Jack Aubrey, Master and Commander of HMS Sophie, 1800
***
The second book on the epic journey of following the Napoleonic Era British Military on land and sea is complete. This book was a bit of a difficult read, for me. At times, it was thrilling and wonderful; at others it was dense and unintelligible. It was something like reading in a second language, what with the unending streams of nautical terminology threatening to drown out both understanding and desire to continue. But continue I did, as finish I must.
I suspect that during some passages, I probably appreciated a mere 50% of the details; all the sails, staysails, topgallants, jibs, hawsers, and whatnot making my head spin a bit. The novel was wonderfully written, with interesting characters, and did a superb job of immersion in the life and times of the ship at sea. The officers, the men, the sloop Sophie, the wind, the sea, the weather. The time period, the food (some of which sounds dreadful), and the music. A fascinating thing to see a shared love of playing classical music together be one of the hallmarks of the budding friendship between man's man and lady lover Jack Aubrey and naturalist, ship's doctor, and science geek Stephen Maturin.
I am told that the second and subsequent books in this continuing series move along at a brisker pace. I shall hope so, for while I enjoyed my time plying the Mediterranean with the Sophies, I should like a bit more than a mere 7 knots henceforth.
I tend to agree with your assessment, Brent. I enjoyed the nautical elements that were clearly deeply researched, and some of the action scenes were quite engaging. There was plenty of time taken for developing the main characters, too. Overall the plot seemed to meander, matching the travels of the Sophie herself. There were also interludes that seemed more philosophical in nature, however, that for me slowed the overall pace. I also found it curious that our protagonists were not involved in the huge action in the end.
ReplyDeleteNice! I was correct in my borrowed assertion that subsequent books in this series are much faster reads (thankfully).
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