Norton's admirable attempt to achieve for O'Brian in this country
at least some semblance of the success he has enjoyed in England
continues apace with the release of this 13th adventure of Captain
Jack Aubrey and his crew of British seamen during the Napoleonic
Wars, in conjunction with trade paperback reprintings of two
earlier books in the series (H.M.S. Surprise, The Mauritius
Command). At this stage in his career, Aubrey commands the
Surprise, a private man-of-war licensed to do battle with enemy
warships on behalf of the Crown. He remains a man whose great
capabilities and raw energy while at sea are often nullified by an
inability to cope while on land, and so it is that captain and crew
set sail most precipitously for South America after a lengthy stay
ashore, at least in part so that Jack will make no social or
political errors that might set back his efforts to be restored to
the Royal Navy. Aboard as always is Dr. Stephen Maturin - Aubrey's
closest friend, ship's surgeon, and British spy - the character who
provides an intellectual counterpoint to Jack's more physical
presence. While the Surprise goes on its appointed rounds, however,
Aubrey and Maturin undertake another assignment - delivering a
British envoy to the Malaysian Islands to negotiate a treaty there
in competition with the French (a mission that, happily, requires
that Jack's precious Navy rank be returned him). The story's the
thing, of course, but the ultimate appeal of the Aubrey/Maturin
adventures lies in O'Brian's delicious old-fashioned prose, the
wonderfully complex sentences that capture the feel of the sea and
the culture of the great warships, all the while sketching with
apparent accuracy and truth the early-19th-century world. (Kirkus
Reviews)
'The Thirteen Gun Salute' opens with Jack Aubrey reinstated to his command and sailing on a secret mission with a hand-picked crew, most of them shipmates from the adventures and lucrative voyages of earlier years. Patrick O'Brian's resourcefulness is a sure warrant that things will not turn out as his readers or his characters expect. Twists and turns, sub-plots, echoes from the past, these are the only certainties in this astonishing 'roman fleuve'. Distant waters, exotic scenes, flora and fauna to satisfy Aubrey's old friend Stephen Maturin's innocent curiosity, as well as the scope for his cloak and dagger work, enrich its flow. The ending of the book leaves the reader more than usually impatient for its successor.
'Patrick O'Brian is one of the most compelling and brilliant novelists of his time with a huge band of admirers in all manner of places. Beyond his superbly elegant writing, wit and originality, he showed an understanding of the nature of a floating world at the mercy of the wind and the sea which has never been surpassed.
'Jane Austen, 'sur mer''
Bob Doe, 'Times Educational Supplement'
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