The Mauritius Command (Aubrey & Maturin #4)

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O Brian s Aubrey Maturin volumes actually constitute a single 6,443 page novel, one that should have been on those lists of the greatest novels of the 20th century George Will, Washington PostCaptain Jack Aubrey is ashore on half pay without a command until Stephen Maturin arrives with secret orders for Aubrey to take a frigate to the Cape of Good Hope under a commodore s pennant, there to mount an expedition against the French held islands of Mauritius and La R union But the difficulties of carrying out his orders are compounded by two of his own captains Lord Clonfert, a pleasure seeking dilettante, and Captain Corbett, whose severity pushes his crew to the verge of mutiny. Read The Mauritius Command (Aubrey & Maturin #4) – kino-fada.fr My love for these books seems boundless, almost paternalso I feel harsh giving any of them anything but a 5 star rating and a kiss on the papery cheek I m trying to be objective, to take off my rose colored glasses and view the work through someone else s eyes, someone who s not a hardcore fanboy, but goodness gracious, it s difficult.Giving it the old college try, let me begin with the negative then The Mauritius Command does not hold the passion of the first three books in Patrick O Bri My love for these books seems boundless, almost paternalso I feel harsh giving any of them anything but a 5 star rating and a kiss on the papery cheek I m trying to be objective, to take off my rose colored glasses and view the work through someone else s eyes, someone who s not a hardcore fanboy, but goodness gracious, it s difficult.Giving it the old college try, let me begin with the negative then The Mauritius Command does not hold the passion of the first three books in Patrick O Brian 20 volume seafaring series set during the Napoleonic Wars Love and its numerous forms, many of which appear in O Brian s writing, is not a theme as strongly attended to as it was in the previous books Sure, trace whiffs of it linger about in the form of our hero Captain Jack Aubrey s longing for his wife so many thousands of miles away, but love is not a motivating factor as much here Fear of failure, not living ...I do enter upon my rereadings of Patrick O Brian books with an open mind I am willing to give fewer than five stars to each book before I read it However, at some point, sweeping down upon the blaggardly French under a great press of sail, foreboding the ruin of a tragically flawed officer, or smiling at Aubrey s sweet simplicity, it becomes impossible not to give it every star at my command Mauritius Command is a particularly cohesive volume,united in purpose than most, comprising as it I do enter upon my rereadings of Patrick O Brian books with an open mind I am willing to give fewer than five stars to each book before I read it However, at some point, sweeping down upon the blaggardly French under a great press of sail, foreboding the ruin of a tragically flawed officer, or smiling at Aubrey s sweet simplicity, it becomes impossible not to give it every star at my command Mauriti...A delight as usual to dive into this 4th in the wonderfully addictive series about the British navy during the Napoleanic Wars I gave myself the treat of coming back to this, which stands out as one of the best in the set of 16 that I read most of the distant past Half orof the pleasure comes from partaking in the special friendship between boyish and brave Captain Jack Aubrey and theintellectual surgeon and spy, Stephen Maturin The other reward lies in O Brian s portrayal of the A delight as usual to dive into this 4th in the wonderfully addictive series about the British navy during the Napoleanic Wars I gave myself the treat of coming back to this, which stands out as one of the best in the set of 16 that I read most of the distant past Half orof the pleasure comes from partaking in the special friendship between boyish and brave Captain Jack Aubrey and theintellectual surgeon and spy, Stephen Maturin The other reward lies in O Brian s portrayal of the special community that exists among the sailors aboard...You cannot blame the bull because the frog burst the bull has no comprehension of the affairPatrick O Brian, The Mauritius CommandThis is my fourth Aubrey Maturin novel obviously and I have yet to read one that I wasn t completely in love with There is just too much to love about O Brian s writing his knowledge, his wit, his humor, his details, his affection for all his characters, his various digressions Some of my favorites in this book Dr Maturin s discussion with Mr Farquhar anYou cannot blame the bull because the frog burst the bull has no comprehension of the affairPatrick O Brian, The Mauritius CommandThis is my f...9 10 Still the best nautical adventure I ve read in years, although this volume is slightly diferrent than the first three books The change comes from a shift in focus from the developing friendship between Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, including their romantic entanglements on shore, to a greater portion of the book dedicated to actual naval battles Until now the plot was basically