Patrick O'Brian's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World

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 An in-depth historical reference, it brings to life the political, cultural, and physical setting of O'Brian's novels.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.

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Customer Reviews

Lots of Good Pictures, But Little Else
What I mean by this, is that the book could have been more tailored to the O'Brian series, of which it purports to illustrate. The illustrations of the Royal Navy, its conflicts, etc., are good. It provides good background for Capt. Aubrey's world, but it falls short in focusing on the PARTICULARS of Capt. Aubrey's experience. All those illustrations of Royal naval battles, except for some, have no bearing on Capt. Aubrey. I'm saying that many pictures don't really add to understanding Aubrey's world. One example: I've become very interested in the not-so-glamorous life of sea life of the time. How were gun crews trained? How were foretopmen selected and trained? The part on food was terrible. It was a big item on a ship. Who were the cooks? What did the galleys look like? How is it that admirals and officers could snap their fingers and have what they wanted at hand almost instantly? Breakfasts and dinners are a big part in O'Brian's novels, yet he does not give adequate background for what's going on in the galley. What about the butchering? Ok, sheep, an ox, goats, chickens, etc., were on board, for fresh meat. O'Brian leaves this stuff out, yet he's so conscious of what sails are flying, what the tack is, what the wind is, etc. This book shows nothing of that.

Again, I'm an American landlubber whose had some sailing experience and have been drawn into O'Brian's world because of the "Master and Commander..." movie. That may explain my criticisms. The book is good. Buy it, if you want more than what O'Brian provides in his novels. Basically, I'm glad I did.

2010-07-27 (Missoula, Montana United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Disappointing book
I thought this book would have the kind of beautiful, meticulous paintings Geoff Hunt provided for cover art on the Aubrey-Maturin series. It didn't. If you want knowledge of the ships of the era, get the Geoff Hunt book.

The illustrations in this books are mediocre to downright inferior compared to the work of Hunt: a number of landscapes portrayed from a distance, ships ditto, water colors artfully contrived but all without the details which convey the appearance of reality, details always present in the far better work of Geoff Hunt.

2010-07-11 | stasi2 (Alexandria, VA USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 2

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Great Even if You Don't Read O'Brian
I am not even a fan of the Patrick O'Brian books (I tried but somehow the style failed to grip), but I have read the Hornblower series repeatedly and love other books of the period, and found this a beautiful, informative and interesting book. It fills in the blanks in naval technology, customs and life aboard ship in the 18th and 19th century British navy. There are easy to consult diagrams on rigging, ratings and crew components, lists of toasts, descriptions of uniforms.... I just couldn't be happier with it. It's a coffee table book that you want to actually keep on your coffee table. The art alone would be worth it, without the detailed and interesting information. And yes, I know, I should give the O'Brian books another try.

2010-04-15 (San Diego, CA USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Spoilers upon spoilers
Though I cannot detract from the winning research put into this great reference, the few times I've stumbled into thumbing through it, a major spoiler is dropped in my lap with nary a warning. (I am still working through H.M.S. Surprise vol.3) The first page I opened on displays a period carriage similar to the one a certain (here un-named) character's wife is killed in. "Fantastic" I say to myself, there goes that surprise. A two-in-one blow! Vowing to steer towards the leeward of this volume until I've read every last Aubrey-Maturin novel, I come across a review of said work in an above listed review. There I assume a fellow reader, familiar to the subtlety of plot sequence and the necessity of well-timed disclosures won't repeat this mistake. Haha! Now I've pre-maturely learned that a major charactor's parent is a Spanish Spy! I'm sure I'll enjoy this work sometime in the distant future, but it will ruin your experience if you read through it too early.

2010-03-05 | Blinky'sNemesis | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 3

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This should not be a Kindle edition
I'm sure this is a beautiful book with many gorgeous illustrations, but it should not be sold as a Kindle version because the illustrations cannot be deciphered on the Kindle, and the captions confuse the text.

2010-02-17 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 1

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The Commodore (Vol. Book 17) (Aubrey/Maturin Novels)

Product Details

• ISBN13: 9780393314595
• Notes: BUY WITH Aplomb, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and assistance to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Form: New

Description

On a strange decoy mission to the disease-ridden lagoons of the Gulf of New Guinea, Captain Aubrey and secret intelligence agent Maturin are ordered to suppress the slave trade, but the French are mounting an invasion that will give the men added problems. Reprint.

