Rating: 
Summary: A bit more character than adventure
Review: Number two in the Aubrey-Maturin series. No sophomore slump here; O'Brian's a master with this historical sea novel. That's not to say that O'Brian's method isn't strange. I'm not sure, but I believe that he is consciously imitating a novelistic style used in the 19th century. Of course there's the letters, which accurately depict the style of that time's correspondence, but the stylistic differences are in the descriptive text, things like strange jumps in time and character. Maybe it's a British mode of expression, for two writers who do similar "jumps" that come to my mind are Gwyneth Jones and Mary Gentle. O'Brian's speed is also slightly off--he rushes through great battle scenes that one expects to be the climatic portions of the book, then leisurely strolls through descriptions of teas and late night discussions by the fire. Coul it be that I'm yearning for more "adventure" and less "character"?It is the character studies of Aubrey and Maturin that fuel the book. What happens to Jack Aubrey is important, yes, but it is how he reacts to it and how Stephen Maturin reacts to his reaction, etc., that makes these books so appealing. If I seem to yearn for more adventure, perhaps it is simply that while I enjoy what O'Brian is showing me with his characters, that I still long for the thrill of a well-told battle or escape from the enclosing walls of a conspiracy. For as much as a character novel this is, it is the historical verissimilitude and the intrigue of the day that interests a modern reader. In short, they complement each other, and in this volume I felt a little extra weight over in the character side of the scale.
Rating: 
Summary: Splendid Sophomore Outing For Aubrey And Maturin
Review: I was sucked into the Aubrey/Maturin series after reading "Post Captain", discovering the virtues of O'Brian's prose and his fictional rendering of the Napoleonic wars nearly a year and a half before it became popular here in the United States. This is truly the novel where the celebrated Aubrey/Maturin friendship takes off, whereby Maturin shows that he is Sherlock Holmes to Aubrey's Doctor Watson (Or perhaps, for a more contemporary analogy, Spock as opposed to Captain Kirk.). Maturin comes across as an elegant, erudite spy, working on behalf of Sir Joseph Banks, the chief of British naval intelligence. Meanwhile Aubrey finds himself in a debtor's prison in France and escapes just as Western Europe plunges into war again. Eventually he will find himself rewarded with a promotion to Post Captain and a new ship command. Once more O'Brian's elegant, descriptive prose shows a unique side of British life not shown in prior naval fiction series; indeed, it is truly his homage to Jane Austen's fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Jane Austen and sea-battles
Review: I must begin by confessing my undying love of all things Patrick O'Brianesque. I have read and reread his books, working my way through his canon from beginning to end and taking solitary excursions via audiobooks as the fit takes me. It is nothing for me to turn up at work after listening to a chapter or two, my words all antique, my phraseology rolling like the ocean, and my heart full of good cheer. This second book of "the Aubreyad" is the most like Jane Austen's genteel tales of manners in the England of two centuries past. There are grand houses, elderly admirals, single young naval officers possessed of fortunes, and delightful young ladies. Romance is in the air before the book is fairly begun. And yet there is another side, or rather sides. War and battle and financial problems interfere with the grand pursuit of love. Humour is everpresent, in the language, characters, settings and ships. The incompetent footpad who writes out an incredible recruiting poster. The scene with the bear. The verbal abuse in the middle of a battle of a sweet young lady disguised as a ship's boy. It is also a complex maze of relationships. We do not meet Molly Harte again, but we encounter her cuckolded husband and his hatred of Jack Aubrey. The wonderful Diana Villiers makes her first appearance in these pages, eventually resulting in a severe quarrel between Captain Jack and his "particular friend" Stephen Maturin. Sir Joseph Blaine, the master of British Naval Intelligence and a rare collector of beetles plays a discreet game in the bureaucratic corridors of the Admiralty. And there is action a-plenty at sea. Battles and chases, rigging and running, storms and ships. Just open the book and you will be part of the crew.
Rating:
Summary: A delicate hand at history
Review: About a third of the way through Post Captain, I began to grow a little impatient. "Why can't Aubrey and Maturin get to sea again," I wondered. "All this gallivanting around, dodging bill collectors, competing for the affections of rose-cheeked English lasses - it wears on one." But after reading about the press gangs, the foxes and hounds, the merchant class and their conduct at parties, it became clear that O'Brian had widened his narrative scope. No longer would this series be merely about two men and their friendship aboard a fighting ship; the author couldn't be content with reproducing the prior success of "Master and Commander." And in fact, one gains a rich and carefully-crafted vision of the times and the customs of 1803 England, just before and after the breaking of the Peace of Amiens. Though the novel is imbued with history, you needn't refer to a textbook if your recall is rusty - O'Brian takes you there, he shows rather than tells, and in the end you'll feel like you'd lived through the historical moment in question, along with the good Captain and his faithful Doctor. A very pleasant way to take your history. I especially liked the part where Aubrey finds a dermoid, carefully concealed in Maturin's pistol holster! What a character!
