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CroatianAlzheimers
Jun 15, 2009

I can't remember why I'm mad at you...


Raskolnikov2089 posted:

Rewatching Master and Commander and I couldn't help but chuckle as Killick's only desire was to protect the Captain's silver plate. Nice bit of fan service.

I also like Stephen flexing his fingers before he and Jack set to playing music, that's a nice little callback.

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Elector_Nerdlingen
Sep 27, 2004



Sappo569 posted:

I'll be honest, I flew through the first book in the series (being the most well known)

I'm about 1/4 of the way through the 2nd, and the pacing has made me not want to pick it back up in over a month.

I think it being all about the social niceties of the period is totally killing my men fighting on floating fortresses vibe

You're less than 10% of the way through the series. There's plenty of sea battles to come, and the background that's set up in the second book enables some really cool stuff to happen.

Decius
Oct 14, 2005

Ramrod XTreme

Sappo569 posted:

I'll be honest, I flew through the first book in the series (being the most well known)

I'm about 1/4 of the way through the 2nd, and the pacing has made me not want to pick it back up in over a month.

I think it being all about the social niceties of the period is totally killing my men fighting on floating fortresses vibe

The second book is probably the the most important for the whole series in things it sets up, but also the one I look least forward to with every re-read. It's very dry for large parts and it doesn't help that Jack gets set up with a floating death trap of a ship and the friendship between Stephen and Jack nearly breaks. The last third is a lot more enjoyable though.

ItalicSquirrels
Feb 15, 2007

What?

Decius posted:

The second book is probably the the most important for the whole series in things it sets up, but also the one I look least forward to with every re-read.[snip]

Number one, please don't forget about spoilers. The guy said he'd only gotten a quarter of the way through the book.

Number two, really? I think the two things you mentioned are what help define the later actions. Even though the Worcester is a "coffin ship", it's still better than the Polycrest. And the conflict between Jack and Stephen actually sets a limit on their friendship and helps define them further as people. Before this, Jack chased just about anything in a skirt. Afterwards, yeah, he'll still be inclined to cheat, but we know that he won't go after a woman Stephen's interested in. Look at Treason's Harbour. Once Jack 'realizes' that Stephen and Mrs. Fielding are together, he pulls back a bit.

Murgos
Oct 21, 2010
Speaking of the Post Captain, what the hell happens to Mr. Scriven? He just sort of disappears between scenes, is mentioned once more in an off hand ("Stevens servant") and then is never to be seen again.

e:

Sappo569 posted:

I'll be honest, I flew through the first book in the series (being the most well known)

I'm about 1/4 of the way through the 2nd, and the pacing has made me not want to pick it back up in over a month.

I think it being all about the social niceties of the period is totally killing my men fighting on floating fortresses vibe

If you want, after you have finished the book, here are details of the action at the end of Post Captain.

About 2/3rds down the page from the Amphion's Captain's log: http://genealogy.northern-skies.net/genealogy.php?number=187

The Oct 20th 1804 edition of the London Gazette article on the action: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/15747/page/1309

Wiki entry for the action: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_5_October_1804

Anyway, don't read the books in a vacuum, they are much more interesting IMO when related to history.

Murgos fucked around with this message at 16:26 on Feb 23, 2015

ZekeNY
Jun 13, 2013

Probably AFK

Decius posted:

The second book is probably the the most important for the whole series in things it sets up, but also the one I look least forward to with every re-read. It's very dry for large parts [snip]

I agree about the dry sections, but the other parts you mention are among my favorites in the series. The near-duel between Jack and Stephen is great, and Aubrey's note carefully apologizing for calling Stephen a bastard while not apologizing for calling him a liar ("Captain Aubrey ... begs to say that an expression escaped him yesterday evening, a common expression to do with birth, that might have been taken to have a personal bearing ...”) is one of my top ten or so quotes.

The Merry Marauder
Apr 4, 2009

"But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own."

Murgos posted:

Speaking of the Post Captain, what the hell happens to Mr. Scriven? He just sort of disappears between scenes, is mentioned once more in an off hand ("Stevens servant") and then is never to be seen again.

It's been a while, but I remember he was at the door when the tipstaff and his mates broke in on Pullings' dinner, did he tip them off and then disappear?

