The Voyage Ends - Completed the Master & Commander Series

About six years ago I discovered Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. It was when the movie based on the books came out. From the previews, the movie looked like one I'd enjoy...action, adventure, thrilling naval battles; and I was curious to read the book before seeing the movie.

That book was like no other I'd read before. It engaged and challenged me as a reader, immersing me into the time period and action of the story. Many historical fiction authors write their characers' dialogues in modern language, but not O'Brian. His characters speak like they would have at the dawn of the 19th century. Add on the unfamiliar vernacular of a ship's crew and the occasional Latin or French phrases and there's a learning curve.

It wasn't easy at first but the more I read, the more I enjoyed O'Brian's writing style and mastery of story telling. I yearned to discover what would happen next. I was hooked and became an avid reader of the series. I even started catching myself wanting to use language from the books in regular conversations some times.

So why did it take me 6 years to finish? Life happens. I typically read 2-3 in a row then took a break. These aren't books to be read in 10 minute bites, so I'd wait to start the next one until I knew I could devote time to reading. And along the way I read other books, including O'Brian's biography.

Sadly, O'Brian passed away while writing book #21. His unfinished manuscript of nearly 3 chapters was published posthumously. I don't know if O'Brian intended it to be the final book of the series, but those three chapters make it seem so. Events are going well for Aubrey and Maturin (professionally and personally) and it's easy for a fan of the series to picture them living out their lives happy in their pursuits. O'Brian would've kept them busy, of course, and thrown a few twists in their paths. It was a premature but fitting end to the series.

I got a little melancholy while reading the last couple books, knowing that the end was approaching. Now that I'm done, I miss the characters and their thrilling adventures. At some point I'll go back and re-read select books, maybe the whole series. I've already listened to the audio book version of Master and Commander. That was fun because I got to hear how many words I'd been pronouncing wrong in my head. For now, I'm going to read one of O'Brian's pre-Aubrey/Maturin naval adventures, The Golden Ocean.

The Truelove

This weekend I finished reading The Truelove (aka Clarissa Oakes outside of the US). It's the 15th book in Patrick O'Brian's excellent Master and Commander series which I'm a huge fan of. There are 20 books in the series so I'm now 75% through...not counting the 21st book that O'Brian was working on when he died.

I like to read 2 or 3 Master and Commander books in a row to keep the story flow going then I'll read something else for a while. Otherwise I start talking like an early 19th century British naval officer and my wife looks at me funny...well funnier than usual. This time I read The Kite Runner and then The Mysterious Island during the break. The Mysterious Island takes place in the same part of the world as The Truelove (only about 50 years later) which got me in the mood to start the series again.

In this one, Aubrey's ship, the Surprise, is en route from Australia to South America when he receives new orders to stop a French attempt to take over the fictional island of Moahu. In addition, they are to recover the British whaler, Truelove, which was captured by the French. He also has to deal with an escaped woman convict (Clarissa Oakes) who one of the midshipmen smuggled on board while in Australia. Most of the book covers the events during the voyage to Moahu. Clarissa's presence on the ship creates tension among the officers which affects the entire crew's morale as they prepare for the upcoming battle.

The story telling was top notch as always. Not much combat action in this one but there were several sub-plots expertly woven in that defined this book and connected it to the overall series story line. O'Brian continued his style of abrupt endings that come too soon. I don't know why the publishers renamed the book for publication in the US. Clarissa Oakes is a more fitting title since so much of the plot revolves around her.

I suspect Jack is going to start having serious health issues soon. He's always been a heavy eater and his career is tough on the body. Maturin spent more time tending to him in this one. I'm sure he'll turn out fine though...he has 5 1/2 more books to star in. Up next: The Wine-Dark Sea.