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From Amazon
This segment of the Aubrey saga is set in Malta, where the captain's "small, sweet-sailing frigate" is undergoing repairs. The island, however, is swarming with Napoleonic agents, which means that Stephen Maturin must do everything in his power to avert sabotage. A typical O'Brian cocktail of action and intrigue.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
This novel, the ninth installment of 20 in what is certainly the greatest series about the British Navy ever written--indeed, one of the most successful of its magnitude ever written in any genre--is not well served by its reader. Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre actor Pigott-Smith has an appropriately English accent, but his characters' voices lack consistency and sensitivity to the subtleties of O'Brian's pen. In this recording, the swashbuckling Captain Aubrey and the ironic, stealthy Stephen Maturin, his ship's surgeon, do not step onto the stage of the Napoleonic wars as the nuanced heroes O'Brian's readers have come to know over three decades. Pigott-Smith's Maturin lacks compassion; his Aubrey lacks intelligence. The narrative turns from nefarious intrigues in Malta to an amazing mission in the Red Sea and back again, but the drama is conveyed with neither satisfying variation of tempo nor ringing cadence. While O'Brian's devotees will find all the naval and historical details they usually delight in, they will despair at hearing how this production tramples upon his genius in portraying shockingly real characters in an utterly foreign, far-off time. Based on the Norton hardcover.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most entertaining books in the series so far,
This review is from: Treason's Harbour (Paperback)
This installment, like the rest of this series so far, is suspenseful, funny and populated with characters that seem very real. One new character, Laura Fielding, is admirably faithful to her imprisoned husband, and is, in general, a very likable character (and one that charms both Stephen and Jack). The Middle Eastern setting of this book is exotic and very vividly described. Stephen's adventures in his new scientific marvel, the diving bell, are both funny and interesting. Jack's encounters with Laura's massive dog Ponto are hilarious. The end of this book is very suspenseful because the reader has come to really care about the characters involved. The most notable thing about this book is what a great job O'Brian did of keeping this series fresh by bringing in new locations, characters and situations. O'brian did a great job of not letting this series fall into predictable formulas and repetition. The only failing of this book is that the very end is just a little disappointing and O'brian leaves the reader hanging much more than in the previous books.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unfinished Business,
By richard_t "richard_t" (Overseas) - See all my reviews Two-thirds of the way into "Treason's Harbour", readers will finally hear about the capitulation of the town of Marga, which Aubrey's crew was besieging in "Ionian Mission". Similarly, in this book we never learn the fate of the Fieldings, he a naval officer escaped from a French prison to return to his wife and she with reputation ruined by Maturin's espionage machinations. This is a letdown, because we've spent so much time learning about them and watching Maturin considering their fates. We never learn the denouement of the Zambra mission but are left hanging after Aubrey has confronted three French vessels, this too is disappointing because the naval actions in this book are subdued, far less gripping than in other installments. "Treason's Harbour" is a good book, skipping along with O'Brian's intelligent prose and complete ease with maritime matters, but is not wholly self-contained. The diving bell is fun, but this reader is still wishing to know about the Fieldings. The plot bobs and eddies but never quite runs out before the pages do.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Highlight of the Series -- So Far...,
By A Customer
This review is from: Treason's Harbour (Paperback)
This is the ninth book in the Aubrey/Maturin series and it stands as one of the best, in my opinion, and nearly a rival for "Desolation Island." With all due respect to most of the other reviews here, this book had me riveted and quite moved by the end. Maybe it has something to do with the main setting: Malta, Eqypt and the Red Sea. Some people may be bored by it. I felt the story played across the desert landscape quite beautifully. This is a gripping read, full of political and personal intrigue, great atmosphere, science (Stephen and that damned diving bell) and pitch-perfect characterizations, especially of the two principal protagonists. While Maturin is usually treated more three-dimensionally in the books, it is rare to see Aubrey as fully. Here you have him whole, and powerfully heroic.
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