Notahippie
Feb 4, 2003

Kids, it's not cool to have Shane MacGowan teeth

The Merry Marauder posted:

It's been a while, but I remember he was at the door when the tipstaff and his mates broke in on Pullings' dinner, did he tip them off and then disappear?

That's my take - it comes up later, in fact, when Aubrey yells at Steven for being too kind-hearted. He uses him as an example. I absolutely love Scrivens as a character because he's such an O'Brien character - he's barely sketched out, but if you think about the sketch you end up with a surprisingly deep character and one that illustrates a theme of O'Brien's, which is that people can develop irrational resentments and act on them to hurt others. My read of Scrivens is that he's really a scrub - he's faking being kind for a long time, but he's at heart an rear end in a top hat. It makes me wonder how much of his back story was false. I love that all of that is implied but not really stated.

BeigeJacket
Jul 21, 2005

This is the guy Jack thinks he's killed after the dude tried to rob him when he was walking home after a party right?

ItalicSquirrels
Feb 15, 2007

What?

BeigeJacket posted:

This is the guy Jack thinks he's killed after the dude tried to rob him when he was walking home after a party right?

He was out for a walk after Queenie's rout to "relax the fibers", but yes, that guy.

Murgos
Oct 21, 2010

The Merry Marauder posted:

It's been a while, but I remember he was at the door when the tipstaff and his mates broke in on Pullings' dinner, did he tip them off and then disappear?

I wen't back and re-read that paragraph.

During the party, after everyone is good and drunk, Scrivens opens the door and looks for Jack, once he has found him he throws open the door and the tipstaffs come barging in. Stephen, that old file, was onto Scrivens and put out a hand to warn Jack as soon as the door was opened and he poked his head in.

For some reason the subtlety of that had always alluded me in my previous readings/listenings. I had always read that as Scrivens opened the door to warn Jack and the tipstaffs came barging in on his heels.

Murgos fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Feb 25, 2015

The Merry Marauder
Apr 4, 2009

"But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own."
Stephen knows what o'clock it is, no flat he.

ZekeNY
Jun 13, 2013

Probably AFK

The Merry Marauder posted:

Stephen knows what o'clock it is, no flat he.

And O'Brian had a headpiece, as well.

Fire Safety Doug
Sep 3, 2006

99 % caffeine free is 99 % not my kinda thing
I stormed through the series over the course of last summer and enjoyed the experience greatly. Saw the movie with whole new eyes as well, but I do agree that Billy Boyd isn't menacing enough to be Barrett Bonden (perhaps the initials had something to do with the casting?) and that while Paul Bettany does a good job, he doesn't quite match the mental picture I painted based on the books. But perhaps there's only so much you can ask of a big-budget movie that doesn't exactly have the widest appeal subject-wise.

O'Brian's writing also improves through the series. This thread got me to start Master & Commander again, and while so far it hasn't been quite as adverb-heavy I remembered, people are still "crying" half the time whenever they say something. This got incredibly distracting when I noticed it, and I was grateful when he dropped this habit in the later books.

ItalicSquirrels
Feb 15, 2007

What?

Fire Safety Doug posted:

O'Brian's writing also improves through the series. This thread got me to start Master & Commander again, and while so far it hasn't been quite as adverb-heavy I remembered, people are still "crying" half the time whenever they say something. This got incredibly distracting when I noticed it, and I was grateful when he dropped this habit in the later books.

I had the same problem with Watson the first time I read Sherlock Holmes. The man just would not stop ejaculating.

Molybdenum
Jun 25, 2007
Melting Point ~2622C

ItalicSquirrels posted:

The man just would not stop ejaculating.

I have this problem too. :gizz:


Ramage series: boy howdy are the deus ex machinas thick in this series. Also Ramage is super clever and all Frenchmen are buffoons that fall for every trick because they are perpetually drunk and reek of garlic. I'm going to finish the series but POB is head and shoulders above dudley pope.

