Reviews

The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian

fflf's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

tsharris's review

3.0

By no means my favorite book in the series thus far. Plot was formulaic, the movements of Aubrey's squadron from one island to the next - and the various set pieces - very difficult to follow.

dotorsojak's review

3.0

3.25 stars

Another quite good early entry in the Aubrey/Maturin series. There is virtually no love stuff in this one, so if you like Diana Villiers, you'll be disappointed.

There IS a lot of military maneuvering, both on land and on sea, thus useful to have a reference book or Google Maps open as you read.

If you like naval action and military history (PO tells us in the foreword that the actions described here are drawn straight from history with only the names changed), you'll like this one.

essgeearr's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

This is the first of the Aubrey/Maturin books that I didn't 100% completely love. The first chapter, with Jack Aubrey living quietly at home with his family, is great stuff. Any time when the A/M books have a chance to let the characters just sit, breathe, and be themselves is fantastic.
Once the characters take to the sea, though, I felt like the books sort of coasted a little until the last 3rd of the book. The last several chapters flew by with all the excitement of taking, losing, and re-taking ships and ports.
Good but not the best of the series that I've read so far.

neilrcoulter's review against another edition

5.0

[b:The Mauritius Command|77431|The Mauritius Command (Aubrey/Maturin, #4)|Patrick O'Brian|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389977562s/77431.jpg|2393986] opens with the now-expected introductory scenes of Aubrey's hard luck on land. He feels conflicted in what he most wants: the domestic family life that he dreamed of, or adventure on the high seas that he seems to be made for. Soon enough, of course, the decision is made for him and we find ourselves back on board, cruising for a mission to La Réunion, Rodriguez, and Mauritius, islands off the coast of Madagascar in southern Africa.

After the gradual build-up of Aubrey reaching post status, and the difficulties he always has in getting a ship to command even after attaining that status, I felt that his elevation to commodore in The Mauritius Command was almost too quick and easy. As he says, the only thing better than a commodore pendant is finally hoisting the admiral flag. So here, in book 4, he has achieved nearly as much as we can hope for him - and this when he is still near the bottom of the list of post captains, and when there are still a number of seniors who have grudges against the insubordination of his youth. I loved the story in this book and the complex situations Aubrey has to manage, but I felt a little cheated at first with what seemed like the too quick and unjustified promotion.

After the struggles Maturin has endured at the hands of Mrs. Villiers, it is refreshing that he gets a book to be apart from her—yet still working through the mental anguish from his dashed hopes.

Previous books in the series have had much more back-and-forth between life on ship and on land. Not so in The Mauritius Command. Once the guys are at sea, the narrative is more focused and driven than the previous volumes. I've enjoyed the variety of settings in the other books, and I especially like the interesting ways that [a:O'Brian|5600|Patrick O'Brian|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1212630063p2/5600.jpg] manipulates the time in his writing, but I also liked this change of pace. In the fourth volume of the series there is still much that is fresh, and much that surprises.

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

21

michael5000's review

4.0

Read March 2011; Audio September 2014; Read September 2019.

d_audy's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

escan's review

5.0

Jack and Stephen spend a lot of this book apart (Jack wrestling with his first time commanding not just one ship but a whole fleet of them, and Stephen really showing what he can do as a secret agent while also beginning to show slightly worrying symptoms of depression and addiction), while Sophie remains at home and Diana is absent completely, and I do feel that there's a bit of a lack of warmth at times in this one. However, I can't really bring myself to mind, because all the naval strategy and battles were literally that enthralling. Clonfert and McAdam just made me really, really sad (Clonfert is at times relatable and at times infuriating and McAdam is brash and rude but not bad) and their potential similarities to Jack and to Stephen in particular were dark.

eososray's review against another edition

4.0

I tend toward rating this series more for their overall enjoyment rather than their individual attributes. I'm not sure if this one really earned its 4 star rating, I thought it spent way too much time with Maturin and his ramblings and not enough time with Jack and his action.
Still, this is a stellar series and I highly recommend it.

mdunnbass's review

4.0

So, as usual, a note first about the narrator(s) of this series. Patrick O'Brian wrote 20 (and a half) Aubrey/Matchurin books before his death, and only 2 men have narrated all 20, Patrick Tull, and Simon Vance. I listened to Tull narrating the first 5 books of the series, because those were the versions my library had. For Desolation Island, I could only get a hold of the Simon Vance version. He is a highly capable narrator, but has no concept of the characters in this particular series (and his women's voices were shrill and painful). For example, One of the 2 main characters, Dr. Stephen Matchurin, is a highly respected, highly intelligent Physician and Naturalist, as well as a British Spy, and grew up predominantly in Ireland. As such, Tull narrates his as being thoughtful, humorous, and with a decided Irish accent. Vance narrates him as a thuggish Peter Lorre on quaaludes. It goes on from there. Not my style. So, as much as humanly possible, I plan to stick with the AMAZING narration of Patrick Tull for the rest of the series.

As for the books themselves, I am really liking them a LOT! I never had any interest in the Royal Navy and the Age of Sail in the past, but after reading some of these books, I am hooked on it! I am so sad that I squandered opportunities to really closely look at the USS Constitution in Boston Harbor in the past. It really meant nothing to me back then. But now, I really want to wander it's decks, take in the feel of the ship, and smell it, just to get closer to this world. It's not one I ever want to have lived in, but I want to experience it vicariously again and again.


O'Brian is masterful at wry humor, and his characters are amazing and vivid. The first few books in the series were more or less stand-alone adventures, but now we're getting into books that very much immediately follow the previous books in terms of consequences and plots. It's amazing how well he is weaving his fictional narrative in with the actual Napoleonic Wars. Very Highly Recommended, but Read them in Order!