Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
16th out of 100 books
—
75 voters
The Far Side of the World (Aubrey & Maturin #10)
The war of 1812 continues, and Jack Aubrey sets course for Cape Horn on a mission after his own heart: intercepting a powerful American frigate outward bound to play havoc with the British whaling trade. Stephen Maturin has fish of his own to fry in the world of secret intelligence. Disaster in various guises awaits them in the Great South Sea and in the far reaches of the...more
Paperback, 366 pages
Published
April 17th 1992
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published January 1st 1984)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Captain Aubrey of the British Royal Navy is sent to the South Seas to prevent the American frigate Norfolk from harassing English whalers. It's an excellent book all around, but there are moments of pure perfection in it. The prim parson Martin shows Maturin the letter he wants to woo his lady-love with, it's horrifyingly bad, Maturin tries to tell him so as gently as possible, and Martin completely refuses to hear it. Or at one point Maturin falls out of the cabin window while Aubrey is talking...more
Like all of the Aubrey/Maturin series that I have thus far read, this was great. This book contained much more of the sailor's superstitions than the other books and there was a more serious falling out between Jack and Stephen than in previous volumes as well, adding some further depth to their relationship. Overall, really enjoyed it.
In the volume I have there is an essay on Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels by Charlton Heston. Of course it is an admirer's perspective but it is a good e...more
In the volume I have there is an essay on Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels by Charlton Heston. Of course it is an admirer's perspective but it is a good e...more
An original - I appreciate the effort but...
Beware all readers who are looking for the literary counterpart to the Russel Crowe movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World . While the books share the same title, the same premise (Napoleonic-era British ship HMS Surprise goes after an enemy that is attacking British whalers in the South Pacific) and many, but not all, of the same characters, they are in no way the same story.
Patrick O'Brian's attention to historical detail is almost un...more
Beware all readers who are looking for the literary counterpart to the Russel Crowe movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World . While the books share the same title, the same premise (Napoleonic-era British ship HMS Surprise goes after an enemy that is attacking British whalers in the South Pacific) and many, but not all, of the same characters, they are in no way the same story.
Patrick O'Brian's attention to historical detail is almost un...more
Amazon.com Review
Captain Jack Aubrey sets sail for Cape Horn, determined to intercept an American frigate before it can wreak havoc on the British whaling trade. As always, he is accompanied by intelligence operative Stephen Maturin, and as always, Aubrey has no idea of what his companion is up to. Another impeccably written adventure, by the end of which you should be able to identify a mizzen topsail in your sleep.
Review'...full of the energy that comes from a writer having struck a vein.
...more
Although I've been reading the Aubrey/Maturin books on and off for years, I saw the Far Side of the World movie before I got to the book. As others stated, it was interesting to see what was kept and what was dropped in the film, and ultimately, I think they nailed the feel of the books as best they could.
As for the book, O'Brian packs a lot into this one, but ultimately I prefer the conclusion of the movie to that of the book.
SPOILER
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The wreck of the Norfolk was a disappointment, especial...more
As for the book, O'Brian packs a lot into this one, but ultimately I prefer the conclusion of the movie to that of the book.
SPOILER
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The wreck of the Norfolk was a disappointment, especial...more
The tenth in the series, and yet another outstanding by the author...With a couple exceptions, the most profound of these being the ending.
Once Again Sir O'Brian does not feel the need to over elaborate every encounter on the sea, however the ending of this book really deserved a better treatment than it did. Without spoiling, there should have been some form of explanation why things worked out like they did.
Another criticism I have for this episode is how the last act really could have been...more
Once Again Sir O'Brian does not feel the need to over elaborate every encounter on the sea, however the ending of this book really deserved a better treatment than it did. Without spoiling, there should have been some form of explanation why things worked out like they did.
