The Wine-Dark Sea: The historical spy thriller set during the Napoleonic Wars

Aubrey & Maturin #16

by Patrick O'Brian

Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. Now, for the first time, they are available in electronic book format, so a whole new generation of readers can be swept away on the adventure of a lifetime. This is the sixteenth book in the series.

At the opening of a voyage filled with disaster and delight, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are in pursuit of a privateer sailing under American colours through the Great South Sea. Stephen’s objective is to set the revolutionary tinder of South America ablaze to relieve the pressure on the British government which has blundered into war with the young and uncomfortably vigorous United States. The shock and barbarity of hand-to-hand fighting are sharpened by O’Brian’s exact sense of period, his eye for landscape and his feel for a ship under sail.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adventure, Nautical, Audiobook, War

318 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Patrick O'Brian's acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin series of historical novels has been described as "a masterpiece" (David Mamet, New York Times), "addictively readable" (Patrick T. Reardon, Chicago Tribune), and "the best historical novels ever written" (Richard Snow, New York Times Book Review), which "should have been on those lists of the greatest novels of the 20th century" (George Will).

Set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, O'Brian's twenty-volume series centers on the enduring friendship between naval officer Jack Aubrey and physician (and spy) Stephen Maturin. The Far Side of the World, the tenth book in the series, was adapted into a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir and starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. The film was nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Picture. The books are now available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book format.

In addition to the Aubrey-Maturin novels, Patrick O'Brian wrote several books including the novels Testimonies, The Golden Ocean, and The Unknown Shore, as well as biographies of Joseph Banks and Picasso. He translated many works from French into English, among them the novels and memoirs of Simone de Beauvoir, the first volume of Jean Lacouture's biography of Charles de Gaulle, and famed fugitive Henri Cherriere's memoir Papillon. O'Brian died in January 2000.

The Aubrey-Maturin Series on Goodreads

Reviews

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in2009, and its the 16th wonderful volume of the great "Aubrey/Maturin" series.

In this tale Jack Aubrey and his crew on their ship the "Surprise" are in pursuit after an American privateer through the Great South Sea.

While pursuing this American privateer the colour of the ocean will turn into a strange red/purple, that will be the portend of an underwater volcanic eruption.

The "Surprise" is now also a privateer because Stephen Maturin's secret diplomatic missions will become somewhat easier to undertake in South America.

While Jack manages to survive an open boat journey, and not long after will come face to face with his illegitimate son, his friend Stephen can narrowly escape the clutches of people he has offended with his failed coup, and so he has to flee into the high wastes of the Andes.

Somehow they will be able to reunite, and when together on board and sailing through stormy seas, instead of being the hunted they have now become the hunter.

What is to follow is an astounding adventure, in which Aubrey and Maturin both excel in their own favourite territory of seamanship and spying, and all this is brought to us by the author in his own remarkable and authentic way.

Highly recommended, for this is another incredible addition to this astounding series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "An Impressive Seafaring Tale"!

[Darwin8u · Rating 4 out of 5]

“And jealous now of me, you gods, because I befriend a man, one I saved as he straddled the keel alone, when Zeus had blasted and shattered his swift ship with a bright lightning bolt, out on the wine-dark sea.”
—Homer, The Odyssey, Book V
—"oínopa pónton"



So, "wine-dark sea" is a phrase used quite a bit by Homer. And Homer was quite an author I guess. And he did some pretty damn good writing about boats and stuff. So, it is only natural that Patrick O'Brian would eventually get around to using the "Wine-Dark Sea" image in one of his books. In Book 16 to be specific. This book is actually book 4, of a 5-novel circumnavigation of the globe sieries within his greater 20 book (21 if you count his last unfinished novel) Aubrey-Maturin series. There is some nice sailing, and the wine-dark sea section happens to appear at a point when some volcanic activity is happening nearby (which given the location of most of Homer's sea stories, also ties the mysterious wine-dark colors together).

Anyway, there was some interesting sections dealing with South American politics, and Andes hiking. Some of my favorite new characters are the two little girls rescued from a South Asian island that was decimated with small-pox. They have attached themselves to Dr. Maturin and become a lovely feature on the Surprise. I'm starting to get that feeling one gets towards the last couple days of an amazing vacation. You still enjoy the country, beach, mountains, etc., but there is a sense of impending dread that this all will end too soon. One day, I'll reach to the table next to my bed and there won't be a new O'Brian novel to read. I'm already sad.

