Rating: 
Summary: Great read about a terrible trip
Review: I have been reding the series through starting with master and commander. Desolation Island and The Maritius Command are both fast paced and hard to put down. the story moves along well and reding it I can see much of it is setting the reader up for future adventures with Aubrey and Maturin. Both of these books move at Sea and give great insight into political and military strategies of the Napoleonic world, but don't get overly stuck in domestic (home life) and the social mores of the day which make Post Captain an Treason's Harbor(which I read out of order) move slowly and somewhat of a struggle to read.
I have just gotten Fortune of War and hope that it will be as good as Desolations Island.
Rating:
Summary: A solid installment in the series
Review: After the disjointed Mauritius Command, I found Desolation Island a refreshing change to the plot devices that maked this series worthwhile. Instead of loosely commanding a squadron of ships as in the prior novel, Captain Jack Aubrey is again commanding a single ship here, the Leopard, accompanied by his good friend (and fascinating character), Stephen Maturin. Stephen really takes center stage in the novel, since his on-again off-again relationship with Diana is explored early, and Stephen (with his intelligence background) is intricately involved in the action of the novel as American agents are aboard the Leopard, on the verge of the outbreak of the War of 1812.Since the entire novel takes place, more or less, on board the Leopard we see more of the interaction among the characters, especially Aubrey-Maturin, an odd American stowaway, and a pretty female prisoner with ties to both Diana and the American stowaway. There is a tremendous naval battle involving a much larger Dutch ship, and a desperate detour towards the Antarctic as Aubrey fights to save his ship among calamity and possible mutiny as the Leopard races to rescue the infamous Captain Bligh. For fans of the series, there is a great deal here to like, and I thought the book was as good as anything I have read thus far by O'Brian.
Rating:
Summary: LeCarre in the South Atlantic
Review: Aubrey and Maturin are back at it again in a combination period piece, sea chase and spy story. As usual action is subordinated to the use of language and period detail although O'Brian manages to build nail-biting suspense into the story. Desolation Island begins with the two protagonists having their problems on land. Aubrey, who has become wealthy as a result of his participation in the Mauritius Campaign, is being cheated and swindled on land. Maturin again tries to contact Diana and is addicted to laudanum. Both men need to go back to sea. In this installment the duo have to transport convicts to New South Wales and retrieve William Bligh who has survived yet another mutiny. The convicts may include a spy and Maturin must use his counter-intelligence expertise. They are also undermanned from plague and must face a grueling sea chase in the South Atlantic. While the story itself is exciting O'Brian, as always, uses the novels as a vehicle to discuss universal problems with humanity. For instance, Maturin's addiction to laudanum is as relevant to day as it was when it was written and when it was set. Appropriate punishment for crime is still a question. A possibly fatal voyage to New South Wales and exile for often relatively minor crimes was harsh by our standards. Perhaps some of our punishments will seem harsh and some lenient 200 years hence. The spy story is perhaps the most crucial thread running through the novel. Maturin, an Irishman, has subordinated his dislike of English rule in order to fight the greater tyranny of Napoleon. To succeed he must employ methods that are akin to the enemy he fights. Desolation Island is in some ways similar to contemporary works by LeCarre such as The Honourable Schoolboy or The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. It is the spy story that has the most tension and provides the ultimate climax. While it has a bit of slow start Desolation Island is another solid entry in an excellent series.
Rating: 
Summary: O'Brian's height
Review: Desolation Island is one of the richest, and at the same time most easily approached, titles in the Aubrey Maturin series. I'm an avid Patrick O'Brian reader, one who's been through the series more than once, and I'm running through this one again right now at spare moments. Maybe it's heretical to suggest not starting with the first book, but Desolation Island, H.M.S. Surprise, and The Far Side of the World are the ones I recommend to people when I'm trying to get them hooked. Master and Commander is excellent, but it seems to me like O'Brian was writing for a genre audience to start with. (The historical setting is truly wonderful and the characters are a delight, but he was writing for readers who were already interested, say, in the detailed workings of the royal shipyards.) By the time he got to Surprise he had hit his stride, at least for me. The books had stopped being "Another variation on sea life during the Napoleonic age" for him, and the world he was writing just feels complete and right. Also, those three books all feature long, solo voyages. It's a simple point, but that plotline is easier for a beginning fan to understand and follow. In some ways it gets at the heart of O'Brian's writing best, too. The ship's community as a close, isolated society, the complex nature of Jack's choices as captain, Stephen's isolation with his secret life, the consolation they take in their friendship -- those elements all shine during the long voyages throughout the series. Desolation Island, as a starting point, also includes one of the most exciting, tense chases in the series. It has a full set of complex minor characters whose fates you really do care about, and it's one of those O'Brian plots that gives you a double-take or two if you don't know where it's going. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: Desolation Island was the most enjoyable book of the O'Brian series that I have read to date. I think that after reading the four previous books, I am better aquatinted with the jargon unique to British sailors of the early 1800s. This better understanding is directly linked to the more pleasurable experience I had with this book. Additionally, I am far better acquainted with the main characters. My better understanding of these characters so richly animated by O'Brian's prose made this story so enjoyable. O'Brian's character development is unsurpassed. In short, Lucky Jack and Stephen are faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges. The transport of prisoners, deadly disease, spies, armed conflict, a collision with an iceberg, to a near mutiny are among the challenges faced by our heroes face as they sail towards Botany Bay to rescue no other than Governor Bligh. This is a first rate read. You will find this very hard to put down once you crack it open.
Rating:
Summary: Series humming along
Review: I started the Aubrey/Maturin series with an audiobook version of Master and Commander and switched to print with Post Captain. At first I was a little intimidated with nautical terms and the prose, but by Desolation Island, I was firmly hooked. I looked up and I was halfway through Desolation Island and already looking forward to the following novels. Needless to say, do not start with this book, start at the beginning, for the whole series is a narrative that never really comes to a close at the end of one book. That said, looking back I think Desolation Island is the best of what I have read so far (no reflection on the later books, which are outstanding). It combines everything I love about the series, it has naval battles, interesting character development between the two protagonists, Maturin's love of natural science as well as political intrigue and other developments in the overall story. Fantastic book and maybe the highlight of the series. The chase with the Dutch 74 gun is a fine example of why I love the series.
Rating:
Summary: Cover Art
Review: I think a good word needs to be said for Geoff Hunt, the creator of all the cover art that appears in the Aubry/Maturin series. His cover paintings are not only fine art, but the nautical detail is perfectly accurate. If you want to know how ships-of-line actually looked, and under all conditions of wind and sea, then these covers alone are well worth the price of buying the entire series. Best of all, you don't need to purchase the hard cover versions, because the covers even of the paperbacks will compel the attention and analysis of the most critical historian of the era and of wind ships in general. In that respect, Desolation Island is one of the best paintings ever done showing a man-of-war working off a lee shore in calm weather.
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: 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: 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.
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