Molybdenum fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Mar 3, 2015

Murgos
Oct 21, 2010
If anyone wants to know what a 50 guinea patriotic fund sword from the Battle of Pulo Aura (as described in HMS Surprise) looked like:

http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/78489.html

Arglebargle III
Feb 21, 2006



Wow I thought that was the scabbard when I first looked at it. That's the blade!

yaffle
Sep 15, 2002

Flapdoodle
Chatting with a friend on facebook lead to this:
"'Follow me, follow me,' he cried, leaping across, and on either side of him there were Black Pigs, swarming over with cutlasses, pistols, boarding-axes. Willy was at his right hand, The Mate on his left, already foaming at the mouth. The Flying Dustmen came at them with furious spirit and in the very first clash, halfway across the deck, one shot Pugwash's hat from his head, the bullet scoring his skull, and another, lunging with a long pike, brought him down.
'The Captain's down,' shrieked The mate. He cut the pikeman's legs from under him and Willy split his head. The mate went on hacking the body as the Pigs came howling down and took the Flying Dustmen in the flank."

If you want to introduce the little ones to the world of 18th century navel warfare I must recommend Captain Pugwash (the older books and the tv show, not the new cartoons)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwzVjsu9XvM

Arglebargle III
Feb 21, 2006

Babbington is so dumb. I always crack up at this exchange about Aubrey's pistol wound on the Diane expedition:

"At the time I thought it was one of those frightful nags running about the quarterdeck."
"But sir! Surely a horse would never fire off a pistol!"

CroatianAlzheimers
Jun 15, 2009

I can't remember why I'm mad at you...


If by "dumb" you mean hilarious and awesome. My favorite Babbington moment is him bringing his ship into company with Surprise while he's got a quarterdeck full of Lesbians.

Economic Sinkhole
Mar 14, 2002
Pillbug
He is the kind of guy that would bring a Newfoundland dog on board a ship.

Economic Sinkhole fucked around with this message at 17:08 on Mar 11, 2015

CroatianAlzheimers
Jun 15, 2009

I can't remember why I'm mad at you...


Wouldn't you? Then you'd have someone to stand guard over the Guernsey frock you left in the blue cutter.

Arglebargle III
Feb 21, 2006

CroatianAlzheimers posted:

If by "dumb" you mean hilarious and awesome. My favorite Babbington moment is him bringing his ship into company with Surprise while he's got a quarterdeck full of Lesbians.

I feel the same way as Stephen. When Jack asks him if he thinks Babbington is intelligent he can't help but laugh and says basically "I love that kid but no he dumb."

And it was a sloop.

Arglebargle III fucked around with this message at 01:24 on Mar 12, 2015

Blue On Blue
Nov 14, 2012

Finally got passed the hump I was feeling in the book, Jack got a chance to see what his carronades could do !

Raskolnikov2089
Nov 3, 2006

Schizzy to the matic

Sappo569 posted:

Finally got passed the hump I was feeling in the book, Jack got a chance to see what his carronades could do !

I had to force myself to finish Master and Commander my first time. Didn't try the series again for 3 years, and this only in a fit of desperation when I finished Hornblower and couldn't find anymore decent naval fiction.

Now I've re-read the series 4-5 times, and can't really be bothered with Hornblower.

It grows on you. I just had to learn to read Patrick O'Brian.

Fire Safety Doug
Sep 3, 2006

99 % caffeine free is 99 % not my kinda thing
I finished my re-read of M&C and have to retract my earlier statement about O'Brian's writing improving a lot later on – it's all there already, it can just be overwhelming the first time around when you're not used to the style. Even the "crying" wasn't as distracting.

Blue On Blue
Nov 14, 2012

Raskolnikov2089 posted:

I had to force myself to finish Master and Commander my first time. Didn't try the series again for 3 years, and this only in a fit of desperation when I finished Hornblower and couldn't find anymore decent naval fiction.

Now I've re-read the series 4-5 times, and can't really be bothered with Hornblower.

It grows on you. I just had to learn to read Patrick O'Brian.

M&C was easy, I was super excited to read that one and pretty much plowed through it within a few sittings

3 Action Economist
May 22, 2002

Educate. Agitate. Liberate.
Caught up on Jeopardy! last night's episode had a Patrick O'Brian clue.

Economic Sinkhole
Mar 14, 2002
Pillbug
This might have already been posted but I just came across this awesome site that has pretty comprehensive maps from several of the books: http://cannonade.net/index.php

Fire Safety Doug
Sep 3, 2006

99 % caffeine free is 99 % not my kinda thing

Economic Sinkhole posted:

This might have already been posted but I just came across this awesome site that has pretty comprehensive maps from several of the books: http://cannonade.net/index.php

That's cool, thank you!

