Master and Commander (Aubrey/Maturin Book 1)

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Master and Commander (Aubrey & Maturin #1)

4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 · rating details · 15,886 ratings · 1,384 reviews

This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, R.N., and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against a thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of a life aboard a man-of-war are faultless rendered: the conversational idiom of the officers in the ward room and the men on the lowe...more

Paperback, 459 pages

Published October 17th 2003 by W. W. Norton & Company (first published 1959)

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The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

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Feb 04, 2012 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, historical-fiction, 1930-1953, water-logged

This story posed a bugger of a ratings quandary for yours truly.

While reading it I was bouncing around between everything from a bountiful 5 star rating for pure quality of writing, hefty historical detail and superbly drawn characters, all the way south to a skimpy 2 star for less than engaging plotting, iceberg-like pacing and noticeable lack of emotional resonance. Finally, in my best impression of Solomon, I settled on a solid, if not quite ebullient, 3 stars based on the fact that I was de...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Jason Koivu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Master and Commander begins English author Patrick O'Brian's lush and literary epic seafaring historical fiction series based on the career of a naval captain during the time of the Napoleonic Wars.

Through out the entire series O'Brian delves into the themes of love, war and friendship. At the heart of M&C is the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey and Irish surgeon and naturalistic Stephen Maturin. When they meet at the book's outset - Aubrey a lieutenant without a ship, Maturin a docto...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Sparrow rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: sy fy fans

Shelves: audio, morally-superior, needs-a-sassy-gay-friend-real-bad, reviewed

This book is very valuable insofar as it has taught me to respect the society of men the way I would respect the circle around a chained-up rabid dog. Usually it seemed like the men were always criticizing each other behind one another's backs and this usually arose from something like “he has slightly insulted my honor or friend, perhaps unintentionally, I'm not going to find out, I'm just going to ~~list off and exaggerate every one of his faults because it will create a deeper bond between me a~~...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Brad rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: my Dad

Shelves: faves, aubrey-maturin, historical, to-read-again, napoleonic-era

ii. I'm at it again, but this time I opened up my Aubrey-Maturin reread by listening. It took a month of commuting, but it was worth the time and the patience, and though I have gleaned no new insights into Master and Commander, my enjoyment of the audio experience was more than fulfilling enough.

O'Brian wasn't a big fan of the audio versions of his books, nor of the men reading them: “To revert to my ideal reader: he would avoid obvious emotion, italics and exclamation marks like the plague -...more

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Brad Yeah, I love the nautical jargon too. We have tall ships come into port here every late summer, and I love being able to talk to the captains and crew...more
Nov 09, 2011 12:24pm

Sherri I have only recently begun to appreciate audio books because I've been sharing a lot of my favorites with my husband (who is not a great reader, but w...more
Nov 09, 2011 01:38pm

May 06, 2011 K.D. Oliveros rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to K.D. by: 100 Must Read Books for Men

Shelves: adventure, guy-lit

Now, this is my favorite maritime historical novel. It has just dislodged Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdhal and Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen. The reason: the detailed and vivid writing of Patrick O'Brian (1914-2000). How could a trained pilot write a 20-novel Aubrey-Maturin (yes, this is 411-page book is just the first) about naval warfare during Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) with such details and jargons as if he was from the era? R...more Now, this is my favorite maritime historical novel. It has just dislodged Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdhal and Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen. The reason: the detailed and vivid writing of Patrick O'Brian (1914-2000). How could a trained pilot write a 20-novel Aubrey-Maturin (yes, this is 411-page book is just the first) about naval warfare during Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) with such details and jargons as if he was from the era? Read this book and be amazed by the details of the sea battles like the sinking of enemy ships, the killing of the ship crews, the splattering of blood and brains on the cabins. They are just amazing as those will give you the feeling that you were there witnessing those gory scenes.

Wait. Before you think that this novel is gory and about senseless killings, those scenes are just few. At least for this first book of the series. Overall, this is about the unlikely friendship between two men: the fat and voracious eater English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish-Catalan physician-on-board Stephen Maturin. I said unlikely because their personalities are totally opposite each other like sun and moon. Jack is outgoing while Stephen is reserved. Jack is aggressive and rah-rah while Stephen is reflective and cautious. However, there is one trait they share: their love of music. And if you have the sea, music and edge-of-your-seat battles, you have my full attention as a reader.