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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."

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Customer Reviews

Good enough to make me glad it wasn't the last!
Amended review: This ISN'T the last of the series! WOO HOO! I found that there are three more titles, and an unfinished one as well, plus a fellow named Dean King has put together an atlas and a dictionary of terms based on the Aubrey/Maturin series.

Whew. The Commodore ended well enough to cap off the series, but there is more to know about the characters, and I want to spend more time with them.

The last and one of the best of the Captain Aubrey series. O'Brian writes with an urgency like a ship flying across the ocean under full sails. He drives headlong right to the happy ending, resolving the last loose end (involving Stephen and Diane) on the last page.

Good enough to wish it wasn't the last.

Eighteenth in the series: The Yellow Admiral (O'Brian, Patrick, Aubrey/Maturin Novels, 18.)

2008-10-14 (Raleigh, NC) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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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.

2007-09-18 | Treb (Freedom's Fortress) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

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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.

2007-07-31 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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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?

2006-01-21 | grumpygrognard | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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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?

2005-09-23 | Betty Burks (Knoxville, TN) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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The Mauritius Command (Vol. Book 4) (Aubrey/Maturin Novels)

Description

"Jack's assignment: to capture the Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius from the French. That campaign forms the narrative thread of this rollicking sea saga. But its substance is more beguiling still..."—Elizabeth Peer, Newsweek Captain Jack Aubrey is ashore on half pay without a command—until Stephen Maturin arrives with secret orders for Aubrey to take a frigate to the Cape of Good Hope under a commodore's pennant, there to mount an expedition against the French-held islands of Mauritius and La Réunion. But the difficulties of carrying out his orders are compounded by two of his own captains—Lord Clonfert, a pleasure-seeking dilettante, and Captain Corbett, whose severity pushes his crew to the verge of mutiny.

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Sounding every bit the proper English gentleman, narrator Tim Pigott-Smith gives a delightfully entertaining, yet appropriately restrained performance in this rollicking addition to the popular Aubrey/Maturin series. Blending historical fact with fiction, author Patrick O'Brian has crafted another captivating saga based on obscure events in maritime history. "The frigates never reached the Antilles. Nothing was heard of them until they hit Mauritius, where they upset the balance of powers in those waters entirely. The news of their presence reached England a very short while ago." In less competent hands, efforts of this nature might well sink under the weight of pedantic prose and mind-numbing minutiae, but O'Brian's impressive writing and the considerable vocal talents of Pigott-Smith help keep this adventure, and the long-lived series itself, riding high in the water. (Running time: 5 hours, 3 cassettes) --George Laney

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Customer Reviews

Very exciting read
I would definetely recommend this book and the entire Aubrey/Maturin series. It is very well written and keeps you eagerly reading even if your not that into historical navy type stuff.

2010-01-07 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Best so far
Best book in the series so far. The charcters are so alive that you feel like you are reading history.

2009-10-23 | Fireman Gene (North Texas) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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disappointing
Rather a letdown after the superlative "HMS Surprise," this is a curious member of the series, which never seems to take off. The characters have lost their steam, and the writing itself seems rushed and distracted, unworkmanlike. The plot is all ahoo, as Aubrey might say, the entire enterprise being a long, tedious and half-hearted series of naval maneuvers and sorties with a minimal amount of human spice to them. Still, as ever, there are brilliant characters which one wishes were grasped onto with greater commitment by the author; instead, he seems to lose interest as he goes--as if the whole thing were dashed off while waiting for the turkey to finish roasting.

2009-09-18 (Rhode Island) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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Great.
Received the book in good condition. Have not finished reading the book yet but so far it has been a great Summer reading.

2009-08-04 | Dolphin (San Diego, CA USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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More historical action in Master and Commander book four
Before even reading the book, I noticed that this is the first of the Aubrey/Matarin series that includes more than just a figure of a ship identifying the various kinds of sails, this book shows a map of "The Mauritius Campaign." And indeed, this book ranges farther afield from the narrow confines of the ship and spends more time developing the campaign, based as it is on a set of historical events that occurred at that time and place. Consequently less claustrophobic, this book moves faster and reads easier than the others, with less character development as we have come to know the characters already.

