Historical

Master and Commander

Master and Commander

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-08 09:55:10
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Patrick O'Brian
  • ISBN：0006499155
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Master and Commander is the first of Patrick O'Brian's now famous Aubrey/Maturin novels， regarded by many as the greatest series of historical novels ever written。 It establishes the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey RN and Stephen Maturin， who becomes his secretive ship's surgeon and an intelligence agent。 It contains all the action and excitement which could possibly be hoped for in a historical novel， but it also displays the qualities which have put O'Brian far ahead of any of his competitors: his depiction of the detail of life aboard a Nelsonic man-of-war， of weapons， food， conversation， ambience， of the landscape and of the sea。 O'Brian's portrayal of each of these is faultless and the sense of period throughout is acute。 His power of characterisation above all is masterly。

This brilliant historical novel marked the debut of a writer who has grown into one of the most remarkable literary novelists now writing， the author of what Alan Judd， writing in the Sunday Times， has described as 'the most significant extended story since Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time'。

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Reviews

Nelson Cover ，

As interesting and excellent as I remembered it from around fifteen years ago。 I was amazed too by how much I did not remember from my previous reading。 Very well paced。 Absorbing characters。 Wonderful naval actions。 Remarkable attention to historic detail helping support and not dragging down the action。

Nikola Jankovic ，

Početak avantura mladog kapetana Džeka Obrija， odmah nakon veličanstvene pobede admirala Nelsona u bici na Nilu （1800）。 Neobično napisan roman， ali u pozitivnom smislu。 Čita se poput klasične literature， ne samo zbog nekog usporenog stila i gomile starih pomorskih izraza， već i zbog načina pisanja o muzici， modi， društvenim odnosima i etikeciji iz 1800-te。 O'Brajan se posvetio upoznavanju pomorske terminologije， životu mornara i načinu organizacije vojne mornarice。 Mnogo je ovde detalja， što na Početak avantura mladog kapetana Džeka Obrija， odmah nakon veličanstvene pobede admirala Nelsona u bici na Nilu （1800）。 Neobično napisan roman， ali u pozitivnom smislu。 Čita se poput klasične literature， ne samo zbog nekog usporenog stila i gomile starih pomorskih izraza， već i zbog načina pisanja o muzici， modi， društvenim odnosima i etikeciji iz 1800-te。 O'Brajan se posvetio upoznavanju pomorske terminologije， životu mornara i načinu organizacije vojne mornarice。 Mnogo je ovde detalja， što na početku smeta - ali shvatiš da je to namerno。 Osećao sam se kao Stiven Maturin， novi brodski lekar u romanu， koji je prvi put na brodu i upoznaje se sa životom na HMS Sofi na isti način kao i ja。 Ima jedno poglavlje u kom ga sprovode palubom i objašnjavaju mu lepo redom， šta je šta。 Zna autor da te postavi u cipele nekog od mornara。 Uspeo je me dovede do toga da osetim strah i bespomoćnost osobe na brodu koji traži poziciju da počne da puca na neprijatelja - a sve pod paljbom neprijateljskih topova。 Đulad leti， a ti čekaš i nadaš se。U nezgodnoj sam situaciji - dopalo mi se， ali samo donekle。 A serija ima 20 nastavaka。 Šta sad da radim？ 。。。more

Jordan ，

Great story set in the age of sail。 I was a fan of the movie which motivated me to look into the novels。 I had to do some deep dives into the nautical terminology that was used throughout the novel。 I think this kind of language makes the story even more engaging。 I plan on continuing with Post-Captain in the near future。

Rosalinda ，

O'Brian avoids moralizing， while building well-rounded characters that have their faults as well as strengths。 O'Brian avoids moralizing， while building well-rounded characters that have their faults as well as strengths。 。。。more

Eva Praskova ，

This really wasn't my cup of tea。 Things were happening， but I literally couldn't care less about it。 The characters were flat and uninteresting。 I guess there are many people who enjoy this otherwise there wouldn't be 20 books， but I wouldn't be counted among them。 This really wasn't my cup of tea。 Things were happening， but I literally couldn't care less about it。 The characters were flat and uninteresting。 I guess there are many people who enjoy this otherwise there wouldn't be 20 books， but I wouldn't be counted among them。 。。。more