Here are a couple links to read if you want to read more about "wine-dark seas" and Homer:
http://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/20/sci...
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/sea/...
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/hoffm...

[Algernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen had often heard Jack say, when life at sea grew more trying than the human frame could bear, ‘that it was no use whining’

and again,
‘ Have I been plying the ocean with a parcel of Stoics all this time?’ he wondered. ‘Or in my ignorance am I myself somewhat over-timid?’

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin continue on their circumnavigation of the globe, cca. 1812, facing inclement weather, natural disasters, pirates, political betrayals and more aboard the frigate ‘Surprise’.
Jack is the captain and Stephen the medical officer/resident spy aboard this privateer ship with a volunteer crew sent on a mission to South America to foment rebellion against Spain.
As the sixteenth book in the series and the fourth episode of this singular voyage around the world, I would not recommend it to new readers, but for old hands like me, it is one of the best instalments so far from Patrick O’Brian.

>>><<<>>><<<

We start the crossing of the Pacific right after the events of Clarissa Oakes, with the chasing of the ‘Franklin’, an American privateer ship commissioned by French agent Dutourd to colonise the Moahu islands.
After sailing through unusually dark red seas, both ships are wrecked by firebombs in the night, with many casualties and loss of canvas and masts:

They were some distance from one another, both apparently wrecks, floating but out of control: beyond them, to windward, a newly-arisen island of black rock and cinders. It no longer shot out fire, but every now and then, with an enormous shriek, a vast jet of steam leapt from the crater, mingled with ash and volcanic gases.

An underwater volcanic explosion is just an appetizer on the menu of dangers prepared by the author for the crew of the ‘Surprise’, as they head for the coast of Peru: well armed pirates to be fought, tropical diseases, religious tensions aboard the mixed crew [‘It is remarkable,’ observed Stephen after a pause, ‘that the Surprise, with her many sects, should be such a peaceful ship.’], contrary winds fought in an open boat without water or food, icebergs to the south of Tierra del Fuego, being chased in turn by a better armed American frigate, being struck by lightning and later being stranded without a rudder in the middle of the ocean.

‘ Ah, Doctor, things is very bad,’ said Joe Plaice. ‘ I have never heard anything so dreadful as the loss of a rudder five thousand miles from land.’

As my opening quotes already pointed out, only a Stoic should set out at sea in a vessel that relies only on wind and human skill to reach destination. Captain Jack Aubrey and his loyal crew are both stoics and resourceful, while Stephen Maturin is not a shabby fighter himself, especially on land where his secret identity as a British agent often lands him in deadly perils.

‘A wind-gall to windward means rain, as you know very well,’ said Jack. ‘But a wind-gall to leeward means very dirty weather indeed. So Joe, you had better make another cast: let us eat while we can.’

>>><<<>>><<<

The main ingredients that have made me an avid follower of the ‘Surprise’ around the globe are presented in this episode with the usual panache and subtle humour of the author, still making fun of Stephen’s unfamiliarity with the jargon and of his clumsiness among ropes and wooden traps after so many years aboard ship:

Presently you will see that twin jury mainmast of hers replaced by something less horrible made up from everything you can imagine by Mr. Bentley and that valuable carpenter we rescued: upper tree, side-trees, heel-pieces, side-fishes, cheeks, front-fish and cant-pieces, all scarfed, coaked, bolted, hooped and woolded together; it will be a wonderful sight when it is finished, as solid as the Ark of the Covenant.

This nautical babble is balanced by the still fresh enthusiasm for the natural world and for the many incredible sights, plants and animals encountered, studied and preserved in the trunks of the good doctor.

‘I long to see the high Andes – tread the virgin snow, and view the condor on her nest, the puma in his lair. I do not mention the higher saxifrages.’

[He doesn’t mention it probably because this a reference to Dr. Maturin’s habit of chewing coca leaves, one more reason for him to look forward to his visit to the high Andes]
Stephen gets his wish after the ‘Surprise’ finally reaches Callao, when he is forced to flee through the high mountain passes after his plot to start a revolution in Peru is betrayed by Dutourd. The journey across the Andes is just as fascinating for me as the chapters at sea, and sometimes even more dangerous.

