false 49786072 2143376 77427 0393307611 9780393307610 80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255923714m/77427.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77427.H_M_S_Surprise_ 4.35 1336 "Few, very few books have made my heart thud with excitement. H.M.S. Surprise managed it."—Helen Lucy Burke, Irish Press Third in the series of Aubrey/Maturin adventures, this book is set among the strange sights and smells of the Indian subcontinent, and in the distant waters ploughed by the ships of the East India Company. Aubrey is on the defensive, pitting wits and seamanship against an enemy enjoying overwhelming local superiority. But somewhere in the Indian Ocean lies the prize that could make him rich beyond his wildest dream: the ships sent by Napoleon to attack the China Fleet... .]]> 5600 4.25 22319 1544 5 1 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Thu Mar 19 12:14:54 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 14:40:08 -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, 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 the author's view, while the wide sweep of Europe's history progresses, men are left to deal with far smaller local problems.

And it is in men that O'Brian shines. O'Brian creates characters flawed enough to be human, without becoming base. Not the best of men, but rising to better as circumstance demands.

And while the author leaves the great sweep of history largely aside, the detailed history of these men's lives, the sacrifices, the conditions of life at sea are truly fascinating.]]>