Fifth in the series: Desolation Island

2008-10-14 (Raleigh, NC) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book: Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon in the Aubrey-Maturin Sea Novels

Description

Now in its second edition, this expanded work catalogs every person, animal, ship and cannon mentioned by name in the 21 books of Patrick O’Brian’s series on the maritime adventures of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. The novels, renowned for their “far-ranging web of wit and allusion,” teem with thousands of characters and ships, both imaginary and historical. From Master and Commander to 21: The Unfinished Voyage, this book distinguishes the fictional from the factual, making a useful series companion for the casual reader and the most ardent fans. Each of the more than 5,000 alphabetized entries provides a reference to the novels and chapters in which the topic appears. Additionally, biographical notes on the historical figures are included, with sources provided in an annotated bibliography. Colin White, a leading British naval historian and an authority on Nelson’s Navy provides a foreword.

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Customer Reviews

Don't leave the seashore without it!
If you are one of the vast multitude of lovers of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, you should own this book. It is the most fascinating, detailed, no-seashell-left-unturned compendium published today. If it's not here, it doesn't exist. Period. A truly fine companion to O'Brian's magnum opus.

2010-04-24 | Vickie's First Review (WIsconsin) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Thorough and informative.
I must say that my recent purchase of "PO's Muster Book" is worth the investment. I wish I had bought it sooner.

I am not quite finished with all 20 and 1/2 volumes of the O'Brian 19th century odyssey, having only finished the first 18, but I became an Aubrey/Maturin junkie after reading the first two novels and watching the movie. Comprehending the wealth of people, places and events, real and imagined, combined with a liberal use of foriegn languages was difficult and intimidating. I was often confused, because I didn't readily remember names and places from one chapter to the next.

Fortunately, before I started no. 5, I discovered, through Amazon, the companion books advertized there. I purchased "Sea Of Words", "Harbors And High Seas" and "Patrick O'Brian's Navy". Problem solved. I constantly cross referenced my new literary tools several times a chapter to interpret the rich mix of story and detail woven together in O'Brian's romantic chronology. The downside is that I needed to carry a tote when I went to read at the coffee shop as well as use an extra chair to hold my not so portable library.

Recently, I have added "The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book" and I immediately liked using it. Actually, it could be a "stand alone" companion book, except that it is absent of maps, diagrams, pictures or a commentary on the life and times. I know that this type information is beyond the scope of "Muster" by nature, so, my other books are still important to me, just not needed by the night stand.

That said, I am pleased with the appearance, organization and thoroughness of "Muster". Formatted like Webster's, it is highly informational and allows quick alphabetical access to the who and the where along with the what and the when not as easily accomplished by the other companion books. I can quickly remind myself of the names and places and not lose track of the story in doing so. Additionally, it lists all O'Brian's books with a Cliff Notes style summary and along with each item is the cross reference of all mentions in the series by book and chapter. It has helpful optional references to deliniate the fact from fiction.

While I finish the series and re-read it, as I'm sure I will, "Muster" will be my favorite companion. Now, when I'm reading on the plane, I won't have as much baggage.

2007-04-12 (Kingston, OK USA) | Helpful Votes: 19 | Rating: 5

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It's the great reference book of the world, sure.
Of "our world, our wooden world," as O'Brian wrote in the Nutmeg of Consolation. As an O'Brian devotee who is compiling a quotation book for naval officers and mariners (The Literary Mariner; look for it next year), I have found this Muster Book to be more useful, in its own way, than even Dean King's excellent Sea of Words. King's work is mostly a wonderful timesaver--you needn't hunt up terms in other reference books--but Gary Brown's POB Muster Book is unique and indispensable: no where else will you find the attention paid to and the cross-referenced information on the characters, ships, and animals of the entire Aubrey-Maturin series (what one reviewer called the Aubreyiad, a term I like very much).

Once the book was in hand, for example, I was able very quickly to answer three questions that had been bothering me: was Awkward Davis and Awkward Davies the same man (yes); were the Dumanoirs mentioned separate characters (yes); and what were the names of the various cannon in Surprise.