He ran unsteadily to the nearest. The leaves were like those of an agave, fierce-pointed and with hooked thorns all along their sides: the great spike was an ordered mass of close-packed flowers, pale yellow, thousands and thousands of them. ‘Mother of God,’ he said. After a while, ‘ It is a bromeliad.’
‘Yes, sir, said Eduardo, delighted, proprietorial. ‘We call it a puya.’

>>><<<>>><<<

Long days of crossing the ocean are also an occasion for the two friends to engage in their favourite pastime of playing classical music on cello and violin and to dabble in more philosophical discussions.
One of the subjects is slavery, something the British empire was still promoting in 1812. Patrick O’Brian, through the voice of Stephen Maturin, is not shy about his condemnation of this abominable practice, recounting a past incident in the Caribbean:

‘Why, Stephen, you are in quite a passion.’
‘So I am. It is a retrospective passion, sure, but I feel it still. Thinking of that ill-looking, flabby ornamented conceited self-complacent ignorant shallow mean-spirited cowardly young shite with absolute power over fifteen hundred blacks makes me fairly tremble even now – it moves me to grossness. I should have kicked him if ladies had not been present.’

Even more welcome for me is finally a discussion of something that has bothered me right from the first volume of the series: the fact that Jack Aubrey has no scruples about attacking civilian ships, under the most shallow excuses that they are from nations his country is at war with. I have always considered this practice no better than government sponsored piracy [indeed, I feel the same way today about the seizures of private Russian property], and I finally heard somebody say it aboard the ‘Surprise’:

‘There is something profoundly discreditable about this delight in taking other men’s property away from them by force,’ observed Stephen, tuning his long neglected ‘cello, ‘taking it away openly, legally, and being praised, caressed and even decorated for doing so. I quell, or attempt to quell, the feeling every time it raises in my bosom: which it does quite often.’

On a lighter note, the author’s delight in language has been such a trademark of the series that I am now taking it for granted, but I still chuckle when I am forced to dive for a dictionary to look up atrabilious or when I pick up the highlight tool to mark a rare moment of levity:

‘The Doctor has been choked off for being a satyr,’ said Killick to Grimble.
‘What’s a satyr?’
‘What an ignorant cove you are to be sure, Art Grimble: just ignorant, is all. A satyr is a party that talks sarcastic. Choked off something cruel, he was, and his duff taken away and eaten before his eyes.’

The ‘Surprise’ and its crew have been put through the wringer by weather and by adversaries at sea, and it has been long years since they have seen the homeland. I can sympathize with the exclamation of captain Jack Aubrey that closes this volume, even as I know there are thousands of miles still to sail before his wish would be granted:

‘Harking back to this voyage, I think it was a failure upon the whole, and a costly failure; but,’ he said laughing with joy at the thought, ‘I am so happy to be homeward-bound and I am so happy, so very happy, to be alive.’

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking out pirates and snatching up prizes is all in a day's work for Captain Jack Aubrey!

The Wine-Dark Sea moves the setting from Australia to the South Pacific and onward as our dashing duo head to South America. There are both sea and land adventures aplenty this perfectly fine continuation of the series.

If anything, it's the most O'Brian-esque book O'Brian ever wrote. It spends a great deal of time describing the world through the eyes of early 19th century English sailors. Aubrey's particular friend and ship's surgeon, as well as naturalist and intelligence agent, Stephen Maturin does a lot of botanizing along the South American coast in this one. It felt like there was a slight lack of naval action, but overall there's a fairly even balance of action and reflection throughout the novel.

The details of the plot are not super enticing. Parson and surgeon's mate Nathaniel Martin's dire illness is a concern, but it's not enough for the reader to sup upon. The storyline focusing on the Letter of Marque/pirate Dutourd is more interesting, but he's not a big threat until very late in the book, unless being too Democratic aboard one of His Majesty's frigates is a threat. Jack Aubrey would say so, but readers probably won't worry as much about it. The main concern is Maturin attempt to subvert the Spanish and French influence in South America. However, instead of high intrigue, Maturin wanders the Andes until it all blows over.

Of course, the writing is gorgeous as per usual! Even one of O'Brian's less-than-stellar books is still an enjoyable read. I can't recommend The Wine Dark Sea as a standalone though. If you haven't tried this series yet, don't start here. Begin at the beginning, and by the time you reach this, the 16th book, you'll have fallen in love with the characters and their story, and you'll enjoy it just fine!