Rating:
Summary: Post Captain
Review: A richer and more textured novel than Master and Commander, Post Captain relies less on the curiosities of British Naval trivia and more on personalities and human interactions. There is a wider range of characters and less focus on shipboard banter and swashbuckling. The single shortcoming I can identify is that a few characters have a wooden quality. In particular, those that O'Brian has marked as negative. This is far from fatal, merely a bit tiresome. By and large, O'Brian offers a stirring vision of maritime England during the Napoleonic Wars, one that has the aura of authenticity. Unlike the first Aubrey/Maturin work, which concentrated almost exclusively on the sea and port life, Post Captain is better paced. When the major naval engagement takes place well over halfway through the book, the reader has been carefully set up for the dramatic change in rhythm. After hundreds of pages that dwelled increasing upon the human flaws of a declining Jack Aubrey, I found myself quite moved by the gripping depiction of heroism and personal recovery in the face of bad luck and poor judgement; a metaphor for real life. We can see in Jack Aubrey's fearless and selfless behavior under stress what we would like to believe lies hidden within ourselves, waiting for the opportunity, perhaps in a crisis situation, where we can, in flash, redeem all our past weakness and failure. I look forward to many more in the series.
Rating:
Summary: WARNING! - One bite and you're hooked
Review: This is the book that got me addicted to Patrick O'Brian and the Aubrey-Maturin series. I'm now half way through this amazingly consistent series of books and there's no way that other reading won't suffer until I've completed it. Truly wonderful writing that requires no effort except for the number of somewhat weary days I've suffered as a result of late nights with reading lamp on.
Rating: 
Summary: Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson of the Sea
Review: "Post Captain", unlike most sequels, far exceeds it's predecessor. For one thing, the character of the doctor takes shape; some of his mysterious history is revealed, and he plays a crucial part in the action. We come to respect his evident brilliance as his work behind the scenes, in love and in war, moves much of the story. In addition, there is a lot more humor and I actually laughed out loud at some of the jokes. I understood them, a big improvement in either my reading abilities or the narrative. Jack is revealed to be a very poor punster, and some of his puns are so stupid as to be quite funny. The friendship between the two men is much more central in this book than in the first. Like Sherlock Holmes and Watson one is smart and the other not, but the authority figure is reversed. It makes for a very interesting relationship, though not entirely unique in literature. (Stretching the point, I think that I have seen a similar relationship on Star Trek with Spock and Captain Kirk!) I liked this book well enough to recommend it to anyone. I would give it a 3.75 on a 5-star scale.
Rating:
Summary: O'Brian's Masterful Tribute to Jane Austin
Review: "Post Captain" is O'Brian's tribute to Jane Austin, a good mix of life at sea and the English countryside in the first decade of the Nineteenth Century. And I agree entirely with the previous reviewer in that "Post Captain" is where the real love affair with O'Brian often begins. (In fact, I didn't get the way through M&C until after I had read "The Fortune of War.") The fact is, M&C does not have the pacing of the later books, and is understandable. It is the first book in the series; O'Brian himself was just getting comfortable with the tale. He seems to get into a rhythm only near the end. And this rhythm and command is seamlessly carried over into "Post Captain," as evidenced in the very first page. If you're not hooked from that point on, then you're not the reader you thought you were.
Rating:
Summary: Why did I wait to read this?
Review: I read Master and Commander some time ago but resolved to read the series. Once I picked up Post Captain I berated myself for the delay. What a great read. Besides the humor, the mesmerizing plot, and the excellent character development I was captivated by the insight into the British culture two-hundred years ago. Assuming that O'Brian has it right, it is amazing that one arm of the government labors to enforce the law and put Aubrey into prison while the Admiralty sends him out to enrich the King's coffers. Overall a truely great book -- with a great finish!
Rating:
Summary: The most complex Aubrey/Maturin novel...
Review: I made a serious mistake when I first read the Aubrey/Maturin books: I read them out of sequence. Thus, when I first came to "Post Captain" which is the 2nd in the series & sets up many themes in the novels to come, I already knew how dilemmas would be resolved. This contributed to a feeling of irritation the first time I read it, especially as much occurs on land in a Jane Austen-esque style. This time around I am re-reading all 20 books in order, & I find "Post Captain" to have many nuances I overlooked the first time. It is one of the funniest books in the series. There are some scenes (such as Maturin's first arrival on deck of Aubrey's acting command the "Lively") in which O'Brian's dry humor will have you in stitches. Of course this is also the novel in which Maturin contributes his much-quoted explanation for the term "dog-watch". The consequences of Pulling's celebration on being made lieutanant are hysterical; but in the dense plotting of "Post Captain" these moments are leavening to the sense of a lee-shore looming in the distance. If you are currently reading the Aubrey/Maturin novels, you don't need a recommendation to get "Post Captain". Just take my advice & don't read this book out of sequence if possible. If you are thinking of starting this series, do so with "Master & Commander". You'll be happy you did!
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