Granted. There are just too many navy jargons that I did not care looking up in my Lexicon dictionary or Google up. I just brushed them aside. That helped. There were actually nights that this put me to sleep. But I guess those details make this a different reading experience. When boredom happens while I am reading a book and I want to continue, I normally look for its movie adaptation. However, 2003 Russell Crowe-starrer Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World did not help. The plot, although the battle scenes were similar to what happened in the book, is almost unrecognizable. Jack Aubrey in the book is fat while Crowe is a gladiator-type of slim. Well, of course we do not want fat guys in a kick-ass sea adventure movie ha ha.

Master and Commander. The term was explained by Stephen as redundant or misnomer. The Master reports to the Commander. In fact, this is only one person: Jack Aubrey. This is just an example of the many blah blahs in the book narratives that put me to I was able to catch. There are other interesting characters like Lieutenant Dillon who has crossed paths with Stephen before, and whose discontent at his new captain's lust for prize money begins to simmer when lack stops to secure a captured vessel rather than chasing another foe. Some of Jack's dilemmas are comical - what to do with a goat-buggering sailor and hos to assuage his crew's supernatural fear of the resident sin eater. Others are practical - how to drill his men to achieve a decent rate of fire with the cannon. In battle the warfare of his brig (the Sophie) and all the men aboard hinge on his decisions, which is where O'Brian's flabbergasting depth of knowledge is revealed. Seamen's customs and language, every detail of the Sophie's construction and the historical setting in which Jack's men sail are delivered as convincingly as if O'Brian has lived in the early 1800.

O'Brian has left a legacy with his 20-novel Aubrey-Maturin series. Oh well, 19 more to go. (less)

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May 07, 2013 Jon added it

Recommended to Jon by: Valerie Neer

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, read-in-my-40s, loved-it

4 stars

Due to the acquisition of GoodReads by Amazon on March 28, 2013 and my existing and continuing boycott of all things Amazon, the review I wrote after reading this book now resides, safe and secure, at my blog. You can read it by following this link: http://bit.ly/12c29cC

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Apr 25, 2007 Leighton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of C.S. Forester or Jane Austen

I'm putting this volume on my list to represent the entire twenty-volume series, which I've almost finished now. If you saw the Peter Weir movie, my impression was that the period detail was nice and Russell Crowe was well-cast but the rest of the film really didn't convey what is wonderful about Patrick O'Brian's mind.

These are naval adventure stories, set mostly aboard a British man-of-war during the Napoleonic conflicts. In those respects they are like C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower seri...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Kaethe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: age-adult, fiction, adventure, colonization, friendship, history, humor, medicine, music, swashbuckling, uk, war

The Spouse and I watched part of the movie together last night. I have GOT to read this.

***

The illustration in the frontispiece was very helpful, but still, at least half the sentences were meaningless to me. And that's fine. Sailors and historians will no doubt no whether or not it's all correct, but for me it's just naval handwaving to set the background. the book is enjoyable as all get-out because it is so dry. So dry. Let me tell you: I laugh aloud when the doctor mentions bloodletting, tha...more

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Nov 14, 2008 Eric_W rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nautical-fiction

In Master and Commander, the first of the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, Jack gets his first command. It's the Sophie, a seventy-eight-foot sloop with a crew of more than eighty. It's a wonder where they stuck them all. It's also the beginning of the friendship between Jack and Stephen Maturin, who becomes the ship's surgeon. They don't get off on the right foot, however, as Maturin castigates
Jack for tapping his hand out of rhythm during a chamber concert. Rather than come to blows,...more In Master and Commander, the first of the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, Jack gets his first command. It's the Sophie, a seventy-eight-foot sloop with a crew of more than eighty. It's a wonder where they stuck them all. It's also the beginning of the friendship between Jack and Stephen Maturin, who becomes the ship's surgeon. They don't get off on the right foot, however, as Maturin castigates
Jack for tapping his hand out of rhythm during a chamber concert. Rather than come to blows, they discover they have several things in common, a love of music being the foremost.

