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Just chiming in to say I'm glad there's an Aubrey/Maturin thread here. I currently have just finished Book 9 (The Ionian Mission), and I intend to read my way through the whole series. To be honest, however, it feels like Stephen's marriage to Diana was the natural point at which to end the saga and from there we're just stretching time--even though I haven't gotten to the iconic book (Far Side of the World) yet. I noticed in the Ionian mission that I was up to page 150, and the Worcester hadn't even left harbor yet; the whole thing would have been all of 10 pages in an earlier A/M novel. The novels are still good and worth reading, but it feels like up to #7 (The Surgeon's Mate) brings the characters' arcs to a neater conclusion (well sort of, since Stephen's American archnemesis is still out there). I actually started on HMS Surprise, for some reason, but I think it's still my favorite book--the best in terms of balancing the action between Aubrey and Maturin, and still one of the best battle descriptions in the series. The Mauritus Command had an interesting setup, but kind of fizzled out I thought, the last battle being a little anticlimactic (and I still don't really understand what the point was of that flashy sloop captain killing himself at the end, it kind of spoiled the book for me) -Also, seconding the Flashman recommendation. So far I've only read Flashman & The Great Game, but that book was excellent both as a subversion of the typical stiff-upper lipped Victorian adventure, and as an action-adventure read in of itself. EDIT: Also funny about The Surgeon's Mate: the third Hornblower book (in order of release) has a pretty similar plot (Hornblower escapes captivity from the center of France and steals a fast brig to return to England) and that one seemed pretty clearly intended to be the last Hornblower book too (he's made Order of the Garter and gets to meet Prince George, anyway!) Harime Nui fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Jun 30, 2011 |
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Jun 30, 2011 17:02
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Dunno if this thread's past the point of legit resurrection, but I wanted to say I've since read Master & Commander, Post Captain and The Far Side of the World. It's a interesting to contrast the younger and older Jack and Stephen--Jack seems to have gotten a lot stricter and more authorative, while Stephen's mellowed out since they were in their 30s. Since reading the first novel (which climaxes with the Cacafuego action everybody talks about in later novels) I've discovered the Xebec is my favorite type of vessel. Speeding on a foul wind and beating circles around boxy tallships like a boss, what! I also want to raise in The Ionian Mission's favor since I was complaining earlier, it has an extremely cool climactic battle. Marble cannon balls! Although it strikes me that it cut out very abruptly, just after the end of the action; the very same thing happens in Far Side of the World, as soon as we learn Jack and Stephen will be definitely saved or stand victorious: boom, done. Contrast to the long scenes following the climactic battle in the first four or five books, where O'Brien is clearly setting up his action for the next book. It just makes the later ones feel a little more haphazard, I guess.
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Aug 9, 2011 19:26
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ItalicSquirrels posted::Alright, backstory time. Oh, wow. So sorry I stopped reading the thread, because I missed this until just now. I got that Clonfert was constantly comparing himself to Jack, but I felt it just seemed like it wasn't explained as to why he'd feel so extremly--I completely missed that his good looks were a major part of his self-image and that the injury destroyed his face. Now it makes much more sense he'd feel like he had nothing left to live for. Your explanation also makes Clonfert sound like a much more fascinating character than I gave credit for; I more see where he was coming from being such a flashy showboat. It also makes Stephen's final rumination on the matter make much more sense--you feel bad for the guy, and his situation was pitiable, but ultimately it's not Jack's fault the guy was neurotic, and there would be no point burdening him with it. Harime Nui fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Oct 6, 2011 |
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Oct 6, 2011 02:41
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