Rating: 
Summary: The last finished book in the series , but not "the end".
Review: Three years ago I picked up a hardcover copy of this book in a bargain bin at a local booksellers , not realizing that this was book #20 in a 20 book series. Although I enjoyed it , I wasn't really able to get into the story line very well , since the author had the habit of making clever asides referring to actions in previous novels. Now 3 years later I find that I have read 16 in the series. They must be addictive!In this novel , which is set shortly after the triumph of the allies over Napoleon at Waterloo , Jack Aubrey and his particular friend , Stephen Maturin find themselves on the way to Chile under secret orders to assist the Republican rebels in their efforts to break away from Spanish rule , locally enforced by the Viceroy of Peru. The dear old "Surprise" has been converted to a hydrographical survey vessel to provide thinly veiled cover to the mission. As a cast of characters , we are sadly missing Barrett Bonden , but have a new young face in the person of Horatio Hanson , the bastard son of the Duke of Clarence (heir to the British throne). We are given a brief glimpse of Bernardo O'Higgins , commonly accepted as the liberator of Chile. Upon arrival in Chile , Jack Aubrey sets about building and training the nucleus of a new and independent Chilean navy , a daunting task. The action line is centered about the intervention of the Spanish Viceroy of Peru , and the Peruvian navy's 50 gun ship. Aubrey boldly devises a plan to neutralize the Peruvians , and basically succeeds in his mission. In the line of personal involvements , Aubrey seems very morose and rather out of his usual sorts throughout the tale. Later , this is identified as "flag sickness" , or worry about being "yellowed". On the other hand , Maturin seeks the hand of the lovely Africa based naturalist Christine Wood. And in this vein , the novel leaves the reader hanging as to the outcome. The unfinished 21st novel is due for publication later this year ; I am hopeful that we are able to at least see where the outcome of this fine series was intended. As a final sidebar--I suggest that the reader also consider reading "Sharpe's Devil" by Bernard Cornwell as a parallel to this book. Even tho' this was not my favorite book in the series (Desolation Island or Treason's Harbor are the best) , I liked it well enough to rate it 4 stars. I suggest what several other reviewers have also stated : that one should really read the series from the start.In that manner , they flow together more seamlessly.Recommend.
Rating:
Summary: And so we bid farewell to our dynamic duo . . . .
Review: Until the very last couple of pages in this twentieth and last volume of the Aubrey-Maturin saga, I was unsure of the implications of the book's title. But I was pleased to find that Jack's "flag-sickness" has been appeased. With the Napoleonic wars ended, the captain of the SURPRISE has had to go to revolutionary Chile to find ways of continuing to build his reputation, this time in the development of the infant republic's navy. There is a fine ship-to-ship action against a much larger Spanish vessel, and all the usual trials and tribulations of beating around the Horn. Moreover, the recently widowed Dr. Maturin has a much larger part this time even than usual, in his slightly odd pursuit of Christine Wood, widow of the governor of Sierra Leone and a noted naturalist in her own right. A mid-life crisis? We don't know how all that will turn out, unfortunately. It's sad that there will be no more installments to the story, but this is a reasonably satisfying conclusion.
Rating: 
Summary: "Blue" that it's over-
Review: Who knew that early 19th century Naval history could be so exciting?
Girls, don't be afraid to read these books--I was a little intimidated, and boy, was I ever WRONG. Those who have compared O'Brien to Jane Austen are right on target. He could have written about sailors, soldiers or salesmen---as long as they were named Aubrey and Maturin, you can bet the stories would have been pure gold. But take a lesson from a previous reviewer--READ THEM IN ORDER!! And, if you have trouble with the nautical terms, like I did, get a copy of Dean King's "A Sea of Words", which does an excellent job of explaining them.
Never have I been as chagrined as when I reached the final page of "Blue at the Mizzen". It was as perfect an ending as could have been, and although the fates of Aubrey and Maturin are now left to the imagination, thanks to O'Brien, we have a rich treasury with which to create their final outcomes.
| 
