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Captain Jack Aubrey sets sail for Cape Horn, determined to intercept an American frigate before it can wreak havoc on the British whaling trade. As always, he is accompanied by intelligence operative Stephen Maturin, and as always, Aubrey has no idea of what his companion is up to. Another impeccably written adventure, by the end of which you should be able to identify a mizzen topsail in your sleep.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Review
'!full of the energy that comes from a writer having struck a vein! Patrick O'Brian is unquestionably the Homer of the Napoleonic wars.' James Hamilton- Paterson 'You are in for the treat of your lives. Thank God for Patrick O'Brian: his genius illuminates the literature of the English language, and lightens the lives of those who read him.' Kevin Myers, Irish Times 'In a highly competitive field it goes straight to the top. A real first-rater.' Mary Renault 'I never enjoyed a novel about the sea more. It is not only that the author describes the handling of a ship of 1800 with an accuracy that is as comprehensible as it is detailed, a remarkable feat in itself. Mr O'Brian's three chief characters are drawn with no less depth of sympathy than the vessels he describes, a rare achievement save in the greatest writers of this genre. It deserves the widest readership.' Irish Times
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding.,
By David Wayne Porges (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Far Side of the World (Aubrey Maturin Series) (Paperback)
Patrick O'Brian is at fever pitch in this novel, the 10th in the A/M series. The action begins with the Joyful Surprise hitting the coast of Brazil, rounding the Horn, cruising the waters off Chile up to Juan Fernandez and the Galapagos, then heading west for the Marquesas, all in pursuit of the elusive Norfolk, an American frigate making trouble for British whalers. Aubrey's task is to stop her, if the mighty Horn and Pacific typhoons don't stop him and his resolute crew first.O'Brian's descriptive power is almost overwhelming as he takes us on this journey into the unknown, for, indeed, not much was known of the Pacific then. It's almost as if we see it for the first time, too, in all of its infinite beauty, expansiveness and danger. At this point in the series, O'Brian has me caring about these characters way too much for my own good. All of them, down to the ship's goat, are so well drawn in The Far Side of the World that it's almost heartbreaking for me to think there are only 10 books to go. When I get there, there will only be one place to go -- back to # 1, to enjoy it all over again.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Twists, Subtle Language,
By richard_t "richard_t" (Overseas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Far Side of the World (Vol. Book 10) (Aubrey/Maturin Novels) (Hardcover)
The tenth volume in O'Brian's wonderfully intelligent nautical series finds Captain Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in Gibraltar, still aboard the Surprise. Their mission is to track an American ship down the Atlantic and on to the largely uncharted Pacific whaling grounds. While "Far Side of the World" contains none of the heart-pounding muzzle-to-muzzle naval battles that readers have come to expect in O'Brian's stories, it contains lots of imaginative plot twists nonetheless. A strange and tragic love triangle, a raft full of primitive lesbians, Maturin's disappointing visit to the Galapagos, and an oddly gripping denouement as the Surprises confront their American nemeses. The book is entirely afloat, with pit stops to refit, but no extended periods ashore with family or engaged in intelligence affairs. Maturin's friendship with Dr. Martin, a naturalist parson, provides comic relief at every turn.O'Brian never fails to please. This book smoothly picks up where the last one left off, and leaves a thread or two dangling to launch the next volume. As always, the writing is brilliant and spare, the characters complex and developed, and the adventures well-researched, founded in British naval histories. Another great voyage.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best in the series,
By Noah Count (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Far Side of the World (Aubrey Maturin Series) (Paperback)
I first discovered this series in the Grenadines almost twenty years ago when only the first two volumes were generally available in the US. Since, then, I've decided to read the entire series in order. This is not one of the best of O'Brian's efforts. The book starts out promising, with excellent sections on Brazil and Cape Horn but as the Pacific looms closer, the bones of the plot start to show. If I read of another improbable rescue of the principals, I may not have the fortitude to continue the series. Add to that a showy locquacity and the usual courtly pretensions of the Tories and you end up with what for me became a disappointment. I'm already well into the next volume and find it much more engaging.
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