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jaceyPatrick O'Brian: Master and Commander
II must re-read some Hornblower. It's a long time since I waded my way through the whole collection, but I recall loving them. I was expecting to equally enjoy the O'Brian books and deeply disappointed when I didn't.
I know lots of people think Patrick O'Brian can do no wrong, but I just didn't like Aubrey and Maturin enough to overcome the boredom factor of a string of episodes with no overarching plot. I appreciate this is the first in a long line of highly recommended books and I'm sure things develop, but I won't be searching any of the others out.
Having said that, I appreciate that the research that's gone into recreating this world of Nelson's Navy is stellar. The detail is impeccable and the book is probably very realistic in terms of what a new captain in his first command might encounter if he was bold enough and hungry enough.
Unfortunately, for me, the episodic plot is limp and I found I was reading it only for the worldbuilding. I warmed to the Sophie (Aubrey's ship) more than to the human characters. I was determined to get to the end but it took me almost a month. From all the recommendations I've had over the years I know I'm in a minority.
II must re-read some Hornblower. It's a long time since I waded my way through the whole collection, but I recall loving them. I was expecting to equally enjoy the O'Brian books and deeply disappointed when I didn't.
I know lots of people think Patrick O'Brian can do no wrong, but I just didn't like Aubrey and Maturin enough to overcome the boredom factor of a string of episodes with no overarching plot. I appreciate this is the first in a long line of highly recommended books and I'm sure things develop, but I won't be searching any of the others out.
Having said that, I appreciate that the research that's gone into recreating this world of Nelson's Navy is stellar. The detail is impeccable and the book is probably very realistic in terms of what a new captain in his first command might encounter if he was bold enough and hungry enough.
Unfortunately, for me, the episodic plot is limp and I found I was reading it only for the worldbuilding. I warmed to the Sophie (Aubrey's ship) more than to the human characters. I was determined to get to the end but it took me almost a month. From all the recommendations I've had over the years I know I'm in a minority.
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Date: Feb. 20th, 2010 06:43 pm (UTC)