Scan barcode
bowienerd_82's review against another edition
3.0
This one wasn't as engaging as the previous books; it was somewhat lacking both in humor and in action/adventure.
plantbirdwoman's review
3.0
This fourth entry in the Aubrey/Maturin naval historical series finds Jack Aubrey in the uncomfortable position of being stranded ashore. He has married his beloved Sophie and they have twin daughters, who absolutely flummox the captain. Also in the Maturin household is the mother-in-law and a young niece. So this man's man is stuck in a household of five women, not to mention the servants who are also women. He has never been so lost at sea or so miserable.
Into this domestic scene comes his friend Stephen Maturin with secret orders for Aubrey. He is to take command of a frigate under a commodore's pennant and will sail around the Cape of Good Hope and mount a campaign against the French-held islands of Mauritius and La Reunion in the Indian Ocean. This part of the book is based on an actual campaign that occurred during the Napoleonic War. Patrick O'Brian's note says that he kept close to contemporary accounts including Admiralty records in telling the story, although the characters are his own creations.
In conducting his campaign, Aubrey must contend with conflicts and jealousies among his captains, particularly the pleasure-loving Lord Clonfert and the sadistic Captain Corbett whose extreme punishments of his men lead them to the brink of mutiny. Aiding him in the campaign, as always, is Maturin, who continues to work the political part of the struggle, communicating with the locals and turning them to the English side.
Maturin, too, continues his own studies of Nature and of exotic human culture at all their stops along the way. His delight in birds, particularly, is one of the things that endears the character to this birder/reader.
One of the great attractions of this series is the dry humor which pervades it, particularly in the conversations between Aubrey and Maturin. Here is a typical exchange, one of my favorites from this book.
Although I have to admit that my eyes sometimes glaze over at the intricate descriptions of the naval battles, I always perk up again at the Aubrey/Maturin conversations. It is their relationship that really makes this series what it is. Good stuff.
Into this domestic scene comes his friend Stephen Maturin with secret orders for Aubrey. He is to take command of a frigate under a commodore's pennant and will sail around the Cape of Good Hope and mount a campaign against the French-held islands of Mauritius and La Reunion in the Indian Ocean. This part of the book is based on an actual campaign that occurred during the Napoleonic War. Patrick O'Brian's note says that he kept close to contemporary accounts including Admiralty records in telling the story, although the characters are his own creations.
In conducting his campaign, Aubrey must contend with conflicts and jealousies among his captains, particularly the pleasure-loving Lord Clonfert and the sadistic Captain Corbett whose extreme punishments of his men lead them to the brink of mutiny. Aiding him in the campaign, as always, is Maturin, who continues to work the political part of the struggle, communicating with the locals and turning them to the English side.
Maturin, too, continues his own studies of Nature and of exotic human culture at all their stops along the way. His delight in birds, particularly, is one of the things that endears the character to this birder/reader.
One of the great attractions of this series is the dry humor which pervades it, particularly in the conversations between Aubrey and Maturin. Here is a typical exchange, one of my favorites from this book.
(Jack is speaking.) "...This coffee has a damned odd taste."
"This I attribute to the excrement of rats. Rats have eaten our entire stock; and I take the present brew to be a mixture of the scrapings at the bottom of the sack."
"I thought it had a familiar tang," said Jack.
Although I have to admit that my eyes sometimes glaze over at the intricate descriptions of the naval battles, I always perk up again at the Aubrey/Maturin conversations. It is their relationship that really makes this series what it is. Good stuff.
captain_bob's review
5.0
My fourth circumnavigation of the wonderful Aubrey-Maturin series continues. What a blessing to have these books in this crazy time.
joncoughlin's review
3.0
Plenty of action at sea and on land, but a more internal and brooding exploration of character. Aubrey must grow up as a father and a leader and Stephen presents more a scientist exploring Jack here than a muse for his impulses. Jack is more responsible than his typical self, which is less exciting. Still, some incredible scenes.
menintrees's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
gbonesy's review
4.0
i still don't remotely understand clonfert's role in the story or his inexplicable dramatics or whether or not he was actually bisexual or why the fuck he did that thing at the end with the bandage. who are you you deeply silly sausage. why are you so bad at decorating.
octavia_cade's review against another edition
2.0
Given that I'm reading these books primarily for the wonderful Dr. Maturin, this particular volume was not one of my favourites. He's a supporting character here, while the lion's share of the page space goes to the tedious Aubrey and the endless boring sea battles that go on and on and on. I doubt Aubrey will be pitched overboard and drowned any time soon, to sink like the millstone he is, but I can't help but think I find this series the more interesting the more Maturin is featured. And to be honest, four books in they're becoming a wee bit formulaic: Aubrey is in financial trouble onshore, he then wangles a command where, against all odds, he defeats a superior force, and is finally feted for it with dinners and prizes that he'll no doubt lose before the beginning of book 5 because he's just that financially incompetent. I can hardly wait. Please, Dr. Maturin, if I pick up the next volume, be more present in it.
teachergabi's review
4.0
The first one I've read in the series...and can't wait to read the 20 others! Totally addicting!
sadie_slater's review
3.0
At the opening of The Mauritius Command, Jack Aubrey has married his Sophie and is living in a damp cottage with her, their twin daughters and her mother; a situation from which he is rescued by Stephen Maturin, arriving to offer him not only a ship but the opportunity to act as commodore of a small squadron, waging a campaign to capture the islands of Mauritius and La Réunion from the French. Like all the Aubrey/Maturin novels this mixes careful naval detail (in his author's note, O'Brien explains that the whole campaign is based on real naval actions) with social comedy and carefully observed human drama. Stephen's political influence has clearly continued to develop since HMS Surprise, as we now find him assigned as a political adviser to the whole mission; meanwhile, Jack has to learn how to command a squadron and not just a ship.
This was a more sombre book than I had expected; despite his famous luck, Jack doesn't take naturally to a more strategic level of command and the campaign involves significant losses, while one of the main supporting characters is the rather sad Lord Clonfert, who is clearly haunted by his failure to match up to Jack's achievements in what looks very like a form of Imposter Syndrome. (Mental illness is very much a theme of the novel, with the introduction of the surgeon McAdam whose interest is far more in diseases of the mind than those of the body, and as well as Clonfert's Imposter Syndrome we see Stephen's growing depression.) It also didn't seem to have quite as much of the interaction between Jack and Stephen that I loved in the first three books, as for much of the time the two are separated and going about their own business in the campaign. Still, I enjoyed reading it, and thanks to a lucky find in the Oxfam bookshop the other week I have the next four waiting to be read at some convenient point.
This was a more sombre book than I had expected; despite his famous luck, Jack doesn't take naturally to a more strategic level of command and the campaign involves significant losses, while one of the main supporting characters is the rather sad Lord Clonfert, who is clearly haunted by his failure to match up to Jack's achievements in what looks very like a form of Imposter Syndrome. (Mental illness is very much a theme of the novel, with the introduction of the surgeon McAdam whose interest is far more in diseases of the mind than those of the body, and as well as Clonfert's Imposter Syndrome we see Stephen's growing depression.) It also didn't seem to have quite as much of the interaction between Jack and Stephen that I loved in the first three books, as for much of the time the two are separated and going about their own business in the campaign. Still, I enjoyed reading it, and thanks to a lucky find in the Oxfam bookshop the other week I have the next four waiting to be read at some convenient point.