A review by neilrcoulter
The Hundred Days by Patrick O'Brian

2.0

Many readers have noted that O'Brian's series declines in quality generally at some point in the second ten books. I agree with that, but The Hundred Days is the first volume where I actually almost wished he'd ended the series earlier. The reason for this is mostly in the opening chapter. The clunky exposition in this first chapter is not especially worse than the lame exposition sections in some (not all) of the other books in the series. But I felt shocked and insulted at the way O'Brian uses this gimmicky introduction to off-handedly mention the death of one of the most important characters in the series. I seriously wondered if I had the books out of order and had missed a volume between the previous one and The Hundred Days. I continued on through the book, expecting some sort of dealing with this death by one or more of the other characters who should've been quite affected. But this grieving is mostly absent, other than some vague references here and there. I just don't understand this at all, and I felt cheated.

The end of the novel features another unexpected death, also of a beloved character (though not as significant as the death just before the story's opening). And again, characters who ought to have been very affected by this death seem to feel very little.

It's a shame that this strange lack of emotion mars a story that otherwise I found interesting enough. The political intrigue is nicely done in this one, if similar to other missions Stephen and Jack have already accomplished. The story could have been at least on par with the books in the second half of the series, if only O'Brian had allowed some real emotion, given some urgency and necessity to this book as a whole. But without that urgency, the book feels cold and unnecessary.

The gimmick of having Stephen ask questions in order to teach the reader something continues to wear thin. At some moments, he actually seems to have learned something about life at sea, but then he'll ask some question that surely he must have asked before. After all these years sailing with Jack, can Stephen really not yet have figured out the payment of prize money?? Come on.

So now on to the final finished book of the series, with hopes for something more substantial than The Hundred Days.

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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