I'm not sure if this has popped up somewhere along the thread but this site has translations for all the non-English expressions:

http://www.agbfinebooks.com/Publications/Perp2004/Classic/Right%20Frame.htm

i81icu812
Dec 5, 2006
So what is the best way to get the full series of these books? I know the full hardcover print has some unfortunate typos: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Aubrey-Maturin-Novels-volumes/dp/039306011X

The Lord Bude
May 23, 2007

ASK ME ABOUT MY SHITTY, BOUGIE INTERIOR DECORATING ADVICE

i81icu812 posted:

So what is the best way to get the full series of these books? I know the full hardcover print has some unfortunate typos: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Aubrey-Maturin-Novels-volumes/dp/039306011X

I've got to say, I own that edition and I've never noticed any significant errors - I can't confirm it's free of them, but there certainly weren't enough that I'd have noticed. I'm in Australia though so it's possible my version was published separately despite looking the same as the picture.

You can also pick them up on kindle, if you're into that sort of thing.

hannibal
Jul 27, 2001

[img-planes]

i81icu812 posted:

So what is the best way to get the full series of these books? I know the full hardcover print has some unfortunate typos: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Aubrey-Maturin-Novels-volumes/dp/039306011X

The softcovers form a nice set of pictures on the shelf. I have all of them on my Kindle but I've been rebuying the softcovers as I read through them again (just up to HMS Surprise) specifically for that reason.

You can see an example here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/patrick-obrians-aubrey-maturin-series-patrick-obrian/1113863780?ean=9780393339659

withak
Jan 15, 2003


Fun Shoe
I got the whole set used on ebay for ˜$80 a long time ago.

Lewd Mangabey
Jun 2, 2011
"What sort of ape?" asked Stephen.
"A damned ill-conditioned sort of an ape. It had a can of ale at every pot-house on the road, and is reeling drunk. It has been offering itself to Babbington."

i81icu812 posted:

So what is the best way to get the full series of these books? I know the full hardcover print has some unfortunate typos: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Aubrey-Maturin-Novels-volumes/dp/039306011X

Seconding Lord Bude that the hardcover set is fine. The Amazon comments definitely oversell the issues. I noticed the comments myself before I bought the books a couple of years ago, and was worried, but was pleasantly surprised once I got my hands on the books.

I think I noticed one or two obvious typographical errors over the course of the entire series, which I don't consider out of line for a 20/21 book series. The books themselves are of reasonable quality. The paper is thin, but not tissue paper, and the type is readable.

If you're an O'Brian sperglord searching for the definitive high-quality set of books to put in the middle of the shrine you built right next to the head of your bed, then these are probably going to disappoint you. If you want to read all of his books in physical form without buying used copies, these will be fine.

Molybdenum
Jun 25, 2007
Melting Point ~2622C
Mr. Midshipman Easy is pretty good so far

bondetamp
Aug 8, 2011

Could you have been born, Richardson? And not egg-hatched as I've always assumed? Did your mother hover over you, snaggle-toothed and doting as you now hover over me?

Molybdenum posted:

Mr. Midshipman Easy is pretty good so far

I found Mr. Midshipman Easy incredibly funny when I read it a little while ago. Considering that Captain Marryat seems pretty conservative, considering that he sailed with Cochrane.

Fire Safety Doug
Sep 3, 2006

99 % caffeine free is 99 % not my kinda thing
I made the mistake of starting a re-read and now I'm on to The Ionian Mission while other books lay unread and unloved. I just love the understated humor that you might even miss unless you read carefully. The part from Fortune of War where Stephen's wombat eats Jack's hat has had me in stitches for ages, and just now I got great mirth out of the scene where Stephen "practices upon" Professor Graham. "We trice 'em athwart the starboard gumbrils, when sailing by and large" is obviously a great line in itself, but I love the bit a moment later when Stephen continues showing off his nautical knowledge:

"'The xebec, or the polacre?'
'The vessel to the right,' said Graham somewhat testily."

So good!

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Murgos
Oct 21, 2010
Stephen is prone to practicing on those more lubberly than him when they put him out of sorts. Stephen does a very good explanation of wind, tides and leeway to Jagiello at one point with the purpose of scaring him about a nearby lee shore after Jagiello beats him at chess. Stephen also cheats at cards when people annoy him.

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