece of historical recreation.Called "the best historical novels ever written" by The New York Times, the books have sold more than 3 million copies.This first full-color illustrated companion to the Aubrey-Maturin series, timed to benefit from the release of the blockbuster Twentieth-Century Fox film adaptation starring Russell Crowe, explains the fascinating physical details of Jack Aubrey's fictional world.An in-depth historical reference, it brings to life the political, cultural, and physical setting of O'Brian's novels.Annotated drawings, paintings, and diagrams reveal the complex parts of a ship and its rigging, weaponry, crew quarters and duties, below-deck conditions, and fighting tactics, while maps illustrate the location featured in each novel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

It expands the O'Brian reading experience
I feel that it is a must have companion to:
A Sea of Words, Third Edition: A Lexicon and Companion to the Complete Seafaring Tales of Patrick O'Brian.

The books complement each other and in particular to the wonderful illustrations in this book helps to clarify and in places, expand the information that one finds in A Sea of Words.

Perfect company for the 'Sea of Words'
This informative, wonderfully-organized book is presently one of two on my coffee table and is picked up by just about all who visit.
Yes, I have all twenty (twenty-one) of O'Brian's works on Jack Aubrey's travels and travails and this text sets the whole collection off nicely.
Sweet.

tg
This is a fine complement to the Aubrey-Maturin series as it brings to life the action, locations, politics, etc about the period when the action took place by artwork, maps, tools, ship information and many other things that you read about but if you have this book when you are reading then it really brings everything to life.Highly recommended.Also recommend the Sea of Words and Harbours and High Seas: 3rd Edition, both by Dean King.The first explains the terms you wonder about when reading the series, and the second includes synopses and tracing of each voyage on maps.These are great.

Beautiful pictures
This is a good overall book for visual explanation for the O'Brian series of books. I enjoyed this book, but must admit that I was looking for something more in depth. I haven't seen anything better yet, but will keep hoping that someone will write something even better. There is a lot of ground to cover and although this is a good book, and I would happily purchase it again, I am still looking for more visual information that just doesn't seem to be out there.

A short overview of the sailing Royal Navy
If you have read every sailing naval action book already, there isn't a lot here new. But, if not, this is a good book to have either as a reference or a coffee-table piece- it can do either, and the illustrations are certainly good. ... Read more

Book Description
Read by Tim Pigott-Smith
Three Cassettes, 5 hours

The 7th installment in the Aubrey/Maturin Series.

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are ordered home by dispatch vessel to bring the news of their latest vitory to the government.  But Maturin is a marked man for the havoc he has wrought in the Fren intelligence network in the New World, and the attentions of two privateers soon become menacing.  the chase that follows is as thrilling and unexpected as anything O'Brian has written. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Surgeon's Mate?WHAT surgeon's mate?
Confession time.THE SURGEON'S MATE is the fifth bookin the "Aubrey/Maturin Series" of seafaring novels that I have completed; however, it is the seventh book in the logical series order. Having subscribed to receive the entire series, I began reading the books in the order that they arrived, assuming that the publisher would send them in proper sequence.Such turns out not to have been the case, and some of my discontent with other volumes I have reviewed derived from the fact that I had missed some events because of reading the books out of order.Allow my experience to stand as evidence that, for maximum enjoyment and even comprehension, these books should be approached in their logical sequence.

I have now edited those earlier reviews to correct any misstatements as to the books' places in the sequence of novels and have removed comments pertaining to missing events that actually were addressed in preceding volumes.Nonetheless, I find that my overall assessments of the books remain unaltered.I feel that Richard Russ (Patrick O'Brian's real name) is essentially a "three star" author.When he writes of naval engagements aboard men-of-war, sloops, frigates, and the other fighting ships whose maneuvering capabilities are largely at the whim of the prevailing winds, he is a most engaging author.However, when he delves into the interpersonal relationships of his characters, he is less successful in engaging his readers.

Two other continuing weaknesses in Russ' writing are his heavy use of now-archaic seafaring terminology that often clouds the meaning of the passage and his frustrating lack of time transitions.The first problem could have been alleviated by judicious use of explanatory footnotes.The latter could have been corrected by use of transitional commentary.As it is, however, in one sentence, the captain may call for one of his officers, and in the very next sentence he is speaking to that officer.It is as though a time warp has occurred and the officer has materialized next to his captain at the very moment he is called for.This annoying truncation of time appears in each of the five volumes I have read thus far, and I fear it is a weakness to which the author is blind and may well continue throughout the series.

By itself, THE SURGEON'S MATE, while subject to the general criticisms I have mentioned, is, by and large, readable and engaging.Is Russ/O'Brian improving as he writes additional volumes, or am I becoming accustomed to his style and more accepting of it?In either event, I found this volume a much faster and more intriguing read than some of the others I have already encountered.The single most perplexing thing about this book is its title.There is no focus on any "surgeon's mate" whatsoever, and where Russ/O'Brian found his inspiration for the title remains a murky mystery! (Some reviewers have identified the title as referring to the character of Dr. Stephen Maturin; however, he has hitherto been described as being much more than a naval surgeon, being a skilled physician while a naval surgeon was essentially limited to chopping off shattered limbs. If this is indeed Russ/O'Brian's intent, then his choice of title essentially demotes Maturin from his former position, which is not, I think, the author's intent.)

If, gentle reader, you are determined to read the entire Aubrey-Maturin series of novels, you will certainly not want to miss this one.However, you will perhaps enjoy it most if you have read the preceding six volumes first.On the other hand, if one is interested in merely sampling Russ/O'Brian's work, this would not be a bad example to choose, although I would still suggest reading at least the first work, MASTER AND COMMANDER, before delving into any of the succeeding books, including this one.

Maturin's book
The focus is on Stephen Maturin in this seventh installment of the Aubrey-Maturin series, which, though it isn't the best or most exciting of the first seven books, is still a ripping good read.Returning to England following their escapades in North America, Aubrey and Maturin try to settle into life at home -- Jack with his family and Stephen with his scientific pursuits -- but their pasts catch up with them, compelling them to join forces for a spur-of-the-moment mission to the Baltic.Will they succeed?Will they overcome the old problems that dog them?And just who is the surgeon's mate?Read this tale of spying, diplomacy, and (of course!) naval combat to find out.

Another good one
This series is great and this was another chapter in the ongoing story of Maturin and Aubrey. Their adventures are of another world and provide a great contrast to other books.

Another stellar effort for Patrick O'Brian as Aubrey and Maturin wear a bit about the edges
Patrick O'Brian's scope of imagination is staggering.We are now into the seventh book in his series, and Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and surgeon/naturalist/spy Stephen Maturin continue to find themselves in realistic-yet-dire circumstances of a personal, military, and intelligence nature.Through it all, these two characters never seem like invincible juggernauts, but instead very human, very capable men living by the best their wits and luck can offer.

