A review by unionmack
The Far Side of the World by Patrick O'Brian

2.0

I listened to the audiobook for this and, in all honesty, most of the time it was background noise. For one reason or another, it really failed to hold my attention. At their best, the Aubrey-Maturin books are perfectly balanced portraits of the past, with equal parts enjoyable action, believable characterization and insightful, amusing conversation. At their worst, they succumb to the worst sin a a series of books can commit: becoming formulaic. Even though this one took place in a far different locale than any of the prior novels, it felt really tropey and predictable. I'll probably keep going with the series and it seems like plenty of other people really love this volume. Oh well! I always enjoy spending time with Jack Aubrey, Stephen Maturin and the other usual suspects of these books, even if it's usually more fun that it was this time around.