My review of book #15, The Truelove: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review of book #17, The Commodore: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Phillip Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wine Dark Sea is a story of how Captain Jack Aubrey and his crew survive both a privateering voyage and a secret mission to Peru gone wrong. "Lucky" is a good nickname for Captain Jack because he manages to evade an angry mob in Peru and survive a dangerous engagement at Cape Horn. The voyage ends with a sense of relief at having some financial gain but the most important thing is being able to go home after a long voyage. There were some anxious moments in the book but the reader in the end gets the vicarious satisfaction that our heroes make it out alive. Stephen Maturin travels in Peru are described beautifully because Patrick O'Brian like Maturin has a great sense of observation. All of this novel was great except there should have been an appendix describing the workings of these old sailing vessels.

[Malacorda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come se la serie fosse un vaso di Pandora in positivo, oppure come se fosse la borsa di Mary Poppins, O'Brian continua a cavarne fuori tante piccole idee, in ogni episodio ci sono novità cui appassionarsi, come - in questo episodio - il personaggio di Dutourd, a metà tra il rivoluzionario e il socialista ante-litteram, o come il logoramento del rapporto tra Maturin e il suo amico ed aiutante Nathaniel Martin.

Tutti i pregi di O'Brian che ho già abbondantemente elencato nei commenti precedenti, ritrovano sempre ottima conferma anche in questo sedicesimo episodio.

Inizio a sentire la vera preoccupazione per quando giungerà, inevitabilmente, la fine della serie. La possibilità di ricominciare daccapo, così come quella di buttarsi su Hornblower, ovviamente esistono ma temo che sembreranno solo dei deboli palliativi.

[Sherwood Smith]

It took me a month to listen to this one, partly because I was traveling, but also because I often opted for music instead, while out walking. This is not one of my favorites of the eighteen out of twenty novels about Aubrey and Maturin. But there are some good bits, most of it having to do with natural phenomena such as underwater volcanic explosions, and walking in the high Andes, as well as the usual shipboard drama.

There are no women save the little girls Sarah and Emily, and they are too rarely in the story. It's all male, with a lot about politics of freedom, slavery, democracy, and South American same.

Finished this very aware that there are only two more to listen to; I dislike the nineteenth and twentieth so much that I regard the story ended on the high note of the close of number eighteen.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book by O'Brian that I read -- or 12 pages anyway. Then I put the book down, went back to the bookstore and bought the first five books in his Aubrey/Maturin series. A whole new world of pleasure opened up fifteen years ago that still satisfies today.

My favorite section of the book narrates Stephen Maturin's journey across the high Andes of Peru in the company of a naturalist of Incan descent.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Stephen Maturin, an intelligence agent of formidable powers, is dispatched to discomfit the Napoleonic French and their allies. With him comes his particular friend, naval captain Jack Aubrey. Each of them has some successes on this long voyage--Jack takes a truly ridiculous number of prizes--but are battered by their adventures and happy to head home.

I love this series so much. At this point,the continued travails of the Surprise's crew, captain, and surgeon are as comforting and interesting as hearing about my home town.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite in the series yet. Imagine being in a sailing ship near an underwater volcano when it decided to erupt and push up to the surface! Ice bergs in the south sea at the tip of South America and a sea battle with an American Man of War and escaping by the skin of their teeth. Struck by lightning and no main mast nor rudder. Doomed to sail ever eastward 5000 miles until they reach land again???

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this volume which while full of the expected sea chases and exotic locales, also had a few unexpected surprises for me. Things literally start off with a bang as the Surprise’s chase of the American frigate Franklin is interrupted by the eruption of an undersea volcano, causing havoc on both ships, but allowing the Surprise to win the contest. Upon taking possession of the ship they find that one of the survivors is the outspoken owner, Jean Dutourd, a French republican and idealist on his way to found a utopian colony in the South Pacific (though apparently despite all of his ideals he is not averse to taking advantage of weaker ships as prey when the occasion warrants). Dutourd proves to be something of a catalyst for dissension among the crew (though of an obviously altogether different sort from that fomented by Clarissa Oakes in the previous volume), especially for some of the more radical members of the religious sect of the Knipperdollings who advocate complete equality and the destruction of hierarchy (a perhaps strange position for those content to be sailors in this era). Aubrey, a staunch monarchist, views Dutourd with a jaundiced eye while Maturin, who had met Dutourd in France, worries that he could be a risk to his clandestine mission in Peru.