Cameron ，

It had great moments of excitement but lots of periods of almost boredom as well。 I also struggled to follow the story at times， to understand it and how it had quickly transitioned from one situation to another。 While I definitely enjoyed parts of it I found it disappointing overall。

Jon ，

I am transfixed。 I might not read another book until I have finished this 20 book series。

Denise ，

Listened to the audio。 I recommend the Patrick Tull version。 The Simon Vance version makes the two main characters sound like blowhards。

Paul ，

3。5/5

Lars ，

Vondt detaljert， helt autentisk。

Alex Wise ，

I read about a third of this before abandoning it for the audiobooks and while that was better， it still left me lost and uninterested for the most part。 I can see the appeal but at some point I gave up on this and realized it just wasn’t my cup of tea。

Carrie ，

This was a really fun book， and much more enjoyable than most historical fiction - mostly for once there isn't a boring romance swallowing up the entire narrative， what a time to be alive！ The massive amounts of research that must have gone into this book are really evident （sometimes a little too evident） and from what I can tell it does a really good job transporting the reader into the mindset and the overall feel of this period in the British Marine。 The two main characters are charming and This was a really fun book， and much more enjoyable than most historical fiction - mostly for once there isn't a boring romance swallowing up the entire narrative， what a time to be alive！ The massive amounts of research that must have gone into this book are really evident （sometimes a little too evident） and from what I can tell it does a really good job transporting the reader into the mindset and the overall feel of this period in the British Marine。 The two main characters are charming and sympathetic， both eccentric in their own right but not so much that it becomes their only character trait。 Their friendship is heartwarming and genuine while still playing by the rules of the time - a lot of historical novels do this thing where they resort to modern social behaviour to communicate their central relationship， but O'Brian trusts his readers to get it， which I really appreciated。However， this book loses a star each for:1） the nautical talk。 It's just。。。 I know this book is set on a boat。 I know that's the whole point。 But sometimes， there will be half a page devoted to the description of which sail was set and what effect this has on which part of the ship and what commands are given and。。。 Maybe this is fascinating for someone with more interest in nautical stuff， but I just wound up skipping entire passages and probably missing a lot of the intricacies because it just exhausted me。 （There is a glossary at the back， which I didn't realise because I was reading the book on an e-reader， but personally， I just don't appreciate it when you keep having to flick to the back just to understand what the author is talking about。）2） the episodic nature of the story。 In and of itself， that's not necessarily a bad thing， but I think this book would have really benefited from some kind of overarching plot。 Going in， I thought that the growing friendship between the captain and his new ship doctor would have this function， but they got on like a house on fire， so there wasn't a lot of suspense to be found here。 There was another plot point involving Jack， Stephen and the ship's first mate which I thought would have more of an impact， but that didn't really go anywhere after the initial escalations。 And other than that。。。 the book starts at a pretty logical point - the meeting of our main characters - and then you follow the exploits of the ship on one mission， a squirmish， then another， a new mission， then another， and a lot of these individual episodes are quite exciting and are resolved quite satisfyingly。 All of it is connected insofar as it's all the same war - but that's it。 The book could have ended at at least six different points and it wouldn't have made any more or less sense than where it actually ends。 I'm sure that doesn't bother some people， but it kind of frustrated me。 While I was enjoying myself a lot reading the book， I couldn't tell where it was going at all。 And even now that I've finished it I couldn't say what the point of telling this story was for its narrator。 。。。more

