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A review by brontesaurus84
Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O'Brian
4.0
A rare review, but warranted considering this is book 20 of 20 finished novels in what has been an incredible series.
I've heard some say that the unfinished book is an appropriate way to finish the series, letting any storyline threads just drift off with the final passages, but I think I prefer to finish it here where, if not at the end the author had in mind for the series, at least the end he had in mind for this particular part of the story.
The book itself is not his strongest. It's a bit of a meandering story where not a lot of interest happens, but going in knowing it is the last in the series allows one to simply enjoy the much beloved characters' interactions with each other and the wonderful prose.
The series as a whole has been unlike anything I have read. As a bloke that reads 19th century romantic fiction, the influence of writers such as Jane Austen are apparent and make for a richer experience. The apparent realism O'Brian painstakingly depicts is at once the most off putting thing for new readers and one of its greatest aspects.
But ultimately it is the characters that drive these books and, whether Aubrey, Maturin, any of the myriad other shipmates or those left on shore, O'Brian brings them to life wonderfully.
I've put off reading this last one as I will miss them now they are done. I'm now left with the choice of starting Hornblower, but knowing it won't be the same.
Anyway I'll stop barking around the wrong mulberry bush and finish this review.
I've heard some say that the unfinished book is an appropriate way to finish the series, letting any storyline threads just drift off with the final passages, but I think I prefer to finish it here where, if not at the end the author had in mind for the series, at least the end he had in mind for this particular part of the story.
The book itself is not his strongest. It's a bit of a meandering story where not a lot of interest happens, but going in knowing it is the last in the series allows one to simply enjoy the much beloved characters' interactions with each other and the wonderful prose.
The series as a whole has been unlike anything I have read. As a bloke that reads 19th century romantic fiction, the influence of writers such as Jane Austen are apparent and make for a richer experience. The apparent realism O'Brian painstakingly depicts is at once the most off putting thing for new readers and one of its greatest aspects.
But ultimately it is the characters that drive these books and, whether Aubrey, Maturin, any of the myriad other shipmates or those left on shore, O'Brian brings them to life wonderfully.
I've put off reading this last one as I will miss them now they are done. I'm now left with the choice of starting Hornblower, but knowing it won't be the same.
Anyway I'll stop barking around the wrong mulberry bush and finish this review.