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642 ratings, 4.28 average rating, 37 reviews
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published
May 6th 1997
(first published 1978)
by HarperCollins Canada / UK Fiction Pb
binding
Paperback, 348 pages
characters
isbn
0006499244
(isbn13: 9780006499244)
description
Captain Bligh (yes, the guy from the Bounty) needs to be rescued, and the Royal Navy has the perfect man for the job: Captain Jack Aubrey. With...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 775)
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 he...more
During the course of Desolation Island, the constantly changing setting he...more
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Read in August, 2004
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This was my favorite of the series. Probably because I love Antarctica and hate the Dutch. Just kidding, Dutch people!
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Read in June, 2008
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Read in January, 2005
recommended to Felicity by:
Ryan
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 the fire...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 the fire...more
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Read in September, 2007
Now up to the fifth of the Aubrey/Maturin books, I love the writing, period detail, and familiar characters just as much as in the previous books. I've never had a more total immersion into another world. You could compare O'Brian to Tolkein - Bonaparte would star in the Sauron role - but for me at least I can wholly accept the England and Royal Navy of the Napoleonic Wars in ways that Middle Earth remains imagination. That said, this book lacked a grand scale that the previous books all had....more
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Read in November, 2008
This book is the kind that is relentless - one thing after another, each of them ratchetting up the tension. Just when you think things can't get worse, they do, and it's all quite brilliant.
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Read in September, 2007
I'm actually listening to the Patrick Tull version of this audiobook, but I'm including the cover of Simon Vance edition
because it's a pretty picture. And anyway, I prefer Simon Vance's reading style to Tull's.
Although they're both wonderful readers, of course. It's just that with Patrick Tull, there isn't as much of a difference with the different characters voices as there is with Simon Vance and John Lee, so it's a little more work to understand who's speaking at any particular time. ...more
because it's a pretty picture. And anyway, I prefer Simon Vance's reading style to Tull's.
Although they're both wonderful readers, of course. It's just that with Patrick Tull, there isn't as much of a difference with the different characters voices as there is with Simon Vance and John Lee, so it's a little more work to understand who's speaking at any particular time. ...more
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Read in October, 2008
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Read in September, 2008
This is the 5th book in the Aubrey/Maturin series of British naval novels set during the Napoleonic ear and it is WONDERFUL. The 4th installment (The Mauritius Command) didn't entrance me quite as much but this one was stay-up-too-late marvelous. Typhus and spies and icebergs and other various Antarctic adventures... I am again struck by how unlikely it is that these books would charm me so thoroughly; something so military and ad...more
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Read in January, 2008
Well, one more O'Brian notch in my belt. 15 to go. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but this book was excellent as usual. Don't let the early 1800s nautical British navy theme fool you--while there are battles, lots of nautical terminology, etc. (which I confess I know very little of the language even though I used to own a sailboat), O'Brian makes it easy for us land lubbers to follow what's going on. And his books are really about the characters and relationships more than a lesson ...more
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This is probably the first book in the series where O'Brian really gets to grips with focusing a narrative quite tightly and succinctly over the course of one novel. The characterisation is as wonderful as ever, but the plotline is intense and enthralling, as close to a rollercoaster ride as you could get in the nineteenth century: hundreds of men crammed into deceptively frail wooden vessels, battling against Atlantic storms.
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Lovers of naval adventures and of historical fiction.
Desolation Island, as you might suspect by its title, is a bit darker than previous books, and even the major naval engagement leaves a sour taste in Jack's (and the reader's) mouth. I give it four stars because it's not quite as good as the previous 3 in the series, but certtainly it is still better than Master and Commander, and some of the chapters aboard the Leopard are amongst the most suspenseful of the series to date.
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Read in March, 2008
The Aubrey/Maturin books continue to be terrific as always. There being little point in rehearsing the plot ("Capt. Jack Aubrey and his friend and physician Stephen Maturin have adventures at sea"), I'd only mention that this one is as satisfying as its predecessors, and that Patrick Tull's excellent narration continues to be my favorite audiobook performance by a league or two. (Unabridged audiobook from Audible.com)
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...Loved this one too. Again the wonderful period style, as if it were actually written in the age it's set in, and the hilarious puns. Intrigue, a haunting sea battle, and a baby is born! I loved that part, because I read this while I was nursing, and that's how nursing mamas are. Or maybe it's just me. Anyway, great book.
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Read in January, 2004
I just re-read this one on the train back from Christmas. I adore all the Aubrey/Maturin books, but this one especially appeals for the endlessly damp and wearing chapters of the Leopard slowly sinking its way through the arctic seas. It takes me right back to the experience of library disasters, with the hours of hard, damp work.
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Read in October, 2008
I felt that this book got off to a bit of a slow start, but then it grabbed my interest and wouldn't let go until the end. Epidemics on board, intrigue and spy work, and then ending up in the antarctic ocean with the ship about to sink...what more could I ask for in the way of adventure?
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I couldn't get through this one. This is part of the series of 23 books (I think) about a captain on a ship and his physician. The writing is somewhat clever at times, almost cheeky, but it didn't draw me in. I think people who are into sailing might like this one more than me.
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
Adventure junkies
This is my 5th book in this series. It was excellent! Each book seems better than the previous one. However, I'm clearly now quite addicted to the "Aubrey-Maturin" series and probably need to find a suitable "12-step program" to help with this (NOT!).
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