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Desolation Island (Aubrey/Maturin #5)
by
Patrick O'Brian,
Simon Vance (Goodreads Author)
Commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh of Bounty fame, Aubrey and Maturin sail the Leopard to Australia with a hold full of convicts. Among them is a beautiful and dangerous spy - and a treacherous disease which decimates the crew.
MP3 CD, 0 pages
Published
August 28th 2004
by Blackstone Audiobooks
(first published 1978)
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This is one of my favorites from the series. It contains what I believe to be arguably the most riveting sea chase in any novel. Captain Aubrey is to take the Leopard, a two deck ship of fifty guns to Botany Bay to come to the aid of William Bligh (yes that William Bligh of the Bounty) who is now Governor of New South Wales and seems to have yet another mutiny on his hands. On route, they are chased by the Waakzaamheid, a Dutch ship of the line (three decks of 74 guns) into the far southern o...more
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Excellent, as always. I can't say enough about this series. It requires some work from the reader, or the willingness of the reader to simply not understand some of it. What I mean is, writers of historical fiction have a choice to make: explain every custom, odd phrase, popular dish, law -- anything that the contemporary reader might not know about that period. Doing that, he or she has to slow the action down and explain, explain, explain.
But O'Brian never does that. Never. And we're...more
But O'Brian never does that. Never. And we're...more
Desolation Island, written by Patrick O’Brian, is the story of the Leopard, an English ship sailing with a hull full of murderers to Australia. As the voyage continues on the crew begins to get sick and has to make an emergency stop on the way to Australia. As the boat continues on it becomes perused by the Waakzaamhied, a powerful dutch gunship, which seems to supernaturally keep pursuing the Leopard.
During the course of Desolation Island, the constantly changing setting help breath mo...more
During the course of Desolation Island, the constantly changing setting help breath mo...more
Though a second reading is less uncomfortable than the first (the edge of the seat is so sharp, and bad for circulation!) this is still an exciting, dare I say epic installment of the adventures of Aubrey and Maturin. With few sentences, O'Brian lets us infer a tragic story and a driving hatred that create the climactic chase of the book.
One of my favorite P.O'B. books.
Further thoughts (on the fourth or fifth reading): This book is a classic 'out of the frying pan, into...more
One of my favorite P.O'B. books.
Further thoughts (on the fourth or fifth reading): This book is a classic 'out of the frying pan, into...more
Patrick O'Brian hits the story telling mark on this novel- it's absorbing! After several years hiatus from reading the first few novels, the re-patriation to life aboard her Royal Navy's ships is consuming, watching over the shoulders of familiar characters of Aubrey and Maturin. Admittedly, it's not easy digesting dry history and foreign outdated jargon. As a reader coming into these books I knew very little. I had a foggy notion of Admiral Nelson as an historical figure. But foreign ports come...more
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In this, the fifth book in the Aubrey-Maturin series, Captain Aubrey is commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh after his famous mutiny, as well as to transport prisoners to Botany Bay. Felicitously, Dr. Maturin is asked by Sir Joseph Blaine to join Jack on the trip so that he can surreptitiously gauge what one captured female spy on board actually knows. On the trip, they are shadowed by a faster, stronger Dutch ship, and meet a crew of surly American whalers just as war might have broken out b...more
My only problem with this volume of the excellent Aubrey/Maturin series is that it is perhaps a bit TOO episodic; a strange complaint against a book in a 21-volume series, perhaps, but in fact the books so far have been particularly wonderful in that they feel like very complete novels in themselves. This one feels unfinished. A structural issue, possibly: the mission, as stated (to the Spice Islands) is not completed, and the book ends right in the middle of things. I quickly dug out the next...more
Almost nothing in the way of naval engagements that form the backbone of the previous entries in the series. Here the suspense derives from a very tense chase between a Dutch captain whose ship outmans and outguns Aubrey's unlucky Leopard. Interestingly, the captain, for once, is Aubrey's match in terms of cunning and maneuver; the subsequent long pursuit is as tense as anything in the previous books. In this novel, O'Brian runs changes on the relationship between Maturin and Diana Villiers, ...more
Five stars for the paper book; three for the Simon Vance audio book reading.
This book begins my favorite of the story arcs in the Aubrey-Maturin series. Jack and Stephen are aboard "the horrible old Leopard ", and there are some absolutely amazing action scenes in this book: the pursuit by the Dutch 74-gun during a storm; the chaos when the sailors abandon the damaged ship to sail away with Grant; the tense effort to bring the ship to Desolation island before she founders. ...more
This book begins my favorite of the story arcs in the Aubrey-Maturin series. Jack and Stephen are aboard "the horrible old Leopard ", and there are some absolutely amazing action scenes in this book: the pursuit by the Dutch 74-gun during a storm; the chaos when the sailors abandon the damaged ship to sail away with Grant; the tense effort to bring the ship to Desolation island before she founders. ...more
This is my favorite of the Aubrey/Maturin series so far. I was lucky to be on vacation and found myself reading one or two chapters a day and finished the book in less than a week. I found this book to be faster paced than the other three I have read (I skipped the 4th one, but don't think I needed it for the story line), and now that I know the main characters better I find that I am catching the humor as well as the depth of the relationships more easily and the reading is more addicting.
