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A review by ielerol
The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian
3.0
This one is heavier on the specifics of naval strategy and battles than the previous two books in the series, which is part of why I didn't enjoy it as much. Also Stephen is for sure m favorite character, and while I still liked his scenes with Jack, they spend more time apart in this one, and between that and Stephen's very evident depression, there's just not as much humor and it feels like overall everyone spends more time unhappy and stressed out. Granted there was a lot of tension between Stephen and Jack over Diana Villiers, but that was a compelling conflict. Stephen in this book is just...sad, in a way that makes me sad. The secondary characters are also mostly unpleasant. I still liked it, but it was less fun for me. In a way the naval battles were a relief even if I never am going to be able to follow the action closely or feel any real suspense over the outcome, because I listened to the audiobook and Simon Vance reading a bunch of incomprehensible naval jargon is honestly very soothing to me.
The writing quality is still excellent, and there were some moments I enjoyed very much, like Stephen's precious dodo feathers, the wry commentary on the vague "benefits" of being an English colony, Jack Aubrey trying very hard to come up with a brilliant pun. Overall I think one of the things I appreciate the most about this series as a work of historical fiction is the way O'Brian depicts characters whose beliefs are historically appropriate but uncomfortable to a modern perspective, while clearly not endorsing those beliefs himself. Characters will occasionally question or challenge each other on those points in relatively low-key ways (also historically appropriate! the world has never been uniformly racist, sexist, etc at a given point in time), or rhetorical asides in the narration will undercut a character's thoughts or words. It's a tough needle to thread, and O'Brian does so with consistent ease.
The writing quality is still excellent, and there were some moments I enjoyed very much, like Stephen's precious dodo feathers, the wry commentary on the vague "benefits" of being an English colony, Jack Aubrey trying very hard to come up with a brilliant pun. Overall I think one of the things I appreciate the most about this series as a work of historical fiction is the way O'Brian depicts characters whose beliefs are historically appropriate but uncomfortable to a modern perspective, while clearly not endorsing those beliefs himself. Characters will occasionally question or challenge each other on those points in relatively low-key ways (also historically appropriate! the world has never been uniformly racist, sexist, etc at a given point in time), or rhetorical asides in the narration will undercut a character's thoughts or words. It's a tough needle to thread, and O'Brian does so with consistent ease.