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The Nutmeg of Consolation (Aubrey/Maturin #14)
Shipwrecked on a remote island in the Dutch East Indies, Captain Aubrey, surgeon and secret intelligence agent Stephen Maturin, and the crew of the Diane fashion a schooner from the wreck. A vicious attack by Malay pirates is repulsed, but the makeshift vessel burns, and they are truly marooned. Their escape from this predicament is one that only the whimsy and ingenuity o...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
July 17th 1993
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 1991)
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This is so much more eventful than The Thirteen Gun Salute, much more action-filled and much more dramatic. To some extent, that's a disappointment because there's so much less time for the kind of small moments of character interplay that O' Brian does so well. On the other hand, it made for an incredibly engaging and satisfying novel which I finished very, very quickly, building smoothly to a great cliffhanger of an ending.
I was delighted to see Padeen return, especially after a no...more
I was delighted to see Padeen return, especially after a no...more
Every one of my Patrick O'Brian reviews are the same: I love these books! I think the best bit of this one is them being shipwrecked (again!) and having to find a way out of it. This kind of thing really makes you realize how little ability modern people have with their hands. I know that *I* couldn't build a ship from scratch using the materials from a wrecked one plus whatever was available on a desert island. How about you?
I'll be sad when I come to the end of the series. Bu...more
I'll be sad when I come to the end of the series. Bu...more
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Every time I finish one of the Aubrey-Maturin series books, I can't wait to start the next one. O'Brian always leaves you on a cliffhanger. Steven is stung by a poisonous platypus, and nearly dies. This is horrid timing. He has just learned that he has a baby girl. He and Jack Aubrey are at loggerheads over the smuggling of an escaped convict on board. The crew of The Surprise is finally about to leave Australia which has been a very dispiriting stop because of the infamous treatment of pr...more
This is honest-to-God one of my favorite authors/series. I love this books. They are tremendously well researched. It's ridiculous to compare these to any other "historical fiction" that I am aware of. You would think they had been written when the events within them actually occurred.
Nutmeg of Consolation has Aubrey and Maturin recovering from a shipwreck on an island. They manage to get off the island with the help of a passing ship that came to collect birds nests which...more
Nutmeg of Consolation has Aubrey and Maturin recovering from a shipwreck on an island. They manage to get off the island with the help of a passing ship that came to collect birds nests which...more
The level of the writing remains very high. For the first time in the series I think, it began to feel to me as if O'Brian was repeating himself a little, and not in a good way. That is, in the past he has often used variation and repetition to draw contrasts between various characters. In particular, he has used this technique to draw interesting observations about Aubrey and Maturin. Here the repetition has more to do with incident. In a series this long, it was bound to happen that some ...more
One of my favorite of the Aubrey/Maturin series. It is a fun read and gives a great perspective on Napoleonic era colony of Botany Bay. As always, O'Brian makes this historical period come to life, and this particular novel has a bit of everything in it. Obligatory cases of scurvy, tales of horrific shipwrecks and mutiny, an island wiped out due to the smallpox, rats that have become insane through drug addiction...ok, so that one is a bit out of the genre, but still is wonderfully placed.
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Although I didn't enjoy Patrick Tull's narration nearly as much as that of Simon Vance in other books in this series, I still really liked the story and got used to Mr. Tull. Still, if you have the choice, go with Simon Vance is my recommendation. This story is more of a direct continuation of the previous book than some of the other books in the series. The previous book ("The Thirteen Gun Salute") kind of leaves the reader high and dry (along with Jack Aubrey et al) and leaves the...more
"Nach dem Auflaufen auf ein Riff und der anschließenden Zerstörung ihres Schiffs durch einen Taifun, ist die Mannschaft der „HMS Diane“ unter Kapitän Aubrey auf einer Insel, ca. 200 Seemeilen von Batavia entfernt, gefangen. Aus geretteten Materialien versuchen sie einen Schoner zu bauen, dies wird durch einen Überfall feindlicher Malaien gestört, glücklicherweise will ein chinesischer Dschunkenkapitän Schwalbennester auf der Insel ernten, und so ergibt sich eine Mitfahrgelegenheit. Das Glüc...more
I used to think that I just liked the exploits of Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin but, in truth, I now believe that I enjoy the series because of the beautiful prose of Patrick O’Brian.
