This is the first book in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series set during the Napoleonic wars.

Jack Aubrey is a lieutenant without a ship and short of money. Stephen Maturin is an impoverished half-Irish, half-Catalan physician, naturalist and spy for the British government.

Aubrey and Maturin meet at a music concert at the Governor's House at Port Mahon where they nearly come to blows.

Back at his lodging, Aubrey receives a letter informing him he has his first command, the old, slow 14-gun sloop Sophie.

Aubrey meets Maturin the following day in the streets, and due to being so elated to get a ship of his own to command, he greets him. Their friendship blossoms at a coffee house and because Aubrey needs to fill his crew, he convinces Maturin to join as the ship’s surgeon.

Even though Maturin (a physician rather than a lowly surgeon) is overqualified for the job, but as a naturalist, he agrees to join, relishing the opportunity to study the plant and animal life in exotic places.

Aubrey does battle with a habit of making social blunders, struggles with the naval hierarchy and must contend with forging an effective crew before ultimately taking on enemy ships in a beautifully described and historically accurate series of sea battles.

If you love history, brilliantly drawn characters, intricate plots, the sea and sea-battles this book is for you.

Even though Patrick O'Brian used the omniscient point of view, both the superb quality of the writing and the amount of excellent research which went into making this (and the subsequent Aubrey/Maturin novels) make for a truly immersive experience.

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Created Oct 09, 2020 at 8:59am • Submit your own review...