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Product Review Summary: O'Brian starts over One of the better of the series, perhaps because, as O'Brian explains in his introduction, he has mined out the history books for dramatic sea stories of the time, so is turning to strictly fictional action for this book.
This time, Aubrey's beloved Surprise, apparently headed for the boneyard, is instead drafted to try to cut off an American war ship before it turns the Cape of Good Horn to prey on English whalers. Through doldrums and storms, he comes up short, which takes the chase into the South Seas where a dramatic rescue of Aubrey and Matarin from a tiny coral outcrop and the stranding of the pair with a small contingent from the Surprise on a not-quite deserted island makes for some fine dramatic and comic writing (and reading!).
Eleventh in the series: [[ASIN:0393309606 The Reverse of the Medal]]
Product Review Summary: Great Novel! This was perhaps one of the best novels in the series. For those that enjoyed the film, loosely based on this book and others from the Aubrey-Maturin set, the book is far greater than the movie. I greatly enjoyed this volume in the series.
Product Review Summary: Not one for the time capsule The 10th book in the Aubrey-Maturin seagoing series. This was my least favorite so far in the series. O'Brian's books are always episodic, rather than plot-driven, but this story seemed even more of a collection of random incidents than usual. In this book, the Surprise is sent to protect the British whaling fleet in the Pacific. Along the way, there's adultery, a murder, a shipwreck, sharks, a lesbian band of runaway Polynesian women, and much, much more. Maybe O'Brian had writer's block and a deadline when he wrote this one, or maybe he was just "having us on."
Product Review Summary: Unexpected plot twists and delightful travelogue make this my favorite O'Brian novel so far I am working through Patrick O'Brian's famed Aubrey-Maturin series in order, and am both proud and sad to say that I've reached the midway point with Book 10, "The Far Side of the World." But it is without reservation that I say that this is my favorite novel in the series so far.
Part of that enjoyment stems directly from my enjoyment of first nine books in this series - this is not an example of one sterling novel in a series of sub-par efforts. Rather, I appreciate "Far Side" for the new directions where O'Brian is willing to take the characters he has established so well.
The first nine novels can be safely broken down into "Aubrey novels" or "Maturin novels". The "Aubrey novels" have plots that follow the personality of Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey - they are action packed, with taut sea-chases and horrific broadsides. "Master & Commander" and "The Mauritius Command" fall into that category. The "Maturin novels," on the other hand, focus their plots on Dr. Stephen Maturin and his spy-games. "The Surgeon's Mate" is one of these novels. While all the novels feature the classic O'Brian love of language, their plots tended to focus on one over the other.
"Far Side" takes a new tack, as in this novel Aubrey is charged with tracking down an American frigate, the "Norfolk," that is harrassing British whalers in the Pacific. So there is lots of sailing - they have to get to the Far Side of the World, after all. O'Brian reveals himself as a travel writer of surpassing skill as he describes the wild sights that enchant the naturalist Maturin, including the Galapagos Islands. For the nature-lovers in O'Brian's cast of characters, the thought of spying a new type of beetle is just as romantic a notion as encountering a pod of eighty-ton sperm whales.
In addition to some spectacular travel writing, O'Brian musters up fights, murder, mayhem, shipwrecks, and even the sub-plot of Aubrey and Maturin winding up lost at sea, only to be rescued by seafaring Polynesian/Amazonians. The novel twists and turns, but always seems both plausible and restrained. Look for a lot of humor and touch-and-go action in this novel, and the novel's conclusion is highly satisfying and yet leaves one panting for Book 11, "The Reverse of the Medal."
Be warned - despite its title, this is not the sole O'Brian novel that was used to make the fantastic Peter Weir movie, "Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World." That movie borrowed several plots and ideas from many different novels in the entire series - you will surely recognize some of them in this book, but not all. For fans of the movie, this is a good thing - it will encourage you to read all the other novels as well. And you will be glad you did.
Product Review Summary: O'Brian is one of the great treasures in modern literature Give these stories a chance! I credit the recent film "Master & Commander" with making the O'Brian series more accessible. One of the best films I have ever seen, it provided a visual context for me when I read the Aubrey/Maturin books. Though the film departs quite a bit for good reason from "The Far Side of the World", I thoroughly enjoyed the book and O'Brian's style of writing. Especially memorable for me was the unorthodox method O'Brian applied for conclusion of the book. Victory is in the air, and he dispenses with the need to drag the book out unnecessarily. Brilliant and revelatory to me!
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