Another criticism I have for this episode is how the last act really could have been...more
This is a book that calls for a breakdown in the rating. There are aspects of it that probably deserve a three at best. The plot itself isn't actually all that compelling: the story simply plods along from one adventure or crisis to the next, framed by the overarching back-cover-synopsis plot (which occupies remarkably little of the book). The characters are memorable, but I can't think of a single one that really develops during the story. But what brings the overall rating up to five stars is...more
Another of Mr. O'Brian's staggeringly detailed and historically informed novels of life in the British Navy of the early 19th century. Here, Aubrey and Maturin sail for Cape Horn and the Pacific in pursuit of an American warship preying on British whalers. Through perils too numerous and dire to summarize, let alone detail, they persevere. As always, with a combination of pluck and luck, they live to fight another day. History, zoology, botany, geography, early medicine, navigation, sailing, yo...more
Another great book in the series! Man, I'm burning through these right now, mostly on audiobook. I came into this one wondering how closely its plot would match that of the movie. I figured the movie would have deviated quite a bit from the book, but I had no idea it would be by so much. Essentially the movie has almost nothing in common with the book plot-wise, except for a couple of scenes and part of the general premise. Almost everything that actually happens is different. So if you watched...more
The Far Side of the World
Maturin and Aubrey go to the far side of the world, around the southern tip of South America, out to the pacific, and on their way, they are castaways, and at the mercy of castrating Amazons. Why did I not find this offensive? Is it because Maturin understands why they are so angry at men? Is it because the women are such great sailors? This book has a potentially melodramatic bit of plotting having to do with a jealous husband and his wife but the lurid scenes take plac...more
Maturin and Aubrey go to the far side of the world, around the southern tip of South America, out to the pacific, and on their way, they are castaways, and at the mercy of castrating Amazons. Why did I not find this offensive? Is it because Maturin understands why they are so angry at men? Is it because the women are such great sailors? This book has a potentially melodramatic bit of plotting having to do with a jealous husband and his wife but the lurid scenes take plac...more
Finally got to the book that inspired the movie--and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it wasn't much like the movie. Interesting that this is basically the halfway point in the series because it feels like a little respite. No battles or other big action and very little drama. Just lots of time getting to know the characters and their relationships with each other as they cruise literally to the far side of the world. I loved all the Bonden page time. Most books I love have some secondary character I wi...more
I regret giving so many of the early books in this series five stars, because it leaves me nowhere to go as they get even better in the middle. Why wasn't I warned?
Despite having the same title as the movie, the film was actually an amalgam of scenes from the series--many of them from this book, but not all. The movie, however, misses out on an amazing sequence where Stephen and Jack fall overboard (okay, Stephen falls overboard and Jack dives in to save him) and must fend for themselves, as wel...more
Despite having the same title as the movie, the film was actually an amalgam of scenes from the series--many of them from this book, but not all. The movie, however, misses out on an amazing sequence where Stephen and Jack fall overboard (okay, Stephen falls overboard and Jack dives in to save him) and must fend for themselves, as wel...more
This is the 2nd M&C book I've read, after the 1st in the series. I was disappointed in some ways. As before, the writing and the characters are great, really enveloping you in the world of the early 19th-century British navy. But I was quite taken aback by some of the offensive caricatures of Polynesians and women in this book, caricatures that are due to Mr. O'Brien, not to the characters in the book. It also felt like Mr. O'Brien was stretching for drama in the plot in a not very convincin...more
I'd've four-starred this one if it weren't for the abrupt ending which seemed kind of deus-ex-machina not to mention not really providing a lot of closure. Kind of like Desolation Island in that respect, actually. It was nice to see which parts of this made it into the movie and which parts of the movie came from the first book (Master & Commander). On neither of them was the surprise assault that crippled Aubrey's ship off Brazil. This one substituted that for a brutal storm but I can see w...more
Feb 24, 2009
Ken-ichi
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
escape,
historical-fiction
Yet another pleasant journey across the high seas with Jack and Stephen. This is the book from which the bulk of the movie was drawn, so it was interesting to see what they chose to keep and discard. None of these books are particularly amenable to the cinema, being, as they are, more paeans to a way of living than straightforward adventure stories. The movie managed to be both, which I think is a great credit to the discretion of the director and writers.
