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plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
2.0
I love reading series, returning again and again to visit with characters that I've come to know and value. There are few series that I enjoy more than Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin British Royal Navy seafaring adventures set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic War.
Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin are by now old friends of mine, even as they are old friends of each other. They are veterans of many battles and have come far since the early days of their association when they served in the Mediterranean. In the number eight entry in the series, they return to the Mediterranean, but their circumstances are much altered.
Aubrey is a senior captain commanding a line-of-battle ship in the Navy's blockade of Toulon. There are no dashing frigate actions here, no prizes to be won. Instead, a great line of ships maintains a long, cold, hard line, trapping the enemy French ships.
It is a boring and tedious exercise, and, throughout much of the book, the reader gets a sense of what such an enterprise must have been like.
Long, maddening hours of inaction, waiting for something to happen do not boost the morale of the ship's crew and Jack has his hands full in maintaining discipline, keeping the communal spirit high (done, perhaps surprisingly, through music and literature!), and keeping his men ready and sharply prepared to fight when and if the occasion arises.
Meanwhile, his ship's doctor, Stephen Maturin continues his undercover job as a British intelligence agent, gathering information at every port to try to hasten the fall of the hated Napoleon. Stephen, too, is much changed from his early days, having, at one time in an earlier book, been caught behind lines and tortured before eventually being rescued by Aubrey and his men. He still bears the scars of that torture.
Maturin's personal situation, too, has changed since he has now married the love of his life and has left her ensconced in a fine house in England while he once again takes to the seas.
Throughout perhaps two-thirds of this book, the blockade and the inaction continue and the reader begins to wonder if anything is ever going to happen! But then a sudden turn of events reunites Stephen and Jack with their old frigate, the Surprise, and aboard that vessel, they are sent off on a hazardous mission to the Greek Islands to try to make allies of the Turks against Napoleon.
And, finally, we do get some action and we get to see Aubrey use his skills of seamanship as he must fight against heavy odds. Will "Lucky Jack's" luck hold once more?
This book is even more fraught than others in the series with technical naval language. The descriptions of equipment and of naval maneuvers run to pages at a time until the eyes of the uninitiated truly begin to glaze over. Moreover, as noted previously, there is less action in The Ionian Mission than in most of the earlier books. All of this makes for somewhat dull reading for long periods, and yet O'Brian's sly humor breaks through from time to time to liven things up.
Reading along, I was surprised at one point to come across a non-nautical term that I had not heard in many years - Solomon Gundy. It was something that my grandfather used to refer to and I had never heard it from anyone else. I couldn't remember what he had meant by it - I was a child at the time I heard it - but a bit of research turned up the answer. It's a type of food. It can mean, variously, a kind of fish pate` especially popular in Jamaican cuisine or a kind of mixed salad with a little bit of this and a little bit of that thrown in. My grandfather had no Jamaican connections so I suspect he was referring to the salad.
What interesting things one can learn from a Patrick O'Brian book and what forgotten memories it can sometimes dredge up.
Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin are by now old friends of mine, even as they are old friends of each other. They are veterans of many battles and have come far since the early days of their association when they served in the Mediterranean. In the number eight entry in the series, they return to the Mediterranean, but their circumstances are much altered.
Aubrey is a senior captain commanding a line-of-battle ship in the Navy's blockade of Toulon. There are no dashing frigate actions here, no prizes to be won. Instead, a great line of ships maintains a long, cold, hard line, trapping the enemy French ships.
It is a boring and tedious exercise, and, throughout much of the book, the reader gets a sense of what such an enterprise must have been like.
Long, maddening hours of inaction, waiting for something to happen do not boost the morale of the ship's crew and Jack has his hands full in maintaining discipline, keeping the communal spirit high (done, perhaps surprisingly, through music and literature!), and keeping his men ready and sharply prepared to fight when and if the occasion arises.
Meanwhile, his ship's doctor, Stephen Maturin continues his undercover job as a British intelligence agent, gathering information at every port to try to hasten the fall of the hated Napoleon. Stephen, too, is much changed from his early days, having, at one time in an earlier book, been caught behind lines and tortured before eventually being rescued by Aubrey and his men. He still bears the scars of that torture.
Maturin's personal situation, too, has changed since he has now married the love of his life and has left her ensconced in a fine house in England while he once again takes to the seas.
Throughout perhaps two-thirds of this book, the blockade and the inaction continue and the reader begins to wonder if anything is ever going to happen! But then a sudden turn of events reunites Stephen and Jack with their old frigate, the Surprise, and aboard that vessel, they are sent off on a hazardous mission to the Greek Islands to try to make allies of the Turks against Napoleon.
And, finally, we do get some action and we get to see Aubrey use his skills of seamanship as he must fight against heavy odds. Will "Lucky Jack's" luck hold once more?
This book is even more fraught than others in the series with technical naval language. The descriptions of equipment and of naval maneuvers run to pages at a time until the eyes of the uninitiated truly begin to glaze over. Moreover, as noted previously, there is less action in The Ionian Mission than in most of the earlier books. All of this makes for somewhat dull reading for long periods, and yet O'Brian's sly humor breaks through from time to time to liven things up.