At the outset of the novel, Aubrey and Maturin need to flee the New World for the old, but find themselves hard-pressed to do so.Thanks to Dr. Maturin's single-handed destruction of French spy networks in Boston (including a wee bit of murder), a wealthy intelligence figure hires ships to track down the fleeing Maturin.The result is a thrilling chase off Nova Scotia and the nearby waters - while I prefer Aubrey's sinking of the Dutch 74 the Waakzamheid in "Desolation Island," this chase is one of the most thrilling in the series so far.

And the joys of this novel don't stop there.O'Brian once again finds various ways to inject humor into his novel.Dr. Maturin hits a personal and professional high (as a naturalist) when he gets the chance to address a body of learned scientists in Paris . . . only to bungle the presentation horribly.Aubrey allows himself to be seduced by a wanton woman while celebrating his escape from the jail in Boston, and is confronted with news of the natural biological result of such a transgression.Maturin and Aubrey are accompanied on many of their adventures in "SM" by the Swedish captain Jagiello, a supremely attractive young man, and Aubrey finds himself at a loss as to why the women fall all over themselves for this young buck when they could have a sailor "with the handsomest set of whiskers in the fleet."There are joys in this novel that you just don't find in most swashbuckling thrillers.

But at its heart, "SM" is an adventure yarn, and O'Brian does not disappoint.In a story that sweeps from the New World to Paris to Denmark to the infamous Temple Prison back in France, Aubrey and Maturin find themselves thrown from one pan into another fire. And God bless them for it!

I'll be coming back for more!
This entry in the Aubrey-Maturin seagoing saga was probably my least favorite that I've read so far in this series. My quibble was with the novel's plot, which was pretty thin and derivative of other action novels and movies. And Diana Villiers, Dr. Maturin's love, is starting to remind of the character of Irenee in The Forsythe Saga. Everyone is always talking about how fascinating she is, but darned if I can see why. On the plus side, as always O'Brian serves up amazing historical details and makes Jack and Stephen witty and real. And the on-going story of their lives advances to a very eye-opening and surprising ending. So you can bet I'll look forward to the next installment of this series.
... Read more

Amazon.com
The year is 1815, and Europe's most unpopular (not to mention tiniest) empire-builder has escaped from Elba. In The Hundred Days, it's up to Jack Aubrey--and surgeon-cum-spymaster Stephen Maturin--to stop Napoleon in his tracks. How? For starters, Aubrey and his squadron have been dispatched to the Adriatic coast, to keep Bonapartist shipbuilders from beefing up the French navy. Meanwhile, one Sheik Ibn Hazm is fomenting an Islamic uprising against the Allies. The only way to halt this maneuver is to intercept the sheik's shipment of gold--because in the Napoleonic era, as in our own, even the most ardent of mercenaries requires a salary.

The Hundred Days is the 19th (and, we are told, the penultimate) installment of O'Brian's epic. Like many of its predecessors, it features a fairly swashbuckling plot, complete with cannon fire, exotic disguises, and Aubrey's suspenseful, slow-motion pursuit of an Algerian xebek. Yet it never turns into a mere exercise in Hornblowerism. Partly this is due to O'Brian's delicate touch with character--the relationship between extroverted Aubrey and introverted Maturin has deepened with each book, and even Aubrey's reunion with his childhood companion Queenie Keith is full of novelistic nuance: "They sat smiling at one another. An odd pair: handsome creatures both, but they might have been of the same sex or neither." Nor does the author focus too exclusively on his dynamic duo. Indeed, The Hundred Days is very much a chronicle of a floating community, which Maturin describes as "his own village, his own ship's company, that complex entity so much more easily sensed than described: part of his natural habitat."

Finally, O'Brian shows his usual expertise in balancing the great events with the most minuscule ones. Other authors have written about battles at sea, and still others have recorded the rapid rise and fall of Napoleon's fortunes after his escape from confinement. But who else would give equal time--and an equal charge of delight--to Maturin's discovery of an anomalous nuthatch? --James MarcusAmazon.com Audiobook Review
In this, actor Robert Hardy's fourth reading from Patrick O'Brian's celebrated historical novels, series heroes Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are in very different circumstances from when we first meet them. In Master and Commander, the first of the series, Aubrey is young and full of himself, and through Hardy's performance we can practically hear Aubrey's puffed-out chest. But in The Hundred Days, Aubrey is a commodore, famous throughout the British Empire for his naval exploits, and Hardy reflects the confidence that comes with those accomplishments. Meanwhile, his best friend, surgeon-spy Stephen Maturin, is wasting away as the audiocassette opens, in deep mourning for his recently deceased wife. But soon enough, both are pulled into great adventure again--in this case, Napoleon's final campaign--and the fate of the Empire rests on their ability to stop the fitting out of a new French fleet and to keep a shipment of gold from reaching a mercenary army. (Running time: three hours, two cassettes) --Lou SchulerBook Description
Napoleon, escaped from Elba, pursues his enemies across Europe like a vengeful phoenix. If he can corner the British and Prussians before their Russian and Austrian allies arrive, his genius will lead the French armies to triumph at Waterloo. In the Balkans, preparing a thrust northwards into Central Europe to block the Russians and Austrians, a horde of Muslim mercenaries is gathering. They are inclined toward Napoleon because of his conversion to Islam during the Egyptian campaign, but they will not move without a shipment of gold ingots from Sheik Ibn Hazm which, according to British intelligence, is on its way via camel caravan to the coast of North Africa. It is this gold that Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin must at all costs intercept. The fate of Europe hinges on their desperate mission. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (58)

Great reader; poor editing of material.
We made the mistake of buying this ABRIDGED version of The Hundred Days, not noticing the FINE PRINT. The reader was very good, but the material truncated, choppy, and not "up to snuff." If you are a devoted fan of the Aubrey-Maturin stories, hurry up and read, yes, read the book. There's not a moment to lose!

The Hundred Days
Overhelming view of England day to day life during the last months of Napoleon power.

spoilers here; but DONT read other reviews if you haven't read this book
I have criticisms of many of the reviews here. Reviewers, type 'spoiler' for gosh sake. Have some decency; presumably review perveyors haven't read the damn thing. Anyway, to answer a few:
Dianna's death was absolutely necessary. Cripes, it sets up the next novel. You can see her death coming books ago.
I too have a problem with Bonden's death; I guess he felt the character tragic, and it was time to die. I think it was a stupid move. Bonden has as much right as Killick to continue on.
I think from some researching that O'Brian WAS ill through much of this book. However, it is still eminently endorsable.
The last two chapters I thought are very well done (O'Brian finishes a book better than anyone). And Jacob is a great character.

Masterfully ToldAdventure
Patrick O'Brian's capacity to carry off nineteen installments in the Aubrey/Maturin series is nothing short of astonishing.There is no faulting O'Brian's ability to craft a richly detailed and captivating tale combined seamlessly with subtle plot twists and turns.The Napoleonic wars and the escape of Napoleon from Elba provide the backdrop to this incredible tale filled with action and political intrigue that completely captives the reader.

The personalities of the families, friends, and enemies left ashore by Aubrey and Mautrin permeate their lives at sea. If not considered in this light, the death of Mautrin's wife, Diana, would be a meaningless detail.This is also what allows the reader to become intimate with Aubrey and Mautrin, almost as if they are old friends.O'Brian is never callow or derivative.You should not expect these sea-going tales to be filled with swashbuckling adventure of which the singular point is action.

