Desolation Island (Patrick O'Brian)

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: 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: 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.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most touching of these human dramas at sea.
Review: Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series is a special genre unto itself. I can only compare it to Jane Austen with sea legs and a jolt of testosterone! O'Brian offers a unique and realistic insight on human nature.

In this book, Maturin's fruitless pursuit of love has brought his spirit to new lows. His friends fear for him; even he, as a physician, fears for himself. But his secret agent role brings a new lease on life. He is assigned to get the details of the newly fledged American intelligence service from a convicted American agent - who just happens to be a beautiful woman, strongly resembling Diana, the object of Maturin's hopeless love.

In the course of this voyage, Captain Aubrey comes to a sudden realization of the true horrors of war, and Dr. Maturin finds the generosity of spirit to enjoy and mentor vicarious love. With a long and suspenseful chase on the water, a witch on board, and a "Jonah" to boot, this is one of the best yet.