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a bit disappointing return to aimlessness for O'Brian. this started off strong, had some really interesting things building, and then just sort of listed off the map once goal-fever set in on board. halfway through, Pullings got put ashore and somehow i knew it was going nowhere from there.
didn't really care for the Wogan/Herapath subplot (predictable), and got a little tired of Stephen's wallowing and Jack's ironic misogyny. the caper with the Dutch man o'war was actually one of th...more
didn't really care for the Wogan/Herapath subplot (predictable), and got a little tired of Stephen's wallowing and Jack's ironic misogyny. the caper with the Dutch man o'war was actually one of th...more
He seems to be setting up a plot that will continue through some of the other books, because otherwise this one would be pretty unsatisfying, judged on plot alone. But the writing is really quite enjoyable to me. I'd probably enjoy anything he wrote as long as he gave it the sense of adventure that he does. That said, the action in this one was a little thinner than in some of his others, and I'd have liked a little more going on between Jack's ship and the Dutch 74 that is their only opponen...more
(2.5 stars) The fifth installment of the Aubrey/Maturin series spends most of its time wrapped in espionage and intrigue and conversations about money and the construction of Jack's house, which is now chock full of his rosey-cheeked offspring. There's a single naval engagement, which ends in complete annihilation of the enemy followed by a somewhat random interaction with glaciers. Maturin remains an unloved Irish fop with a lust for botany and Jack is still a rapscallion.
So, yeah...more
So, yeah...more
This was my favorite of the series. Probably because I love Antarctica and hate the Dutch. Just kidding, Dutch people!
Having a hard time with O'Brian's choice to end the book at a point in which one plot element is resolved but the larger one is not. Add this to the fact that he does not pick up the thread in the succeeding book which may begin at a significant time in the future. A few allusions to the voyage of the previous book and that's it. It will be interesting to see what he does with the Leopard in the next book as well as the tantalizing references to Bligh. Excellent sailing detail, however. The acco...more
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I will say this Patrick O'Brian lets you know his books are part of a series with the fact that the book ends on an event that could easily just be the end of a chapter, but if you enjoy the series it is not a big deal and I would not call the endings too aburpt. This book includes the historical facts of the mutiny on the Bounty and trips made by General Washington. A tale of survival, that is to say, the willingness to survive. Jack and Stepehn do not grow much in character in this installm...more
Desolation Island was next up for us as an audio book but with summer coming on we didn't have time and postponed the audio experience til fall. I decided to read the first few pages to jog my memory on a book I've already read three times. Couldn't quit reading. One of my favorites in the series. It starts with a great set of domestic scenes. Jack then gets a ship, the horrible old Polycrest. He's elated then depressed when he finds out it's a prison ship with a mission to take the prisoners to...more
After some time on land, Captain Aubrey finally gets a ship again--an old ship with a terrible reputation, it's true, but at least it's a ship. With him sail his old friend, Dr. Maturin, and a berth full of convicts. But they rapidly run into problems--gaol fever, then a storm that nearly destroys them, and finally being trapped on an island until they can somehow repair their ship.
The scenes relating to the epidemic aboard ship were enthralling, as was fleeing a Dutchman across a...more
The scenes relating to the epidemic aboard ship were enthralling, as was fleeing a Dutchman across a...more
Ibis3
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Shelves:
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england,
free,
historical,
nautical,
twentieth-century,
voyage,
2011,
2011-favourites,
war,
kerguelen-islands
Another wonderful installment of the Aubreiad. (view spoiler)...more
This is my comfort food and travelling companion for the plane ride home. Few friends are so delectable. And after only 30 pages, termagant, "a harsh tempered woman"! I think this might have been on a high school vocab list, but it must have broken free of it's neuronal prison cell and escaped in the interim. I would search for the little bore hole it left on its way out, but it would only be one of very, very many.
Done
Ah yes, another tasty treat. On to the...more
Done
Ah yes, another tasty treat. On to the...more
(I listened to the unabridged audiobook version, read by Patrick Tull. --10/24/11)
Loved this story, the best of the lot I've read since Post Captain (though every single one is head and shoulders above most historical fiction I've ever read). It was quite different from the previous books, with the "action" being more of the episodic type aboard the HMS Leopard on its trip around the Cape, en route to Australia on a mission. The mission itself is secondary, as things like t...more
Loved this story, the best of the lot I've read since Post Captain (though every single one is head and shoulders above most historical fiction I've ever read). It was quite different from the previous books, with the "action" being more of the episodic type aboard the HMS Leopard on its trip around the Cape, en route to Australia on a mission. The mission itself is secondary, as things like t...more
After five books in the series, it's hard to write a review that signifies this book from the next, or the last. It is truly a serial set.
Not the action packed novel of previous, this one is focusing more on Maturin's spying, and how he manipulates several operatives to meet his goal. This device allowed the author to flesh out Steven's character a little more, and provided for good development.
