Rating: 
Summary: A Farewell Novel From O'Brian
Review: About five years ago I was introduced to the Aubrey/Maturin novels of Patrick O'Brian. I first read The Wine Dark Sea, and then I returned to the beginning of the series and promptly read all of the books in the series.In recent years, I have eagerly awaited the release of new books in the series. And, Blue at the Mizzen was worth the wait. The Aubrey and Maturin characters have evolved as individuals, as they have aged and had other experiences in life. Unlike most of the earlier books in the series, Blue at the Mizzen features Dr. Maturin to a greater degree than the brooding Capt. Aubrey whose concern over his future makes him more remote to both Maturin and to the reader. After O'Brian killed off Dr. Maturin's wife in The Hundred Days, Dr. Maturin surprisingly develops a romantic interest in a fellow naturalist, Christine Wood. Their romantic episode is odd, but given Maturin's character, that is not really surprising. As usual, a lot happens in this book, but as in the other books, O'Brian often unleashes the action in a understated or offhanded way. Events happen with little or no warning or with minimal discussion. The intelligence activities involving the Republic of Chile are not as clearly described, for example, as Maturin's South American intelligence activities in The Wine Dark Sea. As with other books in the series, the action sometimes is secondary to the activities on the ship, the relationships of the main and minor characters, and Maturin's focus on the birds and beasts that they encounter. Even so, Blue on the Mizzen was an enjoyable book that held my interest. How does it compare with the other books in the series? Good question. Personally, I liked it better than The Yellow Admiral, which spent too much time on shore. Unlike other reader reviewers, however, I equally enjoyed both The Hundred Days and Blue at the Mizzen. The early books are wonderful, but even these later books are very good. For someone who has read any of the Aubrey/Maturin novels, I would not suggest that you start with Blue at the Mizzen. Instead, the O'Brian novice should start with the earliest books in the series. For someone who has read the other Aubrey/Maturin novels, Blue at the Mizzen should be a "must read" book. It is the last one in the series due to O'Brian's recent death. If O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin formula is aging by book #20 in the series, it is still a fine formula that still works in #20. Blue at the Mizzen is a worthy end to the series.
Rating:
Summary: Half mast for Jack and Stephen and Pat
Review: A few years ago, I happened to be traveling in Kazhakstan, and met up with a fellow westerner. We struck up a friendly conversation when I noticed he was reading an Aubrey-Maturin novel. "Oh yes, I love them." he said, "But I've got only two more to go. And when I finish, I don't know what I'll do." I knew exactly what he meant; at least back then we could look ahead to the indefatigable Patrick O'Brian's ongoing output. But now we're done for. I read "Blue at the Mizzen" two weeks after the sad news of O'Brian's death. As I closed in on the ending, the lump in my throat had nothing to do with the resolution of the plot. And it wasn't really for the drying-up of this amazing flow of dialog and description. Like all great literature, the books will be there forever, to be re-read with pleasure and recommended to friends and family. No, it was for poor Jack and Stephen. Because by now I know well how long it takes to sail around the Horn and I could tell by the number of pages remaining that the tale would end-with the usual flurry of action-but that the two particular friends would still be standing out to sea, far from England. Like Capt. Cook, the great navigator the stories owe so much too, Aubrey and Maturin are triumphant and ever hopeful, but their bones can never rest at home. If you are a reader of the series, there is no question that you are going to read this book. The only worry is the details. Buy now, or wait for the paperback edition? I say, go for it. And be assured that O'Brian went out at the top of his form. "The Hundred Days" seemed hackneyed and tired, but "Blue at the Mizzen" has all the dialog, the detail and intrigue, all the warmth of the best of the series. It isn't quite the masterpiece some of the earlier books were, but that's just because the characterizations are so familiar that it can't stand on its own. I definitely wouldn't recommend a reader new to the series begin here. It starts in the Mediterranean, returns to England by way of Madeira, and then sails for South America to do some urgent meddling in Chilean politics at the behest of Sir Joseph Banks. Along the way, we get familiar notes from Jack and Stephen and a set of bit characters, deftly drawn, and that glorious sense of being contained in a little world on the great ocean. Finally, we get to Chile and find things are quite muddled. It will take all of Maturin's cunning and all of Aubrey's dash to sort the matter out, which of course they do. But then it ends. And, if you're like me, you'll sit for awhile and think of all the times you've been transported by Jack and Stephen-and all the Surprises. You can go back, but you can't go on. It's a fine thing, but a sad thing.