This nineteenthinstallment takes you across the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, and into combat against the French navy.It also takes you ashore into North Africa to intercept caravans carrying gold.This gold is intended for Muslin mercenaries who are disposed to support Napoleon.This is an outstanding installment to the series and most definitely can stand on its own.

Wonderful, but not as
I very much admire Partick O'brien's style and books, and I cannot say that this is even a mediocre book, but it is below his rest, merely for reasons of the plot.It is rather a shock to discover, in the first few pages, that Stephen's beloved Diana has died.At first I was annoyed that we heard about it from a complete stranger, but then I realized that it was really kinder than being with Stephen when he learned of it.I was and am still frusterated with Bonden's curt death, but in the next book there is somewhat of a recompense.As I said, a good book, one worth reading, but not as spectacular as the others in the series. ... Read more

Amazon.com
After several installments of gallivanting around the South Seas, Aubrey and Maturin return home to England, where the surgeon-cum-intelligence-agent discovers that his wife has disappeared. As if such a domestic crisis weren't enough, the intrepid pair are also dispatched to the Gulf of Guinea (to suppress the slave trade) and to Ireland (to rebuff an impending French invasion.) O'Brian's stunning range, coupled with his mind-bending command of minutiae, explain why James Hamilton-Paterson has called him "the Homer of the Napoleonic Wars." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

The Aubrey-Maturin series is simply the best fiction ever written
Patrick O'Brian's "The Commodore" is the seventeenth book in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series.The Aubrey-Maturin books are quite simply the best fiction I've ever read.I enjoy them so much that I find it difficult to read any other fiction now.

Although there are twenty (completed) Aubrey-Maturin novels, in a sense they are one long, unending story.O'Brian tells the story of an unlikely pair of friends in early 19th century Britain: a hard-charging Royal Navy captain and an Irish physician and naturalist (and British spy).Both are devoted, for different reasons, to the fight against Napoleonic France.Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Stephen Maturin are dedicated friends, and the interplay between this unlikely pair is ranges from deep philosophical discussions to intended and unintended humor.

But what really makes these novels is Patrick O'Brian's writing style.Through his words, he paints wonderful pictures and creates real characters in brilliant narratives; which is good, because Aubrey and many of his exploits are based on real-life adventures during the Napoleonic Wars.

In "The Commodore," Aubrey leads a fleet of Royal Navy ships to the coast of Africa to interdict the slave trade.Aubrey has to deal with the internal problems of his fleet while also leading a successful campaign against African traders.Finally, Aubrey leads the fleet north to stop a French invasion of Ireland.This is a fabulous book, but I recommend that everyone with any interest in historical fiction or the Royal Navy read the entire series in order.

Another wonderful O'Brian novel
I am slowly reading my way through the entire set of Aubrey-Maturin novels.It has been one of the most enjoyable reading experiences of my life.The stories are compelling, the characters are extremely well developed, and the prose is vivid.Recommended to anyone who likes to read.

A more somber and reflective Aubrey & Maturin novel.
The seventeenth installment of the Aubrey/Maturin series is vintage O'Brian. Those who seek mere relentless thrills and action will be disappointed. By contrast, those who enjoy a novel that flawlessly fuses historically accurate fleet actions in the Age of Sail with meditations on the nature of friendship, love, fine music, literature, wine and all that makes life worth living will come away as fulfilled as could be expected from any book in this wonderful series.

"The Commodore" finds Captain Jack Aubrey, R.N., and his friend Stephen Maturin, back in England after a prolonged, around-the-world voyage. For both, their respective home-comings are, at best bittersweet. Though substantially enriched from their last expedition, the two friends must confront personal and family challenges that are awkward at best, and, in Stephen's case, painful at worst. Over a decade has passed since the naval officer and the medical doctor/naturalist/intelligence agent had met in Port Mahon just before the Peace of Amiens. Sixteen novels later, in the waning months of the Napoleonic wars, we find them not only older, but more reflective and serious. Jack is now a Commodore, commanding a powerful squadron and charged with a complicated dual mission that will take him from England to the coast of West Africa and later, to the shores of Ireland. Stephen, his private life as complicated as ever, finds himself enmeshed in intelligence-related intrigues that threaten to reach far, far too close to home. For all that, the novel's dominant ambiance is never opressive. True to form, O'Brian provides his readers with plenty of flashes of humor and levity that pierce the somber clouds that now and again gather over the heads of the protagonists. There is a happy ending -- of sorts. As is always the case in the Aubrey/Maturin novels, the nature of happiness is always somewhat ambivalent, perhaps fleeting. But, then again, is that not true in real life?

Home Again To Become Commodore.
This is the continuing sea-faring heroes' tale as they venture to Ireland after their last assignment to the Gulf of Guinea to suppress the slave trade.The two central characters are Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, the ship's surgeon, who uses his resourcefulness as a secret intelligence agent as a second profession.Alas, his little girl, Brigid, appears to be autistic, incapable of speech or contact, but it could be caused by the disiappearance of her mother -- as was the case of the child in the movie, The Patriot.'

In this one, Jack has been promoted; "I shall be a 'first-class' commodore" promised by Melville.This is about early 19th century naval life filled with varied characters on the ships with all the quirks and dialects possible.This adventure is "one of those great fleet actions on which the supremacy of the British Navy was founded."They have a direct confrontation with the French navy.It is an imagined world you don't want to leave, like Terry Webber's performance of both Booth and Lincoln in the one-man performance of 'Killing Lincoln,' I told him "I didn't want you to stop; I wanted you to go on and on and on."

'New York Times Book Review' calls this series "the best historical novel ever written."That may be stretching it some as I feel that way about Jack Finney's stories.American Navy had its own Admiral Farragut after whom a building in Knoxville is named, also a suburb which is becoming a town of its own.

John Ferguson calls O'Brian "a lyric poet working in epic form" which is an adequate comparison with Homer's "Odyssey."James Hamilton wrote in 'New Republic' that Patric O'Brian is 'the Homer of the Napoleonic wars." He has seventeen sequential novels about these two seamen pals, which are brilliantly written.I am wondering, will there be a number eighteen?

O'Brian's Exceptionaly Imagined Seagoing Tale Continues
After finishing this seventeenth installation in the Aubrey/Maturin series, I found myself wishing that there were still another seventeen novels to read.Patrick O'Brien's weaves a wonderful tale - one so vivid and magical that it is so very difficult to put any of the irresistible Aubrey/Maturin novels down.The seagoing tale that Patrick O'Brien has crafted is filled with interesting characters and a consistently compelling story-line.It is also replete with accurate historical detail and fully captures the political intrigue of the British Navy's involvement in the Napoleonic wars of the nineteenth-century.

