Read Online H M S Surprise Aubrey / Maturin Patrick O'Brian 9780393307610 Books
Download As PDF : H M S Surprise Aubrey / Maturin Patrick O'Brian 9780393307610 Books
"The best historical novels ever written."―Richard Snow, New York Times Book Review
Third in the series of Aubrey-Maturin adventures, this book is set among the strange sights and smells of the Indian subcontinent, and in the distant waters ploughed by the ships of the East India Company. Aubrey is on the defensive, pitting wits and seamanship against an enemy enjoying overwhelming local superiority. But somewhere in the Indian Ocean lies the prize that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams the ships sent by Napoleon to attack the China Fleet...Read Online H M S Surprise Aubrey / Maturin Patrick O'Brian 9780393307610 Books
"Now I have a copy of "A Sea of Words" a most useful dictionary of Patrick O'Brian sea stories, I can orient myself pretty well. I think Maturin must've been O'Brian's favorite character, because he gets more development in this novel than Aubrey. Devices such as journals and letters are used to great effect to reveal the characters' inner thoughts. It is a letter that delivers the best description of Maturin so far, and a letter that delivers a crushing blow at the end."
Product details
|
Tags : H. M. S. Surprise (Aubrey / Maturin) [Patrick O'Brian] on . <strong> The best historical novels ever written. ―Richard Snow, <em>New York Times Book Review</em></strong> Third in the series of Aubrey-Maturin adventures,Patrick O'Brian,H. M. S. Surprise (Aubrey / Maturin),W. W. Norton Company,0393307611,Aubrey, Jack (Fictitious character),Great Britain - History, Naval - 19th century,Maturin, Stephen (Fictitious character),Sea fiction,Sea stories,Surprise (Frigate 1796-1802),English,FICTION / Historical / General,FICTION / Sea Stories,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction/Sea Stories,GENERAL,General Adult,Historical - General,Literary studies fiction, novelists prose writers,Novels, other prose writers from c 1900 -,POPULAR ENGLISH FICTION,United States
H M S Surprise Aubrey / Maturin Patrick O'Brian 9780393307610 Books Reviews :
H M S Surprise Aubrey / Maturin Patrick O'Brian 9780393307610 Books Reviews
- I must admit, after reading the first 4 books, I am in love with this author and his characters. I cannot read them one after the other, but I intersperse them with other more modern tales of intrigue, spy vs spy, or other action thrillers. I was first introduced to book 2 Post Captain as it was required reading for my son's AP English & Comp class. Having seen the Master and Commander movie years ago helped me put a face on the main characters, especially Aubrey. After reading No 2 I went back and began them in order. Aubrey is little more than a sailer and a leader of men, preferably in war, while Dr. Maturin is a complete study, almost the conscience of the fleet. His motives for helping the English are not quite plausible, Catalan independence and all, but he seems to hate Napolean B and what he has done to the French Revolution, more than he dislikes the British, so operates as an intelligence agent for Whitehall, while at the same time making sure the reader understands his complete hatred for slavery and capital punishment, but cannot seem to get that across to the thick head of Lucky Jack Aubrey. Even with Maturin's feelings toward slavery, he nevertheless tried to purchase a young girl of 10 or so, who was his guide around Bombay, in order to protect her from a certain future of prostitution. These things were beyond his control though, and he eventually ended up paying for her funeral. You might think these books are simply naval war stories, but they are much more and draw the reader into surprising situations around virtually every corner.
- Now I have a copy of "A Sea of Words" a most useful dictionary of Patrick O'Brian sea stories, I can orient myself pretty well. I think Maturin must've been O'Brian's favorite character, because he gets more development in this novel than Aubrey. Devices such as journals and letters are used to great effect to reveal the characters' inner thoughts. It is a letter that delivers the best description of Maturin so far, and a letter that delivers a crushing blow at the end.
- Every Patrick O'Brien novel - especially all of the Aubrey Maturin series - should be required reading for anyone who loves a great story with compelling characters, adventure, suspense and just the slightest touch of romance. Add to that that they are steeped in actual history - based on the logbooks of the RN captains who sailed in the era about which he writes - these are history lessons in the most entertaining form imaginable. Highest recommendation i could possibly give.
- Once I got past instilling the pronunciation of Mauritius, in my head, I enjoyed this fourth installment of the series very much. This book differs somewhat from his past experiences in that Aubrey has command of a small squadron, which he must weld into a fighting unit, despite their many differences in style and some difficult personal relationships, which compound his difficulties.
As always O'Brian writes from history, as much as possible, and this book is based on a little known action against the French in the India Ocean bringing both action and suspense to the story. As always a welcome addition in our ongoing love of all things navel as illustrated by Commodore Aubrey and Dr. Maturin. - This is book four of the Aubrey/Matterin series, a fictional account of the British Navy in the Napoleonic Wars. But though it is fictional, the fiction is meticulously based on British naval records. Indeed, the series is as much history as it is fiction. At the very least, it is the history of battles told precisely with fictional characters in command. The series is a stunning act of scholarship. This is book four of the series, which numbers, if I recall correctly, over twenty volumes.
It's history + escapism and most sailors will love it. I am reading the series for the second time because it is fascinating most of all, but also because it reminds me of my Navy days. - Anyone who reads O'Brian's books knows that they are all outstanding. Each is essentially a time machine that carries its readers back to the Napoleonic wars, onto the decks of British fighting ships and amongst the men who sailed them. I rate all 21 books 5 stars; I'm undecided on the last, unfinished book.
Read all of them - you'll learn more history than most college courses teach. - I'd happily give every Aubrey-Maturin novel five stars, but I've got to differentiate somehow. This one is interesting, because the first three novels, while having relatively independent story arcs, share a strong consistency of style, characterization, and timing. The Mauritius Command seems a bit of an experiment for O'Brian.
No longer do we have the so very youthful, deeply flawed but energetically driven Aubrey and Maturin. There seems to me some inconsistency in timeline, age, etc. in the cursory-to-the-point-of-irrelevance intro in which we see the Aubrey the semi-retired and ineffective family man whose wife is ready to get him out of the house.
The rest of the story is in fairly classic style, but a little too focused on reenacting the historical details of an extensive and well-documented naval campaign to the detriment of the highly charged, personal stories like the relationship triangle that led to the dramatic duel in "HMS Surprise."
So, the book is a bit of an oddball when compared to the strong flow of narrative and style in the novels before and after, as if O'Brian just didn't quite know where he was going, but picked it up again in Vol. 5. Don't get me wrong though, it is good, and not to be missed.
