The Ionian Mission

Rating:
Summary: "My kingdom for a sheep"
Review: "The Ionian Mission" is every bit as worthy as any of the Aubrey/Maturins that came before. This time they are engaged in Jack's worst nightmare: a blockade, which is bad enough, but in this case Rear Admiral Harte is second in command. Harte is a scrub to those under him whom he doesn't especially dislike. But to Aubrey! Ugh.

But Jack gets a respite from the tedium when ordered to escort the ship captained by his old mid, now Commander William Babbington, on a mission that Harte hopes will set Aubrey up for a fall.

We're at sea. Babbington is visiting Captain Aubrey aboard the Worcester, his Dryad sailing along over there, when we are treated to one of tasty little morsels that O'Brian's sack is so full of. Babbington and Aubrey are leaning on the Worcester's rail when the quote begins:

The Worcester and the Dryad had hardly sunk the squadron's topsails below the western horizon before the sun came out and the breeze increased so that the sparkling blue was flecked with white horses.

"Buttons, the French call them," observed Captain Aubrey in his thick, cold-ridden voice.

"Do they indeed, sir," said Captain Babbington. "I never knew that. What a curious notion."

"Well, you could say that they are as much like sheep as they are horses," said Jack, blowing his nose. "But sheep ain't poetical, whereas horses are."

"Are they really, sir? I was not aware."

"Of course they are, William. Nothing more poetical, except maybe doves. Pegasus, and so on. Think of the fellow in the play that calls out 'My kingdom for a horse' -- it would not have been poetry at all, had he said sheep."

In this episode Jack re-encounters that dusky maid, Mercedes, a re-encounter that might have been a reunion if Stephen had not made the most untimely and unwelcome entrance to the Crown in his life. And it is Stephen's turn to issue the call, "Come brother. There is not a moment to lose. We must run to the boat."

It ain't all poetical and dashed hopes, however. Fate delivers to Jack his favorite ship, the Surprise. She takes on two ships in as furious a little battle as you could ever wish to see. And wins, with Bonden doing it the civil, tucking the vanquished Turk's swords under his arm with savoir faire.

Rating:
Summary: Typical Excellence
Review: Another fine book, as good as any other in the series. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Enormously satisfying
Review: Capt. Jack Aubrey of the British navy sets out on a delicate mission calling for cunning, finesse, and political acumen -- not generally his strong points, at least on dry land. With the advice of his friend, surgeon and sectret agent Stephen Maturin, Aubrey must choose which of three rival regimes to support in their conflict over a disputed territory. If he chooses amiss -- as some in the admiralty seem to hope he will do -- he faces disgrace and quite possibly bankruptcy. Can he navigate the treacherous waters of politics in the Ottoman Empire? I wouldn't dream of giving it away!

Along with the dry humor and vivid historical texture Patrick O'Brien can be counted on to provide, this book brings out depths in Aubrey's character that hadn't been apparent in earlier books. I rate this one of the best of a very good series. (They're best read in order; start with Master & Commander, if you haven't started yet.)

Rating:
Summary: Enormously satisfying
Review: Capt. Jack Aubrey of the British navy sets out on a delicate mission calling for cunning, finesse, and political acumen -- not generally his strong points, at least on dry land. With the advice of his friend, surgeon and sectret agent Stephen Maturin, Aubrey must choose which of three rival regimes to support in their conflict over a disputed territory. If he chooses amiss -- as some in the admiralty seem to hope he will do -- he faces disgrace and quite possibly bankruptcy. Can he navigate the treacherous waters of politics in the Ottoman Empire? I wouldn't dream of giving it away!

Along with the dry humor and vivid historical texture Patrick O'Brien can be counted on to provide, this book brings out depths in Aubrey's character that hadn't been apparent in earlier books. I rate this one of the best of a very good series. (They're best read in order; start with Master & Commander, if you haven't started yet.)

Rating:
Summary: The early 19th century goes forever on...........
Review: Did I really find it hard to get started? Once I thought that it was difficult to follow Hornblower. Before that I thought it was difficult to start Hornblower. How little I knew. Life is full of interesting turns,in mine as in Aubrey's as he finds out in this episode of his life. I will not spoil the Surprise for you. After long years Harte makes his appearance once more, and with his lack of Aubrey's panache, comes to his own end. In the meanwhile Stephen makes yet another coup in Greece. The book is pure pleasure in the Mediterranean sunshine. The speed of the action and the vista that are created. The need to look into the maps and charts to see the location and how accurately PO'B had surveyed it - even down to the location of the rocks and islands. This follows the tradition. It is a joy to read. As usual one looks for the sequel so as not to miss a beat.

Rating:
Summary: The early 19th century goes forever on...........
Review: Did I really find it hard to get started? Once I thought that it was difficult to follow Hornblower. Before that I thought it was difficult to start Hornblower. How little I knew. Life is full of interesting turns,in mine as in Aubrey's as he finds out in this episode of his life. I will not spoil the Surprise for you. After long years Harte makes his appearance once more, and with his lack of Aubrey's panache, comes to his own end. In the meanwhile Stephen makes yet another coup in Greece. The book is pure pleasure in the Mediterranean sunshine. The speed of the action and the vista that are created. The need to look into the maps and charts to see the location and how accurately PO'B had surveyed it - even down to the location of the rocks and islands. This follows the tradition. It is a joy to read. As usual one looks for the sequel so as not to miss a beat.

Rating:
Summary: Skip this one
Review: I have read all of the books up until this one, and this one is definitely the worst so far. In fact, it makes me wonder whether I will continue to read the series.

The book is misnamed. The Ionian mission is only the last fourth of the book. The first three-fourths is a very boring description of two battles that came close to happening but never did.

The Ionian mission itself is fairly confusing with all of the personal names and place names bandied about. Jack Aubrey, as in most of the other books, is burdened with an extremely difficult mission. He must decide who to support in some kind of three-way civil war. He makes the wrong choice, but then is called away to fight another party who has seized some British vessels. Talk about deus ex machina!

There is nothing of much interest that happens in this book. Stephen Maturin doesn't really do anything interesting in the espionage line, and Professor Graham is a bore. The final battle scene is as predictable as most of the others--Jack Aubrey wins against all odds because he is a good captain. I recommend skipping this one if you are reading through the series. I would bet that Patrick O'Brian did not spend very much time writing this. In fact, it seemed like bits and pieces patched together to form a "novel."

Rating:
Summary: Another Helping of Plum Duff!
Review: Not familiar with Aubrey and Maturin? Patrick O'Brian's nautical series is a MUST READ, especially the narrated audible version narrated by Patrick Tull. The hours just seem to slip by, as you listen to the gritty, amusing and stoic account of the dynamic duo's life on the high seas during the Napoleonic era.

This novel (book 8), finds Aubrey and Maturin in the Greek Islands, in a sub-standard 'ship of the line' called the Worcester. The crew must cope with boredom, storms, and an inscrutable Scottish moralist, Graham. In particular I found the parts with the old Admiral and his little pug dog particularly moving. This novel is a MUST read for fans of nautical fiction.

Entertainment in its purest form.

Rating:
Summary: Puddings Triced Athwart the Gumbrils
Review: Patrick O'Brian continues his series of wonderful novels about the Royal Navy in the age of sail. I am amazed how he is able to continue to construct fresh interpersonal dynamics to keep the plot lively. I continue to be impressed with his ability to convey vivid images and emotions of his characters. Those who have served in the military will sympathize with O'Brian's characters through his great descriptions of how leaders wrestle with leadership and endure bureaucracy. Anyone unfamiliar with his work should start with the first in the series, Master and Commander.

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.