Even though Commodore Aubrey's mission is to suppress the slave trade off the west coast of Africa and later onto a secret mission on the Irish coast to prevent a French invasion, `The Commodore' is not filled with seagoing adventure.In fact, the main components of the tale take place ashore.Maturin and Aubrey find themselves home after a long and successful adventure.While Lucky Jack is promoted to Commodore of the First Class, not all is well at home.Both he and his wife suspect the other of infidelity.Dianne has run away leaving Stephen's autistic child with the widow Clarissa Oakes.Political intrigue forces Stephen to slip some of his fortune and his child to Spain.

At sea, Stephen battles his addition to coca leaves and a severe bout with Yellow Fever.Commodore Aubrey's leadership and seamanship are tested by two Captains under his command.One is more interested in polished brass and drives his crew hard with the whip.The other is a sodomite, whose favoritism to those young men among his crew that he beds disrupts discipline and the fighting efficacy of his vessel.

This is one of the more magnificent books in the series and I heartily recommend it, as I do with the rest of the books in the Aubrey/Maturin series.

... Read more

Amazon.com
O'Brian's first sea-going novel, The Golden Ocean is a precurser to the acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin series in its excitement and rich humor, its eloquent style and and tapestry of historical detail.Peter Palofox, second son of a poor Irish parson, sets out on the voyage of a lifetime when he seeks his fortune as a midshipman in Commodore Anson's flotilla.With five ships under his command, Anson leaves England in 1740 to circumnavigate the globe and attack Spanish ships wherever they can be found.Peter comes of age in the complex but sharply defined community of the fleet as they engage in battle, fight disease, and face shipwreck. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

High Adventure at Sea
The Golden Ocean is the story of two Irish men who sail around the world in a British man-o-war in the mid-1700s in the famous and in many ways ill-fated voyage of the Centurion and its small supporting flotilla during England's war with Spain.This is not exactly a war story and the historical context is a bit unclear in O'Brian's novel.The sailors, marines, and their beloved commodore Mr Anson (later Lord Anson) are little better than scurvy pirates feeding off the Spanish shipping when they get opportunities.Of course, our heroes, Peter Palafox and Sean O'Mara, suffer all the standard ills and misfortunes of a four year voyage in a square-rigged sailing ship and yet ultimately triumph very satisfyingly.

The best feature of this novel, the first sea story written by O'Brian and before his famous Aubrey/Maturin series, is that the author has the ability to create a great sense of realism.So many adventure novels are stale, unbelievable, and cardboardy, but not this one--emphatically not!Reading The Golden Ocean one can smell the salt air, feel the sails fill with the wind, suffer the despair of endless calms, dread the scurvy, and live the life of a sailor in the 1740s.I assume that O'Brian has done his research and that the historical recreations are accurate.They certainly feel accurate.

One problem that I have with this historical novel, and that I have as well with the other O'Brian sea novels that I have read, is that the actual events portrayed and the running of the ship, and the dialogue, are all a bit murky.It is like reading a novel auf deutsch with two years of college German, or a novel or short story by Henry James.I am not quite sure that I understand the text and its meaning.There is so much sailor slang and obscure nautical terms that I am unfamiliar with (and I am a boater) that it might as well be Greek.I wish that the publishers or the author had included a glossary (there is a web site and book of O'Brian's nautical terms and sailors' slang that explains the numerous obscure words and phrases, but it is tedious to use).

Also I would recommend doing some historical research of one's own about the actual Anson voyage before setting off on this novel.

Action
Many twist and turns with great action and point blank yardarm to yardarm grape shot action.

Great
A wonderful look at the real hardships involved with being on a long voyage in a man of war during this period.A must read for those who are into the days of sail.

Great compliment to the Aubrey Maturin Series
After you have read all 20 1/2 of the Aubrey Maturin Series, read this book and Unknown Shore for more O'Brian

Vastly exceeded my uncertain expectations
For those rueing life with no more Aubrey-Maturin novels to read, "The Golden Ocean" is like a brief, passionate reunion with a bygone lover. No, it doesn't have our Jack and Stephen, but it has the familiar world of the British Navy's Age of Sail, brought to us in O'Brian's inimitable voice, this time through the eyes of two Irish recruits.

He wrote this in the 1950s, well before the "Master and Commander" series. What's striking is how good it is; there's no bad first-novel writing in sight. Many of the longer series' themes are already being developed. A long and harrowing voyage. Navy discipline. The awe in which the captain is held. The names of all those sails and ropes. Carrying on while friends die of scurvy. Preoccupation with the prize money. Bad jokes and slop chests and wondering if you can get across the Pacific with two shirts. Seasickness and weavilly bread and the terrors of reefing sails in high seas.

Irish himself, O'Brian spends far more time in this book developing his Irish characters. The first few chapters take place as Peter Palafox, a poor minister's son enlisting as a midshipman, and Sean O'Mara, a poorer servant boy who tags along, make their way across Ireland to the port. Their Irish style dominates their conversations with each other and particularly the personality of the headstrong Sean.One reviewer sees the beginnings of Padeen in Sean, but I disagree. They're two different characters.

The trip round the world is as epic a voyage as any in the main series. Ditto the battle royal. The denouement brought tears to my eyes. The book vastly exceeded my uncertain expectations. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Shipwrecked! When Captain Aubrey and his crew go aground on a remote island, they labor to construct a seaworthy schooner from the wreckage (taking breaks, of course, to play cricket.) Their subsequent adventures lead them to the dreaded penal colony at Botany Bay, and then, as always, back to sea.Product Description
Shipwrecked on a remote island, Captain Jack Aubrey and the crew of the Diane fashion a schooner from the wreck, only to have their makeshift vessel burned in an attack by Malay pirates. Their escape from this predicament is one that only the ingenuity of Patrick O’Brian—or Stephen Maturin—could devise. The dreadful penal colony in New South Wales, harrowingly described, is the backdrop to a diplomatic crisis provoked by Maturin’s Irish temper and to a near-fatal encounter with the wildlife of the Australian outback. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

great series
I love this series, I can't stop reading them.Well written, and descriptive, they really take you to a different world.

Aubrey and Maturin escape shipwreck and head to Australia
Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels continue to defy convention.In form and structure, the novels really aren't separate stories, but instead consist of separate episodes within a much larger narrative.While with most series of novels, the author builds each novel as a self-contained narrative, with each story building to its own particular climax.Not so with these novels, which often end on a point of minor transition but hardly the high point of the novel.

"The Nutmeg of Consolation" continues in this line.At the end of the last novel, "The Thirteen Gun Salute," Aubrey, Maturin, and the crew had been stranded on a proverbial desert island, populated only by pigs, ring-tailed monkeys, and birds."Nutmeg," fittingly enough, opens with a game of cricket as if no time had passed from one novel to the next.The "first act" of "Nutmeg" sees the most action in the novel, as Aubrey's crew comes under attack by a numerically superior force of savages (O'Brian is hardly politically correct), led by a fierce warrior-queen.O'Brian writes thrilling battle scenes, and this is no exception.

