false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171252994m/93201.jpg 93201 24 Almost three decades after commencing his maritime epic with <I>Master and Commander</I>, Patrick O'Brian is still at it. The 20th episode, <I>Blue at the Mizzen</I>, is another swashbuckling adventure on the high seas, complete with romantic escapades from smoggy London to Sierra Leone, diplomacy, espionage, the intricacies of warfare, and imperial brinksmanship. As always, these events are bound up in the ongoing friendship between two officers of the Royal Navy. Jack Aubrey is the naval captain, bold yet compassionate, innovative yet cautious, as fearless in war as he is bumbling in affairs of the heart and household. His boon companion Stephen Maturin is the ship's surgeon--and additionally a spy for the British government, a wealthy Catalonian aristocrat, a doting Irish father, and an avid naturalist. That may sound like a lot to keep track of. However, it's not necessary to carry around a scorecard or ship's roster while reading <I>Blue at the Mizzen</I>. The ostensible issue is whether Jack will finally be promoted to Admiral of the Blue. But long before he hears any word from the Napoleonic era's equivalent of Personnel, he loses half his crew to desertion, his ship undergoes a disastrous collision, and the entire company comes close to perishing in the ice-choked seas off Cape Horn. Meanwhile, the widowed Maturin issues a surprising proposal of marriage to a beautiful, mud-bespattered fellow naturalist while trekking through an African mangrove swamp. (The two lovebirds happen to be searching for a rare variant of <I>Caprimulgus longipennis</I>, the long-tailed nightjar, which they hope to surprise in full mating plumage.) Still, this is hardly a plot-driven novel. O'Brian takes time to get anywhere, and invariably enjoys the journey more than the arrival. So even as we get constant hints of the climax to come--Jack's spectacular naval action on behalf of the infant Republic of Chile--we don't mind hearing about the nuances of shipboard existence or the secret life of the white-faced tree duck. We're treated, for example, to this snippet about managed care, circa 1816: <blockquote> Poll, Maggie and a horse-leech from the starboard watch have been administering enemas to the many, many cases of gross surfeit that have now replaced the frostbites, torsions, and debility of the recent past, the very recent past. Strong, fresh, seal-meat has not its equal for upsetting the seaman's metabolism: he is much better kept on biscuits, Essex cheese, and a very little well-seethed salt pork--kept on short commons. </blockquote> And we're grateful! We can only hope that the elderly author will favor us with at least one more novel, so that his avid followers can avoid their own form of short commons. Life without Aubrey and Maturin would be a deprivation indeed. <I>--Andrew Himes</I> 3715392 17 11 1999 Blue at the Mizzen (Aubrey/Maturin Book 20) total:647|5:296|4:236|3:100|2:10|1:5| 647 2749 853 33 5 0 false false Thu Mar 19 12:16:29 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 14:47:43 -0700 2009
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, ...more...]]> 5 0 false true Wed Jan 16 07:42:30 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 16 02:27:35 -0700 2008 1
(First three chapters)
Is it just me or are Harding and Whewell the new Pullings and Mowett? It's probably just me. In any case yay for the new midshipman. Horatio. Seriously. I know it was a very common name, but even so. Hee. And with the initials H...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Nov 18 20:56:30 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 21:03:57 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 06 15:23:05 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 06 15:23:24 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Feb 27 08:12:15 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 11:25:51 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 08:12:15 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Mar 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 14:59:09 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 09:33:34 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Dec 18 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Sat Aug 22 09:38:32 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 09:39:51 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Sep 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 02 08:32:20 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 09:49:14 -0700 2009
So I guess Aubrey and Maturin will sail on in my imagination--I'll pretend that Stephen gets the girl, and that Jack b...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 12:11:18 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 17:37:32 -0700 2009
I've finished the series now. I know there's supposed to be an unfinished vol. 21 but I don't think I...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 04:55:31 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 05:52:06 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sat Jun 13 19:43:51 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 19:44:33 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri May 08 13:29:49 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 13:30:19 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Sep 12 20:17:24 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 12 20:25:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Aug 05 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 05 13:03:38 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 13:03:59 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Nov 25 20:19:52 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 20:19:59 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Sun Feb 22 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 05:13:17 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 06:19:01 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Thu Oct 02 14:34:54 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 17 08:56:36 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 02 14:34:54 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 06:33:57 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 19:58:14 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Sun Jul 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 16 05:45:47 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 12 02:04:02 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Jul 05 07:45:26 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 07 05:17:42 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=93201