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I got stuck on the second one where they start out like a Jane Austen novel. And yeah, the terminology. |
Which it is the *official* Aubrey-Maturin thread for salty sea-dogs, for all love • Page 4
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Tonka 31,779 posts
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Rodney 4,963 posts
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Registered 14 years agoThe first half of the second book basically is a Jane Austen novel.
O'Brien was a big fan of Austen so I don't think this is an accident and I often describe the series as Jane Austen but with more guns and decapitations.
The character bits are my favourite parts though and the second book sets up some of the main characters for the rest of the series as well as establishing the dynamic between Maturin and Aubrey proper (there's a storyline between them in the first book that I always think seems out of place compared to the rest of the series).
The books are genuinely laugh out loud funny as well. -
DasBooter 530 posts
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Registered 15 years agoNo Doctor, the *starboard* side..
Never gets old -
Rodney 4,963 posts
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Registered 14 years agoSo many good lines.
'...they have chosen their cake, and they must lie in it'
'you mean, they cannot have their bed and eat it'
'No, no, it is not quite that, neither. I mean - I wish you would not confuse my mind, Stephen' -
Rodney 4,963 posts
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Registered 14 years agoI also love the ongoing joke that Jack keeps making shit jokes that make Stephen roll his eyes.
Edited by Rodney at 07:58:42 01-06-2020 -
TechnoHippy 18,993 posts
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Registered 18 years agoActually I've just realised that I've seen the film, but not read any of the books. I will have to remedy that. -
brokenkey 10,943 posts
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Registered 19 years agoThe film is fantastic. I'm sure its even better if you've read the books because the characters are so well translated from the source. -
dmj 1,081 posts
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Registered 17 years ago“Jack, you have debauched my sloth!”
H.M.S. Surprise would be my pick for a starting point. Master & Commander is very much a standalone, I think, and I don’t love Post Captain (is it the weakest of the series?) but parts of it are fantastic. -
Rodney 4,963 posts
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Registered 14 years agoI think Master and Commander was written as a stand alone story, and after its success O'Brian had to almost reboot the story to make it into a series.
HMS Surprise is probably more readable, and a good place to start, but Id recommend reading a few chapters of Master and Commander or Post Captain first and if you enjoy them stick with them.
It's not essential to read as a series as the books stand on their own for the most parts, but it's still better to read as a series, I think. -
Armoured_Bear 30,320 posts
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Registered 9 years agoI read and loved the first 4, all were a capital read, but then my interest tailed off, I should try again. -
dmj 1,081 posts
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Registered 17 years agoI’d definitely recommend reading the first two but not, um, first necessarily. I mean, it’d be fine if you did but others work better as a starting point, I think.
Desolation Island was the first I read, and that’d work really well (I still rank it first or second overall in the series). -
Rodney 4,963 posts
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Registered 14 years agoHmm, not sure. you'd miss the sloth. -
dominalien 10,454 posts
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Registered 15 years agoAnd so the EG forum strikes again. On Sunday I had no idea who Patrick O’Brian was, now I have four of his books. Not the first one, though, I’ve started on Post Captain. It’s not very nautical so far, but I am enjoying it. Just like Captain Aubrey likes the company of women who, I now know, are very different to men.
Excellent stuff. -
Rodney 4,963 posts
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Registered 14 years agoStick with Post Captain it gets more nautical towards the end then pretty much stays that way through the other books. -
dominalien 10,454 posts
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Registered 15 years agoI have now read to the point where it’s not Gosford Park any more. I like it even more than I did before.
Edited by dominalien at 14:54:52 02-06-2020 -
Rodney 4,963 posts
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Registered 14 years agoGive joy to you, sir
Edited by Rodney at 21:49:11 02-06-2020 -
coastal 5,432 posts
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Registered 15 years agoThere's a number of books on Thomas Cochrane, the inspiration for Aubrey, but this is a pretty good one: Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain -
Rodney 4,963 posts
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Registered 14 years agoThe Cochrane books good, and I'd also recommend "Britain's greatest Frigate Captain" about Edward Pellow.
An admiral with a similarly interesting story as Cochrane's.
I think I liked it particularly because he grew up poor in Cornwall (where I grew up), and crewed his ships with Cornish miners who spoke the Cornish language and dialect so no one else could understand them -
Blancrabello 32 posts
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Registered 4 years agoBeen lurking for some time but when I saw this thread I had to comment. An excellent book series, with fantastic writing. He doesn't pull his punches explaining how the corridors of power worked at the time. Desolation Island is also my favourite. And I can also recommend the audio book series read by Patrick Tull. You can often find them all online. He really does bring the books to life. I'm currently listening to the wine dark sea. In my second trip through them all. Get involved! -
There are a couple of BBC radio plays which are really good. Links earlier in the thread, if they don't work I might have a local copy I can share.
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