Customer Reviews

Nutmeg Of Consolation #14

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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The book arrived on time, and in the condition it was supposed to be. I would definitely use this seller again!

Continues in the superb vein that O'Brian has established in his earlier books in the Aubrey/Maturin series. Filled with fascinating tidbits of information about the South Seas and the early 19th century. I loved it

Let's face it, all of Patrick O'Brian's novels in this series are wonderful. The Nutmeg of Consolation is no exception. If you have gotten this far in the series, there is absolutely no reason to stop now. This one takes place primarily in the South Pacific and Australia, and therefore does not have much in the domestic life of Aubrey and Maturin. The novel opens when they are stranded on an island in the South Pacific. Adventures naturally ensue, and ultimately, they find themselves in Australia, clashing to a certain extent with the locals. All in all, a completely enjoyable novel, filled with the humor, the action, the human drama that we come to expect in the Aubrey-Maturin series. Enjoy.

Did you ever listen to Tim Pigott-Smith do these in the audiobook format? I cannot read these ever again as he elevates the experience of these lusty sea-ditties to new heights! He brings them alive with a fabulous array of dialects, voices, genders, etc. From Aubrey's gusty command voice to Maturin's Irish whine to Killick's gutter-snipe cockney it's a whirlwind of adventure on the high seas. And..if you need to know... the Nutmeg is a risen-from-the-ocean-floor Dutch merchantman that's fitted out with enough firepower to attempt to take on (through devious Aubrey machinations) a French Man-o-War and there's a reunion with the Surprise!! Keep em' coming and sail the blue with Mr. Smith every time! "Bare-away", Mr Killick, "Bare-away".

The Nutmeg of Consolation finds our friends about halfway through a circumnavigation that began 2 books ago. This is the story of their travails in extreme south east asia. The story deftly builds on earlier plot lines and concludes several angles in an almost shocking manner.

This is a book that must be read in the context of all the others that came before. I have read the series through book 19 and have read them in order. As many, many other commentators have mentioned, this series is really one book with twenty chapters (e.i. the individual books) and should be read in order. Not only does this help understand the chracters but allows the reader to move along with the protagonists and understand their reasoning.

The series is masterful and one easily begins to understand the somewhat obscure jargon and period expressions. However, I have benefited from the growing cottage industry in companion books to this series, especially Dean King's "A Sea of Words". This is a good guide to fully appreciating the scope and breadth of these beautifully written novels.

Hopefully you have read a few books in this series before you get to this one. A lot of them make you very glad not to have lived in these times. This one is very winsome, I almost wanted to be there.

This is another in the "Aubrey/Maturin" series. As with previous books by O'Brian, it is somewhat technical in that he writes in a 17th century sea captin language. This is an excellent story and once you get use to the prose, it is quite a page turner