Before getting to Peru the Surprise has yet another sea battle as they pursue the pirate ship Alastor and Maturin deals with a severe illness which his friend and assistant Nathaniel Martin appears to have brought on himself through a troubled conscience and clouded mind. The action subsequently splits between our two protagonists as Stephen is deposited in Peru with the hopes of successfully bringing about a military coup, while Aubrey cruises the nearby seas in search of even more prizes. We have a welcome appearance from Aubrey’s illegitimate son Sam Panda, now a Catholic priest in Peru, who aids Maturin in his mission. Never one to completely let business overtake pleasure if he can at all help it, Stephen manages to pursue his naturalistic interests in the wilds of South America and once again finds himself in peril as he is set upon by severe weather in the mountains. For his part Aubrey soon discovers that Dutourd has managed to escape the ship, despite Stephen’s warnings of the possible consequences of his reaching the mainland, and sets out to try and recapture the fugitive with a skeleton crew on the ship’s cutter. He too finds himself in a precarious situation when the weather at sea turns violent and wind and waves threaten to leave Aubrey and his crew stranded and starving if it doesn’t kill them outright. A final naval chase in the ice floes to the south cap off the adventures of our duo nicely and leave us set up for the next stage of their journey, hopefully to finally reach home again.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still a great book, but I feel that this is the point where the quality of the series slightly decreased. O'Brian seems to run out of new material and ideas; and consequently he started to recycle old naval encounters, situations, and even jokes.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not to read a handful of the Aubry books is to miss visiting one of the most thoroughly realized and absorbing imaginary worlds in all of English literature. O'Brian may not be as essential to life as Shakespeare, but he makes life richer by far.

[Renee M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The one with Volcanoes and icebergs. Jack and Stephen get soundly mangled between the battles and the frostbite. Lots of chase and be chased. Plus, some intrigue in Peru, lots of cool animals for Stephen, and plenty of prize money.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I shall do my best despite having misplaced this book for a month and thereby being a little hazy on my memory of the first two thirds of it. Definitely the best of this circumnavigation quintet, with plenty for both Aubrey & Maturin to do.


The battle : So many prizes! They captured like...three of them in the first third, and then apparently like two more while I wasn't paying attention. There's some really nice twists -- they capture one of the prizes after a volcano blows up nearby and basically wrecks the frigate they're chasing. Book ends with a tricky reverse-chase through an iceberg field after Aubrey jumps what he thinks is a convoy of merchantmen bound for China but turns out to be a heavy American frigate and a brig that badly outgun him so he has to run for it. They breathe a sigh of relief at escaping...and then get struck by lightning, woops.

It's a really interesting continuity to show that after 4 (5? Lost track) books at sea circumnavigating, the Surprise is low on repair materials, and we're scraping the barrel now when things go wrong or break that just can't be replaced. It also shows really well how sailing is really boring for most of the time, punctuated by small intervals of intense adrenaline (I mean that in a good way, even the "boring to sail" parts are fun to read) and random happenstance you can't possibly predict and just have to work around.

The scientific : Stephen plays with llamas in the Andes, and is over the moon about discovering bromeliads, which I had to look up and of course he's just being showoffy with his language and means...pineapples. Hooray? Also condors.

The relationships : Not much here, as the boys continue to be at sea away from their loved ones. Bros continue being bros, move along.


The medical / spy work : Maturin's plot is a breathtaking (figuratively at first; literally later) ambition to overthrow the government of Chile and replace it with a British-friendly one. It goes awry thanks to a rogue Frenchman named Dutourd, who was captured in the last book and generally treated like an idealistic utopian idiot but slips the ship and causes trouble on land. I'm unclear if he was actually a French agent or if the trouble was just caused by his aforementioned utopian idiocy, but the end result either way is that Stephen's coup is killed in the cradle, and he flees over the Alps. Which is cool, and a chance to see new environments (and for him to have his face spit in by multiple species of llama), but also costs him some toes due to frostbite. When he gets back to the ship the crew asks how he took care of it and he just kind of cavalierly goes "oh, with a chisel", which is...oof. I can't imagine just taking my own toes off with a chisel, but since Stephen's performed bullet surgery on himself before I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Today's malapropism : Jack's bete-noir returns, not once but twice :

(when discussing the China fleet he thinks they're going to land) : "Jack, recovering his gravity, shook his head, saying, 'Come, gentlemen, do not let us tempt Fate; do not let us say anything presumptuous that may prove unlucky. We must not sell the bear's skin before we have locked the stable door. And locked it with a double turn.'" He's used this bear's skin wrongly before too, so at least he's consistent about that, but the stable door is a new one. Presumably a reference to locking the barn door after the horses have bolted, which is a completely different saying but...

