Master and Commander

Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I struggled a bit with this first book in the Aubrey/Maturin series. Listening to the recorded book by Patrick Tull, I found it hard to follow while driving in the car. While I appreciated the historical details and the witty dialogue, I found it next to impossible to keep track of any plot. So I just kind of let it wash over me, and probably have a good sense of the overall picture. But now I need to go back and read the book, and then I think more of the intricacies will fall into place. Like Jane Austen, this will probably grow on me with repeated exposure. I have heard that the first book is a bit different and a bit more difficult than the rest of the series. So I have promised myself to give it at least three books…

Description: Master and Commander introduces Royal Navy Lieutenant Jack Aubrey and his shipboard surgeon, Stephen Maturin. Overweight, too ambitious for promotion and dangerously prone to plunder, Aubrey is an extravagant, yet likeable character. Maturin, the more cultivated of the pair, would feel right at home in a novel by Jane Austen. O’Brian writes not only of the duels, the shipboard terrors and spectacular broadsides, but includes the day-to-day experiences of his characters. He is as much concerned with these men’s land-bound exploits as he is with their grander, grimmer battles at sea.