Jack's first responsibility is to convoy a group of his Majesty's merchant ships, so they put to sea after first trying out some cannon in the bow that threaten to drive the ship's carpenter into severe apoplexy when he sees how the shock from the guns threatens to pull apart the little ship's seams. The most startling revelation to the modern reader is the number of offenses for which a seaman, or officer, could be put to death. Every first Sunday, the Captain was required to read the Articles of War, which delineated all these heinous crimes such as threatening an officer, or failing to proceed against the enemy with adequate haste, or any one of a number of miscellaneous other offenses, each of which would result in the death penalty.

This volume should be read first, for O'Brian clearly explains the nomenclature and functions of each part of a working eighteenth-century sailing vessel. The entire ship is explained, from bowsprit to spanker, and a description of the crews living quarters is given. Patrick O'Brian wrote in the introduction to Nelson's Navy: "...One’s pleasure in a sailor's account of his voyage is so very much enhanced if one can follow the more technical passages. This is even more true where the navy of Nelson's day is concerned, for by the time of Trafalgar the sailing man-of-war ... had reached its apogee, an immensely complex machine requiring extraordinary skill to handle and, of course, a copious vocabulary to speak of its parts and function." O'Brian knows his vocabulary.

Living quarters were cramped. Each sailor had only a hammock, which he stung in the fourteen inches of space assigned to him. When Maturin exclaims how surely that space is not enough for a man to sleep in, he is reminded that actually the amount of room is double that for about half the crew is on watch at any given time, providing double the space.

Stephen soon discovers much to his consternation, that Sophie's first lieutenant, is one James Dillon. He and Dillon are members of the United Irishmen, an organization of Protestants and Catholics trying to unite Ireland and responsible for a recently thwarted rebellion. One never knows how its former members might react to being in close quarters with others, especially as internal strife and numerous betrayals of former friends and comrades had rived the society. Jack's intolerance is revealed as he admits to Maturin his hatred of the dreaded Papists Unfortunately, he creates a potentially difficult situation
by making derogatory comments about Catholics to the crew before discovering Dillon and many of the men are Catholic, and he did so mean to get off to a good start with at least his first lieutenant!

A recurrent theme of the Aubrey/Maturin series is the meaning of friendship, and that theme is certainly developed in Master and Commander. Maturin and Dillon have a chance to explain their feelings about the Irish republican movement after they are removed to a prize ship that must be sailed into port, Dillon to command and Maturin to help deliver a baby born to the French captain's wife. Maturin explains, and perhaps we can also assume this is O'Brian speaking, that the bloody results of the French Revolution have soured him to groups of any kind. "'I would not cross this room to reform parliament or prevent the union or to bring about the millennium... - but man as part of a movement or a crowd is ... inhuman... the only feelings I have are for men as individuals; my loyalties, such as they may be, are to private persons alone.... Patriotism is a word; and one that generally comes to mean either my country, right or wrong, which is infamous, or my country is always right, which is imbecile."'

O'Brian's characters are human, with all that implies. They make mistakes, act stupidly on occasion, suffer from greed and ill temper. So many modern action stories have superhuman heroes who suffer only from occasional bouts of pseudo-remorse for their actions, explained in nauseating psychobabble,never suffering from anything remotely resembling a crisis of conscience. Sign of our times perhaps.
O'Brian also his a good deal of fun at the expense of the eighteenth-century stuffed-shirt upper class. Consider the following scene at a rather hoity-toity, mixed company dinner party: "Mr. Ellis was clearly very much at home in Captain Harte's house, for without having to ask the way he walked to the sideboard, opened the lead-lined door and took out the chamber-pot, and looking over his shoulder he went on without a pause to state that fortunately the lower classes naturally looked up to gentlemen and loved them, in their humble way' only gentlemen were fit to be officers. God had ordered it so, he said, buttoning the flap of his breeches ' and he as he sat down again at the table he observed that he knew one house where the article was silver - solid silver."(less)

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Jul 13, 2008 Joe O'Loughlin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Never mind maneuvers - go straight at 'em!" This describes the main character's temperament perfectly. But when combined with his alter-ego's more calculating nature, the POV is entirely human and utterly compelling in it's contradictions, flaws and dramatic leverage.

