Post Captain

For me, there is no better summer reading than the Aubrey/Maturin series of Age of Sail adventures from Patrick O'Brian. Mix equal parts Jane Austen and geeked out historical descriptions of sailing, life in the English Navy during the Napoleonic wars on land and at sea all in O'Brian's enviable prose and you get broadsides of narrative firing off every 2 minutes.

Seriously, if you've never considered reading these do yourself a favor and give them a try. The stories are entertaining, the characters are as engaging as any in literature, and did I mention O'Brian's writing? The books are often undersold as adventures at sea but don't let the entertaining stories throw you, these books are indelibly crafted and very worth your time.

This is the most 'Jane Austen-like' of the Aubrey/Maturin novels, perhaps on purpose. Much of it takes place ashore, and as much of it concerns young ladies' prospects as concerns Napoleonic battles. Most importantly, it takes the two fully-realized characters introduced in 'Master & Commander' and builds a grand world around them.

The book is long - 'prodigiously long, sir!' - but is no less wonderful for it. The ridiculous adventure of Captain Jack in the bear-skin, the introduction of the fiery Dianna Villiers, the secretive wisdom and eccentricity of Stephen Maturin; every episode is a delight, every battle a thrill, every conversation intriguing. The world of Napoleonic England - and especially of His Majesty's Royal Navy - is real show more authentic to the last detail. This book is the prime example of historical fiction. You will be transported.

Do not be sad when you have finished it. There are 18 more stories, of equal and even better quality, and by the time you finish them all you will be ready to start again. show less

There is a point in this book where Stephen Maturin goes back and secretly enters the empty house that Diana Villers had been staying in, but was no longer. The writing as he quietly moves from room to room, observing and remembering and experiencing different emotions...It is just incredibly good. I really had no idea what a writer O'Brian was, that I would be reading literature instead of just sea tales. I already am starting to feel sad that this series will be over after only 20 books, and I haven't started number three yet!

Post Captain see Aubrey and Maturin ashore, enjoying the interlude of the Peace of Amiens and chasing after local eligible women Sophie Williams and Diane Villiers, when tragedy strikes. Jack's perfidious prize agent disappears with all his money, and Jack finds himself in debt to the tune of 11,000 pounds, and liable to be arrested at any time.

The two escape to France, and are there when the Peace of Amiens ends and it's back to war, lovely profitable war! Fortunately, Aubrey is hanging out with the French captains who captured the Sophie in the first book, and since they're such bros they give him warning. Maturin leads Jack across France disguised as a dancing bear (wait what?), and he gets a new ship, the experimental and show more unseaworthy Polychrest, and his career is back on track.

There's one naval action of note, but most of this book is concerned with courting, debt, political games, and the tightening and near breaking of the friendship of our leads while pursuing women. Putting Hos Before Bros, as the saying goes, only leads to tragedy. Still having fun, still dadly as hell. show less

Many have described this book as a Jane Austen wannabe with much of it being a country side romance. I’d say this description is fair but that doesn’t make the story any less gripping. All the interpersonal conflicts and character dynamics are great and the plot goes to a lot of unexpected places. I’m writing this review quite sometime after reading but there is a battle in this book that is seared into my memory because it is so intense and engaging.

A steady-going follow-up to Master and Commander, Post Captain does not yet provoke the devotion that the Aubrey-Maturin series is said to induce in its readers. The nautical terminology is less bewildering – or perhaps I'm just used to it – but the book does not advance much from the promise of the first instalment.

I wrote in my review of Master and Commander that it was an investment that had not yet – but surely would – pay dividends, but Post Captain, ironically, begins with Captain Jack Aubrey fleeing a debt. His finances are in disarray, a promotion has been denied him, and he must away to sea on whatever can float. A great start, surely?

Unfortunately not, for the first half of the novel becomes mired on land, in a sort of show more Jane Austen-esque soap opera that sees Aubrey and his ship's doctor, Stephen Maturin, in some long-winded social courtship with two eligible young ladies. It's tolerable stuff, in its way – Post Captain is well-written from first to last – but it's not why we're here.

Naval adventure is why we're here – that, and the complementary friendship between Aubrey and Maturin – and, fortunately, the book begins to provide this in doses. Author Patrick O'Brian has an unparalleled ability to evoke the ins-and-outs of naval warfare (tacking in to the right wind, and all that other stuff) without sacrificing pace or tension, and every moment Post Captain is at sea is refreshing. In these parts, the novel is thrilling in its action, engaging in its conversation and astute in its characterisation. That this further shows the land-based scenes for their lubberliness (a bitter duel between Aubrey and Maturin is abandoned without further mention, while there is also an embarrassing sequence about one hundred pages in where Aubrey evades capture in France by disguising himself as a bear) is by the by. When O'Brian engages the enemy more closely, we can hardly wait to follow him in. show less

I’ll offer a single review of the late Patrick O’Brian’s twenty Aubrey/Maturin novels. I’ve never read another series of novels so consistently excellent. These sweeping yet personally engaging stories of the British Royal Navy of the early 19th Century are about war, espionage, exploration, politics, treason, science, medicine, great and ordinary men and women, friendship, morality . . . the grand themes of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I’ve read the entire series four times. My Christmas present to myself this year was to replace the few remaining paperbacks in my collection with hardbacks, and once they arrive I’ll start reading the series again, in order. Every time I re-read these books I discover they’re not only show more as good as I remembered, they’re better. show less