Samantha B ，

A year or two ago， I read this book and somehow skipped the last few pages？？ （Sam。 What were you thinking you idiot。） So I decided it was high time to go back and read the entire thing over！ And I think I enjoyed it more this time， so it was definitely worth it。 :）Because， Stephen！ That precious boy。 （The moment where he wakes up and you realize he's SLEEPING IN THE WOODS I swear， the wave of sheer protectiveness that swept over my heart was astonishing。） And Jack！ Who is Awesome and Lovable and A year or two ago， I read this book and somehow skipped the last few pages？？ （Sam。 What were you thinking you idiot。） So I decided it was high time to go back and read the entire thing over！ And I think I enjoyed it more this time， so it was definitely worth it。 :）Because， Stephen！ That precious boy。 （The moment where he wakes up and you realize he's SLEEPING IN THE WOODS I swear， the wave of sheer protectiveness that swept over my heart was astonishing。） And Jack！ Who is Awesome and Lovable and the way he wants to be captain， but also is so aware of the distance between him and his men， and is clueless about social interactions， and <3。 I also really liked the contrast of the weird stuff with the master with the beautiful real friendship between Stephen and Jack。 O'Brian， you win。 And， of course， I am obsessively fond of ships， so all the shippy-ships were great！I had totally forgotten about everything with Dillon， poor boy。 He needs a hug。 （Also， O'Brian's writing style amuses me excessively。 Like。 He will describe in great detail the maneuvering of a ship， and the death of a character--even an important one--gets three sentences。 XD）I will say， they are sailors， so there is some vulgarity & swearing， along with multiple allusions to various types of inappropriate relationships。 So。 Read at your peril。3。5 stars！ （Dinged for content， and rounded up to 4 for GR！） 。。。more

Lily ，

I started to read this years ago， and I think I gave up， likely around the part Mowett spends pages explaining ships to Maturin。 However， today， with grad school skim-reading techniques under my built， it's much easier to digest and move on from ship terms I don't fully understand， and still enjoy the adventures and perhaps most importantly， the fully realized and really very funny characters。 Aubrey and Maturin are both charming and wildly eccentric in equal measure， and that is what makes me e I started to read this years ago， and I think I gave up， likely around the part Mowett spends pages explaining ships to Maturin。 However， today， with grad school skim-reading techniques under my built， it's much easier to digest and move on from ship terms I don't fully understand， and still enjoy the adventures and perhaps most importantly， the fully realized and really very funny characters。 Aubrey and Maturin are both charming and wildly eccentric in equal measure， and that is what makes me excited to read 19 more books about them。Here's a song that likely expresses Maturin's understanding of sailing: https://open。spotify。com/track/3TXvlS。。。 。。。more

Cami ，

“Where there was no equality there was no companionship: when a man was obliged to say ‘Yes， sir，’ his agreement was of no worth even if it happened to be true。”

Emma ，

I did the audiobook and it was a good format for this but also I've been listening to it for a year probably。 Somewhat disappointed by the ending - it feels more like the author picked a random point to stop at than actually choosing the moment where the it makes the most narrative sense。 I did the audiobook and it was a good format for this but also I've been listening to it for a year probably。 Somewhat disappointed by the ending - it feels more like the author picked a random point to stop at than actually choosing the moment where the it makes the most narrative sense。 。。。more

Anne ，

A genuine masterpiece。 I remember my mom read this series with a dictionary handy because the nautical terminology is so arcane but it's really not just that。 O'Brian really loves puns and wordplay， and he's peppered each chapter with what we would now call Dad Jokes--unexpected in what I always assumed was a dry historical read I also wasn't expecting the book to be so well-paced or have such a poetic reverence towards nature。 A genuine masterpiece。 I remember my mom read this series with a dictionary handy because the nautical terminology is so arcane but it's really not just that。 O'Brian really loves puns and wordplay， and he's peppered each chapter with what we would now call Dad Jokes--unexpected in what I always assumed was a dry historical read I also wasn't expecting the book to be so well-paced or have such a poetic reverence towards nature。 。。。more

Lyn ，

A very well researched novel about Napoleonic era British Navy life。 The image at the front of my hardcover helped with the name of the sails， but an image of the parts of the ship would help。 I had to look up many naval terms such as larboard （later changed to port） and non naval archaic words such as gremial （a full time resident）。 The action writing is very vivid and I can see and feel what is going on。 The battles build with a great deal of tension which increases the reading enjoyment。 I fo A very well researched novel about Napoleonic era British Navy life。 The image at the front of my hardcover helped with the name of the sails， but an image of the parts of the ship would help。 I had to look up many naval terms such as larboard （later changed to port） and non naval archaic words such as gremial （a full time resident）。 The action writing is very vivid and I can see and feel what is going on。 The battles build with a great deal of tension which increases the reading enjoyment。 I found the map of Nelson's Search in the Mediterranean to be very useful in following the voyages of the Sophie。 。。。more

