Patrick O'Brian Books

Very impressed with this book. I really enjoyed when they went to Peru. This is my 3rd of his books and really enjoyed this.

From the opening chapter of "The Wine-Dark Sea," the 16th book in Patrick O'Brian's hallowed Master & Commander series, the reader knows that something special is going on. Aubrey and Maturin sail their privateer, the Surprise, into waters made lethal by an erupting volcano that has just emerged from the sea, spewing lava and death. No other writer could so effortlessly blend natural beauty and naval drama (for an enemy American ship is close by).

"WDS" is a rollicking novel, even if it is one of the shorter books in the series. There is plenty of naval action, both as the Surprise matches broadsides with enemy ships as well as fighting through the icebergs of Cape Horn. Maturin is also charged with a daring political mission as he attempts to finance a coup in Peru - an enterprise that sends him fleeing over the Andes and minus a few toes.

And then there are the characters. And what characters! O'Brian seems to work overtime to get almost every beloved minor character shoe-horned into this book, and nobody minds.

This is definitely a book that should be read in its proper order - you will miss too much back story if you dive in right here, although if you do you will surely love the action and gorgeous travel-writing O'Brian brings to bear.

Grab Master & Commander and start sailing!

Wine-Dark Sea is the sixteenth in Patrick O'Brian's wonderful 20-part nautical series. It is also the final in a four-part mini-series, as volumes thirteen through sixteen are an ongoing circumnavigation of the world. In this installment, Aubrey and Maturin and the HMS Surprise finish their adventures in the Pacific, land in Peru and then round the Cape into the Atlantic on their way home to England. For fans of the naval wars, there are some good 'ol rip-roaring chase and battle scenes. The Maturin crowd will find their hero high in the Andes examining wildlife and carrying on his intelligence activities. A wonderful worthy addition to O'Brian's series.

. . .without first reading Truelove. Wine Dark Sea is the 16th
book in the Aubrey/Marturin series and as usual, the writing
is as rhythmic and sensual as the sea itself. O'Brian does his
usual great job of spiking the plot with layers of meaning and
twists and turns. He is also at his best in emphasizing the
'novel' part of his historical-novel niche.

If this is your first experience of the series though, you might
find the characters and motivations a bit hard to follow, especially
since so much groundwork was laid in Truelove. Some diehard
fans may be disappointed by transport of so much of the action
from the sea to the mountains.
Still any O'Brian is better than no O'Brian at all and this is one of
the best books in the series.

--Lynn Hoffman, author of New Short Course in Wine,The and
bang BANG: A Novel ISBN 9781601640005

"The Wine-Dark Sea" is the immediate precursor to "The Commodore", chronicling the final exploits in the Surprise's mission to the Pacific and the west coast of Spanish America. Aubrey chases a French privateer, the Franklin, commanded by a wealthy Frenchman, Dutourd, an early advocate of communism, that has seized several British merchantmen in the South Pacific. Imprisoned aboard Surprise, Dutourd tries to befriend both Aubrey and Maturin, but is rebuffed by both. Aubrey transfers him back to the Franklin, but Dutourd escapes and hides unseen aboard Surprise, which is taking Maturin to the West Coast of South America. There he will be reunited with Aubrey's illegimate African son, Sam Panda, a local Roman Catholic priest. Maturin tries to forment a revolt amongst some of the local clergy and military against the Spanish monarchy, but before the revolt can commence, he is warned by others that Dutourd has escaped from the Surprise. The revolt is cancelled. Maturin must undertake a perilous trek across the Andes, suffering severe frostbite, before he is reunited with his shipmates. Aboard Franklin, Aubrey leads his crew in a desperate struggle against a French pirate warship. This is yet another exciting installment in the Aubrey-Maturin series, and among the most suspenseful.