Rating: 
Summary: A solid addition to the best historical novel series ever!
Review: Appreciation of novels -- like music, movies, and just about every thing else -- is ultimately a subjective experience. I have loved the Jack Aubrey-Stephen Maturin novels for many years, reading (and re-reading) each new entry in the series with interest. "Blue at the Mizzen" may possibly be the last novel in the series, if what Patrick O'Brian said a few years ago is true. I hope that is not the case but if it is, then "Blue at the Mizzen" would serve well enough as the end. I won't spoil the plot for anyone, but I will say that it advances the stories of the two central characters to new levels. I don't claim that "Blue at the Mizzen" is the finest book in the series, but I found it solidly satisfying, with a good number of the typical small scenes of delight which characterize the O'Brian novels. If there is little music in this book compared to previous novels in the series, there is compensation to be found in the revival of Stephen Maturin's spirits after the sorrowful events of "The Hundred Days." A new character of considerable charm and appeal makes an appearance amidst the expected familiar faces. I don't know whether I would recommend "Blue at the Mizzen" to someone not familiar with the Aubrey-Maturin books (those people I tell to start at the beginning with "Master and Commander"), but I do think that any fan of the series -- even those disappointed with the gloomy atmosphere "The Hundred Days" -- will enjoy this new book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not to be read unless you've read all the others
Review: I am a confirmed Forrester/Hornblower fan, and received this book for Christmas. I'd read the reviews about wonderful characterization and historical accuracy, and expected a treat. Not so. Although I had read Master and Commander years ago, this was my first O'Brian in recent memory. I did not find his characters especially detailed, nor the narrative very well done. It was a good adventure story, but much of the time I was lost as to why such and such a thing was done, or who this or that person was. I'm sure having read the books in order would help greatly, and I imagine some day I will do that. At the moment, though, this book doesn't come close to Forrester for characterization, detail, and true nautical enjoyment. There is too much skipping of key points, few sensible transitions, and a giant question left unanswered at the end of the book. If you haven't read Forrester's Hornblower books, I recommend them instead. At the very least, don't start with this one, but with Master and Commander, and continue in order from there!
Rating:
Summary: What happened?
Review: I listened to the tape version. This was mistake number one, as another reviewer noted on this site. Mistake number two, also mentioned several times by other reviewers, was making this my virginal experience with this author. Frankly, I was totally lost. Maybe that freeway driving had something to do with it also (I listen in my car).I can tell from the other reviews that this is a series for special interest people only, and that the whole series should be digested, from the beginning, not from the end. Steven's love affair, such as it was, I couldn't understand. I did gather that he had a daughter and was a widower. And whatever happened to that young fellow, the lord's adopted son, who came on as the helmsman? Well, as I say, it was all just a little abstruse. But unlike one other reviewer, I thought the book was well read on the audio version. The reader didn't have a great diversity of voices, as some other readers do, but he did have passable accents for his Spanish and English characters. Also, I did learn something about the war between Peru and Chile. I was able, occasionally, to imagine being aboard the Surprise.
Rating: 
Summary: Historical fiction doesn't get much better than this series.