This book had everything in it that I love in great books.

The sentence structure and wordplay were so dexterous and pleasing that I chuckled at its art and cleverness. I learned later that Mr. "O'Brian" (his nom de plume, a fact r...more "Never mind maneuvers - go straight at 'em!" This describes the main character's temperament perfectly. But when combined with his alter-ego's more calculating nature, the POV is entirely human and utterly compelling in it's contradictions, flaws and dramatic leverage.

This book had everything in it that I love in great books.

The sentence structure and wordplay were so dexterous and pleasing that I chuckled at its art and cleverness. I learned later that Mr. "O'Brian" (his nom de plume, a fact revealed after his death) was a big fan of Jane Austen, so I read "Pride and Prejudice" and immediately saw this most unlikely and remarkable connection between two authors of different gender, subject matter and time periods.

I loved the simplicity and propulsive "though line" of the plot.

I especially loved the characters, not just the incredibly real Captain Jack Aubrey and his "particular friend" Dr. Stephen Maturin, but also every single background character that seemed so well-formed and unforgettable, even years after I read it the first time.

I loved the thrilling action sequences: danger at sea; wartime strategy and tactics; bloody fights; bravery; patriotism; boys growing into men; and the heavy weight of leadership.

I loved the book's emphasis on the importance of optimism, spontanaeity and self-confidence in a fight, tempered by the valuable qualities ("shining parts") of a most loyal and trustworthy friend: strategy, scrupulousness, discretion and even a singular bloody-mindedness when needed.

I also loved the dialog that seemed so true to its time, although the author wrote it hundreds of years after that refined, courteous, remarkably expressive manner of speech evaporated into the shadows of time.

And of course, I loved the thrilling sense of adventure that made me lose track of my surroundings and instantly whisked me away to these characters' world whenever I opened the book.

It is one of the best books I ever read, and I've read it three times so far. All 23 of Mr. O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series are great reads, but I would start with this one if you want to get hooked.
(less)

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Apr 14, 2009 Ron rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Ron by: Jon moss

Shelves: historical-fiction

Merits three and a half, but I've got to quit competing with Santa Claus.

Good story, well told. I'm sure all the nautical stuff is accurate but laid on so heavily that it sometimes obscured the story and characters. And it's the development and relationship of those characters which makes Master and Commander worth reading.

And it is worth reading.

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Nov 25, 2007 Joey Coleman rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hmmmm. I don't quite know what I think of this book, and I really don't know if I'm going to take the plunge into the second installment of the series. The naval jargon is just a wee bit over the top, oftentimes leaving the non-sailing reader completely confused and weighed down with feelings of inadequacy. Nonetheless, the tales related are interesting and the cast of characters deep and well developed. Still, I never woke up with the insatiable urge to pull on my topcoat and head to the quarte...more

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Mar 16, 2009 pete rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i honestly dont give all my books 5 stars but this book which starts a series of 21 is among my all-time favorite historical novels. set in the 1800's they describe many of the events that occured with the british in their maritime wars with various countries including france, the u.s., the dutch and the spanish. adventuresome, suspenseful and often humerous...seafaring stories don't get much better than this.

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Mar 22, 2009 Tracy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

The first scene had great promise, and sections of prose throughout the book were striking. The main characters were also endearing. However, I felt greatly handicapped by my ignorance of nautical terminology. Much of the time, especially in the rather pivotal battle scenes, I had incredible difficulty following what was going on. As a result, I was never really fully drawn into the story.

post-script: I don't understand why Russel Crowe was cast for the part of Aubrey. I haven't seen the movie,...more

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Jan 30, 2009 James rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Based partially on the movie, and mainly on the review of my friend Brad I threw audio version of Master & Commander on my iPod, and am very glad that I did.

