Customer Reviews

Desolation Island #5

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been reading the Aubrey-Maturin series straight through, from the first volume. While it has one of the most exciting battle scenes and some of the absorbing problems to be solved I've yet
encountered, this is also, untimately, the most frustrating of the first five volumes. Jack Aubrey, having given up his commodore's pendant at the end of the Mauritius campaign, is back to being a post captain, this time commanding the slow, aging _Leopard_ on a voyage to relieve the embattled Gov. William Bligh in Australia. For reasons of state security, he must also transport a batch of convicted felons, among whom is an American women strongly suspected of spying for the United States, and he must deal with an intellectual young man who has stowed away aboard to be close to Mrs. Wogan. Virtually the whole story takes place aboard the one ship, so the author has the opportunity to investigate his characters in great depth -- always one of his strongest points. The only real naval action, a prolonged stern chase in horrible weather, in which _Leopard_ must flee from the much stronger _Waakzaamheid,_ a Dutch 72-gun ship, is absolutely riveting, as is its sudden and tragic resolution. Then there are the icebergs. But when the book ends, _Leopard_ is still a thusand miles or more from New South Wales and Bligh is nowhere in sight. "Ah," I thought, "it's a two-parter." But it isn't, because I peeked at the next volume. I don't believe O'Brian has enitirely played fair with the reader this time, and it annoys me not to know what happened in the rest of Aubrey's commission.

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.

When fans of the master gather to discuss his works, there are two or three pieces of writing that are recalled with fondness and admiration. One of them concerns an episode of Nineteenth Century punishment in The Reverse of The Medal, movingly described and often read aloud by Patrick Tull, of audiobook fame.

But the other occurs in Desolation Island as Jack's ship, the horrible old Leopard, and the Dutch Waakhamzeid engage in an epic duel across the wastes of the Southern Ocean. For sustained conflict, ever-rising tension and a shattering, moving climax, there is nothing else like it in O'Brian's many books. It is, quite simply, superb.

The rest of the book is O'Brian at his best. Stephen hatches a devious plot to do with naval intelligence, Jack sails the ship and the rest of the familiar cast of characters make us feel at home aboard. For those who want to keep track, this is the book where O'Brian leaves his "standalone" format, and embarks on a multi-book adventure that continues through The Fortune of War and The Surgeon's Mate before Jack and Stephen are free to take their ease in England once again.

And, in his own inimitable style, O'Brian tells us some of the background to the War of 1812 between the USA and the UK, in which the horrible old Leopard plays a crucial part.

My verdict? Read it, for all love!

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin return in "Desolation Island", Patrick O'Brian's fifth installment in his critically acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series of novels, on a mission to rescue Admiral William Bligh from yet another mutiny in New South Wales, Australia. It is a mission fraught with much excitement and peril, since Aubrey's ship, the elderly fourth rate H.M.S. Leopard, is chased by the Dutch warship Waakzaamheid through frigid, uncharted waters between Africa and Australia. Without a doubt, this is one of the most suspenseful chapters in the Aubrey/Maturin saga; it is also my personal favorite. I concur with a previous reviewer who sees a strong resemblance between this novel and those of British espionage novelist John LeCarre.

As with the previous four Aubrey-Maturin books, this one is well-written. Humor abounds, and the richness of character is beautifully done. It's also similar to the other four in its paucity of action. Alexander Kent's Bolitho series and Dudley Pope's Ramage tales are much better for vivid action, and include the same level of detail that O'Brian used so well. I plan to read the rest of this series, partly because I enjoy the interplay between the main characters so much. One minor point that grows irritating as the books go on: O'Brian used "cried" as a verb much too often, would have been nice if someone had mentioned that to him as constructive criticism early on. Overall, though, "Desolation Island" is recommended reading.

Volume 5 is O'Brian at his most adventurous and thrilling. In blessed escape from shore duty, Capt. Aubrey is tasked to carry convicts and a captured spy to the penal colony of Australia in the old Leopard. This story (the first in the long Pacific voyage sub-series) contains what I think is the most memorable and thrilling chapter in the Aubrey-Maturin saga. It's an exhausting stern chase by a "Flying Dutchman" that reaches a nightmarish peak through monstrous gale-wracked waves in an iceberg-laden sea, the Leopard threatening at any moment to be pooped or to broach to at the slightest error of judgment or chance. The cover painting hardly catches the terror of this episode, prodigiously evoked by O'Brian. The rest of the story isn't too shabby, either, as we see life ashore at home and shipwrecked, with Maturin pursuing love and his best natural studies. You must, of course, start with Volume 1 (Master and Commander) or even the two earlier and pre-Aubrey sea novels (Golden Ocean and Unknown Shore). The first five Aubrey-Maturin novels may also contain the onshore romance and domesticity matters of keenest interest to readers of historical novels who are not enamored of heroic seafaring and salty sailors.

I get these books in hardcover because I plan on reading them again, but the pb seem good quality, too, and both printed in an attractively antique typeface.

O'Brian has warmed up to his characters in Desolation Island, especially Dr Maturin. Maturin's fascination with exotic creatures, both animal and human, his addiction to opium, his activities as a spy, and his tragic losses in love make him the more interesting of the two main characters. But it was the cliff-hanger ending which forced me to head straight for the library to obtain book 6 in the series on the day that I finished Desolation Island.

This is my favorite so far, but each one gets better than the last. I highly recommend Desolation Island.

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.

In the fifth in Patrick O'Brian's brilliant nautical series, old friends Captain Jack Aubrey and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin are aboard the Leopard sailing the Atlantic bound for Cape Town and beyond. However, their mission is interrupted by the appearance of a nemesis, the Dutch ship Waakzaamheid, more powerful in guns and men than the Leopard, whose captain seems to read Aubrey's mind and stays one move ahead in a long-running tensely-scripted chase through the south Atlantic and into the frigid 'forties'. As usual, O'Brian's spare prose and mature style effortlessly summon the sense and spirit of life aboard a British man o'war in the early nineteenth century. The characters, all of them, are fully drawn with human weaknesses and occasional bursts of greatness. Like many of O'Brian's tales, "Desolation Island" is rooted in true nautical history. It is a taut and compelling story, full of tense naval action, with a subtext of espionage and the smile-raising scientific activities of Stephen Maturin.

A really gripping read. O'Brian's books are best when there's tension among the crew, and that's definitely the case here.

But be warned: if you've never read any of O'Brian's novels, they're not always an easy read. I lent this book to a friend, telling her it was a real page-turner. A week later she said, "Ok, I give up, where's the good part?" I checked: turns out the action doesn't really start until page 160. But it's worth the wait...