(after escaping the pursuing American frigate because the latter trapped themselves down a dead end of icebergs with no way out) : "Jack gazed again, his tired face lighting with a great smile; he stamped upon the frozen deck, and cried, 'He counted his chickens without his host, by God! Ha, ha, ha!' for the big frigate lay motionless, her sails brailed up; and she was getting her boats over the side."

Honestly, at this point it's going to be more of a malapropism if he ever gets that one RIGHT, because I feel like this is at least the fourth or fifth time he's mangled it and I would fall out of my chair shocked to hear "He's counted his chickens before they've hatched!"

Will he ever succeed at counting his chickens? We must sail onward to find out...only 4 more to go!

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

It isn't natural to have such a sense of foreboding when nearing the end of such a very longrunning series, is it?

At any rate, here we have another masterpiece, this time featuring time spent in a part of the world I'm tolerably familiar with for a change (Peru/Bolivia/Chile) and an overarching theme of the futility of man's plans- bellicose, scientific, or otherwise- in the face of the sheer power of Nature- a new island arises from the South Pacific amidst volcanic explosions, katabatic winds nearly spell the end of our beloved Dr. Maturin in the high Andes passes, and fog and icebergs nearly seal the fate of the dauntless Surprise during its passage of treacherous Cape Horn. O'Brian's awareness of history, both natural and otherwise, is once again keenly on display as many ominous portents in the Pacific Rim seem to hint (to me, at least) of the oncoming Tambora eruption of 1815 which may well be the most cataclysmic natural disaster of recorded history, eclipsing even the better documented Krakatoa eruption of 1883.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5- so much fun even without understanding all the ship talk! In fact the ship talk is fun too because the vocabulary and particular manners expected between crew and captain are peculiar and strangely fascinating!!
This was a book given me by my buddy in a book swap and I’m so glad!

[Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A return to form, in most respects, largely occasioned by O'Brian's lighting on a new theme, one that bids fair to carry him through the rest of the series--at least I hope so. It's a bit surprising he hadn't hit on it before this, but for the first time in the series, the undercurrent to the Aubrey-Maturin story is age and loss. One of Austen's characters in Persuasion remarks on how a life at sea ages a man horribly. Given all their adventures and misadventures (captures, multiple maroonings, prisons along with countless wounds in battle), it is only natural that the principal characters are beginning not only to show but to feel their age. Both mark it silently in their friend. Neither man escapes unscathed in this novel: Aubrey at least partially loses sight in one eye and Maturin several 'inconsequential' toes to frostbite. Neither man is in his prime as they were when the series started. Now it seems O'Brian's chief theme between the intelligence work and naval warfare is going to be telling the effects of time--physically and otherwise--on his two chief characters. And it makes perfect sense. O'Brian himself was 79 when this was published and wrote four complete further entries along with the draft for a fifth. The tone, as the title itself suggests with its allusion to Homer and mortality, is going to be elegiac from here on out. Frankly, that's pretty exciting. A writer as gifted as O'Brian, with his insight and irony, is bound to be brilliant on the subject. If it's to be a leavetaking, I'm glad it will be four novels long. What of this one? It carries the protagonists from the encounter in the islands narrated in the last book to the coast of South America and finally round the cape bound for home. Jack confides to his longtime friend Heneage Dundas in the novel's closing moments that most of the trip has been a failure. Hmph. His and Maturin's failure is the reader's triumph. The usual excitement of sea battle (against an out and out pirate as well as an American privateer) coupled with intelligence work (Maturin trying to subvert Peru's government against its Spanish overlords) is leavened here with Maturin's trip through the Andes, with loads of birds and beasts and Incan way stations to boot. There's yet another harrowing chase through ice-laden seas near the end. In other words, excellent stuff.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another in the series of Aubrey Maturin books that I just finished. I love this series but I found this book to be the most uninteresting of the series so far. Not sure why, it just seemed a story that didn't go anyplace nad maybe its because Jack and Stephen need to get back to their wives in England and stop running into trouble in the South Pacific and South America. I do still give it 3 stars because even though the story wasn't as good as past ones, I still enjoyed the writing and the realism of what it seems to be like to be on a ship of sail in the early 1800s Napoleonic era. I don't know why I have such a thing for this genre of books...