I think the first thing I appreciated about the book was O'Brian's engaging, yet efficient, style that kept the story moving along at a steady pace. Not only was the pacing crisp and the style absorbing, but O'Brian managed to pack in enough detail to keep naval aficionados happy, yet was accessible to landlubbers like me with minimum ef...more

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Dec 14, 2009 Hazel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

I come to O'Brian rather late. I'll admit that I assumed these would be boys' adventure stories. And after that Hollywood treatment starring Russel Crowe, I dismissed the Aubrey/Maturin books altogether. Thus does Prejudice lead us to miss out on good stuff. But thanks to a recommendation from Goodreads, I ordered this from the library and was immediately absorbed and delighted. I still don't know a mainsail from a mizzen, but O'Brian's characters are intriguing and his use of language absorbing...more I come to O'Brian rather late. I'll admit that I assumed these would be boys' adventure stories. And after that Hollywood treatment starring Russel Crowe, I dismissed the Aubrey/Maturin books altogether. Thus does Prejudice lead us to miss out on good stuff. But thanks to a recommendation from Goodreads, I ordered this from the library and was immediately absorbed and delighted. I still don't know a mainsail from a mizzen, but O'Brian's characters are intriguing and his use of language absorbing. Here is Maturin's first climb into the 'maintop' (Don't ask me what part of the ship this is, but it's high up.)

He was not afraid for his skin, not afraid for himself: but presently his climbing body, now half-way up the shrouds, let him know that for its own part it was in a state of rapidly increasing terror. Forty feet is no great height, but it seems far more lofty, aerial and precarious when there is nothing but an insubstantial yielding ladder of moving ropes underfoot; and when Stephen was three parts of the way up cries of 'Belay' on deck showed that the staysails were set and their sheets hauled aft. They filled, and the Sophie heeled over another strake or two; this coincided with her leeward roll, and the rail passed slowly under Stephen's downward gaze, to be followed by the sea - a wide expanse of glittering water, very far below, and directly underneath. His grip on the ratlines tightened with cataleptic strength and his upward progress ceased: he remained there spread-eagled, while the varying forces of gravity, centrifugal motion, irrational panic and reasonable dread acted upon his motionless, tight-cramped person, now pressing him forward so that the checkered pattern of the shrouds and their crossing ratlines were imprinted on his front, and now plucking him backwards so that he bellied out like a shirt hung up to dry.

Brilliant. I am in awe of Mr O'Brian's scholarship, his sympathy for his subject and for the period and his skill at bringing to life these characters and their relationships. Half the nautical jargon went straight over my head, but I'll be reading this again!(less)

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Apr 15, 2011 Michelle added it · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned

Behold the cure for insomnia!

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Jan 25, 2013 Reni rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: age-of-sail, adventure, historical-fiction, napoleonic-wars, read-in-2013

I really had to think hard before rating this book.

This first: I definitely want more of Jack and Stephen! But with better paced narration.

It's a more a 3.5 star book than a 3 star book, but I want to leave room for improvement. ;)

Over all I really liked it -- the main characters are above all fault, and I hope to see them again soon in the second volume! -- but it has a few, serious problems.

First of all, the book doesn't have the greatest pacing. The plot feels far more episodic than I would...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

I think Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are two of the greatest characters ever. And part of what makes them so great is that POB wasn't afraid to let them be complex and awkward and sad. He wasn't afraid, either, to let them be products of their time. Too often, writers of historical fiction feel like they need to make their characters some kind of historical prodigy -- the 18thC doctor who has discovered that if he feeds his patients this special mold, they'll get better. That sort of thing. B...more

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Sep 22, 2009 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: 19th century lit and history fans, lovers of a damn fine yarn

Recommended to Kelly by: Sarah

Shelves: owned, brit-lit, fiction, regency

You know, I've often been annoyed by the fact that so many times, I never get to experience something the way it was intended, or to its fullest. Because someone else always gets there first, and someone's else's eyes are always put in front of mine before I get the chance to do it for myself (I recall writing a very emotional paper on Vermeer's Girl With a Pearl Earring, the Chevalier book and the movie that followed along these lines. Yeah, I was a silly teenager). I often see the parodies of...more You know, I've often been annoyed by the fact that so many times, I never get to experience something the way it was intended, or to its fullest. Because someone else always gets there first, and someone's else's eyes are always put in front of mine before I get the chance to do it for myself (I recall writing a very emotional paper on Vermeer's Girl With a Pearl Earring, the Chevalier book and the movie that followed along these lines. Yeah, I was a silly teenager). I often see the parodies of many things before I see the things themselves- but I guess that's both postmoderism and a modern culture that endlessly, endlessly reaches into the past to mine for stories to sell in the present. But in this case, I choose not to be annoyed by the fact that it was a blonde-ified Russell Crowe who first introduced me to Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series because once you experience these books for themselves, there's really no way that any reinterpretation can top the greatness of the real thing.