Unfortunately, this space devoted to had to be taken from somewhere, and in this c...more
Not the action packed novel of previous, this one is focusing more on Maturin's spying, and how he manipulates several operatives to meet his goal. This device allowed the author to flesh out Steven's character a little more, and provided for good development.
Unfortunately, this space devoted to had to be taken from somewhere, and in this c...more
Christopher H.
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommended to Christopher by:
lonebearimages@gmail.com
This was a novel that simply can't be put down once started! Incredibly suspenseful! Stephen's role as an intelligence operative becomes more fully fleshed out as he has a brilliant opportunity to strike back at Napoleon; not to mention that his medical capabilities are truly put to the test when an epidemic of "gaol fever" breaks out on the ship. Also, it was wonderful to follow the impact of the beautiful and intriguing Mrs. Louisa Wogan upon the crew and officers of the Leopard a...more
Repeated from review of Book 1
That Patrick O'Brian chose to place his characters on the sea in the not so distant past just raised the hurdle I had to leap to get to know this wonderful author.
I had never been enamored with sea stories, didn't much care for European history, and yet was wonderfully taken with this series. The sea is a major character, but history is not greatly illuminated, almost a backdrop to the specific circumstance the characters find themselves in....more
That Patrick O'Brian chose to place his characters on the sea in the not so distant past just raised the hurdle I had to leap to get to know this wonderful author.
I had never been enamored with sea stories, didn't much care for European history, and yet was wonderfully taken with this series. The sea is a major character, but history is not greatly illuminated, almost a backdrop to the specific circumstance the characters find themselves in....more
Here we have the fifth of Mr. O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin Series.
This is one of my favorites, a laughable thing for me to say since they all give me immense pleasure, even now on the third go round. I am reading them again so I can review each with perhaps a bit fresher eyes.
The book begins with both main characters more or less languishing by land. Aubrey desperately wishes for an active command and Maturin is deep in his addiction to laudanum, a reaction to again being r...more
This is one of my favorites, a laughable thing for me to say since they all give me immense pleasure, even now on the third go round. I am reading them again so I can review each with perhaps a bit fresher eyes.
The book begins with both main characters more or less languishing by land. Aubrey desperately wishes for an active command and Maturin is deep in his addiction to laudanum, a reaction to again being r...more
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Ok, I know I would probably give any Patrick O'Brian book 5 stars, so maybe it won't mean that much. The first half of Desolation Island isn't as good as some of the other books in the series: not as much wit or adventure. But the last 1/2 to 1/3 of this novel is amazing. The tension and suspense are tactile, and the writing makes you feel like you are on the ship experiencing every harrowing moment of their journey into the waters at the southern tip of the hemisphere. Sooo delicious.
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Patrick O'Brian, CBE (born as Richard Patrick Russ) was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centered on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen Maturin. The 20-novel series is known for its well-researched and highly detailed portrayal of early...more
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“They made him [Stephen] a little canvas boat, and it was thought that if he were obliged to wear two sea-elephant's bladders, blown up and attached to his person, he could not come to harm in such a placid sea; but after an unfortunate experience in which he became involved in his umbrella and it was found that the bladders buoyed up his meagre hams alone, so that only the presence of Babbington's Newfoundland preserved him, he was forbidden to go unaccompanied.”
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“To tell the truth, sir, I believe I had rather sit in the shelter for a while. The cabbage seems to have turned my inward parts to water.’
Nonsense,’ said Stephen, ‘it is the most wholesome cabbage I have ever come across in the whole of my career. I hope, Mr. Herapath, that you are not going to join in the silly weak womanish unphilosophical mewling and puling about the cabbage. So it is a little yellow in certain lights, so it is a little sharp, so it smells a little strange: so much the better, say I. At least that will stop the insensate Phaeacian hogs from abusing it, as they abuse the brute creation, stuffing themselves with flesh until what little brain they have is drowned in fat. A virtuous esculent! Even its boldest detractors, ready to make the most hellish declarations and to swear through a nine-inch plank that the cabbage makes them fart and rumble, cannot deny that it cured their purpurae. Let them rumble till the heavens shake and resound again; let them fart fire and brimstone, the Gomorrhans, I will not have a single case of scurvy on my hands, the sea-surgeon’s shame, while there is a cabbage to be culled.”
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Nonsense,’ said Stephen, ‘it is the most wholesome cabbage I have ever come across in the whole of my career. I hope, Mr. Herapath, that you are not going to join in the silly weak womanish unphilosophical mewling and puling about the cabbage. So it is a little yellow in certain lights, so it is a little sharp, so it smells a little strange: so much the better, say I. At least that will stop the insensate Phaeacian hogs from abusing it, as they abuse the brute creation, stuffing themselves with flesh until what little brain they have is drowned in fat. A virtuous esculent! Even its boldest detractors, ready to make the most hellish declarations and to swear through a nine-inch plank that the cabbage makes them fart and rumble, cannot deny that it cured their purpurae. Let them rumble till the heavens shake and resound again; let them fart fire and brimstone, the Gomorrhans, I will not have a single case of scurvy on my hands, the sea-surgeon’s shame, while there is a cabbage to be culled.”