[Jamie Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of action in this one: a volcanic eruption, pirates, gales, lightning, icebergs, broadsides and chases. Wonderful book, even with the relatively dull section when Stephen is on his own in Peru.

My favorite scene is when Jack and a small crew arrive in the harbour after days in a small boat, nearly dead from exposure and dehydration, and Tom Pullings very nearly does not recognize them.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better; much better. Still did a ten-page data dump before starting the story, but at least there was a story.

Good characterization. The Peruvian excursion was a welcome diversion. Volcanoes, icebergs and shipwrecks, oh my.

A recurring theme is hubris, with various characters often counting on favorable outcomes only to have the cold water of reality dashed in their face.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the unusually downbeat tone of Clarissa Oakes, I found 'The Wine-Dark Sea' a return to form for the Aubrey & Maturin series. Although it is more solemn than the ebullient earlier novels, there are still joyful scenes. Moreover, it is only fitting that the narrative recognises its protagonists aging. Neither Jack nor Stephen can shrug off injuries as they used to. Their behaviour hasn't really changed to accept this, however. Stephen hits the coca leaves for energy while trying to forment revolution in Peru. Meanwhile Jack hares off in a tiny launch to try and save him from an inconvenient Frenchman, nearly dying in the process. Jack's mixed metaphors and Killick's general demeanour continue to provide levity. Jack and Stephen's dialogue is endearing as ever:

"Are you awake?" asked Jack Aubrey in a hoarse whisper through a crack in the door.
"I am not," said Stephen. "Nor do I choose to swim; but I will take coffee with you when you return to the ship. The animal," he added to himself. "I never heard him get up." It was true. Jack weighed far too much, but he was still remarkably light on his feet.

I also enjoyed Jack asking Stephen what twelve sixes are and receiving the reply ninety-two and their conversation about the similar structures of frigate-birds and ship's sails. There are also thrills to be had. Some very dramatic reversals of fortune take place, including an amazing chase through a field of ice. My favourite scenes took place on land, as Stephen fitted in plenty of wildlife-watching during his brief stint in Peru. His guide, a kindred spirit called Eduardo, and the various creatures he encounters are delightful and the dry, cold, dangerous Andes vividly brought to life. On board ship, I enjoyed Stephen's views on the French Revolution in general and Rousseau in particular ("that mumping villain"). The discussions of slavery and its abolition are likewise fascinating. The book ends on a philosophical note, as absolutely nothing has gone according to plan but at least our heroes are still alive, afloat, and on their way home.

[Judith Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cracker! In spite of the fact that I am with child to find out what's happening back at the ranch with Diana, I thoroughly enjoyed this - excellent dramatic episodes, and all the usual O'Brian side stories - natural history, medicine, social history, international relations etc etc. As always, if my husband had given me a sideways glance as we sat relaxing and holiday-reading together in the Austrian alps, he would have seen that my face was wreathed in smiles, and, (but for goodness sake, don't tell anyone!) might also have spotted me giving the cover a surreptitious kiss when I'd finished the book. Fellow O'Brian adorers will no doubt identify!

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This installment of the Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin novels begins where "The Truelove" left off--with Captain Aubrey's 28-gun frigate "Surprise" pursuing an American privateer, the "Franklin," which had escaped them in the previous installment. They capture it after both ships are disabled during a volcanic eruption at sea, fascinatingly described in all its wondrous details (one of which gives the book its title).

After sailing their prize to Lima, the "Surprise" leaves Maturin on shore so he can carry out his intelligence mission in Peru, but after he is betrayed he has to flee over the mountains to Chile before reuniting with Aubrey to sail through icebergs and battle American warships during a passage around the Horn. This trajectory affords O'Brian an opportunity to chronicle fascinating oddities of 19th century medicine, Peruvian culture, Napoleanic-era politics in South America, the flora and fauna of the High Andes, the dangers of navigating artic waters--and of course--the usual uncountable details of maritime life so lovingly described in all of O'Brian's books.