Whatever I had expected from this series, I got something entirely different. I don't know what I had in my head- some swords, some 'Huzzah!'s and sweeping music, set against a background of crashing waves and imperialist-era English bravado. And oh sure, that was all there, but not until much later, and I didn't even notice it tick off on my register of preconceived parameters.

Master and Commander opens with Jack Aubrey's mental impressions of attending a Polite Society musical concert- something that wouldn't have a place in any other seafaring tale, but is indispensible for this particular story. Without giving anything too much away, the story follows Jack Aubrey and the physician Stephen Maturin through various adventures and misadventures of the naval life during the Wars with the French (the book opens in 1800, technically right before Napoleon's total control of the situation), and deals with everything, in terms of events, from the dissection of a dolphin to the etiquette attending relations among naval officers and their responsibilities, relations with enemies (some of the scenes with opposing French officers were exquisitely hilarious as well as revealing of history), to rip roaring (and incredibly suspenseful pageturning) naval engagements of every size and scale. We read the naval engagements out loud, and I wouldnt've had it any other way- don't miss out on someone's dramatic, impatient voice trying to get to the next words when reading this one.

In terms of larger themes- there are a staggering lot of them dealt with in this book. This is not simply an adventure tale by a long shot. The characters both outwardly and psychologically deal with a range of issues that torment them in various ways. Just to deal with a few- the very complicated and paradoxically precarious and set in stone class system of the time, the nature of nationalism and nations, the effects of a life of violence upon the men who undergo it and a society that depends upon it, the Irish characters that have to deal with the fallout of the Irish Rebellion and general inter-cultural and inter-religious politics, money money money that makes the world go 'round, the proper motivations of a man, and ultimately, the questions of identity that endlessly pick apart these men's brilliant facades. Set perfectly at a time when the Age of Enlightenment was still the dominant mirror of the time, but with Romanticism and where it comes from easily to be seen peeking around a corner- Maturin and Aubrey perfectly straddle this era, with all the best that can be from those particular traditions, and some of their flaws as well.

O'Brian is a brilliant illustrator of character and particularly of the inner life of the mind, and is able to express everything about his characters that needs to be said through a combination of thoughts and action that both move the plot along, and bring give us depth into the life of the men and women who populate this novel. (As a caveat for this, there are a few characters such as the avaricious Mr. Ellis and Molly Harte, who do suffer from a bit of stereotyping, but I'm willing to accept them as ciphers because they're such entertaining ones.) He's able to show us what these people would be like to grow up squabbling with, to sit next to at dinner, and deal with professionally. (His evocations of Jack Aubrey's enthusiasms and despairs are particular favorites of mine, I want to wrap them up in a big bear hug and never let them go.) I feel I've been acquainted with whole people who are not mere Heroes Who Wave About a Shining Sword, or Villains With Moustaches- and yet, I feel as if I have read a novel that would normally be inhabited by those people, if you see what I'm saying. With somewhat largely the same tones and people and events... but I'm getting filled in about parts that another author couldn't give a shit about, by the guy who writes awesome footnotes a la Susanna Clarke, which are better than the story sometimes.

And of course, I cannot say enough about the language. Please, I beg of you, do not be frightened off by O'Brian's incredibly researched naval cant and constant incantations of ropes, sales, decks, and navigational terms. I reached the end of the book still not knowing what about half the terms here meant, and do you know what? I don't really even think it matters. I looked up some of the terms that were coming up every page, sure, and do that if you must, but don't give up! Just listen to it, just imagine someone's voice saying it- you'll figure it out like those first grade exercises in context clues, you'll get the gist of it. O'Brian will take care of you, I promise. Just listen to the singsong tone- this man /loves/ language, and it doesn't need a rhyming sailor to tell me that. He could have written this as Rhapsodies on a Naval Theme, really. It would have been a beautiful symphony. Just go with it- it doesn't matter if they're turning 45 degrees to the right to tack into the wind coming from the mainland in order to swing around the back of a ship- trust me, when they fire the guns and bust up the stern, you'll know what's going on, or you'll figure it out pretty quickly. Of course, you do have to pay attention, and you should- truly, this man's manipulation of the English language (and frequently, corruptions of it) is something to see.

