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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
"No. Harking back to this voyage, I think it was a failure upon the whole, and a costly failure." (261)I'm not sure this is an advisable way to end a book--especially a book which, in my opinion, had more downs than ups. I really enjoyed the beginning of this one, with a plot point that was different from anything Aubrey and Maturin have experienced on other voyages (and it's a good thing this point comes up early in the novel, since Geoff Hunt's cover illustration gives it away).
But then...oh, the second half of the book. There is definitely a limit of how much time the story should follow the wanderings of Stephen on land, and for me this book crosses that line mightily. The strange thing about the Peru part of The Wine-Dark Sea is that somehow O'Brian obscures and confuses what we should be paying attention to. I was never sure--is Dutourd's activity harmful to Stephen's objective? And other events that would normally have been quite weighty--Jack and crew in a near-death sea experience, Stephen's loss of some important bits--kind of come and go without a lot of commentary or import. It all left me feeling a bit puzzled, and I found this volume to be one of the least focused of the series, the first time I've thought that O'Brian himself might be getting tired of extending the story. I guess there's a sadness in seeing these characters not just ageing but actually becoming old.
This book made me feel bad about how much I hadn't liked Martin in the previous book, because he has such a rough time of it in this story. But though he's mostly relegated to a bit part, I thought his development was the most intriguing aspect of this story. Sam Panda, on the other hand, is really cheesy and too-perfect. It's like the sun shines just a little bit brighter whenever he's around. I expect to learn that he can understand the speech of cute little animals and birds.
I miss Sophie.
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
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