There is a very useful and succinct summary outlining the entire series, and the lengthy essays on each of the major characters also walks through all the books from that character's perspective (warning: if you haven't read the Aubreyiad through, these will be spoilers). Gary Brown also makes good use of helpful references to biographies (Dean King's and Nikolai Tolstoy's--see my Amazon reviews) and to historical works. This is simply a stunning achievement.

2007-02-19 (Vienna, Virginia) | Helpful Votes: 27 | Rating: 5

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Indispensable!
As an academic, I was first introduced to O'Brian by a colleague who thought I might find it interesting to compare O'Brian's works to Jane Austen's. As I did so I became convinced that there was more than a chance connection between the authors' works, but with O'Brian's expansive Aubreyiad, trying to corroborate the simplest connection became so time consuming it was discouraging. I happened across the first edition of this book on Amazon, ordered it, and three published academic articles later, it may well be the most indispensable work in my library. So much so, that when a newer edition came out that included the last few novels O'Brian wrote, I had to have it. I haven't been disappointed. Whether you're a "fan" or an academic, Gary Brown's meticulous research is sure to add to your understanding and appreciation of the genius of Patrick O'Brian.

2007-01-15 (Ruston, LA United States) | Helpful Votes: 12 | Rating: 5

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The most indispensable companion book
There are other companion books to Patrick O'Brian's world and works, but none better than this one. Being a foreigner and rather a recent fan, I really need the help of such books to attain at least the merest understanding of what's going on, so I own several others which I enjoyed enormously. However none is so complete and helpful as this one. Most recommendable.

2006-09-20 | Jaap Fabriek (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) | Helpful Votes: 15 | Rating: 5

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21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (Aubrey/Maturin Series)

Product Details

• Form: New
• ISBN13: 9780393060256
• Notes: BUY WITH Self-assurance, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and rite to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Description

In response to the interest of millions of Patrick O'Brian fans, here is the final, partial installment of the Aubrey/Maturin series.

Blue at the Mizzen (novel #20) ended with Jack Aubrey getting the news, in Chile, of his elevation to flag rank: Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron, with orders to sail to the South Africa station. The next novel, unfinished and untitled at the time of the author's death, would have been the chronicle of that mission, and much else besides. The three chapters left on O'Brian's desk at the time of his death are presented here both in printed version—including his corrections to the typescript—and a facsimile of his manuscript, which goes several pages beyond the end of the typescript to include a duel between Stephen Maturin and an impertinent officer who is courting his fiancée.

Of course we would rather have had the whole story; instead we have this proof that O'Brian's powers of observation, his humor, and his understanding of his characters were undiminished to the end.

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Customer Reviews

21- wish there was more, of course
Because each book in the series doesn't actually finish until the first few chapters of the next book, this does a fairly good job at closing off Blue at the Mizzen. I bought it just to get closure on the series. The book is thin, and the fact that there's also handwritten copy for each printed page, and many printed pages aren't all that full means it doesn't take long to read. There's maybe only 50 pages of actual story, but it's enough to close things off -- and make you wish he'd been able to write more.

2010-07-22 | Fluffy (Minneapolis, ND USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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A Study In Opposites?
I introduced myself to the series in the late 80's via audio books read by Patrick Tull. In the late 90's/early 00's I read them through. Now another decade has passed and in April I began again with "Master and Commander." I just finished "Blue at the Mizzen" last week, for 20 books in 10 weeks, not bad.

I often visit the gunroom and read the postings. Over time I have sharpened my "O'Brian wits" and learned to read Chapter 1 very carefully for tips on what was to follow. I'd say that "21" was to be a study in contrasts or opposites.

1) In the Straits the Surprise is inundated with birds. In Buenos Aires the ship is inundated with...well, poop. Things are going to happen in bunches and not necessarily nice things.

2) Jack's daughters get seasick and are useless at sea. Stephen's daughter Brigid is quite at home on the sea. In each case it is the opposite of their father. Here's one bunch: two whole families, GIRLS, descend on the stage. (We've seen what happens with women aboard.)

3) The healer becomes a willing killer when Maturin fights a duel. What is going to become of Jack the seaman? Will he find high rank ultimately means a desk job? And what effect would such a duel have on the girls?

