- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; First Edition edition (5 May 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0002223651
- ISBN-13: 978-0002223652
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14.2 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,088,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Ionian Mission: Aubrey/Maturin series, book 8
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Product Description
Review
‘…full of the energy that comes from a writer having struck a vein… Patrick O’Brian is unquestionably the Homer of the Napoleonic wars.’
James Hamilton-Paterson
‘You are in for the treat of your lives. Thank God for Patrick O’Brian: his genius illuminates the literature of the English language, and lightens the lives of those who read him.’
Kevin Myers, Irish Times
‘I envy those who have never read Patrick O’Brian: an enormous pleasure awaits you.’
Irish Times
‘The Ionian Mission is witty, funny, erudite and exciting… a triumph’
Helen Lucy Burke, Irish Press
‘Cemented over the years and across seven seas by good writing and good humour, the friendship between surgeon and intelligence agent Maturin and that lion-in-action and ass ashore, Jack Aubrey, may yet rank with Athos/D’Artagnan or Holmes/Watson as part of the permanent literature of adventure.’
Stephen Vaughan, Observer
Review
O'Brian's books are as atypical of conventional sea stories as Conrad's. Like John LeCarr , he has erased the boundary separating a debased genre from 'serious' fiction. O'Brian is a novelist, pure and simple, one of the best we have. --Mark Horowitz
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Marriage was once represented as a field of battle rather than a bed of roses, and perhaps there are some who may still support this view; but just as Dr Maturin had made a far more unsuitable match than most, so he set about dealing with the situation in a far more compendious, peaceable and efficacious way than the great majority of husbands. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Marriage was once represented as a field of battle rather than a bed of roses, and perhaps there are some who may still support this view; but just as Dr Maturin had made a far more unsuitable match than most, so he set about dealing with the situation in a far more compendious, peaceable and efficacious way than the great majority of husbands. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book's heroes, Aubrey & Maturin, are a little jaded in this Mediterranean episode of the Napoleonic naval wars, and so is the plot. Two or three times we are promised action, but it comes to nothing. I never became as engaged as in previous episodes. The final action, when it comes, is exciting, but cursory and unsatisfying. The interplay between the main characters had a feeling of going through the motions. Nevertheless, even when O'Brian is not at his best, he still produces an enjoyable, well written and thoroughly believable novel that is a pleasure to read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Help! I need a dictionary of 19th century naval terms...
I am on number eight now in this series and am still having difficulty in following some parts due to ignorance. But I haven't been put off by this. The richness of description and the sincerity with which the characters is drawn is making a slow journey through the careers of Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin an absolute delight. The essays by notable experts at the end of each novel is of great help too, and certainly my sketchy knowledge of the history of the period has been embellished.
Love it.
I am on number eight now in this series and am still having difficulty in following some parts due to ignorance. But I haven't been put off by this. The richness of description and the sincerity with which the characters is drawn is making a slow journey through the careers of Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin an absolute delight. The essays by notable experts at the end of each novel is of great help too, and certainly my sketchy knowledge of the history of the period has been embellished.
Love it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Captain Jack Aubrey and his crew are required to carry out tedious duties at the whim of naval politics but action errupts when they escort spy and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin to broker a sensitive deal - with Jack playing an important part. Events are unpredictable, as usual, making this a thrilling continuation of Jack and Stephen's journey together.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Patrick O'brian, The Ionian Mission
Sorry to say I have not read the book. Having read two of the authors novels which really detract from an Nautical story .
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Anthony Walmsley
I couldn't get out of harbour...
Maybe it's too high expectations, having heard how great the O'Brien stories were. But this is the second one I've tried and still find it difficult to find enough wind in the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by James Lizard
Satisfied
I continue to be very satisfied with the prices and delivery of items from Amazon, and in particular these books.
Published 17 months ago by Angie
Another cracker
Classic O'Brian, derring do, crafty Turks, spies and the whiff of gunpowder. What more could one want? Read more
Published 21 months ago by Richy Births
Slow start, cracking ending.
The book has a slow start but progressively gets more interesting and faster paced. The last 100 pages are absolutely brilliant - as good as you'll find anywhere. Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2007 by Mr. S. B. Ball
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