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Title: Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0-393-32107-X Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: September, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.1 (50 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Farewell Novel From O'Brian
Comment: About five years ago I was introduced to the Aubrey/Maturin novels of Patrick O'Brian. I first read The Wine Dark Sea, and then I returned to the beginning of the series and promptly read all of the books in the series.
In recent years, I have eagerly awaited the release of new books in the series. And, Blue at the Mizzen was worth the wait.
The Aubrey and Maturin characters have evolved as individuals, as they have aged and had other experiences in life. Unlike most of the earlier books in the series, Blue at the Mizzen features Dr. Maturin to a greater degree than the brooding Capt. Aubrey whose concern over his future makes him more remote to both Maturin and to the reader. After O'Brian killed off Dr. Maturin's wife in The Hundred Days, Dr. Maturin surprisingly develops a romantic interest in a fellow naturalist, Christine Wood. Their romantic episode is odd, but given Maturin's character, that is not really surprising.
As usual, a lot happens in this book, but as in the other books, O'Brian often unleashes the action in a understated or offhanded way. Events happen with little or no warning or with minimal discussion. The intelligence activities involving the Republic of Chile are not as clearly described, for example, as Maturin's South American intelligence activities in The Wine Dark Sea. As with other books in the series, the action sometimes is secondary to the activities on the ship, the relationships of the main and minor characters, and Maturin's focus on the birds and beasts that they encounter. Even so, Blue on the Mizzen was an enjoyable book that held my interest.
How does it compare with the other books in the series? Good question. Personally, I liked it better than The Yellow Admiral, which spent too much time on shore. Unlike other reader reviewers, however, I equally enjoyed both The Hundred Days and Blue at the Mizzen. The early books are wonderful, but even these later books are very good.
For someone who has read any of the Aubrey/Maturin novels, I would not suggest that you start with Blue at the Mizzen. Instead, the O'Brian novice should start with the earliest books in the series. For someone who has read the other Aubrey/Maturin novels, Blue at the Mizzen should be a "must read" book. It is the last one in the series due to O'Brian's recent death. If O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin formula is aging by book #20 in the series, it is still a fine formula that still works in #20. Blue at the Mizzen is a worthy end to the series.
Rating: 3
Summary: So disappointed after waiting so eagerly.
Comment: I have read (and re-read) as well as listened to Patrick Tull's narrations of all the previous 19 volumes in the series and still find excitement, drama, and humor that makes me laugh out loud or say Huzzay! However this book was a great disppointment. It lacked the full involvement of many characters, the humor and the light-hearted exchanges between Aubrey and Maturin. Too much was conveyed through Stephen's over long letters to Christine. Without the war, the battle scenes were boring. I'm sorry to say that after skipping through page after page I finally put the book down and can't bring myself to finish it. But I still gave it 3 stars - O'Brian is the best writer of historical fiction to date and the first 19 novels will always be my favorites. I would love to see PBS do these stories in a television series.
Rating: 3
Summary: What happened?
Comment: I listened to the tape version. This was mistake number one, as another reviewer noted on this site. Mistake number two, also mentioned several times by other reviewers, was making this my virginal experience with this author. Frankly, I was totally lost. Maybe that freeway driving had something to do with it also (I listen in my car).
I can tell from the other reviews that this is a series for special interest people only, and that the whole series should be digested, from the beginning, not from the end.
Steven's love affair, such as it was, I couldn't understand. I did gather that he had a daughter and was a widower. And whatever happened to that young fellow, the lord's adopted son, who came on as the helmsman? Well, as I say, it was all just a little abstruse.
But unlike one other reviewer, I thought the book was well read on the audio version. The reader didn't have a great diversity of voices, as some other readers do, but he did have passable accents for his Spanish and English characters.
Also, I did learn something about the war between Peru and Chile. I was able, occasionally, to imagine being aboard the Surprise.
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Title: The Reverse of the Medal by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0393309606 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: August, 1992 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Treason's Harbour by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0393308634 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 1992 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0393308219 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: January, 1992 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Surgeon's Mate by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0393308200 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: January, 1992 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0393308138 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: August, 1991 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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