The first book in the ‘Aubrey & Maturin’ series by Patrick O’Brian

Before the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, there were others who wrote of the Napoleonic Wars and followed a few fighting men. However naval stories were very popular with CS Forester and Patrick O’Brian.

I read through the Aubrey/Maturin series some time ago, but with a more regular commute I decided to start from the beginning again with the audio books.

From the Book

Ardent, gregarious British naval officer Jack Aubrey is elated to be given his first appointment as commander: the fourteen-gun ship HMS Sophie. Meanwhile—after a heated first encounter that nearly comes to a duel—Aubrey and a brilliant but down-on-his-luck physician, Stephen Maturin, strike up an unlikely rapport. On a whim, Aubrey invites Maturin to join his crew as the Sophie’s surgeon. And so begins the legendary friendship that anchors this beloved saga set against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.

Review

As the first book in the series about Aubrey (a British naval ‘master and commander’) and Maturin (a surgeon who finds himself without a passage home), there is a lot of scene setting here.

Aubrey is a brash, bold and aventurous sea-captain always on the look out for prizes, and Maturin is a land lubber surgeon – through whose eyes and voice we can see and ask questions on the crew. It’s a great duo that will lead to an epic series and travels across the world.

But in Master and Commander we start small and slow with the Sloop Sophie. The ship is so small that Jack Aubrey isn’t really a Captain yet, and is instead a Lieutenant in charge of his own ship (a Commander).

When invited to board the Sophie as their surgeon, the Doctor is initially hesitant, but then he considers the new species he will see and the new places he will visit and he changes his mind. But having joined the Sophie he soon realises that Jack’s love of prizes (and prize money) and the orders of the Admiralty don’t leave a lot of time for exploring new places.

Wait… wasn’t there a film?

Well, yes there was staring Russell Crowe and directed by Peter Weir at the height of his career. And it was released back in 2003… but it wasn’t a good recomendation for the series, tried to fit in too much back story whilst simultaneously watering down the great writing of Patrick O’Brian. It was a difficult task to get the start of a 20 book series into a successful movie because it needs to be great as a stand alone movie… so there was compromise – and it didn’t work.

I re-watched it recently and it wasn’t bad… it just wasn’t the Aubrey/Maturin of the 20 book series.

Verdict

There’s a reason this series is a classic, but the first book is a little slow. There are fights in the Sophie but Patrick O’Brian hasn’t quite hit his stride and the small ship makes it difficult to write of big engagements.

But none-the-less Sophie finds herself with lots to in the Mediterranean, and her crew enjoy her cruises and are very protective of their Surgeon.

The seeds of the series are definitely here, and the two characters are wonderfully different but able to come together in such a small place to become firm friends.

Master and Commander is an essential read for the full series and if you liked Sharpe by Bernard Cornwell, but want a few less rifles, and a little more sea then I heartily recommend this series.

Check out the full list of Book Reviews we’ve done on Woehammer here

We always encourage people to shop at local bricks and mortar stores, but if your friendly local book store doesn’t have this available, we have a UK Amazon affiliate link & a USA Amazon affiliate link for which Woehammer receives a small commission.

— Declan & Eeyore