Eventually Aubrey and Maturin return to civilization. In dire need of a ship are able to locate the titular Nutmeg of Consolation, a small Dutch ship that in physical appearance would be a mere sloop, but thanks to Aubrey's status as post-captain the Nutmeg qualifies as a frigate.Desperate to halt French progress in the area and eager to prove that the British rule the seas, Aubrey takes the Nutmeg out in pursuit of a much larger French ship.In a chase that spans for hundreds of miles, O'Brian gets plenty of opportunity to capture the daily life aboard ship as only he can.

This episode then gives way - after a joyous reunion with Tom Pullings - to a trip to Australia and Botany Bay.Here Maturin is able to indulge his whims as a naturalist, but not after getting himself and his crew into hot water with the local army forces by thrashing an army man in a duel.Aubrey features less prominently in this portion of the novel, thanks in large part to his taking of a double-dose of physic without Maturin's approval, and ending up much the worse for wear as a result.

"Nutmeg" is a wonderful book because the journeys and adventures develop at a slow pace.O'Brian allows himself the luxury of capturing the various details of 19th-century life in great detail, in all their humor and sadness.A throw-away tale about an encounter with polar bears is one of the most moving passages in all of O'Brian's works, and his description of Maturin's unfortunate encounter with a platypus is a wonder.

All that is to the good, but I must confess that I was a little hungry for more action by the end of the novel.This probably reflects more on me than on the book, but I look forward to return to a little more cannonfire and broadswords in the coming novels.But to be fair, this four-star rating would probably be a five-star if it had been written by somebody other than O'Brian - he has just set his personal bar so high.

great series of books
If you are interested in sailing, British naval history, or the high seas... then this is a great historical fiction series.The single movie doesn't really do justice to this excellent series of novels.

The Inaction Outweighs the Action
Who is Paulton and why did Maturin want to visit him?Who were the "men and women on the lists?"Who is Padeen and why is Maturin so particularly concerned about him?Is Padeen also known as Coleman?Why would O'Brien give us a hundred pages with nothing more than the sights, sounds, and smells of Botany Bay, unconnected to any story line?What did O'Brien feel he contributed to the story with the addition of the island children to the story?If the essence of the writer's craft is to create and maintain tension, to keep the reader riveted, to entertain, to inform, then even the most avid O'Brien fan must admit that The Nutmeg of Consolation falls short.I will admit that I found some of the Aussie argot amusing, as when we learn that "purple dromedaries" translates as "little, small, bungling pickpockets."But trudging through the final chapters alongside colorless protagonists, I am sure that the reader will be as happy as are the protagonists themselves by the prospect of returning home.This was the next to last book in the Aubrey-Maturin series, and I can't help suspecting that O'Brien's creative light had dimmed.

One of the most entertaining entries into the entire series
Although THE THIRTEEN GUN SALUTE was one of the least eventful books in the entire Aubrey-Maturin series, THE NUTMEG OF CONSOLATION is one of the most action filled.The books in the series are not, in the end, really about action, but it nonetheless can be a lot of fun when it takes place.The major incident in the previous novel had been the wrecking of the Diane on uncharted rocks near a remote island and the start of this one has the surviving crew members working hard to build a smaller vessel out of the remains of the Diane to sail to the nearest port.Instead, they find themselves under attack by pirates, led by a memorable female who briefly and seemingly befriends Maturin.Later, after being rescued by a Chinaman who comes to the island looking for the makings of birds nest soup, Jack and his crew take charge of the refitting of a Dutch vessel that had been sunk and salvaged that Jack renames The Nutmeg of Consolation.After a long chase of a French privateer and the reuniting with the Surprise, the rest of the novel focuses on a trip to Botany Bay, the novel ending suddenly after a near fatal encounter by Stephen with a male duckbilled platypus.All in all, it is an exceptionally satisfying novel, the only possible complaint that there is little time for the political or interpersonal interplay so fascinating in the other novels.Also, O'Brian, who delights in being not only a first-rate storyteller but a teacher and instructor, gets to do less of the latter here.Still, I can't imagine anyone failing to be thoroughly entertained by this fine novel.

Some reviewers complain that at this point in the series, it is beginning to get a little tired.I do not experience that, though I can acknowledge that the series here begins to struggle against the limitations that were set for it by O'Brian's having set it so late in the Napoleonic wars.O'Brian acknowledges in the preface to the series as a whole that he probably make an error by having Jack become a captain and commander at around the mid-point of the Napoleonic era.As a result, when the series was doing so well and the demand for additional books so great, he was sometimes hard pressed to come up with new twists.Also, the chronology ceases at some point to make much sense.Voyages that would actually take two years must, so that more stories can take place before the end of the Napoleonic wars, effectively take up no more than a few months.As a fan of the series, I am more than willing to suspend my disbelief in order to have a few more stories than ought to be possible squeezed it.It is, in the end, one of the few concessions that any reader has to make to the series, but it is a concession in a good cause. ... Read more

Amazon.com
In this installment of O'Brian's maritime epic, Captain Aubrey and the crew of the Surprise are pursuing an American privateer through the Great South Sea. As is his custom, O'Brian grabs your attention with the first, beautifully memorable sentence: "A purple ocean, vast under the sky and devoid of all visible life apart from two minute ships racing across its immensity." And he doesn't relinquish it until 260 pages later, by which point Jack Aubrey is delighted at the mere fact of being alive.Book Description
Three Cassettes, 5 hrs. 15 min. abridged

Performance by Tim Pigott-Smith

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are back in the 16th installment in Patrick O'Brian's bestselling series.

At the outset of this adventure, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin pursue a heavy American privateer through the Great South Sea.Their ship, the Surprise, is now also a privateer, the better to escape diplomatic complications from Stephen's mission, which is to ignite the revolutionary tinder of South America.Jack will survive a desperate open-boat journey and come face to face with his illegitimate black son: Stephen, caught up in the aftermath of his failed coup, will flee for his life into the high, frozen wastes of the Andes: and Patrick O'Brian's brilliantly detailed narrative will reuinte them at last in a breathtaking chase through storm seas and icebergs south of Cape Horn. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

very impressed
Very impressed with this book. I really enjoyed when they went to Peru. This is my 3rd of his books and really enjoyed this.

Don't Read This Book. . .
. . .without first reading Truelove. Wine Dark Sea is the 16th
book in the Aubrey/Marturin series and as usual, the writing
is as rhythmic and sensual as the sea itself. O'Brian does his
usual great job of spiking the plot with layers of meaning and
twists and turns. He is also at his best in emphasizing the
'novel' part of his historical-novel niche.

If this is your first experience of the series though, you might
find the characters and motivations a bit hard to follow, especially
since so much groundwork was laid in Truelove. Some diehard
fans may be disappointed by transport of so much of the action
from the sea to the mountains.
Still any O'Brian is better than no O'Brian at all and this is one of
the bestbooks in the series.

--Lynn Hoffman, author of New Short Course in Wine,Theand
bang BANG: A Novel ISBN 9781601640005

Amazing, As Usual
Wine-Dark Sea is the sixteenth in Patrick O'Brian's wonderful 20-part nautical series.It is also the final in a four-part mini-series, as volumes thirteen through sixteen are an ongoing circumnavigation of the world.In this installment, Aubrey and Maturin and the HMS Surprise finish their adventures in the Pacific, land in Peru and then round the Cape into the Atlantic on their way home to England.For fans of the naval wars, there are some good 'ol rip-roaring chase and battle scenes.The Maturin crowd will find their hero high in the Andes examining wildlife and carrying on his intelligence activities.A wonderful worthy addition to O'Brian's series.