Chas ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Audiobook。 They meet out of the blue。 Maturin， at loose ends accepts Aubrey's offer to become shows physik based on little else than good vibes。 The Sophie is 10 gun sloop。 Ltnt ___ intrigue tho he dies。 Sophie cruises the Med。 Admiral Hart's wife Molly。 Audiobook。 They meet out of the blue。 Maturin， at loose ends accepts Aubrey's offer to become shows physik based on little else than good vibes。 The Sophie is 10 gun sloop。 Ltnt ___ intrigue tho he dies。 Sophie cruises the Med。 Admiral Hart's wife Molly。 。。。more

Andy Dollahite ，

3。5 stars。 NGL， read it because of how much I loved the movie， and was somewhat disappointed （which is an unfair bias to bring）。 The novel has several wonderful sections， but seems to get stuck in the doldrums too frequently。 What also stands out is the incredible attention to detail O'Brian includes， which at times becomes a distraction。 I couldn't judge properly without further engagement with the entire series， but none of the characters particularly won my heart。 3。5 stars。 NGL， read it because of how much I loved the movie， and was somewhat disappointed （which is an unfair bias to bring）。 The novel has several wonderful sections， but seems to get stuck in the doldrums too frequently。 What also stands out is the incredible attention to detail O'Brian includes， which at times becomes a distraction。 I couldn't judge properly without further engagement with the entire series， but none of the characters particularly won my heart。 。。。more

Mark Broadhead ，

Very few characters given any depth。

Steve ，

Wonderful StoryThe non Irish Patrick O'Brien writes a wonderful story！The material is historically true and always a great read。I recommend this book highly Wonderful StoryThe non Irish Patrick O'Brien writes a wonderful story！The material is historically true and always a great read。I recommend this book highly 。。。more

Scott Beddingfield ，

Riveting and I can’t wait for more of the series。 Wonderful language， nautical authenticity， 19th century science and politics mixed in as well。 Suspenseful finish that kept me hanging on every word and ever thankful that 14 more volumes remain in this wonderful series。

Philip ，

I read this book 25 years ago。 Upon retiring I said I would reread this 17 volume series again。 After finishing Master & Commander” I am very happy with my decision。 Looking forward to “Post Captain。 “

Gabriel James Maurice Rodriguez ，

Lots of words but still goodPretty sure it was on purpose but what do I know。 That's all I have to say about that though Lots of words but still goodPretty sure it was on purpose but what do I know。 That's all I have to say about that though 。。。more

Richard Pease ，

An entertaining look at the life of an 18th century British naval officer。

Sean L ，

Fictional slang in A Clockwork Orange？ Easy。 Hundreds upon hundreds of lore in Lord of the Rings and Dune？ Got it！ 1800s ship terminology？ Damn。 8。5/10。The bad （What little of it there is） first: The characters in this book are within the British Royal Navy in 1800， so women and people of color are mentioned little。 And what mention there IS of them， much of the time it is accompanied with derogatory language。 I can understand where O’Brian was coming from if he desired historical accuracy， but Fictional slang in A Clockwork Orange？ Easy。 Hundreds upon hundreds of lore in Lord of the Rings and Dune？ Got it！ 1800s ship terminology？ Damn。 8。5/10。The bad （What little of it there is） first: The characters in this book are within the British Royal Navy in 1800， so women and people of color are mentioned little。 And what mention there IS of them， much of the time it is accompanied with derogatory language。 I can understand where O’Brian was coming from if he desired historical accuracy， but either way it is not the most graceful method。 Secondly， the narrative is a meandering one that is not often firm and understood。 If you desire a strong central story beyond the characters and their relationships， there is not too much to see。 Finally， the sailing terminology。 It does not stop， and it does not get easier。The good， and there is much of it: The name of the game seemed to be historical accuracy， and the novel has such in spades。 The book is fascinating to read just in the sense of the everyday life of a sailor in the navy。 Secondly of course， the principal characters。 Captain Aubrey and Doctor Maturin are both intensely enjoyable， and I found myself most engrossed in the simple moments where they just talked。 It didn’t matter what it was about。 Finally， the sailing terminology。 It is overwhelming， but the attention to detail is nothing short of awe-inspiring。 。。。more

Hobbit_Marco ，

Dnf @ 40%。 Too boring。 Didnt understand

DogfacePonySoldier ，

Looking forward to the next one。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Master and Commander

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Master and Commander&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Master and Commander&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0