Jack climbing slowly the ladder of command in the Navy, receiving a new ship, forging a battle ready crew an 9 10 S...I m bumping my rating of this up to five stars from four after my reread Damn this is a fine addition to the Aubrey Maturin series There is genuine comfort in reading this book, and I think some of that comfort stems from Patrick O Brian s comfort with his characters O Brian knows his men intimately by this fourth book, and he is able to let them live on their own, confident, it seems to me, that they will take him where they need to go.In this case, they take him to the Mauritius campaign of I m bumping my rating of this up to five stars from four after my reread Damn this is a fine addition to the Aubrey Maturin series There is genuine comfort in reading this book, and I thi...This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers To view it, click here All the main characters, Aubrey and Maturin included, faded into the background of The Mauritius Command, becoming a kind of landscape upon which the drama of Lord Clonfert played out His was the story that most captured my attention this time through.Clonfert begins the tale as the captain of HMS Otter He is a vain man A handsome man who cuts a dashing figure in his finery He has developed some bravery after a shaky beginning to his career , is a capital seaman and has the loyalty of his All the main characters, Aubrey and Maturin included, faded into the background of The Mauritius Command, becoming a kind of landscape upon which the drama of Lord Clonfert played out His was the story that most captured my attention this time through.Clonfert begins the tale as the captain of HMS Otter He is a vain man A handsome man who cuts a dashing figure in his finery He has developed some bravery after a shaky beginning to his career , is a capital seaman and has the loyalty of his men He is also an unabashed liar when it comes to his accomplishments even suggesting he was present at the killing of a unicorn, using a Narwhal tusk as his evidence , but his vanity quickly undermines his spirit when he s thrust into the shadow of his former shipmate, now commanding officer, Commodore Jack Aubrey.Clonfert is eventually made Post Captain by the man he sees as hi...In previous books Mr O Brian has several times told us that he uses real ships and real battles for his fictional accounts It s well known that he went to great lengths to make his stories ring with authenticity, reading the original logbooks of the vessels involved and the private papers of survivors In this the fourth episode of his Aubrey Maturin series, he takes this method to the extreme his whole book, not only one or two battles, is based on a historical campaign, making for some ver In previous books Mr O Brian has several times told us that he uses real ships and real battles for his fictional accounts It s well known that he went to great lengths to make his stories ring with authenticity, reading the original logbooks of the vessels involved and the private papers of survivors In this the fourth episode of his Aubrey Maturin series, he takes this method to the extreme his whole book, not only one or two battles, is based on a historical campaign, making for some very dramatic reading.The triumphs and setbacks of a little known campaign against the Fre...The fourth novel in this series is yet another masterful telling of seafaring adventure This time, Captain Jack Aubrey opens the story at home, absent of a command and anxious to get back to sea once again Fortunately his loyal friend and ship s surgeon, Stephen Maturin arrives with orders that send them both off on a secret mission to the French held islands of La Reunion and Mauritius off the coast of Madagascar It s a tough mission and while it runs its course, Aubrey gets to wear the rank The fourth novel in this series i...On this fourth or fifth reread, it occurred to me that my memory of this book has been of a lighter story It isn t lite at all there is quite a bit of hard action, with complicated maneuvering, and complex characters Tragedy as well, in an unexpected way But it doesn t reach the extreme emotional pitch of the third book,H.M.S Surprise, so, coming after that intensity, this one has always seemed a bit of relief.I almost said comic relief, and indeed there is some of O Brian s most delight On this fourth or fifth reread, it occurred to me that my memory of this book has been of a lighter story It isn t lite at all there is quite a bit of hard action, with complicated maneuvering, and complex characters Tragedy as well, in an unexpected way But it doesn t reach the extreme emotional pitch of the third book,H.M.S Surprise, so, coming after that intensity, this one has always seemed a bit of relief.I almost said comic relief, and indeed there is some of O Brian s most delightful humor, especially in conversations between Stephen Maturin, so sophisticated and formidably insightful except with respect to shipboard skills, and Jack Aubre...

The Mauritius Command (Aubrey & Maturin #4)
  • English
  • 23 July 2017
  • Paperback
  • 365 pages
  • 039330762X
  • Patrick O'Brian
  • The Mauritius Command (Aubrey & Maturin #4)