Rating: 
Summary: Riveting Action
Review: In the fifth in Patrick O'Brian's brilliant nautical series, old friends Captain Jack Aubrey and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin are aboard the Leopard sailing the Atlantic bound for Cape Town and beyond. However, their mission is interrupted by the appearance of a nemesis, the Dutch ship Waakzaamheid, more powerful in guns and men than the Leopard, whose captain seems to read Aubrey's mind and stays one move ahead in a long-running tensely-scripted chase through the south Atlantic and into the frigid 'forties'. As usual, O'Brian's spare prose and mature style effortlessly summon the sense and spirit of life aboard a British man o'war in the early nineteenth century. The characters, all of them, are fully drawn with human weaknesses and occasional bursts of greatness. Like many of O'Brian's tales, "Desolation Island" is rooted in true nautical history. It is a taut and compelling story, full of tense naval action, with a subtext of espionage and the smile-raising scientific activities of Stephen Maturin.
Rating:
Summary: High Seas Adventure!
Review: Jack Aubrey and his sidekick Doc Maturin (or is Aubrey the sidekick?), are off to the other side of the world to deliver convicts to the penal colony of Botany Bay. In this segment Aubrey's leadership skills and Doc Maturin's skills at intrigue are put to the test, as the crew of the Leopard must face icebergs and a vengeful Dutch Captain. Maturin is involved in an interesting love triangle, and we get an amusing glimpse into the life of Missus Aubrey, the twins, and Jack's son.
What can I say? I love Desolation Island. I listened to the unabridged audio version narrated by Patrick Tull, and found myself enjoying it immensely. Aubrey is such a jolly fellow, one cannot help but love him, and Maturin is such a fun, and at
times a very deep character.
My only disappointment is that I wish Aubrey had a better relationship with his wife. Sophie is sweet but her relationship with Jack seems unfulfilling to him. (I won't even GO there about Maturin's dismal love life). I trully feel sorry for them both. Also, I never quite get how old Aubrey and Maturin are supposed to be. They are described as being "Old" but this is never explained. Ohwell. These peeves are minor. This is a great series of books. Especially great in unabridged audio format.
Not to be missed. =-)
Rating:
Summary: Aubrey's and Maturin's Desperate South Seas Voyage
Review: Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin return in "Desolation Island", Patrick O'Brian's fifth installment in his critically acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series of novels, on a mission to rescue Admiral William Bligh from yet another mutiny in New South Wales, Australia. It is a mission fraught with much excitement and peril, since Aubrey's ship, the elderly fourth rate H.M.S. Leopard, is chased by the Dutch warship Waakzaamheid through frigid, uncharted waters between Africa and Australia. Without a doubt, this is one of the most suspenseful chapters in the Aubrey/Maturin saga; it is also my personal favorite. I concur with a previous reviewer who sees a strong resemblance between this novel and those of British espionage novelist John LeCarre.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best of the Aubrey-Maturin books
Review: Just finished all 20 books in the O-Brian series and am heading straight back to "Desolation Island," my personal favorite of the lot (although I loved them all). This one just took my breath away. The chases, the shipwreck, the weird Arctic world provided many an interesting night of reading for me as I ate my usual snack of Raisinettes and flipped the pages. Just superlative writing with a superlative plot.
I'm an old dame, never into army-war-fighting-military-type books, but after finishing the O'Brian series, I'm reading to join the navy (as long as I don't get sent to Iraq).
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Yet
Review: O'Brian has warmed up to his characters in Desolation Island, especially Dr Maturin. Maturin's fascination with exotic creatures, both animal and human, his addiction to opium, his activities as a spy, and his tragic losses in love make him the more interesting of the two main characters. But it was the cliff-hanger ending which forced me to head straight for the library to obtain book 6 in the series on the day that I finished Desolation Island. This is my favorite so far, but each one gets better than the last. I highly recommend Desolation Island.
Rating:
Summary: Best in the Series
Review: Obrian's series is one of the most amazing historical novel series around. It is to be noted that some readers, expecting non stop action, are stumped by the depth and nuance. Some compare Obrian to Austen, I compare reading his books to savoring a hot drink on a cold night beside a crackling fire. This book is, in my opinion, the best in the series, though it is difficult to imagine reading it apart from the others. The stern chase scene is to me as the best single action sequence I have ever read, if not the best writing period.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Engaging O'Brian Book
Review: Of all the books in the Aubrey-Maturin series, I definitely loved this one the most. I read it in one weekend because I simply could not put the book down. In this work, O'Brian explores the response of the sailors under a set of difficult, discouraging circumstances - from an outbreak of deadly fever to being pursued by a much larger, deadlier enemy. After all the strain & stress on the sailors, the ultimate challenge comes as it appears that the ship is on the brink of sinking. Many of the sailors' courage & honor warms your heart as you read feverishly in order to know whether or not they will survive.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Engaging O'Brian Book
Review: Of all the books in the Aubrey-Maturin series, I definitely loved this one the most. I read it in one weekend because I simply could not put the book down. In this work, O'Brian explores the response of the sailors under a set of difficult, discouraging circumstances - from an outbreak of deadly fever to being pursued by a much larger, deadlier enemy. After all the strain & stress on the sailors, the ultimate challenge comes as it appears that the ship is on the brink of sinking. Many of the sailors' courage & honor warms your heart as you read feverishly in order to know whether or not they will survive.
Rating:
Summary: JUST GETTING INTO THE SWING OF IT
Review: ONE OF THE BEST YET. I AM JUST NOW GETTING INTO THE SWING OF THE LANGUAGE NUANCES. YOU BETTER KEEP AN UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY AT HAND THOUGH.
Rating:
Summary: Another masterful work from O'Brian
Review: One of the more suspenseful books in O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series. Also one of the grimmest. Much of the book details a naval chase in perilous seas with a gut-wrenching outcome. O'Brian's shipboard characterizations are further deepened. Jack's brief recollection of how the sailors once convinced young Babbington he was pregnant is a howl. And it is a throw away idea caught in a brief paragraph. O'Brian seems to have an infinite supply of nuance and human insight. Desolation Island is more than seafaring genre, this is a masterful work that can stand with some of the best contemporary fiction.
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