Aubrey and Maturin in the Pacific and Andes of South America
"The Wine-Dark Sea" is the immediate precursor to "The Commodore", chronicling the final exploits in the Surprise's mission to the Pacific and the west coast of Spanish America. Aubrey chases a French privateer, the Franklin, commanded by a wealthy Frenchman, Dutourd, an early advocate of communism, that has seized several British merchantmen in the South Pacific. Imprisoned aboard Surprise, Dutourd tries to befriend both Aubrey and Maturin, but is rebuffed by both. Aubrey transfers him back to the Franklin, but Dutourd escapes and hides unseen aboard Surprise, which is taking Maturin to the West Coast of South America. There he will be reunited with Aubrey's illegimate African son, Sam Panda, a local Roman Catholic priest. Maturin tries to forment a revolt amongst some of the local clergy and military against the Spanish monarchy, but before the revolt can commence, he is warned by others that Dutourd has escaped from the Surprise. The revolt is cancelled. Maturin must undertake a perilous trek across the Andes, suffering severe frostbite, before he is reunited with his shipmates. Aboard Franklin, Aubrey leads his crew in a desperate struggle against a French pirate warship. This is yet another exciting installment in the Aubrey-Maturin series, and among the most suspenseful.

Joint Review of All Aubrey-Maturin Books
Some critics have referred to the Aubrey/Maturin books as one long novel united not only by their historical setting but also by the central plot element of the Aubrey/Maturin friendship.Having read these fine books over a period of several years, I decided to evaluate their cumulative integrity by reading them consecutively in order of publication over a period of a few weeks.This turned out to be a rewarding enterprise.For readers unfamiliar with these books, they describe the experiences of a Royal Navy officer and his close friend and traveling companion, a naval surgeon.The experiences cover a broad swath of the Napoleonic Wars and virtually the whole globe.
Rereading all the books confirmed that O'Brian is a superb writer and that his ability to evoke the past is outstanding.O'Brian has numerous gifts as a writer.He is the master of the long, careful description, and the short, telling episode.His ability to construct ingenious but creditable plots is first-rate, probably because he based much of the action of his books on actual events.For example, some of the episodes of Jack Aubrey's career are based on the life of the famous frigate captain, Lord Cochrane.O'Brian excels also in his depiction of characters.His ability to develop psychologically creditable characters through a combination of dialogue, comments by other characters, and description is tremendous.O'Brien's interest in psychology went well beyond normal character development, some books contain excellent case studies of anxiety, depression, and mania.
Reading O'Brien gives vivid view of the early 19th century.The historian Bernard Bailyn, writing of colonial America, stated once that the 18th century world was not only pre-industrial but also pre-humanitarian (paraphrase).This is true as well for the early 19th century depicted by O'Brien.The casual and invariable presence of violence, brutality, and death is a theme running through all the books.The constant threats to life are the product not only of natural forces beyond human control, particularly the weather and disease, but also of relative human indifference to suffering.There is nothing particularly romantic about the world O'Brien describes but it also a certain grim grandeur.O'Brien also shows the somewhat transitional nature of the early 19th century.The British Navy and its vessals were the apogee of what could be achieved by pre-industrial technology.This is true both of the technology itself and the social organization needed to produce and use the massive sailing vessals.Aubrey's navy is an organization reflecting its society; an order based on deference, rigid hierarchy, primitive notions of honor, favoritism, and very, very corrupt.At the same time, it was one of the largest and most effective bureaucracies in human history to that time.The nature of service exacted great penalities for failure in a particularly environment, and great success was rewarded greatly.In some ways, it was a ruthless meritocracy whose structure and success anticipates the great expansion of government power and capacity seen in the rest of the 19th century.
O'Brian is also the great writer about male friendship.There are important female characters in these books but since most of the action takes place at sea, male characters predominate.The friendship between Aubrey and Maturin is the central armature of the books and is a brilliant creation.The position of women in these books is ambiguous.There are sympathetic characters, notably Aubrey's long suffering wife.Other women figures, notably Maturin's wife, leave a less positive impression.On board ship, women tend to have a disruptive, even malign influence.
How did O'Brian manage to sustain his achievement over 20 books?Beyond his technical abilities as a writer and the instrinsic interest of the subject, O'Brien made a series of very intelligent choices.He has not one but two major protagonists.The contrasting but equally interesting figures of Aubrey and Maturin allowed O'Brien to a particularly rich opportunity to expose different facets of character development and to vary plots carefully.This is quite difficult and I'm not aware of any other writer who has been able to accomplish such sustained development of two major protagonists for such a prolonged period.O'Brian's use of his historical setting is very creative.The scenes and events in the books literally span the whole globe as Aubrey and Maturin encounter numerous cultures and societies.The naval setting allowed him also to introduce numerous new and interesting characters.O'Brian was able to make his stories attractive to many audiences.Several of these stories can be enjoyed as psychological novels, as adventure stories, as suspense novels, and even one as a legal thriller.O'Brian was also a very funny writer, successful at both broad, low humor, and sophisticated wit.Finally, O'Brian made efforts to link some of the books together.While a number are complete in themselves, others form components of extended, multi-book narratives.Desolation Island, Fortune of War, and The Surgeon's Mate are one such grouping.Treason's Harbor, The Far Side of the World, and The Reverse of the Medal are another.The Letter of Marque and the ensuing 4 books, centered around a circumnavigation, are another.
Though the average quality of the books is remarkably high, some are better than others.I suspect that different readers will have different favorites.I personally prefer some of the books with greater psychological elements.The first book, Master and Commander, is one of my favorites.The last 2 or 3, while good, are not as strong as earlier books.I suspect O'Brian's stream of invention was beginning to diminish.All can be read profitably as stand alone works though there is definitely something to be gained by reading in consecutive order. ... Read more

Amazon.com
This segment of the Aubrey saga is set in Malta, where the captain's "small, sweet-sailing frigate" is undergoing repairs. The island, however, is swarming with Napoleonic agents, which means that Stephen Maturin must do everything in his power to avert sabotage. A typical O'Brian cocktail of action and intrigue.Book Description
Read by Tim Pigott-Smith
3 cassettes/ 5 hours

The 9th installment in the Aubrey/Maturin series

All of Patrick O'Brian's strengths are on parade in this novel of action and intrigue, set partly in Malta, partly in the treacherous, pirate-infested waters of the Red Sea.While Captain Aubrey worries about repairs to his ship, Stephen Maturin assumes the center stage; for the dockyards and saloons of Malta are alive with Napoleon's agents, and the admiralty's intelligence network is compromised.Maturin's cunning is the sole bulwark against sabotage of Aubrey's daring mission. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Interesting Installment
I started reading this series a little more than a year ago, and have been pacing myself. I found that once I had gotten used to the style of the first novel, I could easily consume the series and decided to slow down. A year later I arrive at this installment. It took me a few days to decide how I felt about it, but I have decided that its one of the best in the series.

