The Unknown Shore

Rating:
Summary: Suffering on an Unknown Shore
Review: Suffering, suffering and more suffering on an unknown shore; cast onto the rocks just Northwest of the Horn these two friends, little more than children, must endure the terrible hardships of mariners unlucky enough to run aground half a world away from home. Jack and Toby are the best of friends in a time in human history when death was preferable to dishonor. Patrick O'Brian is the kind of writer that makes us care about these young men and their shipmates enough to read through an incredible ordeal. Yes we can see the blue print for the Aubrey and Maturin characters of later O'Brian books, but that is not what makes this a great work. O'Brian's writing depicting a cold and far off land filled with a unremitting savagery and a loneliness that would break the hardest heart is what kept me turning the pages of this wonderful book. If you enjoyed the Aubrey and Maturin books, you will love The Unknown Shore. If you have not read any Patrick O'Brian before, please start with this one. You will not be disappointed