No one beats O'Brian at historical fiction, and here he is as good as ever. This was my second time through the book, and I think I learned more about human nature and the Napoleanic era than I did the first time I read it. I rated it 4 stars because despite its many merits, its two plot-lines didn't advance and intertwine as elegantly and successfully as I thought they might have. But that small quibble aside, I enjoyed it very much.

[Matt Thurston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Patrick O'Brian's 20-book Aubrey-Maturin series has been one of the highlights of my life. (I say that without a hint of hyperbole.) Through O'Brian first 16 novels (only 4 to go) I have circumnavigated the globe in the early 1800s at least three or four times, largely on board the H.M.S. Surprise, a 28-gun (28 canons) frigate; I have fought yardarm-to-yardarm with French, Dutch, Spanish, American, and pirate ships of similar or greater size; I have explored faraway lands where now-extinct animals roamed free and indigenous cultures lived according to centuries-old traditions; and I have dined and danced and played music in parlors and sitting rooms with English gentlemen and women via prose and wit that rivals Jane Austen.

I wouldn't rank "The Wine-Dark Sea" among the Top 5 books in the Aubrey-Maturin canon -- unlike the previous novel, #15, "The Truelove" -- but there is no such thing as an average, let alone bad Patrick O'Brian novel. After binging on these novels early in the series I've taken to savoring the books over the past few years, keeping my reading pace to a couple per year. I'll read Book #17, "The Commodore," later this year, and finish up with Book #20, "Blue at the Mizzen" sometime in 2018. And then, god-willing, I'll start the whole thing over again -- a story this good, even at over 7,000 pages, cannot be experienced once.

[Vivek · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wine Dark Sea, book number 16 of the Aubrey-Maturin series starts with a chase, ends with a chase and has the usual excitement and intrigue in between. The HMS Surprise voyages to Peru, where Maturin hopes to help the independence movement of Peru. He makes a land journey from Lima to Valparaiso in Chile, through the Andes, observing the flora and fauna of South America and reunites with the Surprise. The writing style, is superb and the historical accuracy transports the reader to the British Navy of the early 1800's. The pace of the novel ebbs and flows with tight action scenes interspersed with Maturin's calmer reflections. One of the better books in the series. Recommended Read! Sadly, only 4 more novels left in the series.

[Alex Sarll]

I have, this past month or so, been haunted by the guanaco - a wild cousin to the llama of which I had previously been unaware, but which suddenly started popping up everywhere. And true to form, the South American sections here contain a surprising quantity of guanaco action. Not that coincidental camelids are the book's chief charm, which as ever resides in the delightful pairing of bluff Jack Aubrey (good cheer, naval heroism, terrible puns) and Stephen Maturin (surgeon, natural philosopher, spy, druggie, and terrible seaman). O'Brian has a bold way with pacing, happy to skip over major plot developments if they don't attract his interest, then follow in detail a minor nicety of shipboard etiquette or Andean taxonomy. And I love him for it. The action scenes are exhilarating, the humour's grand, but it's the sheer immersion in another, minutely-drawn era where he truly excels.

[Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel concludes the arc begun in the 13th book in the Aubrey-Maturin series, The Thirteen Gun Salute and continues with The Nutmeg of Consolation, and The Truelove. This is an exciting addition to O'Brian's canon, loaded with intrigue and action. A volcanic eruption at sea, an encounter with black-flag pirates, and scientific exploration in the high Andes mountains in Peru and Chile, a trip around Cape Horn and fighting with a heavy American frigate all conspire to Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin on the go and at the top of their game. I couldn't put it down once started! As usual, the writing was just superb. I can't recommend this wonderful series of historical fiction enough!

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I stagger past the 3/4 mark of this enormous series of books I am struck by the observation that I am more interested in Maturin than Aubrey. Really though, it's being more interested in what's going on on land than on ship - which is the complete opposite of what I would have said in the first quarter of the series.

THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN CURTAILED IN PROTEST AT GOODREADS' CENSORSHIP POLICY

See the complete review here:

http://arbieroo.booklikes.com/post/89...

[Anton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts out strong with some nice sailing parts but way too much of the book veers off into "Esteban Maturin: International Man of Mystery"-territory and bored me to tears. The finale with a naval action among icebergs is however a real nail-biter that earns several stars by itself.