Like other reviewers, I agree that this series is much like one long novel, and that each volume could be considered a chapter. This is not one of the more action oriented installments, but is full of intrigue and complexity which is itself exciting. I have found that while some of the books are more "broadside and boarding axe" heavy, others are more character driven, as is this one.

Probably more surprising than the activities of Mr. Wray, is the demise of Admiral Harte, whom we assume is lost in an explosion during one of the few battle scenes in the book.

I suggest this to any fan of the series, but like others I strongly suggest starting with the first volume and working towards this one.

Treasons Harbour
I truly do not look forward to reading the last book in this fantastic series by Patrick Obrian. Every book in this series is written with an attention to detail and history that I have only seen among very few authors. It will be difficult to find a book of interest after I read the last in this series.

Espionage takes center stage in ninth Aubrey-Maturin novel
I continue to marvel at how strong a series Patrick O'Brian has created with his beloved Aubrey-Maturin books.Now into their ninth novel, Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin have lost none of their appeal.

One of O'Brian's best decisions was to have Aubrey and Maturin play two dramatically different roles while serving together.Aubrey is a duty-driven fighting captain, good for plenty of gallantry and traditional British heroism.In certain novels, such as "Master and Commander," Aubrey gets to take the lead.Maturin, on the other hand, is a spy as well as a naturlist, humanist, and physician.O'Brian lets Maturin take the lead in other novels where dueling broadsides play less of a role.And thank goodness he did so, for after a few novels the stories of Aubrey leading ship after ship into combat would grow more than a little dull.

"Treason's Harbour" is one of the series' espionage-oriented novels.The novel opens in the titular harbour in the island of Malta.Aubrey's lucky ship "Surprise" is in for much-needed repairs, and Aubrey must confront the extortive practices of the local tradesmen in order to get his ship fixed.Maturin must confront the attempt by the French to seduce him using a charming local lady whom they have blackmailed.O'Brian masterfully injects humor into the scenario as Aubrey tries to rescue the lady's beloved (and mammoth) dog, who has fallen into a well.Despite falling in himself, Aubrey rescues the dog, who thereafter treats Aubrey with such affection that the local gossip swiftly becomes that Aubrey and the lady must be having an affair.

After this entertaining episode, it is off to the Red Sea for Aubrey and Maturin for more diplomacy.While there is plenty of time for seamanship, this mission is more in Maturin's line than Aubrey's.O'Brian treats the reader to several fun and thrilling passages, whether it is Aubrey trying to negotiate the desert on a camel, or Maturin using his new-fangled diving bell to explore the sea floor, or an unfortunate swimmer being devoured by a shark.

The pages of "Treason's Harbour" will fly by as Aubrey and Maturin move from scrape to scrape, eventually ending up in a sea battle with the French.All in all, a well-rounded entry into the Aubrey-Maturin series.I only give this one four stars to distinguish it from the best novels in the series, but this is by no means a criticism - sometimes you must discriminate between the very good and the excellent.

Naval Warfare in the Mediterranean and Espionage on Malta
In "Treason's Harbour" Lucky Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin continue their adventures in the Mediterranean; only this time Jack's well-known luck fails him.The story picks up where "The Ionian Mission" left off, and CPT Jack Aubrey is dealing with the refit of both the Worcester and the Surprise.In the shipyards of the 1800's - Malta in particular - corruption is rife and while Aubrey deals with the frustrations of naval command's less glamorous details Stephen Maturin finds Malta to be a den of spies, loose lips and competing intelligence agencies.Here Patrick O'Brian continues to expand and excel with Maturin's espionage activities.Significant to this novel is the introduction of a villain who spans more than one volume.I will not spoil the surprise, but he has been previously encountered to those familiar with O'Brian's series.This quality makes "Treason's Harbour" a great read from the intelligence perspective: the reader is given Maturin's knowledge and the Villain's knowledge, and can see the interaction of their various skills and chance, and how this plays out into reality.

Stephen Maturin runs counter intelligence in Malta, attempting to use and save a woman who is being manipulated by deadly French agents, and due to leaks within one of England's compartmentalized and competing intelligence agencies, is at a severe disadvantage that he can only suspect.Needless to say, O'Brian's forte in writing includes both naval action and tense espionage.

Soon the Surprise is dispatched on a mission to Arabia, where CPT Aubrey is ordered to attempt another minor coup similar to what he performed in the Ionian: take a small but strategic island, and through the use of subtle and well plied political intrigue and military maneuver, oust the French and their agents, ensure the installation of a ruler friendly to the interests of His Majesty's Empire and confound Bonaparte's minions to boot.Well, as you will see, all that is easily stated in war plans is not so easily executed on the ground, and the crew of the Surprise are soon terrified by evil Jin spirits in the Arabian deserts and fighting an enemy completely outside of their element.

Following the conclusion of their attempt in Arabia, Jack is dispatched once more to deal with a small potentate along the Barbary Coast, who has been playing both sides in England and France's struggle for dominion.The conclusion of the book will leave you at the brink, wanting more, and racing to the library or the bookshop to get the next adventure."Treason's Harbour" is a great book by any standards, and excels even by the elevated expectations that O'Brian continues to set.

Interesting Twists, Enhancing the Realism
Treason's Harbour provides a couple of interesting twists for the Patrick O'Brien fan.These twists involve failed missions which interrupt the continued series of victories we come to expect, yet which we know are not the stuff of reality.Captain Aubrey and his Surprises are sent on a mission by land across Egypt to the Red Sea to intercept a cargo of French bullion.We have high hopes for this adventure, as it would enrich Aubrey, and end his financial difficulties at home.This mission, however, ends in abject failure, for want of first rate military intelligence, and as a result of leaks of confidential information.The second twist is Dr. Maturin's dangerous efforts at counter-intelligence, in which he pretends to be seduced by the wife of a British officer, who feigns cooperation with the enemy in the hope of freeing her husband who is being held captive.This counter-intelligence effort is also unsuccessful.In short, even the fictionalized version of war embodies unfortunate disaster as well as brilliant victory.As usual, however, we are treated to a wealth of detail as to the operations of the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and to the minutiae of naval administration.For instance, we see the corruption of the dockyard shipwrights when Capt. Aubrey has to pay bribes to get the Surprise refitted on schedule.this book will not be a favorite of the fan of naval warfare, as the only action is brief, and is inserted ten pages from the end, as in afterthought.There is also some contemporary relevance, as the action of the book is set in Muslim lands during Ramadan, and we see the effect of Islam playing through the story line.Overall, it is a stand-alone plot, and no previous knowledge of the characters or precedence is required.Read it for the twists, and shake the Egyptian sand from your boots when you return home. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Aubrey and Maturin return to the choppy Mediterranean waters where they first served together, enforcing the Royal Navy's blockade of Toulon. Then the two companions are sent to the Greek Islands, where another series of maritime cliff-hangers awaits them. O'Brian performs his peculiar narrative magic as adeptly as ever, putting (as The Observer would have it) the "spark of character into the sawdust of time."Book Description
The 8th installment in the Aubrey/Maturin Series.

