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Patrick OBrian Aubrey-Maturin series


AWoolford

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  • 4 weeks later...

Exactly as robotw said. I have the whole set, and have read them all, now on my third read-through. The writing is really excellent, the atmosphere and background are so deep and well-researched, and the characters (especially the male characters, O'Brian's one weakness being the limited exploration he gives to female characters) are very richly portrayed, you will enjoy reading and re-reading if you catch the bug.

 

Compared to the film (which is excellent, but a compound of lots of the book stories) the books are much more richly descriptive, in some cases based more on land than at sea, and show a much wider range of the nature of the characters, especially Maturin (who pretty clearly has a strong whiff of O'Brian self-portrait about him). And, crucially, the humour comes out more strongly in the books - tinder-dry, understated 19th century humour, but funny for all that.

 

If you find the Austen-esque langage and dialogue a bit hard going a first, it's worth persevering - it might take a chapter or three to 'get your eye in'. And the O'Brian fanbase (especially in the US, bizarrely) is so well established that there are companion books and websites to help you out if the jargon defeats you at first.

 

Enjoy!!

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  • 11 months later...
  • 3 years later...

^^  Are the audiobooks abridged versions?

 

I've read the first two books so far (I posted some comments here and here).  I struggled with the first one to begin with but it's safe to say I'm a fan, now, as I enjoyed the second so much.  HMS Surprise is next up on my TBR pile - should be starting it tomorrow - and I already have The Mauritius Command and Desolation Island on the shelf ready to go :D

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Getting more and more interested in these- can't see myself getting to them this year though.  

 

I doubt I'll get through them this year, myself.  The ones I've read so far have been so good I want to spread the rest out and savour them :D

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Hi Nabokovian, might I suggest you move to 'HMS Surprise'? It would be a terrible shame to miss out on the whole series because of one scene, on the whole these are not bloodthirsty books, not by modern standards anyway!

Cheers.

I'll take a look Will, in fact we should/might get to the 2nd hand bookstore today, so will see if they have it. :) Thanks

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  • 6 months later...
  • 1 year later...

BBC Radio 4 show Bookclub discusses Patrick O'Brian's Master & Commander:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04tcxm4

 

Worth a listen.

 

 

 

Also, belatedly, I found out that Benedict Cumberbatch has been reading the seventh novel in the Aubrey/Maturin series, The Surgeon's Mate, for Radio 4 Extra. 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04t98s0/episodes/guide

 

Unfortunately, the episodes are disappearing quickly.

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I read the first four books of this series a few years ago, but for some reason, never moved on. I have no idea why, as I thought the ones I read were brilliant. Anyway, I've just finished Master and Commander, and have posted a review here on my book blog thread. Hope it's of interest to other enthusiasts or possible newbies.

 

Incidentally, referring back to pontalba's posting earlier,  there is no torture scene in Master and Commander, although I vaguely remember one in the early books.  Perhaps in Post Captain?  I'll soon find out if it is here, as that is the next one.

Edited by willoyd
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Thought I'd gather links to my reviews of the books together in one post.  I'll update this post with more as I go along. 

 

There are minor spoilers in these reviews, usually relating to the previous book in the series, so please be aware.

 

 

Master & Commander

Post Captain

HMS Surprise

The Mauritius Command

Desolation Island

The Fortune of War

The Surgeon's Mate

The Ionian Mission

Treason's Harbour

The Far Side of the World

The Reverse of the Medal

The Letter of Marque

The Thirteen Gun Salute

The Nutmeg of Consolation

Clarissa Oakes

The Wine Dark Sea

The Commodore

The Yellow Admiral

The Hundred Days

Blue at the Mizzen

Edited by Karsa Orlong
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  • 10 months later...

I am also a fan of the series,and have (so far) read them

all twice. I saw the film 'Master and Commander' first and

then came across the books a short while afterwards.

I managed to get the full set, and dived right in and worked

through them.Superb stuff, like 'Hornblower' but with added

layers of grit and realism!

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