Rating:
Summary: A Good One
Review: I was pleased that this latest edition to the series was better than the last. No, not as good as those at the start or the middle but if you've read 19 so far, for goodness sake just be complete.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Miss This Series
Review: Interested reader, If you are reading these reviews, chances are good you are wondering what all this stuff about Patrick O'Brian and the "Aubrey/Maturin" series is about. Wonder no longer. "Blue at the Mizzen" represents the last volume of what is overall a rich, wonderful collection of literature. While I've read the disappointment that some have had with the last few books in the series, I respectfully offer the view of a reader who feels touched forever by the author's hand and grateful for having read this series in the first place. Once you read "Master and Commander," chances are excellent you will adopt Aubrey and Maturin to be among your favorite characters of all time. Who could not chuckle when Stephen Maturin tries yet again trying to come aboard the ship without falling overboard? Who could not envision Killick's severe expressions when Aubrey gets grease on his number one uniform, or become anxious whenever Aubrey sets foot upon land? Who could not feel the loss of a shipmate sent over the side? It is sad to note that we finally see Aubrey make his flag as we get the news that Mr. O'Brian has made his number. I believe that "Blue at the Mizzen" and all the other books in the series need to be looked at by the prospective reader in total. If you have never read from this series, start with "Master and Commander," and I will guarantee that if you like this first volume and continue through the series, you will be touched by a truly masterful hand.
Rating:
Summary: Ode
Review: Lord, save the tired sailors/ Their fingers numb with cold;/ And save their lonely families,/ Lord, save the foreign gold./ Lord, save our noble mission,/ For which the sea we ride,/ And save Patrick O'Brian/ Who has sailed the ebbing tide.
Rating: 
Summary: The last of Patrick O'Brian's books
Review: Unless there is an unpublished manuscript hidden away somewhere, this is the last book written by Patrick O'Brian who recently passed away, and fittingly the last of the saga of Jack Aubrey. The Jack Aubrey character was based on Lord Cochrane (See "the Autobiography of a Seaman" by Admiral Lord Cochrane, republished in 2000). While the early books in the Jack Aubrey series were quite good, the quality deteriorated in the later books (where he was no longer taking plot material from Cochrane's autobiography), and the author lost all sense of time, trying to cram too many novels into a three year period from 1812-1815. He then invented various assignments to keep Aubrey at sea, instead of going back (like C. S. Forester did with Hornblower) to fill in Aubrey's early career. I skipped many of the later books. The present tale would have been quite good by itself, but the author rambles and digresses excessively. He also seems to change location in the middle of sentences, and skips forward leaving the reader wondering what happened in the intervening time interval. The later part of the novel, when Aubrey arrives in Chile, gets back into historical context, and the novel seems to be set in 1819 and following years - Charles Tyng, in his autobiography "Before the Wind," relates his experiences in Chile during that time period, mentioning Lord Cochran and the presence of a British frigate. Bernard Cornwell's novel, "Sharpe's Devil" (copyright 1992) also covers the action in Chile. The present novel is OK for those O'Brien fans who want the final episode on Jack Aubrey, but it is not exactly a book which holds your attention.
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed, imperfect, and somehow a suitable ending
Review: Like many O'Brian devotees, I've been unable to wholly reconcile myself to the last four books or so. At some point, to say it succinctly, O'Brian began working by rote, or anyway that's how things felt to me. I finished reading this final book two days before the author's death. Even before the news broke, though, I had come to accept this as the last in the series. This book isn't perfect. It sometimes panders to my reverie for the series at its height. It also, though, provides us with an incomplete, compromised, very human close to things. Maturin isn't happy, though he lives in expectation of happiness. Aubrey is older, and if he's wiser he's also not as bright a flame, so to speak, as he once was. O'Brian might have described a conversation between Cello and Violin, ending with a muttered irresolute harmony as the daylight through the stern windows faded to grey. It ended that way.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent but with some gaps
Review: I deeply loved what is now the last book in the series. I was overjoyed to read Aubrey get his flag but the story line of this seemed a little disjointed at times with some event occurring with little explaination or connection. Patrick O'Brian will be sorely missed but his series of novels will live on forever.
Rating:
Summary: Farewell
Review: "After a last salute Jack glanced aloft--still the sweet west wind--and then looked fore and aft: a fine clear deck, hands all at their stations and all beaming with pleasure, and turning to the master he said, 'Mr Hanson, pray lay me a course for Cape Pilar and Magellan's Strait." Farewell, dear Jack, dear Stephen, and dear Patrick. Thank you so very much.
Rating:
Summary: is this patrick o'brian?
Review: i really can't believe Patrick O'Brian wrote this book
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