Master and Commander is the first in Patrick O'Brian's wonderful series regarding the Napoleonic War adventures of British Naval Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey and his best friend and ship's surgeon Dr. Stephen Maturin. In Master and Commander Jack Aubrey, down on his luck and deeply in debt, gets his first command, The Sophie. He also meets Dr. Stephen Maturin, the man who will become his most trusted friend though when they first meet the two quarrel and promptly end up on the edge of a duel!
Master and Commander is not an easy book to read, but is absolutely worth the effort. Mr. O'Brian, who recently passed away, was one of the world's leading experts on naval history so his vivid imagery and attention to detail are exquisite. However, if like myself, you don't know a yardarm from a mizzen and have no background in sailing, the terminology can become very confusing and, in some cases, slightly tedious. Mr. O'Brian overcomes this problem through the character of Dr. Stephen Maturin, surgeon, scientist and British spy who, other then having sailed as a passenger on the ships of this century, knows as little about naval terminology as the reader does. So as Capt. Aubrey and his crew explain the aspects of their ships to their new ship's surgeon understanding also comes to those reading the novel. Still, the naval terminology is not the only challenging part of the book since O'Brian is faithful to the language and slang of the time as well, again making the story seem truly authentic, but difficult in the long term to understand. In fact, the first time I attempted to read Master and Commander I was going through a fairly turbulent period in my life and finally gave up on Master and Commander unread. I was unable to invest the effort into puzzling out the meaning of some of the language. Despite this though the power of the book, the vibrancy of its characters and the quality of its writing kept Master and Commander in the back of my mind until I gave it another try and I'm extremely glad I did. The characters are colorful, but as real to life as any in history and the friendship between Aubrey and Maturin is a vibrant one reminiscent in many ways of that between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Also, while the continued survival of Aubrey and Maturin is never in question, they are the heroes after all, Master and Commander contains a strong element of suspense. After all The Sophie could potentially lose a battle and even be sunk with Aubrey and Maturin simply reassigned later to another ship or the secondary characters making up The Sophie's crew could be killed or injured while Aubrey and Maturin live to fight again another day.
The only problem with these books other then understanding the language is that in a few places they are a bit gross. A sailor's life was difficult and some of the things that happened to them and that they had to endure might not set well with those who are easily made queasy. Again, these things are not gratuitous, they were a part of life, especially life on the ocean, during that time period and thus make the book more accurate, but accurate or not they are occasionally a little unpleasant.
Master and Commander is an Admiral work of fiction though, despite these problems, and I highly recommend it!
Grade:A+
