Post Captain (Aubrey Maturin Series)

List Price: $14.95 Discount Price: $2.45

Customer Reviews:

A Tension Let-Down [Posted on 2008-02-16]
The setting is strong and the characters are interesting. This series has been given accolades for a quarter-century, and I know it has promise, and I know I'll keep reading. Even with all this, the sophomore entry in this series was a let-down in tension.

Tension doesn't have to be big sea battles between military-grade warships, but it does have to be engaging and threaten the protagonist. Other than a somewhat minor relationship issue between Jack and Sophie and Diana the only real novel-length theme was Jack's continuing struggles with his finances.

As a chronicle of the life in opening of the nineteenth century it is a great book. It demonstrated the core of military power - the Navy and it's ongoing internal political struggles as well as a rivalry with the Army. More interesting than Jack Aubrey and his money troubles is the revelations in this volume of the hidden life of Stephen Maturin, land-heir and intelligence spy - but for whom? His mini-adventures and influence keep one interested in the book and keep one guessing.

It's a serviceable book in the series, which put it above many author's best work.

- CV Rick, February 2008

Another Adventure [Posted on 2008-04-12]
This second volume in the Aubrey/Maturin Series continues both the friendship and the adventure for the two protagonists. They vie for love, struggle with poverty, and continue to harass both French and Spanish shipping. Anyone who enjoys a good sea adventure will be sure to be entertained.

What every "historical novel" should be [Posted on 2008-06-03]
Many complain that this volume lacks sufficient adventure, focusing too much on the manners of the time. I can understand that sentiment, although I don't sympathize with it. Patrick O'Brian was not merely trying to write rousing adventure novels - pot boilers, as they're commonly called. This he could have easily done, and saved much paper. However, I wouldn't have read them more than once, if that.

Instead, he chose to weave a complex tapestry of the time, to immerse us in the history, society and characters as they lived and breathed. The difficulty of this undertaking can hardly be overstated, and his mastery of languages, history, science, seamanship, culinary arts and the craft of authorship is astounding.

I am grateful that he would not sacrifice history to make a story more exciting; I don't mind having our doughty protagonists watch a battle as prisoners so that I can have a grander view of the events of the time. Or that we see how they would have found their respective spouses in the Dickensian society of the time. It doesn't make Aubrey and Maturin any less interesting -- and provides a depth to the plots that could not be had otherwise.

In fact, it is truly amazing how well these novels tie together, how events in earlier books can naturally lead to complications and subplots several volumes later. And how the characters evolve with extreme subtlety and psychological depth.

Perhaps, then, these novels were written specifically for me; sometimes I feel as if it were so. I revel in the minutiae, in the playful humor, in the nascent science and discovery. I enjoy the story on land as much as on the sea; the manners as much as the adventures. I have read them all several times.

Patrick O'Brian, whatever his faults, bequeathed upon humanity a rare and wonderful gift: a fully encompassing view into another time and place that lets us understand our own world better. And he did it with compassion and understanding and marvelous wit. It is with that view that I implore readers with a similar bent to embark on this enthralling voyage.

Good followup [Posted on 2008-08-16]
The second book in Patrick O' Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, 'Post Captain' is a worthy follow up to 'Master & Commander'. This novel has the usual naval action, but much of it takes place on land giving the reader a broader overview of English society in the early years of the 1800's.
I have some quibbles, the difficulty in understanding nautical terms and 19th century slang made following the plot difficult at times, which was compounded by O'Brian's writing style, where scenes change without warning. Also I found the lack of a map(s) irritating.
On the other side of the scale there is the fascinating detail in not just naval life in the Napoleonic era, but life in early 19th century England in general. There is also the wonderful characters of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. And of course lots of action with the occasional bit of humour (for example Stephen's bees on the 'HMS Lively')

Aubrey makes Post-Captain, crosses swords with Maturin over money and women [Posted on 2008-10-14]
Second installment of the Master and Commander series focusing on Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, in which we learn that Aubrey is not a good handler of money, and Maturin not a good judge of women, then that Aubrey is not a good judge of money, and Maturin not a good handler of women. And the two friends nearly come to a duel over their differences about . . . .

. . . money and women--or rather one particular woman.

Fortunately, a naval emergency calls them to duty before the duel can take place, and their differences are patched over.

Aubrey makes Post-Captain, kind of a tenured Navy officer for life who will eventually make Admiral if he outlives those ahead of him on the list. Maturin is given a temporary commission as a captain as the book ends, in furtherance of his shadowy secret intelligence.

And yes, this was a large-print edition--it was the only version of the book I could find on the shelf. No wisecracks!

Third in the series: HMS " Surprise " (Windsor Selection)

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