How much do I love these books? Let me count the ways...so far, we're up to six. Six splendiferous volumes of early 19th century seafaring goodness! By the sixth of this series of twenty, I was fully enamored of the characters, the story, the writing - the whole kit and kaboodle! Although I've become more critical in my appraisal of O'Brian's work with each rereading, it still stands up as some of my favorite writing of all time. Granted, to be sympatico as book besties, you too would need to be down with the Austen-esque style, the Napoleonic War setting, as well as the sailing, naval warfare and spying subject matter. If none of those things interest you, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't like O'Brian's Master & Commander series. For those who are still with me, let's continue on, shall we?The Fortune of War admittedly does not kick off with a fast-paced start. It languishes for much of the beginning and some in the middle. While helpful for those who are reading these books out of order, an explanation of the preceding book's action does stall the action. The middle is slow for reasons I don't want to spoil and also because O'Brian is setting up the plot up for his big finish, and it's well worth it!This book contains two lengthy sea battles that make up for the last book's lack of action. Like fights during NHL games, that's what some of the people come for. Just as exciting, in my opinion, is the second protagonist, Stephen Maturin's secret profession as an intelligence agent, which gets just as much play in this one as the naval aspect. In fact, because of Maturin's clandestine work the later part of the book flies with heart pounding intensity. The Fortune of War is also intriguing because up to this point in the series it's been all about the British and their fight against the French. Now the British are fighting America, and things get a little weird for American readers. All this time we've been rooting for our British/Irish heroes and now they're the enemy. Potentially alienating a massive portion of your readers can be a tricky business, but I think it's handled with delicacy. The good and bad natures of both sides are shown, and yes, there's plenty of nuanced grey area too. On a personal level, I really enjoyed the setting for the later half of the book, having grown up in Massachusetts and spent a good amount of time in Boston, the principle location for much of the story. USS Constitution, aka "Old Ironsides", in Boston HarborMy review for book #5: Desolation IslandMy review for book #7: The Surgeon's Mate
Do you like battles, intrigue, world travel, exotic locales and foods, humor, and all things nautical? Then the Aubrey/Maturin novels by Patrick O’Brian are for you. But I must warn you, work your way through the series sequentially for your first read, else you’ll be lost. But once you’ve met the cast of fantastic characters and can make your way around a British man-of-war or frigate, feel free to dip into any book for a vacation from the mundane world. The books revolve around the friendship of Jack Aubrey, a staunch mariner working his way up the ranks in the British navy, and Stephen Maturin, nominally Jack’s ship’s surgeon, but also a true physician (no, ship’s surgeons weren’t necessarily degreed medical men), naturalist, and spy. The stories take place during the early 19th century, when the British empire spanned the world, and the British navy ruled the oceans. When The Fortune of War starts out, Jack and Stephen happy to finally be in the West Indies after a harrowing trip in the Southern Ocean, and happier to be assigned to the next ship bound for England. This being a time when ships were subject to the vagaries of wind, they expect a few months of peaceful sailing. What happens instead is a ship-board fire, several weeks in an open life boat waiting for rescue while contemplating whether to starve or eat a dead shipmate, capture by Americans and detainment in colonial Boston, and more. O’Brian bases his battle on those actually fought and recorded (in a log, of course), so the nautical action is spot on. Jack and Stephen are delightful, and the supporting characters are detailed and individual; I especially love Jack’s crochety steward, Killick. If you think you’ve never heard of Patrick O’Brian’s work, have you heard of the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with Russell Crowe? That movie was based on a compilation of plots from the books, and gives a good overview of O’Brian’s style. I highly recommend that you try this excellent series; you won’t be disappointed.
What do You think about The Fortune Of War (1991)?
In which Maturin and Aubrey become prisoners of war of the newly formed United States, both are suspected of being spies, and Diana Villers is back. Daring escapes! Love affairs! Cold blooded murders! And of course, exciting ship battles!It's a bit odd to see the early US from a British POV, especially since so many of the American characters seem to think they're British. Aubrey and Maturin are in fine form once more--their banter is top notch, and I love the little moments where the reader can see how one sees the other. We also get reintroduced to Haropath (the ancient Chinese scholar) and his unrequited love, Mrs. Wogan (espionage badass, neglectful mother, and delightful conversationalist). And while we get deep in Maturin's head while he ruminates on his need for his diary andd an enduring love to combat his crippling depression, the reader also gets more insight into Aubrey. Aubrey isn't in command for this book, being mostly a guest or a prisoner of war throughout, and he's physically weaker than ever before as well. We're also reminded of how awesome Diana Villers can be. Possibly she gets badass scenes because O'Brian wanted her to seem worthy of Maturin, possibly O'Brian just likes her as much as I do. She's the kind of character who walks past the bloody corpses of former friends to get her jewels; who refuses to translate documents for her protector because she has too much loyalty toward the country of her former citizenship; who shoots rats in the dark hold of a ship while waiting to see if she'll be hanged. For all that this series is purportedly about Napoleonic naval battles, the characterization in it is top-notch. And the battles! O'Brian whips the tension up until I was so stressed whilst listening to the last battle that I actually had to stop the recording and catch my breath. Tull does a fantastic job reading this, btw--I've complained about his reading style before, but he's much better in this. The long pauses between sentences and even words, the artificially drawled last syllables, the long sighs in the midst of words--none are here! Frabjous day.One of the best Maturin&Aubrey books yet.
—Wealhtheow
this was the weakest in the series so far, i think. started out well enough with some taut naval action that leaves our heroes in an open boat and at the mercy of the fates, but once they are rescued and subsequently captured and end up in America things get dull for more than 100 pages; just a lot of endless nattering about Stephen's dull spy intrigues and a stupid love intrigue between Diana, Louisa, Herapath, and Johnson. it probably says more about me than the books that i can't stand Diana and Stephen's obsession with her annoys and exasperates me. eventually the book got everyone back to sea, but really too late to salvage this mess. also, i think Stephen's behavior in this one either stretches credulity or makes him kind of a monster; i definitely think less of him in this book than any other.and no pullings, which made it all the sadder.here's hoping the next journey is better!
—Boots
Another delightful Aubrey/Maturin novel. Jack and Stephen are shipwrecked and barely managed to stay alive with the crew of their lifeboat, desperately short of water and food, until they're picked up by another ship. They're only just recovering from that when the ship that picked them up goes into combat with an American frigate in the newly declared war (of 1812) and is sunk. And that's just the inciting set of incidents.Taken as prisoners of war to Boston, Jack convalesces from a wound in a clinic populated mainly by madmen while Stephen again meets the ever-complicating Diana Villers. Fun as always to be back at sea with Jack and Stephen.
—Brendan Hodge