This is the second installment of “The Thirteen Gun Salute” and starts with the ship’s crew on an island building a boat from the remnants of Jack’s command that was destroyed in a typhoon. Next they’re attached by Borneo head hunter pirates in a GREAT land battle! Then, there’s a GREAT accounting of St...more
This is the second installment of “The Thirteen Gun Salute” and starts with the ship’s crew on an island building a boat from the remnants of Jack’s command that was destroyed in a typhoon. Next they’re attached by Borneo head hunter pirates in a GREAT land battle! Then, there’s a GREAT accounting of St...more
Weird title, great book. It's number 14 in the series. Holy moly, have I read that many? I've never been read this many books in a series before. Of course, it helps that I'm mostly listening them on audiobook as I commute to Pasadena for classes. Anyway, this book was particularly warm, interesting, and engaging. Like the rest of the books in the series, it basically has no ending. Maybe that's part of what keeps me going. It feels much more like you're following the life and adventures...more
Stephen's experience is life in a nutshell. You have a ship. Your ship is gone. You have money. Your money is gone. You have shipmates. Your shipmates have been killed. You have a nice supply of coca leaves. Then you don't. But you find a new ship. You make more money. You get new shipmates. So many major life changes in just a few short weeks.
What remains constant: Friendship. Devotion to his professional goals. The mission he has sworn to carry out. (Marriage isn't included in this...more
What remains constant: Friendship. Devotion to his professional goals. The mission he has sworn to carry out. (Marriage isn't included in this...more
I want to enjoy Patrick O'Brian, I really do! I do enjoy bits of it, but I must be missing something with these novels. I can appreciate that they're well written; but perhaps I just don't feel like investing in these books as much as they seem to require.
These books demand all your attention, as well as a handy dictionary, which I don't always have available (neither the attention nor the dictionary). Ah well! I'm sure I'll be drawn to another one in a couple years. Hopefully m...more
These books demand all your attention, as well as a handy dictionary, which I don't always have available (neither the attention nor the dictionary). Ah well! I'm sure I'll be drawn to another one in a couple years. Hopefully m...more
Christopher H.
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review of another edition
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This, the 14th volume in Patrick O'Brian's brilliant Aubrey-Maturin canon, is one of my absolute favorites of the twenty completed novels in this wonderful Napoleonic wars seafaring series. "The Nutmeg of Consolation" is a page-turner from page one on.
We join Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in the East Indies as they are rescued from a deserted island, acquire the beautifully Dutch-built small frigate the Nutmeg of Consolation, fight a running sea-battle with the much larger...more
We join Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in the East Indies as they are rescued from a deserted island, acquire the beautifully Dutch-built small frigate the Nutmeg of Consolation, fight a running sea-battle with the much larger...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
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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The Nutmeg of Consolation is more of an adventurous sea story than its predecessor, but even it revels more in naval life than naval action and more in Maturin's naturalistic activities, intelligence work, and music than combat. Aubrey and Maturin spend time marooned, refit the Nutmeg, cruise in search of a larger French frigate, rendezvous with the Surprise, and explore the brutal society and fascinating natural life of Australia. A real pleasure to enter this world remade from history.
I've forgotten how many times I've read this. I'm going through the A/M series again now, listening to the Recorded Books productions read by Patrick Tull who does a fantastic job. I won't review this particular book but merely repeat C. S. Lewis' saying that the best books are those that are re-read by people who re-read books. O'Brian richly rewards repeated readings. Really. He's re-read worthy. You can't say fairer than that.
Another leg of the journey finished. Started in Batavia, Java, ended in Sydney, New South Wales.
A shipwreck; a flight with pirates on Swallow-Nest island; a hitchhike on-board a Chinese junk, a new ship, a naval battle with a French frigate, Cornelie. Reunion with old HMHS Surprise; The turning fortune of Dr. Maturin.
Well paced, lots of action, on land and sea. Language is precise, charming, and elegant.
By now, I must be a seasoned sea dog, as Dr. Maturin describ...more
A shipwreck; a flight with pirates on Swallow-Nest island; a hitchhike on-board a Chinese junk, a new ship, a naval battle with a French frigate, Cornelie. Reunion with old HMHS Surprise; The turning fortune of Dr. Maturin.
Well paced, lots of action, on land and sea. Language is precise, charming, and elegant.
By now, I must be a seasoned sea dog, as Dr. Maturin describ...more
An enjoyable read, although it is another in the series with more land-based story than sea-based. The shipwrecked crew are imaginatively rescued. Aubrey gets a new ship and has a fine cat-and-mouse encounter with the French. Maturin has found a kindred spirit in Martin: much of the book is given to their naturalistic pursuits -- enough in fact to make Aubrey a bit jealous of Martin.
Great historical fiction, only passingly good fiction. A fun read, nonetheless.
The usual suspects maneuvered around the western Pacific to touch on as many real--or realistic--situations as possible. Some sub-plots better developed than others, but surely the Aubery-Maturin true believers will love it all.
O'Brian resisted the temptation to leave us hanging from another cliff.
The usual suspects maneuvered around the western Pacific to touch on as many real--or realistic--situations as possible. Some sub-plots better developed than others, but surely the Aubery-Maturin true believers will love it all.
