The Commodore (Aubrey-Maturin)

There the French are mounting an invasion that will test Aubrey's seamanship and Maturin's resourcefulness, and the climax of the story is one of those grand, thrilling fleet actions on which the British Navy's supremacy was founded.. Much of the story takes place on land, but soon Aubrey and Maturin are sent on a mission to the fever-ridden lagoons of the Gulf of Guinea to suppress the slave trade, but their ultimate destination is Ireland. His little daughter appears to be autistic, while his wife, Diana, unable to bear this situation, has disappeared, with the child looked after by the widowed Clarissa Oakes. For Jack it is a happy homecoming, at least initially, but for Stephen it's disastrous. Having survived a long, desperate adventure in the Great South Sea, Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin return to England to very different circumstances

Strong start Kevin I treasured the look into both Aubrey and Maturin that O'Brian gives us in the beginning of the book. They are well rounded and so artfully portrayed on the pages that I am caused to truly admire O'Brian's ability with a pen. This book has a depth the previous three lacked in the beginning. By far, this is one of the strongest starts of the series. I understand why O'Brian tried to extend the series and that it could only be done with trivial, or better said - inconsequential addendums such as the previous three books but if I had my druthers I would have edited the inconsequential out and finished the series with a complete book that i. Wulfstan said One of the very best Naval Fiction series.. This is the 11th book (chronological order) of the much beloved Hornblower series. Note that the Hornblower series was not written in a chronological order, so by publication date this book comes before Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, which is the 1st book of Hornblower's fictional naval career. You can certainly read the books out of order, and in fact "Beat to Quarters" which is the first book Forester wrote, is not a bad place to start.The book is three tales, starting with Hornblower being sent to deal with a British Brig currently in a state of mutiny. This leads to Hornblower getting a lead into a possible revolt against Napoleon. This. Great way to end the series M James I enjoyed the book and how it brought to close one of my favorite characters. I many of the books in the series in the 1970s and remembered how much I enjoyed the then it was great catching up with the story again and finishing it. I recommend the series to everyone looking for adventure.

After several installments of gallivanting around the South Seas, Aubrey and Maturin return home to England, where the surgeon-cum-intelligence-agent discovers that his wife has disappeared. As if such a domestic crisis weren't enough, the intrepid pair are also dispatched to the Gulf of Guinea (to suppress the slave trade) and to Ireland (to rebuff an impending French invasion.) O'Brian's stunning range, coupled with his mind-bending command of minutiae, explain why James Hamilton-Paterson has called him "the Homer of the Napoleonic Wars."