Glad I bought the next two, because this doesn't end at the end. Scads of good fun, as always. Probably the most memorable part of this adventure was Stephen's trip to the Buddhist temple, where men and beasts live together in harmony and Stephen basically gets to have the on-shore naturalizing experience he is repeatedly denied while sailing with Jack. Too good. Also, enemy dissection.Words & Notesp. 29 As usual, Stephen is at the cutting edge of medical technology, stocking "plaster of Paris for healing broken limbs in the oriental manner (much favoured now by Dr Maturin)". Wikipedia has an extensive article on orthopedic casts, and traces their origin in Western medicine to observations made in Turkey around 1800.popliteal (adj): referring to the back of the knee. (p. 40)plansheer (n): possibly the same as plancer, the underside of a cornice (p. 61)spirketting (n): I think this is the wooden lining around a port. (p. 61)roborative (adj): restorative, giving strength (p. 63)sillery (n): Sillery is a region in France known for its wine. (p. 87) 'Bears I have borne, sir, and badgers...' said Mrs. Broad, her arms folded over a formal black silk dress. 'It was only a very small bear,' said Stephen, 'and long ago.' (p. 112)chilblains (n): ulceration of the extremities due to cold and humidity (p. 149)"a true Job's muffler" This verbal gaff of Jack's was completely lost on me. Apparently "Job's comforter" is a phrase. So much more at http://www.hmssurprise.org/Resources/... (p. 156)Oh man, this passage from p. 162 is way too good not to recount in full. Jack is interviewing one of his midshipmen on his historical knowledge: 'What do you know about the last American war?' 'Not very much, sir, except that the French and Spaniards joined in and were finely served out for doing so.' 'Very true. Do you know how it began?' 'Yes, sir. It was about tea, which they did not choose to pay duty on. They called out No reproduction without copulation and tossed it into Boston harbour.' Jack frowned, considered, and said, 'Well, in any event they accomplished little or nothing at sea, that bout.' He passed on to the necessary allowance for dip and refraction to be made in working lunars, matters with which he was deeply familiar; but as he tuned his fiddle that evening he said, 'Stephen, what was the Americans' cry in 1775?' 'No representation, no taxation.' 'Nothing about copulation?' 'Nothing at all. At that period the mass of Americans were in favour of copulation.' 'So it could not have been No reproduction without copulation?' 'Why, my dear, that is the old natural philosopher's watchword, as old as Aristotle, and quite erroneous. Do but consider how the hydra and her kind multiply without any sexual commerce of any sort. Leeuenhoek proved it long ago, but still the more obstinate repeat the cry, like so many parrots.' 'Well, be damned to taxation, in any case. Shall we attack the andante?'murrain (n): infectious disease among cattle and sheep (p. 163)p. 189 describes a form of corporal punishment in Pulo Prabang in which a bag partially filled with pepper is placed over the criminal's head and the victim's family then beats him with sticks. A cursory search turned up no supporting evidence, sadly.babirussa (n): presumably Babyrousa babyrousa, a kind of wild pig native to Indonesia. (p. 200)colophony (n): another name for rosin (p. 211) kedgeree (n): a semi-horrifying mixture of fish, rice, eggs, curry, parsely, and curry powder, eaten by, who else, Britons. For breakfast. It actually doesn't sound that bad as dinner, but not first thing in the morning, thanks. (p. 216)"past mark of mouth" apparently means "old" and has some equine origin, but what the actual mark might be I'm not sure. Any equestrians out there? (p. 233)subjacent (adj): below (p. 262)frowsty (adj): stale, musty (p. 263)crapulous (adj): irritable from having eaten or drunk too much (p. 263)colcannon (n): Irish dish of mashed spuds and cabbage or kale. Maybe I'll make some this week... (p. 270)pugil (n): same as a pinch, as in the quantity (p. 275)garstrakes (n): the first planks of wood adjacent to the keel of the ship (p. 275)comminatory (adj): warning or punishing (p. 288)castramentation (n): possibly a misspelling of "castrametation," so aptly defined by Jack himself as "the learned word for setting up tents and so on." (p. 307)"and music shall untune the sky" This beautiful excerpt is from Dryden's "Song for St. Cecilia's Day," the full text of which and an interesting description can be found at Harpers.
