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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
'In a highly competitive field it goes straight to the top. A real first-rater.' Mary Renault
'I never enjoyed a novel about the sea more. It is not only that the author describes the handling of a ship of 1800 with an accuracy that is as comprehensible as it is detailed, a remarkable feat in itself. Mr O'Brian's three chief characters are drawn with no less depth of sympathy than the vessels he describes, a rare achievement save in the greatest writers of this genre. It deserves the widest readership.' Irish Times
Product Description
Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of their beginning, with Master and Commander, these evocative stories are being re-issued in paperback with smart new livery. This is the seventh book in the series.
Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are ordered home by despatch vessel to bring the news of their latest victory to the government. But Maturin is a marked man for the havoc he has wrought in the French intelligence network in the New World, and the attentions of two privateers soon become menacing.
The chase that follows through the fogs and shallows of the Grand Banks is as thrilling, as tense and as unexpected in its culmination as anything Patrick O’Brian has written. Then, among other things, follows a shipwreck and a particularly sinister internment in the notorious Temple Prison in Paris. Once again, the tigerish and fascinating Diana Villiers redresses the balance in this man’s world of seamanship and war.
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The long harbour of Halifax in Nova Scotia on a long, long summer's day, and two frigates gliding in on the tide of flood under their topsails alone: the first, since she had belonged to the United States navy until a few days before, wore the Stars and Stripes under a white ensign; the second showed no more than her own shabby colours, for she was HMS Shannon, the winner in that short and bloody action with the Chesapeake. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
This is the best so far . The development of the characters especailly Aubrey and Maturin never stales and the interplay between the recurring characters is never boring.
The eye for detail is amazing and the shipboard writing accurate but not impenetrable.
These are beautifully written and exciting novels .
These books are superb and, in my view, this is the best so far.
The Surgeon's Mate (his 7th in the Aubrey/Maturin series) focuses more on the intelligence activities of Dr Maturin - something sadly not even acknowledged in the film. Dr Maturin usually contrives to get Jack Aubrey ordered to transport him to his various assignments and therefore become somehow involved in them. In this story Jack is quite desperate to flee England (to escape the threatened visitation from an earlier extra-marital liason), only to end up with both men captured by the French.
The build up in tension is brilliant, as we read of the French Intelligence's successes in piecing together the evidence that will eventually see our heroes standing before a firing squad, while our boys plot and execute their escape - a true race against time.
The story is spell-binding - the book difficult to put down - and ends with their eventual aid coming from a most unexpected source.
Patrick O'Brian's mastery of both the English language and history of Naval warfare is unbeatable. His equal touches of comedy, grief and humanity really do put him way out ahead of the competition.
Great stuff - but don't take it on holiday with you. Your family will pine for want of your attention and the in-laws will never speak to you again ... I'll get yours in the post, shall I?
As well as a good yarn and good history, they are also very amusing: full of jokes you want to share with your partner.
Hard job to put the book down to do work. Read more
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