Master and Commander by Patrick O'BrianMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I thought that the historical details of the times and the ships in this book were impressive. When Jack Aubrey was ensuring that his new craft was properly stocked up with crew, food and even the guns, it was quite fascinating. As a fan of C.S. Forester’s novels about Mr. Midshipman Horatio Hornblower, I was already full of expectations for Patrick O’Brian’s novels but wary about whether I would enjoy his books as much. However, I will look forward to the next one in O’Brian’s series. This is despite the fact that many of the author’s descriptions: about various parts of the ship’s rigging, or the crew’s actions when setting sail, or preparing for a battle with the enemy (and a violent storm!) were, usually, quite a bit beyond my understanding.
At the same time, I was impressed with how well the author wrote about Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. Their friendship and professional behaviour came across so believably that it will be a pleasure to meet them both again in future books. They both play musical instruments and enjoy playing duets together on board the Sophie, their sailing vessel, whenever they get the opportunity. This is a nice touch, which well illustrates two cultured companions. Aubrey’s crew grow to respect and become fond of their captain through his actions during battle, and particularly when they learn of how much each of them will take from the spoils of his victories. This gave you some idea of how things were in the navy back then. It came as a bit of a shock to discover how much power a captain had when dishing out punishment to the seamen who failed to follow his orders and discipline. A harsh flogging with a “cat” was done quite often it seems. Master and Commander is an exciting novel with lots to learn and high expectations for the ones to follow it.
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