Desolation Island

Everyone should read the Patrick O'Brian "Aubrey/Maturin" series. Great writing - whether you're a seafarer or a landlubber! Great way to learn a bit of history and dream of having a "Lucky" Jack Aubrey life! Or, if the life of a 19th Century Royal Navy captain ain't your thing - how about a Dr. Maturin life? That might do. Read one or read them all. Great reads for the pandemic!!

Favorite author of all time. Another great one. Delightful!

One reviewer described The Mauritius Command as a logical stopping point, and I did find that installment a little bit drier and tougher to follow than, say, Post Captain. But I plunged ahead anyway, and Desolation Island turned out to be one of the most exciting page-turners in the series. The pursuit through Southern latitudes - impossible to put down. Desolation Island itself - finely drawn. The drama and plot surged right through the last page. An outstanding volume in the series. Sixty pages in, Fortune of War is a little slower, but the book begins with a longish land-bound section. With O'Brian, once they put to sea, things really start moving.

This is book 4 of the 16 book series (might be 17). My library didn't have the complete set, so I bought it, read it, and donated it. It was cheaper to buy this book and have it shipped to Cleveland OH from California than to buy the Kindle version, weird. But I like real books over Kindle anyway. Love the language and sailing jargon. Descriptions of boat handling impressive. Nice job of building suspense. Well developed characters, after 17 books I'd hope so, lol.

It's impossible to say enough good-enough things about the Aubrey-Maturin series. I'm reading through it again, for the second time, and seeing way more than I had before - the sheer vastness of his knowledge - the ever-ready wit - animal characterizations - descriptions of music - possibly the greatest duo in literature. The understated horrors of the occasional absolutely real naval battles are just one little aspect of a general perfection. I fully appreciate Austen, Dickens, Shaw, Wilde, and all the others, and O'Brian is right up in that rank.

If you've never read an Aubrey/Maturin novel, don't start here. Read Master and Commander first and so on... this is the fifth book. As its setting is a very detailed recreation of turn of the 19th century England and British Navy, the story has a fairly adult leaning. Which isn't to say that its an adult book, but that it doesn't shy away from the realities of the era. However, the narrative is fantastic and the world is highly detailed. It feels like I'm visiting the 1800's and not just reading a book set in that era.

I really enjoyed the whole series. Ordering and delivery were great. I even got my book earlier than expected.

As always, Patrick O'Brien strikes a wonderful balance of internal reflection of the human condition with great action and description of wonderful and faraway places. I love this series