This particular book features much talk...more
This particular book features much talk...more
Another highly entertaining Aubrey-Maturin adventure. Lots of drama, including adultery on the ship, falling off the ship, and falling in to the hands of an all-female South Pacific sailboat crew, all armed with knives and not sure what to do with two waterlogged European men. Lots of psycho-drama, too. How will the impotent gunner react when he discovers that one of the officers is having an affair with his wife? How will Jack keep his crew alive on an island crawling with American sailors -- s...more
If there was an option for 3.5 stars, that would have easily been my choice, but this book falls just short of four - mostly because many of the events in the plotline could have been further elaborated upon (such as Jack and Stephen's time stranded, awaiting rescue, and the ending) but does regain a lot of ground because it was very fun to read. It took me some time to get used to O'Brian's writing style (like the monster of a first sentence!) but around Chapter Four it began reading far more s...more
Another good read from O'Brian. It is amazing how he still keeps the adventure fresh in these books, when it could just be endless repetition of sailing and battles. And yet he also balances it well with some repetition to remind his reader of what we've forgotten from previous books (or to allow a reader to join mid-stream, as it were). And he continues to fill in so many delightful details of naval life in which the origin of so many of the words and naval traditions that are still at use toda...more
O'Brian's preface to this volume makes it clear that he is aware of the time problem he has run up against, coyly speaking of 1812a and 1812b. Fine by me. Halfway through the series and it shows no signs of letting up. In this volume is god's plenty for sure. Martin and Maturin botanizing from Gibraltar to the Marquesas (with all the comic possibilities that offers), whales, a typhoon, Aubrey and Maturin overboard then taken up by Polynesian Amazons afloat then set down on a tiny island, America...more
Feb 02, 2013
Jamie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
regency-napoleonic
This is the book that provides the largest chunk of plot for the movie, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Jack Aubrey and the crew of the Surprise pursue their enemy around stormy Cape Horn, and naturalist Stephen Maturin is furious at being denied the opportunity to spend time on the amazing Galapagos Islands. During the journey there is drama on board concerning an unlucky “old” Midshipman who is considered a Jonah by the superstitious crew.
The plot of the book differs, of cours...more
The plot of the book differs, of cours...more
The main plot of this book is based on the assignment Captain Jack receives to sail from Gilbralter and intercept the American frigate "Norfolk" which has been attacking and seizing British whalers in the South Pacific. Aubrey is given command of his favorite little ship in the Royal Navy, the "Surprise", a sixth-rate 28-gun frigate with excellent sailing qualities (the rating of Royal Navy sailing ships was based on their size). "Surprise" runs into very rough seas sailing to Brazil, and around...more
Unfortunately I had already seen the film version of this particular book by the time I got round to reading it. However, it was pleasing to note quite how far the film-makers had strayed from the plot, so all traces of surprise and suspense were kept almost fully intact. Granted, the film contains elements from several of the books, but some of the major themes were represented in the adaptation. Still, I could not help but compare the book and film as I read, so I apologise if this review turn...more
It was impossible to listen to this book and not think of the film the entire time. I was actually surprised by how much the movie adhered to it, although it was more in terms of themes and glimpses, rather than sticking to the actual plot. The plot as a whole was the same (chasing a ship around the Horn), but so much of the ancillary details had been altered.
The character of Hollom was another of these "same, but different" elements - in the film, he is a wholly sympathetic character but in the...more
The character of Hollom was another of these "same, but different" elements - in the film, he is a wholly sympathetic character but in the...more
Apr 28, 2010
Christopher H.
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Christopher by:
lonebearimages@gmail.com
Wow! This, the tenth, episode in the Aubrey-Maturin series was a nail-biter from the get-go; a real edge-of-the-seat read! A fair bit of the material Peter Weir used in his film adaptation, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World came from this novel.