Review: I'm reviewing, here, the entirety of O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, because I consider it to be essentially one novel. The first, and most astonishing, strength of this series is in its characterization. Not only are the contrasting, yet inseparable, friends Jack and Stephen believable, appealing, vividly human characters, but they change realistically through time. To the reader, they appear as "real" people with "real" lives, perhaps more so than some of the the flesh and blood ephemera around us. The secondary characters, too, shine -- Killick is priceless. Research, of course, is O'Brian's other great strength. It's not only the ships, about which he seems to know everything. There's no aspect of the period -- food, dialect, religion, music -- in which he does not seem to be well versed. And he conveys this information to the reader in interesting ways, rather than encumbering the text with massive info-dumps. One often overlooked bright spot in this series is its humor. Too often historical fiction has a self-consciously grim quality. O'Brian can be grim -- crushingly depressing, in fact --but... "Swiving Monachorum". Action and battles are not, strangely, this series' strongest point. When we get them, they're great, but too often they are skipped over or told in a distant third-person viewpoint. But the worst here is still very good indeed. I would recommend reading all of these, in order, starting with the first one, right away, as soon as you possibly can. It's true that The Hundred Days marks a low point -- I agree with the reviewers who cite O'Brian's loss of his wife as the reason -- but Blue at the Mizzen, under which I've posted this review, marks a triumphant return of the author's powers.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This Series
Review: Interested reader, If you are reading these reviews, chances are good you are wondering what all this stuff about Patrick O'Brian and the "Aubrey/Maturin" series is about. Wonder no longer. "Blue at the Mizzen" represents the last volume of what is overall a rich, wonderful collection of literature. While I've read the disappointment that some have had with the last few books in the series, I respectfully offer the view of a reader who feels touched forever by the author's hand and grateful for having read this series in the first place. Once you read "Master and Commander," chances are excellent you will adopt Aubrey and Maturin to be among your favorite characters of all time. Who could not chuckle when Stephen Maturin tries yet again trying to come aboard the ship without falling overboard? Who could not envision Killick's severe expressions when Aubrey gets grease on his number one uniform, or become anxious whenever Aubrey sets foot upon land? Who could not feel the loss of a shipmate sent over the side? It is sad to note that we finally see Aubrey make his flag as we get the news that Mr. O'Brian has made his number. I believe that "Blue at the Mizzen" and all the other books in the series need to be looked at by the prospective reader in total. If you have never read from this series, start with "Master and Commander," and I will guarantee that if you like this first volume and continue through the series, you will be touched by a truly masterful hand.
Rating:
Summary: Joint Review of All Aubrey-Maturin Books
Review: Some critics have referred to the Aubrey/Maturin books as one long novel united not only by their historical setting but also by the central plot element of the Aubrey/Maturin friendship. Having read these fine books over a period of several years, I decided to evaluate their cumulative integrity by reading them consecutively in order of publication over a period of a few weeks. This turned out to be a rewarding enterprise. For readers unfamiliar with these books, they describe the experiences of a Royal Navy officer and his close friend and traveling companion, a naval surgeon. The experiences cover a broad swath of the Napoleonic Wars and virtually the whole globe.
Rereading all the books confirmed that O'Brian is a superb writer and that his ability to evoke the past is outstanding. O'Brian has numerous gifts as a writer. He is the master of the long, careful description, and the short, telling episode. His ability to construct ingenious but creditable plots is first-rate, probably because he based much of the action of his books on actual events. For example, some of the episodes of Jack Aubrey's career are based on the life of the famous frigate captain, Lord Cochrane. O'Brian excels also in his depiction of characters. His ability to develop psychologically creditable characters through a combination of dialogue, comments by other characters, and description is tremendous. O'Brien's interest in psychology went well beyond normal character development, some books contain excellent case studies of anxiety, depression, and mania.
Reading O'Brien gives vivid view of the early 19th century. The historian Bernard Bailyn, writing of colonial America, stated once that the 18th century world was not only pre-industrial but also pre-humanitarian (paraphrase). This is true as well for the early 19th century depicted by O'Brien. The casual and invariable presence of violence, brutality, and death is a theme running through all the books. The constant threats to life are the product not only of natural forces beyond human control, particularly the weather and disease, but also of relative human indifference to suffering. There is nothing particularly romantic about the world O'Brien describes but it also a certain grim grandeur. O'Brien also shows the somewhat transitional nature of the early 19th century. The British Navy and its vessals were the apogee of what could be achieved by pre-industrial technology. This is true both of the technology itself and the social organization needed to produce and use the massive sailing vessals. Aubrey's navy is an organization reflecting its society; an order based on deference, rigid hierarchy, primitive notions of honor, favoritism, and very, very corrupt. At the same time, it was one of the largest and most effective bureaucracies in human history to that time. The nature of service exacted great penalities for failure in a particularly environment, and great success was rewarded greatly. In some ways, it was a ruthless meritocracy whose structure and success anticipates the great expansion of government power and capacity seen in the rest of the 19th century.
