The Ionian Mission (Aubrey/Maturin Novels, 8) (Book 8)

This was a gift and he seemed to enjoy it.

As is sometimes the case in the Aubrey-Maturin series, the plot does plod at times. I find the discussion of Jack's home life and woes on land to be tedious. I guess we always want think of Aubrey as the Russel Crowe version: large and in charge. His gullibility and financial irresponsibility knock holes in this image. This does serve to develop his character and makes the difference between the at-sea Jack and the landsman Jack that much more striking.While it does take some time to get to the climax of the book, with a lot of diplomatic effort Jack and Stephen do get there, and one thing O'Brian excels at is narrating battles and chases at sea.

This is my favorite author and genre. If you ever liked the Hornblower books you will love these. One reviewer said "This is Jane Austen on a ship of war, with the humanity, joy and pathos of Shakespeare — and brilliantly written." I agree. The dialogue is very authentic which can be a problem. "A Sea of Words" by Dean King can help with the strange terms and background that will help, and King's Harbors and High Seas will provide an atlas and geographical guide to the 20 book series. O'Brian's knowledge of the royal navy in the age of sail compares to Tom Clancy's knowledge of modern warfare.

There wasn't a lot of action in this story, but it was interesting nevertheless. I have become a big fan of Stephen and Jack!

It is one volume of an amazing sea saga, beautifully written, so real I hear the creaking of the wooden sailing ship as I read about it. The characters are so well developed they become part of the reader's life. I get the feel of the arts of sailing and warfare during the Napoleonic era. I learn about politics and medicine and biology during these tumultuous times. Personal relationships are beautifully developed. These books are simply wonderful.

This is nothing against the book but to the item not being what was in the picture. We are collecting this set for the purpose of the spines matching up(when they do they create their own scene). This book is the generic version I guess and has a blank spine with just words.

And Hornblower series is first rate. But something about the authenticity O'Brien puts into his stories makes this series my favorite for stories set in the age of sail.

I bought this book to replace one missing in this series of at least a dozen books. This series takes you all over the World in different type sailing ships. They are novels but the writer did a lot of research to come up with these stories.

all right for the cheap price