H.M.S. Surprise, the Surprises, Jack Aubrey, and Stephen Maturin depart Gibraltar on a long voyage to pursue the American frigate Norfolk as it is intent upon harassing and capturing British whaling ships in the southern Atlantic and Pacific...more
H.M.S. Surprise, the Surprises, Jack Aubrey, and Stephen Maturin depart Gibraltar on a long voyage to pursue the American frigate Norfolk as it is intent upon harassing and capturing British whaling ships in the southern Atlantic and Pacific...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. Which perhaps reflects t...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. Which perhaps reflects t...more
Mar 16, 2008
Gilly McGillicuddy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
naval-fiction
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Yet another intensely satisfying installment in the series. It's one of the books of the series least capable of standing by itself, both because it is intricately bound up with nine previous books full of characters and events, and because, as with the rest of the Aubrey-Maturin books, it functions much more as a chapter within a longer saga than as an individual novel. The pacing is certainly much different than one would normally expect from a novel; it takes them 200 pages to leave port in o...more
I'm going against the tide here (ho ho)--I thought this was one of the weaker books in the series. I'm OK with the episodic plots, since I think that's probably very realistic of what the characters would experience. But O'Brian takes Stephen in some directions that I really didn't like here--we didn't get to see the bad-ass Stephen who was such a feature in the four previous books.
Also, SPOILER
*
*
*
*
*
*
Cocaine, too? Jeez, how many drugs is poor Stephen going to end up addicted to?
Also, SPOILER
*
*
*
*
*
*
Cocaine, too? Jeez, how many drugs is poor Stephen going to end up addicted to?
I enjoyed the characters and I enjoyed the adventures of the Patrick O'Brian books that I read. I learned a lot about the structure of the English Navy in the time of sailing ships and I learned a whole lot more about sailing than I had ever supposed I would. I became very interested in the rigging and the terminology for the different sails. Enough so that I looked up the subject and printed out pictures to study. I would be glad to read others of this series that I have so far missed.
The tenth Aubrey/Maturin novel sees O'Brian on top form, probably because the action never gets further from the sea than the top of Gibralter Rock and also because The Surprise is sailed into waters new to her, allowing novelty of description and incident.
O'Brian's unique style and depth of characterisation, along with convincing dialogue and wealth of detail are all present and mixed with a story that never gets be-calmed make this a book that easily transcends genre.
Only ten more volumes of...more
O'Brian's unique style and depth of characterisation, along with convincing dialogue and wealth of detail are all present and mixed with a story that never gets be-calmed make this a book that easily transcends genre.
Only ten more volumes of...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
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
More about Patrick O'Brian...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“That would be locking the horse after the stable door is gone, a very foolish thing to do.”
—
9 people liked it
“Stephen's heart was big to bursting with the violence of his grief, yet even as he looked distractedly from side to side his mind told him that there was something amiss, the more so as the cheering had now almost entirely died away. The whaler had a huge spread of canvas aboard, far too great a press of sail for her possibly to enter the lagoon: she was tearing along with a great bow-wave and she sped past the mouth of the farther channel. A cable's length beyond the Opening her main and fore topgallantmasts carried clean away, as though brought down by a shot, and she instantly hauled to the wind, striking her colours as she did so. Her pursuer came racing into sight round the southern cape, studdingsails aloft and alow on either side—a dead silence from the motionless Norfolks below—fired a full, prodigal broadside to leeward, lowered down a boat and began to reduce sail, cheering like a ship clean out of her mind with delight.
'She is the Surprise,' said Stephen, and he whispered, 'The joyful Surprise, God and Mary be with her.”
—
2 people liked it
More quotes…
'She is the Surprise,' said Stephen, and he whispered, 'The joyful Surprise, God and Mary be with her.”
Feb 05, 2009 10:42am