O'Brian is also the great writer about male friendship. There are important female characters in these books but since most of the action takes place at sea, male characters predominate. The friendship between Aubrey and Maturin is the central armature of the books and is a brilliant creation. The position of women in these books is ambiguous. There are sympathetic characters, notably Aubrey's long suffering wife. Other women figures, notably Maturin's wife, leave a less positive impression. On board ship, women tend to have a disruptive, even malign influence.
How did O'Brian manage to sustain his achievement over 20 books? Beyond his technical abilities as a writer and the instrinsic interest of the subject, O'Brien made a series of very intelligent choices. He has not one but two major protagonists. The contrasting but equally interesting figures of Aubrey and Maturin allowed O'Brien to a particularly rich opportunity to expose different facets of character development and to vary plots carefully. This is quite difficult and I'm not aware of any other writer who has been able to accomplish such sustained development of two major protagonists for such a prolonged period. O'Brian's use of his historical setting is very creative. The scenes and events in the books literally span the whole globe as Aubrey and Maturin encounter numerous cultures and societies. The naval setting allowed him also to introduce numerous new and interesting characters. O'Brian was able to make his stories attractive to many audiences. Several of these stories can be enjoyed as psychological novels, as adventure stories, as suspense novels, and even one as a legal thriller. O'Brian was also a very funny writer, successful at both broad, low humor, and sophisticated wit. Finally, O'Brian made efforts to link some of the books together. While a number are complete in themselves, others form components of extended, multi-book narratives. Desolation Island, Fortune of War, and The Surgeon's Mate are one such grouping. Treason's Harbor, The Far Side of the World, and The Reverse of the Medal are another. The Letter of Marque and the ensuing 4 books, centered around a circumnavigation, are another.
Though the average quality of the books is remarkably high, some are better than others. I suspect that different readers will have different favorites. I personally prefer some of the books with greater psychological elements. The first book, Master and Commander, is one of my favorites. The last 2 or 3, while good, are not as strong as earlier books. I suspect O'Brian's stream of invention was beginning to diminish. All can be read profitably as stand alone works though there is definitely something to be gained by reading in consecutive order.
Rating:
Summary: Farewell Admiral Aubrey and Dr. Maturin
Review: Thanks to the late Patrick O'Brian for wrapping up the series on an up note. I grew as a mariner with each book in this series from a landlubber to...maybe a ships boy. Patrick O'Brian brought this incredible era of honor, corruption and raw bravery to life for me with this historically accurate series. Now that I'm reading the memoirs of the Admiral that Jack Aubrey is based on, I'm finding that much of the action in these books really happened as Mr. O'Brian tells it.
Rating:
Summary: End of the Adventure
Review: The end of a great book always produces a letdown for me so it was a double whammy to realize as I turned the last page of Blue at the Mizzen that it was book-series-match. Reflecting back on the 20 Aubrey-Maturin books that I had read and the timeless quality of the characters, plots and historical background that brought these books to life only deepened my depression. And when I considered the tracks that O'Brian artfully laid down in this book to carry him into yet additional Aubrey-Maturin books--I decided that I needed a brandy. Patrick O'Brian is undoubtedly one of the few true masters of historical fiction and a polymath with incredible literary talent.
Rating:
Summary: End of an Era
Review: The final installment in O'Brian's smashing 20-volume nautical series has an unfinished feel. In the final pages we finally learn about Jack's career move --though the answer is given away by the book's title-- and this is something he has fretted over for several books now. But many other plot threads remain hanging, most notably that of Stephen's marital status. The previous book involved the sudden, unexpected and unmourned deaths of several key characters, and this one leaves a dozen or two other secondary characters wholly unfinished. It feels as though the elderly O'Brian had meant to write another book or two to bring Aubrey and Maturin back to England for the final denouement, but perhaps his energy failed him.
In any case, this is another excellent story. With Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo, the "Surprise" must refit after suffering damage in a collision before making her way on her long-delayed voyage to Chile. The action and intrigue in Portugal and Chile are wonderful. As always, Stephen Maturin's wry humor, brought out by the author's sublime prose, leaves the reader smiling. Another wonderful story, but it just doesn't feel like it was meant to be the last one.
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.
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