Reading along, I was surprised at one point to come across a non-nautical term that I had not heard in many years - Solomon Gundy. It was something that my grandfather used to refer to and I had never heard it from anyone else. I couldn't remember what he had meant by it - I was a child at the time I heard it - but a bit of research turned up the answer. It's a type of food. It can mean, variously, a kind of fish pate` especially popular in Jamaican cuisine or a kind of mixed salad with a little bit of this and a little bit of that thrown in. My grandfather had no Jamaican connections so I suspect he was referring to the salad.
What interesting things one can learn from a Patrick O'Brian book and what forgotten memories it can sometimes dredge up.
quadruploni's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I initially liked this a bit less than most of the installments so far; there seemed to be more re-introduction of characters and subplots than usual; but once the specificity of this book emerged—Jack's loneliness, the titular mission, Jack's overcompensation vis-à-vis Graham and feeling unsupported by Stephen, the stay in Kutali—I was more or less fully on board.
captain_bob's review against another edition
5.0
Another reading. Here in volume eight, Patrick O’Brian has fully immersed himself in the life and time of his beloved characters, and the need for swashbuckling and sea battles to keep reader interest has been replaced by more subtle character development. We see what Maturin is like as a married man (not much has changed!). We get a view of life at sea under a never-ending blockade of the French, and the politics involved in being a post-captain within the British Royal Navy, both within the quasi-corrupt admiralty and dealing with mostly unreliable allies against the French. Pullings, Bonden, Babbington, and Killick are all here, giving us insights into their unique characters and bringing us joy. Maturin’s bungling at sea takes on new levels to Aubrey’s dismay.
O’Brian’s ability to catapult you aboard an 18th century frigate with his beautiful, descriptive language is truly unparalleled:
The water of the bay was gently rippled in some few places but glass-smooth in others, and in the purest of these natural mirrors they could see the astonishing peaks that rose from the sea with the whole town at their feet — all this reversed, and superimposed upon the image stood ships and boats, most as it were suspended, hanging motionless, a few creeping across the surface with sweeps or sculls. The dead calm, the cloudless sky, the stillness of the ship and perhaps this sense of being on or even in a looking-glass gave an extraordinary impression of silence and people spoke unnaturally low.
The book concludes with a heart-thumping sea battle that might very well be the best of the entire 20-volume series.
I love these books!
O’Brian’s ability to catapult you aboard an 18th century frigate with his beautiful, descriptive language is truly unparalleled:
The water of the bay was gently rippled in some few places but glass-smooth in others, and in the purest of these natural mirrors they could see the astonishing peaks that rose from the sea with the whole town at their feet — all this reversed, and superimposed upon the image stood ships and boats, most as it were suspended, hanging motionless, a few creeping across the surface with sweeps or sculls. The dead calm, the cloudless sky, the stillness of the ship and perhaps this sense of being on or even in a looking-glass gave an extraordinary impression of silence and people spoke unnaturally low.
The book concludes with a heart-thumping sea battle that might very well be the best of the entire 20-volume series.
I love these books!
mikaiya's review
4.0
I've been a bit slow in getting back to the Aubrey/Maturin series, but I have no idea why- this book reminded me how much I love them. The characters still have their witty and pithy comments, the nautical knowledge is omnipresent but does not impede the storytelling, and I was completely enthralled with the story. I'm so glad Jack seems to have his luck back!
I can't wait to get the next book...
I can't wait to get the next book...
cauldhamer's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
octavia_cade's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first volume of the series to feature Aubrey above Maturin that I've given more than two stars. After the reviews I've given the previous volumes, it's clear that I far prefer the latter character, and his supporting role in this was disappointing. I think it's fair to say that I didn't enjoy this as much as its immediate predecessors, but I did still enjoy it, and a low three stars remains three stars. Part of it is I think that politics continues to be a strong focus, and I find this sort of manoeuvring far more interesting than that of ropes and sails. Aubrey doesn't enjoy it so much, and he doesn't have much of a talent for it, which I don't mind - characters who are good at everything are dull - but I think I have slightly kinder feelings towards him this time because of Graham. This new character is so utterly humourless that his dislike of Aubrey is, perversely, making me feel more for him out of pure spite.
spacerkip's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I think this may have been the first time I was bored out of my mind reading a Patrick O'Brian novel. The message that blockade duty is a living purgatory was received loud and clear.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Medical content, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Infidelity and Islamophobia
sadie_slater's review against another edition
3.0
Patrick O'Brian's The Ionian Mission sees Jack Aubrey assigned to command an aging ship of the line on the Toulon blockade. It's light on the kind of action and adventure that marked Aubrey's early career, and the earlier books in the series, as the blockade offers little opportunity for prize-taking and discovery; instead, the crew are forced to turn to more artistic pursuits to while away their time, forming a choir and rehearsing a performance, while the officer contingent turns out to contain several budding poets (whose words are in fact those of actual naval officers of the period), leading to a poetry competition which is one of O'Brian's loveliest comic set-pieces. This period of inactivity also provides plenty of opportunity for Jack to reflect on his domestic troubles and to worry that his luck and gift for leadership have deserted him. The tedium of the blockade is in sharp contrast to the last third of the book, when Jack and Stephen are sent on a secret mission to Greece, bringing plenty of action and intrigue to round things off. Just as much fun as the rest of the series so far.
dstuart's review against another edition
4.0
Another cracking yarn. Surprisingly good political intrigue, plenty of great humor, and a couple of great, short, naval battles told with enough clarity that a landlubber like myself could follow.