The story needs a lot of work. It is loose as it stands, not merely incomplete. For instance the Surprise and Ringle would take at least six weeks to get to England and another six weeks to get back. Does O'Brian mean to say the squadron stayed at Buenos Aires for 12 weeks taking on provisions, etc.? Dubious. And how could Capt Miller not know that Christine was "spoken for"? His gallantries are puzzling. And it looks like Jack performed great gun exercises while anchored in the roadstead. Dubious.

One thing I can say about the series as it is fresh in mind, the final three books were not up to the standard of the earlier novels. Is there any reason to think this (21) would have changed the trend? We can see him employing the tried-and-true techniques of foreshadowing, etc., but his sentences are not as well-crafted and he seems to be sort of skimming above his story, not getting into it as deeply as previously. For instance, remember the episode of the word "Seth"? Those few pages are very vivid. I think there should have been some sort of parting ceremony -- some dancing or music-making or paying-off, some closure to the people leaving the barky for home. O'Brian somehow lost some sensitivity to his characters.

Oh, well. We do have 20!

2010-06-16 (Key West FL) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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O'Brian's Dog watch
Now why have you entitled this piece "O'Brian's Dog Watch", my dear?
Because, it is of the shortest book which is therefore cur-tailed! Curtailed!
Whereas, there's some toasted cheese and some coffee going cold after your duel - I don't know . . .

Well, those 3 lines should deter any newcomer to the Aubrey-Maturin series from this review. And so it should as this book is only for the diehard O'Brian fan who wants some kind of closure to his relationship with the author. The book gets 5 stars for that function alone. It is a memento for those suffering a little grief as the author gets sown into a sheet and dropped over the side.

There is little to say about the contents of this morsel. A couple of introductory chapters for continuity with "Blue at the Mizzen" and brief episodes and ceremonies. Most of this is typed and there is an accompanying manuscript.

So, we some to the end of a series of books that are like a long ocean voyage. The characters of Aubrey and Maturin are interesting foils for each other. Also, the polymath Maturin serves may function - surgeon, spy, companion and, not least, as the perennially unseamanlike lubber to whom Aubrey and the author could direct repeated explanations of matters related to the sea and sailing.

So, now we are at the end of our voyage and must disembark. It seems unlikely that anyone will presume to step in and continue the series.

2010-05-16 (Tulsa, OK USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Rushed to print
This shows signs of being rushed to print, including obvious typos in the printed text. Conceivably, these were O'Brian's typos in his typescript and the publisher diligently reproduced them, but that seems unlikely at best. It's also disappointing that the publisher couldn't find someone to transcribe the final pages of the handwritten draft reproduced here; presumably time and money were issues.

2009-08-09 | Yankee (Vermont) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 3

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For Devotees of the Series
Patrick O'Brian's unfinished twenty-first novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series was released four years after his death. Although at first I was hesitant to read an unfinished manuscript for many reasons, as a fan of the series, I am very happy to have had the opportunity to get one last glimpse of Admiral Aubrey and Dr. Maturin - and get a tiny glimpse inside Patrick O'Brian's creative process.

The released novel includes only three chapters of the final book. The typeset pages face counterpart copies of Patrick O'Brian's hand-written manuscript, including strike-throughs and other changes.

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.

Reading this unfinished novel helps the reader believe that Aubrey and Maturin are still alive and know that, had he not died, Patrick O'Brian had more plans for the Aubrey with his admiral's flag and his entire family. This release is for true devotees of the series.

2009-06-14 | Treb (Freedom's Fortress) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Desolation Island (Vol. Book 5) (Aubrey/Maturin Novels)

Description

"The relationship [between Aubrey and Maturin]...is about the best thing afloat....For Conradian power of description and sheer excitement there is nothing in naval fiction to beat the stern chase as the outgunned Leopard staggers through mountain waves in icy latitudes to escape the Dutch seventy-four."—Stephen Vaughan, Observer Commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh of Bounty fame, Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend and surgeon Stephen Maturin sail the Leopard to Australia with a hold full of convicts. Among them is a beautiful and dangerous spy—and a treacherous disease that decimates the crew. With a Dutch man-of-war to windward, the undermanned, outgunned Leopard sails for her life into the freezing waters of the Antarctic, where, in mountain seas, the Dutchman closes...