The Thirteen-Gun Salute, the thirteenth entry in the Aubrey-Maturin series, is classic Patrick O'Brian. The story takes the main characters to a part of the world they have not visited since Desolation Island. The book has a tight plot and is solidly engaging. If it has one flaw, it is that O'Brian's standard adventure formula is getting a bit tired after nearly thirteen iterations of it ( Spoilers Below ).The story begins with Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin preparing for an espionage voyage to South America where Steven's linguistic skills and Catalonian connections can be put to good use. On their way, they are intercepted in Lisbon by Sir Joseph Blaine and told that they will be sent to a (fictitious) Malay state instead as the Spanish authorities have become suspicious of the machinations of Britain in Spain's American colonies. Jack and Steven return to England where Jack is reinstated as a Post-Captain on the naval list with his former seniority. They then depart for the South China Sea in the HMS Diane, the French frigate Jack captured in The Letter of Marque. On arriving, Steven thwarts the efforts of a French ambassadorial mission - led by Ledward and Wray, the traitors from earlier in the series- to negotiate a treaty with the Malay before the English. The time spent in the far east gives Steven a chance to visit a Buddhist monastery, to interact with apes and rhinoceroses, and for the characters to learn of the Malay's court. Pedorasts and intrigue abound to the say the least.The story concludes with the English envoy Fox successfully reaching an accommodation with the Malay thanks to the intrigues of Steven Maturin. The characters depart for Borneo, but are shipwrecked on a desert island. The story concludes with the characters desperately seeking to build a skiff to reach safety. The one major problem is that the story follows the pattern of most of O'Brian's entries in the series. It begins with a bit of action and then commences with a long plot detailing British and French intrigue during the Napoleonic wars. It then concludes with another major burst of action, though in this case the impetus is a major storm, not a naval military action. While some books in the series do take a different course than "action-story-action," the fact is that The Thirteen-Gun Salute does not; O'Brian gives his readers more of the series's typical bread and butter. While this is fine to a point since what we get is stellar, it is also highly predictable.That said, the book is well worth reading for fans of the Aubrey-Maturin series, fans of naval history, and for people interested in the Napoleonic wars.
What do You think about The Thirteen-Gun Salute (1992)?
SUMMARY: Captain Jack Aubrey sets sail for the South China Sea with a new lease on life. Following his dismissal from the Royal Navy (a false accusation), he has earned reinstatement through his daring exploits as a privateer, brilliantly chronicled in The Letter of Marque. Now he is to shepherd Stephen Maturin--his friend, ship's surgeon, and sometimes intelligence agent--on a diplomatic mission to prevent links between Bonaparte and the Malay princes which would put English merchant shipping at risk.The journey of the Diane encompasses a great and satisfying diversity of adventures. Maturin climbs the Thousand Steps of the sacred crater of the orangutans; a killer typhoon catches Aubrey and his crew trying to work the Diane off a reef; and in the barbaric court of Pulo Prabang a classic duel of intelligence agents unfolds: the French envoys, well entrenched in the Sultan's good graces, against the savage cunning of Stephen Maturin.
—Duncan Mandel
Out of all of O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series up to this point, The Thirtheen-Gun Salute gets further away from the sea battles and life aboard ship to really delve into the interior of a new and exciting frontier (in the eyes of the characters as set in a pre-"Planet Earth" world) and paints a not-always-pretty picture of diplomacy in the Far East as it was some 200 years ago. O'Brian describes Maturin's jungle romp in such flowing and absorbing detail that it reads as vividly as watching any of those fancy nature programs David Attenborough makes.
—Jason Koivu
What is there to say about the thirteenth book in a series? Anyone who has made it this far is most likely in for the long haul, and whether a particular volume is slightly better or slightly worse than other volumes barely matters. The Aubrey/Maturin series has, for me, reached a point in which the plot points seem reminiscent of plots that have already happened, and each book is a little more of the story, rather than developing a distinct theme of its own. O'Brian seems so immersed in the era that the narrative details flow naturally and easily from him. And while all of that could sound like negative criticism, it's not at all. I love the characters, the story elements, and all of the now-comfortable historical detail.What interests me most about this book is the realistic aging of the characters. Jack has always been a bit old-fashioned in his worship (and emulation of) Nelson, but what we're seeing now is that the very idea of Nelson has become more old-fashioned. Even the standard "Never mind maneuvers" edict is questioned as being no longer appropriate, given the increased power and strength of the new ships. In reading this book, I've enjoyed, on the one hand, the revitalization of Aubrey, with his rediscovered good luck and being in many ways at the top of his game, and on the other hand, his mellowing into middle age. As ever, I look forward to opening the next book in the series. My reviews of the Aubrey/Maturin series: Master and Commander Post Captain H.M.S. 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 21
—Neil Coulter