So yeah, I think I'm ready if there's a Robot Chicken Does Jack Aubrey. Pretty sure nothing can kill my totally unironic love for these amazing books. Can't wait to keep reading!

(PS- History sticklers, yes, I did classify this as "Regency", and yes I am aware that the actual Regency does not begin until 1811, but I'm using the looser Regency definition that encompases culture and thought and George III's decline, even if the Regency wasn't official yet. So there! I sniff in your general direction!)(less)

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Aug 30, 2007 Sam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Master and Commander, the first book of the Aubrey-Maturin series is one of my favorite books ever.

The entire series is a great read for anyone who likes the history of England, or of science, or of naval warfare. It also includes lots of great characters and plot twists. I would not however recommend the whole series to everyone. A certain proclivity toward all-out adventure stories is needed to fully enjoy all twenty-ish volumes.

Master and Commander is different in this respect. It is a more s...more Master and Commander, the first book of the Aubrey-Maturin series is one of my favorite books ever.

The entire series is a great read for anyone who likes the history of England, or of science, or of naval warfare. It also includes lots of great characters and plot twists. I would not however recommend the whole series to everyone. A certain proclivity toward all-out adventure stories is needed to fully enjoy all twenty-ish volumes.

Master and Commander is different in this respect. It is a more self-contained story than the rest, and is really quite a bit better in some ways. The extremely lifelike interaction between Jack, Stephen, the officers and the crew in this volume, aboard the little Sophie, is better rendered here than in later volumes, where, on bigger ships, Jack is more distant from the foc's'le tars. Most of the crew of the Sophie become real characters, without any of the Star Trek "doomed red-shirt" syndrome that occaisionally pops up in the later volumes. The character of James Dillon, present only in this book, is one of my favorite in the whole series, and the tensions between him, Jack and Stephen form a riveting plot arc that ties together the episodic accounts of individual sea battles and misadventurers in port.

All of the major characters come across with life and personality. The author does not seem to go out of his way to make them "multifaceted" or "complex" but they don't suffer from it. Jack especially, is quite predictable, but it isn't the sort of predictablity that one would usually point out when critiquing fiction. Jack is predictable in the way of a very old friend.

The plotline is interesting for its rises and falls of tension. This book does not follow a conventional Freitag Triangle sort of approach. The tension mounts and releases an a heartbeat oscillation of success and failure, whether the Sophie is at sea and her Captain is attending garden parties. The plot itself is very much like a ship at sea, cast about a little by the weather, but still following a well-defined course. The effect is a reading experience that seems extremely real.

This book could be a great read even for people who don't like sea-stories, don't like war stories, or aren't interested in the time-period of the Napoleanic Wars. Independent of the setting it is a really well-written story about human nature. Of course, if you do like sea battles and still drink to the consternation of Old Boney, you're pretty much guaranteed to love this book.

And if you finish this volume, and are left wondering what might happen if Jack got married, or what is to become of Stephen's opium problem, or what might occur if Jack's bad business sense and Stephen's secret identity put them both in conflict with highly placed figures in the British Government, well, then Patrick O'Brian has something like nineteen and a half other books that you should probably take a look at.(less)

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Jun 24, 2008 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Kathy by: Day & Heather

Shelves: other-fiction

This is my all-time favorite series. All are rich in historical detail, from the minutia of life in the British Royal Navy to the politics of the time (during the Napoleonic wars). O'Brian makes that history come alive through the eyes of his strong central characters and the quality of the writing, including a healthy dose of dry wittiness. Many people say that Master and Commander starts off slowly, but 50 pages or so into it they start to get hooked and end up reading the entire series (20 co...more

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Jun 28, 2007 Brigid rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This series is one of my favorite books - in the sense that it can be viewed as one long novel - of all time. I re-read these, starting sometimes from the beginning, sometimes from somewhere else and then circling back, about once a year. I tend not to read past book 15 or 16, since the later ones aren't as good.

