By Patrick O'Brian
1035 pages. That's why it's been a while since I've posted a review. These three books make up a 3 book mini-story arc within the 20 volume series. I was going to give a quick synopsis of the books but then I though, why? If you've read this far into the series you'll want to find out the twists and turns for yourself. Except for the one review I've read on Amazon where the guy was randomly picking out the books in the series to read (a poor choice if I may say) these books build on the previous book. Unfortunately the stories are pretty unmemorable. That is not to say they are not entertaining nor is there not suspense and action to keep one turning the pages. I mean to try to tell you that I can give you an overall sense of the story so far but to pick one book at a time to talk about, I'd have to constantly look to notes I've made about each one to keep them straight.
So far these three have been my favorite books in the series. The characters have really been developing. Jack who has been shown to have heroic attributes on sea is extremely fallible on land. I cringed as Jack got himself out of one predicament only to get right into another. He is swindled at cards. When he calls out the swindler (cheater) he is doing himself a disservice as them man has great pull in the government. Why this should show poorly on Jack and not the cheater you must chalk up to the social status of the times. He gets involved in a money sucking lead/sliver mine project on his land. Then after years(?) of sailing he is only a few short weeks from England when he has an affair in Halifax, Canada. The woman, by letter, indicates he has impregnated her, she then asks him for more and more money. We later learn she has married another sailor so she was most likely lying, just trying to get Jack to marry her/keep sending her funds? Except for leading military actions on land or escaping from captivity, Jack is pretty inept. On sea he commands respect from his fellow sailors not just because he is the Captain but because of the quality of his decisions. I find it to be an interesting contrast as well as understandable.
I mean, at sea Jack knows the job that he has to do. He is bound by the Naval rules and regulations. Every seaman (for the most part) knows his jobs and tries to do it. On land you could say he is rudderless. There is no guide for life and I think that is why he has such difficulties. If only life was planned out for us. But then when you see someone who has their life planned out (and usually not by them) they have often rejected their given role in life and strike out how they see fit.
Stephen also is given a leading role in many of the plots in these books. From subterfuge against the French and Bonaparte, he is able to disrupt many an intelligence network. All the while remaining oblivious to the naval way of life. He to kills in the name of war, continues his study of natural philosophy, and finally marries Dianna!
I really enjoyed the story that is told in these three books. It's just that individually no one book really stands out. This is not helped by the fact that so far all 7 books read as one continuous tale. But such is life.
I have a feeling, and I don't mean this in disrespect, that the Aubrey/Maturin series is both wonderful and mediocre at the same time.
