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Title: Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0-393-30705-0 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: November, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.26 (186 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: He's not Grisham or Clancy--he's better!
Comment: You can't read just one of these books, because you really want to absorb the whole series. They are a fascinating look at the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, accurate and detailed, using actual accounts and records as source material. Post Captain Jack Aubrey and his surgeon Stephen Maturin are realistic men, not Rambo-type heroes who can keep slugging and hanging from cliffs while suffering dire injuries. They have their human faults, but are wonderful companions in a wide variety of (mostly nautical) adventures. Okay, sometimes there's more talking and introspection than action. A lot more. Did you ever read "Moby Dick"? If you need to have the protagonist's life threatened every 10 pages, read some predictable male escapist fiction--there's plenty of that around.
I don't have much patience with writers who keep cranking out the same book over and over, making money from the millions of readers who are slaves to an author's name on the cover. Like Harlequin romances and that ilk, the stuff you see in airport bookstores. O'Brian is different--his books are always new and interesting, and one story leads to the next in a very natural manner. The series is a protracted adventure on the high seas, with a couple of likable companions and the rest of their crew. The books are quick reads, easy to hold. Or you can do as I do and get the audio version, narrated by Patrick Tull, who interprets his characters wonderfully.
Rating: 5
Summary: Incredible book, also try the Recorded Books audiobooks
Comment: Having read the entire series twice through, I am a huge fan and can not say enough about O'Brian.
But before talking about the book itself, I will point all of you to the wonderful unabridged audiobook versions performed by (as opposed to simply "read by") Patrick Tull and produced by Recorded Books, LLC. They are vastly superior to any other audiobook productions of the series I have listened to (including the versions sold here on Amazon, unfortunately). For those who have difficulty with the pacing or the language, the audiobook format brings it all to life with amazing clarity. The accents, the tones, the emotion, they are all there in Tull's masterful rendition.
Having said that, I will turn to the book itself. Master and Commander (and the entire series) brings the past to life with more immediacy than any other historical novel I have ever read. After spending some time in O'Brian's world, you truly feel at home there, even those of us who know (or at least knew) very little about things nautical or the history of the Napoleonic Wars. The characters become your friends, the ships become familiar surroundings. You come to be in tune with the period even though it is alien to our own times in so many ways.
There is also a great deal of humor in these novels, something unexpected in such literate works. The action is phenomenal, the character development (within the book, but especially over the series) is engrossing. The language is brilliant and sophisticated, but at the same time earthy and "real".
All in all, I would have to agree with the New York Times that these are the best historical novels ever written.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Great Story
Comment: The master and commander series is incredible. I very much enjoyed the Master and Commander story. It was the first time in a long while that I did not try to avoid reading this book. It was very long but I was glued to this exciting story. This book is great if you want to read a factual and realistic action adventure story. I am really looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I think everyone should sit back and enjoy the wonderfully composed Master and Commander series,
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Title: Post Captain by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0393307069 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: November, 1990 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: H.M.S. Surprise by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0393307611 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: May, 1991 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 039330762X Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: May, 1991 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Far Side of the World by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0393308626 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 1992 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 039330812X Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: August, 1991 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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