O'Brian resisted the temptation to leave us hanging from another cliff.
This, the 14th novel in the British naval historical fiction series telling the stories of captain Jack Aubrey and physician/spy Stephen Maturin, may be my favorite so far in this engaging, erudite, albeit long series. I've given it 5 stars and as I think back on how deeply I've enjoyed this whole series, I am considering going back to my other reviews and changing them all from 4 to 5 stars. Anyway, this installment is chock-full of fabulousness-- shipwreck on a desert island, Malay pirates, ...more
After 14 books in the series, it's getting hard to write a meaningful review, and especially now that the books have become so serial.
But that's something to complement on right there. After 14 books, any other author might be prone to exaggerate the situation, to trump up the odds, to out do the last book. POB does a great job of rejecting this drama inflation and just providing constant, solid stories.
We are introduced to the second in Steven's Fleet, the "Nutmeg of Co...more
But that's something to complement on right there. After 14 books, any other author might be prone to exaggerate the situation, to trump up the odds, to out do the last book. POB does a great job of rejecting this drama inflation and just providing constant, solid stories.
We are introduced to the second in Steven's Fleet, the "Nutmeg of Co...more
Fiction. Aubrey & Maturin are shipwrecked on a Malay Island, where there are attacked by pirates. Rescued by a Chinese junk they are taken to Bettavia, given a ship, have one encounter with a French frigate, and then on to Sydney in New South Wales, where they are both depressed by the brutal administration of the penal colony. Blackstone Audio. Read by Simon Vance.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
My only regret is that I'm reaching the end of this wonderful series of books. In Nutmeg, Aubrey and Maturin and their shipwrecked crew finally escape from the island on which they were marooned, and eventually reach Australia. Life in the penal colony is beautifully evoked by Mr. O'Brian, and Maturin has many adventures. On to The Truelove!
I'm re-reading the Aubrey-Maturin series (trying to get Patrick Tull's audiobooks from the library when they're available, but at this point in the series our library system only has the version read by some inferior person :P) Love this one esp. for the appearance of the orphans Sarah and Emily, who are wonderful characters.
Just started the audio book - but I've been eager to finish the story arc started in The Thirteen Gun salute. Jack, Stephen and all my favorite crew are marooned on a desert island after a shipwreck - with important intelligence documents! I'll let you know if it holds up the standard or the previous series.
Captain Jack Aubrey and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin spend much time at sea in this latest volume in the series, interspersed with exciting times when they make land. Interesting detail of 19th Century settlements on the far side of the world, together with thrilling sea battles as usual.
Please note, this 5 star rating is based on my long ago memories of this book - I may have read it greater than 12 years ago. I recall reading and really liking it, and even kept the book to read again in the future (something I only do with good, or otherwise significant books). The memories of an old man are sometimes faulty so this could really only warrant 3.5 to 4.5 stars, instead of the 5 I gave it. Once I re-read the book I will update this rating/review to more accurately reflect my thou...more
Another wonderful book in the series. O'Brian gives us a typically abrupt ending, but then all his books do that. I am delighted with Sarah and Emily and hope we hear more about them. And I love it when Stephen shows that he, too, can be a man of action.
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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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“Sir,’ said Stephen, ‘I read novels with the utmost pertinacity. I look upon them--I look upon good novels--as a very valuable part of literature, conveying more exact and finely-distinguished knowledge of the human heart and mind than almost any other, with greater breadth and depth and fewer constraints.”
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5 people liked it
“What do you say to taking up our game where we left off? I was winning, you will recall.'
Winning, for all love: how your ageing memory does betray you, my poor friend,' said Stephen, fetching his 'cello. They tuned, and at no great distance Killick said to his mate, 'There they are, at it again. Squeak, squeak; boom, boom. And when they do start a-playing, it's no better. You can't tell t'other from one. Never nothing a man could sing to, even as drunk as Davy's sow.'
I remember them in the Lively: but it is not as chronic as a wardroom full of gents with German flutes, bellyaching night and day, like we had in Thunderer. No. Live and let live, I say.'
Fuck you, William Grimshaw.”
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More quotes…
Winning, for all love: how your ageing memory does betray you, my poor friend,' said Stephen, fetching his 'cello. They tuned, and at no great distance Killick said to his mate, 'There they are, at it again. Squeak, squeak; boom, boom. And when they do start a-playing, it's no better. You can't tell t'other from one. Never nothing a man could sing to, even as drunk as Davy's sow.'
I remember them in the Lively: but it is not as chronic as a wardroom full of gents with German flutes, bellyaching night and day, like we had in Thunderer. No. Live and let live, I say.'
Fuck you, William Grimshaw.”