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, veterans now of many battles, return in this novel to the seas where they first sailed as shipmates.But Jack is now senior captain commanding a line-of-battleship in the Royal Navy's blockage of toulon, and this is a longer, harder, colder war than the dashing frigate action of his early days.A sudden turn of events takes him and Stephen off on a hazardous mission to the Greek Islands, where all his old skills of seamanship and his proverbial luck when fighting against all odds come triumphantly into their own. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

a standard pleasure
Needing a reliable book for a long flight, I turned to a random O'Brian work.They never disappoint, and The Ionian Mission was true to form.I am about halfway through the series, and am avoiding the sequential order.It's very doable.All of the usual wit and nautical flourishes are here, and most readers will learn a good deal more about the foreign world of early nineteenth century nautical diplomacy and warfare.I was searching for a distinguishing theme in this book, as I seem to recall finding in others; this one was a little more elusive.Nevertheless,I particularly enjoyed to diplomatic intrigue in the Ottoman empire along with the discovery of Bach and the preparation for the Handel oratorio.Better still was the representation of how the foibles of career advancement played out in the British navy.

Intrigue and action
As usual a wonderful insight into life in more trying times at its most colourful. Great characters, storyline and action, although a rather abrupt confusion.

A Sinking Ship (and Book)
THE IONIAN MISSION, the eighth novel in the "Aubrey/Maturin Series," is not a stand-alone book by any means.The revelation of Dr. Stephen Maturin's marriage to Diana Villiers near the opening of the book will have no significance to those who have not read the preceding works, particularly THE MAURITIUS COMMAND, and even its predecessor, POST CAPTAIN.As mentioned in reviews of some of the earlier volumes in this series, each novel is most accurately pictured as a chapter in one incredibly long story, not as an individual book, for, so far at least, a satisfactory understanding of each book depends upon some knowledge of what transpired in previous ones.However, this inevitably raises the question as to whether the entire series is worth the hours of one's life span required to read it.

Patrick O'Brian (whose real name was Richard Patrick Russ) is an uneven writer at best.Each volume in this on-going sea-faring adventure does have stirring scenes of battle, often complete with missing limbs, shattered appendages, and other naturalistic gore. At these points, the books are veritable "page turners" for readers who enjoy fast-paced action and the vicarious excitement of pitched battles among men-of-war, frigates, sloops, and other fighting ships.Some of the descriptions are also rather educational; the reader comes away with a new appreciation of what naval battle was like in the days when ships were at the mercy of wind and wave.One learns what a "fighting top" was in these ships and why they carried foot soldiers as well as sailors.

On the other hand, O'Brian/Russ is a less successful writer when he endeavors to incorporate human-interest themes not directly germane to naval warfare.The pages devoted to Maturin's marriage to Diana are an unfortunate example of this weakness.The reader learns that it is hardly an intimate or passionate sort of marriage, and both partners are happy enough when Maturin goes again to sea with his captain, Jack Aubrey.This parallels a similar description in an earlier volume of the not-very-joyous marriage of Aubrey with his own sweetheart, and neither adds significantly to the overall story line.

Probably as in real life, there are also stretches of time in the novel where little transpires.The lack of any particular action or even captivating intrigue for rather long periods leaves the reader wishing that something of interest would happen.At one of these rather boring stretches of nothingness, I laid the book aside, read UNDER A FLAMING SKY: THE GREAT HINCKLEY FIRESTORM OF 1894 by Daniel James Brown, and then returned to finish THE IONIAN MISSION.

The ending of this volume leaves the reader suspended in the literary air, by the way.Aubrey has successfully attacked two Turkish warships in a thrilling climatic chapter.Having boarded one of the Turkish ships, he stands on the deck when one of his officers advises him to return to their own ship because this one happens to be sinking.End of book.Essentially, the volume ends in the very midst of an infrequent, exciting action.There is no sort of literary resolution, denouement, conclusion, or sense that anything has been completed.The ending is incredibly unsatisfying, and one prays that the next book in the series, TREASON'S HARBOUR, picks up exactly where this one leaves off, but, if O'Brian/Russ runs true to form, we'll rejoin Aubrey and Maturin somewhere in the future with no clue as to what happened after his victory over the Turks.

All in all, I find O'Brian/Russ to be generally a decent writer but hardly a great one.His books are generally entertaining reads but not memorable ones.His story line is generally entertaining but not a significant contribution to modern literature.One could certainly find a much worse use of time than reading his seafaring novels, but then one could likely find a better use as well.The one recommendation I shall presume to offer is that, if one wishes to sample O'Brian/Russ's writing, he begin with the first novel of the series, MASTER AND COMMANDER, and come to this one in its proper place in the series so as to properly understand many of the references and characters.

Master and Commander series by Patrick O'Brien
I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series of books, I just wish the author had had time to write more of them.

Another solid entry into this wonderful series
"The Ionian Mission" is the eighth book in Patrick O'Brian's colossal Aubrey-Maturin series, and it is a solid entry . . . had it been written by another author, I'd probably give it five stars.To be fair, my expectations for this series are probably impossibly high.

Unlike many authors who write multiple novels about beloved characters, Patrick O'Brian allows his characters to age.This is a wonderful touch in "The Ionian Mission."Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin, intelligence agent, surgeon and naturalist, have been through many scrapes and adventures, and O'Brian allows the scars to show.Both Aubrey and Maturin are having some difficulties with their beloved musical duets on the violin and cello, thanks to their numerous wonds over the years.And Aubrey especially is beginning to resemble Frankenstein's monster, what with all his scars and gashes.In other words, these guys aren't James Bond, who emerges for each new story looking like a GQ cover model.

It is also delightful that O'Brian, for the all the successes he has granted both Aubrey and Maturin, leaves both characters at the mercy of their superiors."The Ionian Mission" is more Aubrey's tale than Maturin's, and so we have several scenes where Aubrey worries about how the Navy - especially his nemesis, Admiral Harte - seems to want him to fail.This is in addition to Aubrey's legal woes, as lawyers descend like locusts to steal his hard-won fortune.

"The Ionian Mission" has a sprawling plot that veers from a tedious blockade of a French port to an aborted espionage mission for Maturin to the Byzantine diplomacy of Turkish politics.Culminating in a titanic naval battle as Aubrey leads his beloved ship Surprise against two Turkish warships - outnumbered by almost 200 men and dozens of cannon - "The Ionian Mission" is a completely original and fresh installment in this wonderful series of books.

As per usual, O'Brian offers his usual pitch-perfect throwaway lines, such as when Aubrey reflects that he "never was a hypocrite until he became a father" when telling a youngster to behave in a very un-Aubrey-like way.While O'Brian offers great battle scenes and vivid descriptions of life at sea, this little gems are what make these books so much darn fun to read.

If you haven't read any of these books yet, go grab "Master and Commander," apologize to the friends and family you are going to snub over the next few weeks, and dive right in.You'll be glad you did. ... Read more