O'Brian has perfectly recreated the British navy of the early 19th century, down to the most astonishing details. His books provide a perfect complement to Jane Austen, who lived and wro...more

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Mar 25, 2008 Arne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first book of my favorite book series of all time. It's 20 books long, but I read the whole thing twice. People who love these books are like a cult. I found out about them through a Lewis Lapham column in Harper's. He talked about how he was sitting on an airplane and saw the person sitting next to him had just started reading the first book, and just said "You are so lucky. I wish I could be starting the series again for the first time." The story of a sea captain in the English Na...more

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Oct 19, 2007 Casper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

After the sad and tragic endings you often find in "serious" literature this book comes as a welcome change. I'd already seen the movie Master and Commander a few times and really liked it, so the book was on my to-read list for quite some time. On the one hand it's an old-fashioned adventure novel, with sea battles, comradeship and exotic travels, but on the other hand it's actually a very well-written book. It demands your attention, that is to say you can't just skip through the pages, but yo...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Simon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: partly-read

I loved the film, and really, really wanted to love this book (with plans to go on and read others in the series) but with the exception of perhaps the first chapter, I found the first hundred pages to be sheer drudgery. O'Brian is obviously a brilliant writer and scholar, but the lengths to which he luxuriates in nautical lingo - coupled with the already flowery (however beautiful) vernacular of the time - rendered the text incredibly inaccessible in terms of a casual read. I'm years out of sch...more

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Jan 30, 2008 Michael-Evans rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've read the first eight of this series so far. I was hooked by this, the first one. The action is splendid. I wasn't at all familiar with the world of the book, but I really got into it. There is such a great amount of effective detail. I like the main characters so very much. And in this book O'Brian does odd things that I like, for instance he has a unique way of describing unfolding events indirectly as characters react to them in their dialog, and he will change time and place with nothing...more

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Jan 16, 2008 Deb rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you love tallships and the sea, adventure, humor, history, I can't think of any to match these for pure enjoyment. I'll borrow my comments on the Aubrey/Maturin series from literary critic Stephen Becker: Certain authors we read because they enlarge us, because they offer experience, wisdom, beauty of language, a sense of fate and the only defense, a sense of humor. I am one of your surly pragmatic polygot landlubbers, and I read and reread him [Patrick O'Brian] with awe and gratitude. His Au...more

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Feb 06, 2008 M rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, military, history

I don't normally like reading fiction, especially of the non-classic variety, but this came highly recommended. I really enjoyed it, but I have a nerdish fascination with the great sailing warships of that era. This book really gets into the nitty-gritty of seamanship aboard an English naval vessel in the time of Nelson. I will probably end up reading the rest of the series, and my longtime wish to take a long voyage on a sailing ship has been reinforced. Aside from all that, this is just a very...more

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Jan 03, 2008 Jacob rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I re-read this recently on the train to Christmas. Without a doubt the Aubrey/Maturin novels are my favorite writing. I find so much of myself in both the protagonists, and O'Brian is such a good hand with character that I know everyone in the books as if we had just had dinner last night.

And beside that, Lord, the scholarship! The music! The pleasantest way I know to learn geography and history, a naturalist's delight, glorious bawdy puns and literary word-play, the humongous quantities of foo...more

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About Patrick O'Brian

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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“But you know as well as I, patriotism is a word; and one that generally comes to mean either my country, right or wrong, which is infamous, or my country is always right, which is imbecile.” — 63 people liked it

“...I have had such a sickening of men in masses, and of causes, that I would not cross this room to reform parliament or prevent the union or to bring about the millennium. I speak only for myself, mind - it is my own truth alone - but man as part of a movement or a crowd is indifferent to me. He is inhuman. And I have nothing to do with nations, or nationalism. The only feelings I have - for what they are - are for men as individuals; my loyalties, such as they may be, are to private persons alone.” — 14 people liked it

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Master and Commander (Aubrey & Maturin #1)

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