Desolation Island (Aubrey/Maturin)

I enjoyed this book. Besides the fact that Napoleonic History is a hobby of mine, I believe that the author truly has put to words what a naval commander must feel while assigned to year long mission. Aubrey is miserable on land and yearns for another command even though that means leaving his wife and young children. While Aubrey is a hero on the high seas, he is a ship wreck on terra firma. Back at sea, he comes back to life but begins to feel isolated from a crew that hasn't entirely warmed to him. As always his physician, Maturin makes insightful analysis of his friend Jack, but that is not all. We begin to see more into Maturin's alternate persona, as a highly trusted intelligence agent, as he is entrusted with delivering an American spy to the Botany Bay penal colony. Has the good Dr successfully manipulated the American spy after arranging for her "escape?" We will see. Throughout the voyage we are treated to the author's great tale-telling: cat-and-mouse encounter with a Dutch ship-of-the-line as well as the perils of the South Atlantic. Definitely worth reading.

I bought it and then realized I had already read this one.

Favorite author of all time. Another great one. Delightful!

Everyone should read the Patrick O'Brian "Aubrey/Maturin" series. Great writing - whether you're a seafarer or a landlubber! Great way to learn a bit of history and dream of having a "Lucky" Jack Aubrey life! Or, if the life of a 19th Century Royal Navy captain ain't your thing - how about a Dr. Maturin life? That might do. Read one or read them all. Great reads for the pandemic!!

As always, Patrick O'Brien strikes a wonderful balance of internal reflection of the human condition with great action and description of wonderful and faraway places. I love this series

If you've never read an Aubrey/Maturin novel, don't start here. Read Master and Commander first and so on... this is the fifth book. As its setting is a very detailed recreation of turn of the 19th century England and British Navy, the story has a fairly adult leaning. Which isn't to say that its an adult book, but that it doesn't shy away from the realities of the era. However, the narrative is fantastic and the world is highly detailed. It feels like I'm visiting the 1800's and not just reading a book set in that era.

This is book 4 of the 16 book series (might be 17). My library didn't have the complete set, so I bought it, read it, and donated it. It was cheaper to buy this book and have it shipped to Cleveland OH from California than to buy the Kindle version, weird. But I like real books over Kindle anyway. Love the language and sailing jargon. Descriptions of boat handling impressive. Nice job of building suspense. Well developed characters, after 17 books I'd hope so, lol.

It's impossible to say enough good-enough things about the Aubrey-Maturin series. I'm reading through it again, for the second time, and seeing way more than I had before - the sheer vastness of his knowledge - the ever-ready wit - animal characterizations - descriptions of music - possibly the greatest duo in literature. The understated horrors of the occasional absolutely real naval battles are just one little aspect of a general perfection. I fully appreciate Austen, Dickens, Shaw, Wilde, and all the others, and O'Brian is right up in that rank.