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Captain Bligh (yes, the guy from the Bounty) needs to be rescued, and the Royal Navy has the perfect man for the job: Captain Jack Aubrey. With his friend and cloak-and-dagger expert Stephen Maturin in tow, Aubrey sets off for Australia. Several factors, including an attractive spy and a small-scale epidemic, conspire to change his plans, and before long his frigate is being pursued into Antarctic waters by a Dutch man-of-war. Five installments into the series, the Aubrey-Maturin story remains (to quote The Observer) "the best thing afloat since Horatio Hornblower."

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Customer Reviews

um yea 5
one of the best of the series.
this guy is so good i can't really give a criticism.
well. i a, ...

2010-01-30 (Northville, MI United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Best starter novel for O'Brian series.
When I start talking to people who want to get into the Patrick O'Brian series, I always recommend that they read Desolation Island first. Somehow this novel stands on it's own more than any of O'Brian's Aubrey Maturin series. You get you a superior novel without having to have read the earlier books. Desolation Island displays the splendor of O'Brian's writing, tells a gripping story, plus it makes you feel like an insider in O'Brian's world when you go back and read Master and Commander and then you are totally hooked from Chapter One!

Geoff Hunt: Portrait of a Marine Artist
Extensively shows how Geoff painted the cover for this book. Tells what it was like working with O'Brian

Geoff Hunt: Painting in the Studio
Geoff painted all of O'Brian's covers - incredible artist!

High Seas Schooner: Voyage of the Harvey Gamage
Award winning documentary shot in heavy seas in the North Atlantic.

2009-11-21 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Utterly sublime brilliance
If there is any better writing in the English language than the couple of chapters in Desolation Island where the Leopard is being pursued by the Waakzaamheid, and the aftermath thereof, then I've certainly never read it.

You don't have to read many of these books before going back to other authors starts to feel like going from reading the Wall Street Journal to a British red-top tabloid.

On the whole I think Desolation Island is the best of the series, the worst of which is many times better than any other novels I've ever read.

2009-06-02 | reader (Chicago) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Implausible, and unrelentingly depressing, and increasingly unlikely
Not the best of the series so far, despite great action and character development through the first half. The second half of the book is taken up by a series of potential disasters, from a chase by a more powerful enemy, to a near-fatal fight with the enemy during a hurricane blow, to hitting an iceberg, to a near-mutiny, to nearly sinking due to a leak from the iceberg hit, to nearly starting the War of 1812 with an American whaling ship whose sheltering bay they have unwittingly invaded to try to fix the ship enough to move on.

All of these things were be truly potential dangers of any voyage, and there were probably voyages in the golden days of the British Navy as cursed as this, but in fiction it just seems implausible, and unrelentingly depressing, and increasingly unlikely that anyone would survive all these things on one voyage.

And the book concludes with Captain Jack and the Doc still stranded on the island, but with the ship fixed and an international incident averted. It should make for an interesting start to the next in the series!

Sixth in the series: The Fortune of War (Aubrey Maturin Series)

2008-10-14 (Raleigh, NC) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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Aubrey shipwreck on land / master at sea
I enjoyed this book. Besides the fact that Napoleonic History is a hobby of mine, I believe that the author truly has put to words what a naval commander must feel while assigned to year long mission. Aubrey is miserable on land and yearns for another command even though that means leaving his wife and young children. While Aubrey is a hero on the high seas, he is a ship wreck on terra firma. Back at sea, he comes back to life but begins to feel isolated from a crew that hasn't entirely warmed to him. As always his physician, Maturin makes insightful analysis of his friend Jack, but that is not all.
We begin to see more into Maturin's alternate persona, as a highly trusted intelligence agent, as he is entrusted with delivering an American spy to the Botany Bay penal colony. Has the good Dr successfully manipulated the American spy after arranging for her "escape?" We will see.
Throughout the voyage we are treated to the author's great tale-telling: cat-and-mouse encounter with a Dutch ship-of-the-line as well as the perils of the South Atlantic.
Definitely worth reading.

2008-04-12 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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