Treason's Harbour

Aubrey & Maturin #9

by Patrick O'Brian

"The finest writer of sea-stories in the English language."―J. de Courcy Ireland All Patrick O'Brian's strengths are on parade in this novel of action and intrigue, set partly in Malta, partly in the treacherous, pirate-infested waters of the Red Sea. While Captain Aubrey worries about repairs to his ship, Stephen Maturin assumes the center stage for the dockyards and salons of Malta are alive with Napoleon's agents, and the admiralty's intelligence network is compromised. Maturin's cunning is the sole bulwark against sabotage of Aubrey's daring mission.

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

334 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

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

[Katherine Arden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen's intrigues take center stage Treason's Harbor, which I personally like, since I find Maturin's spying just as interesting as Aubrey's naval battles, but I think it's a matter of taste. O'Brien's sense of humor is, as always, a delight--the scenes with the diving bell especially, made me laugh out loud.

I love this series so much. In a way, I don't care what happens in each book, it's just comforting being back with fictional friends, and experiencing the author's wonderful voice.

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stationed on Malta during the later Napoleonic War, Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend, Dr. Stephen Maturin are embroiled in a Mediterranean intrigue that takes them to Egypt and the Red Sea.

The book's balance tilts in favor of intrigue over action. More time is devoted to matters of intelligence and spying. Most of the time you'll be following along with the various characters trying to remember who's on whose side and who knows what about whom. O'Brian plays it fairly subtle, so you'll likely miss something important by skimming over the pages. Missing out on the intrigue means missing out on the main thrust of Treason's Harbour, leaving you wondering what the point of it all was.

There is more to it, of course. As always, there is beauty in the language. Reading any books of the series just for the descriptions alone is worth the effort. It's like a David Attenborough-narrated episode of Planet Earth, taking you to new lands and wowing you with the sights and sounds. Just gorgeous. The characters, whom you've probably come to know and love if you've reached this ninth book, are full of life and fully invested in their own lives, the very minutia of which is the book's bread and butter.

One of my favorite of the very minor characters, Awkward Davies/Davis, appears more in this book than in most others. Davies is a dangerously powerful gorilla of a man, who has gladly attached himself to his captain after an episode in which Aubrey rescued him from drowning. Davies addition to any book is usually for the purposes of humor and/or when a meatheaded amount of a strength or stupid-courage is needed. His presence is regretted by Aubrey in a comedic sense. He's a nice foil for when O'Brian feels a need to lighten the mood:

"a fight broke out in the square below, a fight between Davis and the bear, which resented his familiarity in chucking it under the chin. ... Stephen hurried down to repair the bear."

This seafaring series is epic in just about every way, and so it can hardly be faulted for the occasional lag in full-throttle action. Instead, just sit back, relax and let O'Brian's beautiful words flow over you.


My review of book eight: The Ionian Mission

My review of book ten: The Far Side of the World

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Don't you know how to seize a cuckold's neck, you God-damned lubber? Where's the bleeding seizing?'

Hi, I'm Algernon and I'm a landlubber. I will probably be the first one to go overboard in a storm because I don't have the foggiest what a cuckold's neck is and where the jib is supposed to be hoisted. I take solace from the fact that my situation is not much different from that of Dr. Stephen Maturin, who is similarly baffled on board ship, even after nine voyages in the company of his friend, Captain Jack Aubrey. The gleeful manner in which Patrick O'Brian fires these semantic broadsides across my bows (brows!) does nothing to diminish my enjoyment in the series. They're just adding spice to the trip and one more proof of the author's wicked sense of humour.

'What are bashed neeps?'
'Neeps hackit with balmagowry.'

O'Brian's sense of humour translates well from the sea to the shore, as in the above inquiry about the menu for a Scottish themed dinner, or in a leisurely debate about fundamental freedoms and smoking habits. (Maturin and his scientist friend Professor Graham take a libertarian approach to forbidding the bad habit on grounds of liberty of expression and of tobacco's alleged propensity to induce fanciful moods. A debate that echoes for me the current efforts to legalise pot). I am starting my review with these peaceful pursuits as a result of the bloody battles at the end of the Ionian Mission , battles that may have brought honour and monetary prizes to Jack Aubrey, but that also put both of the ships he sailed on, The Worcester and The Surprise , out of action and in need of extensive repairs in the port of Malta. What should have been a well-earned and hopefully brief vacation for the two friends, turns into an annoying and dangerous game of cat and mouse between Aubrey and the corrupt commisioners of the repair yards, and between Stephen and his French counterparts in the cloak-and-dagger business.

Despotic governement tends to breed spies and informers, and there were traces of at least three different Paris ministries at work in Malta, each in ignorance of the others, with a man from a fourth keeping watch on them all.

I already knew from previous episodes that Patrick O'Brian is equally adept at writing about sea battles and about landlubber activities, and the Malta episode is no exception. The violin of Captain Aubrey and the cello of Dr. Maturin speak just as eloquently as the twelve pounders aboard The Surprise . The musical duet becomes a trio with the addition of the tinkling piano notes from an alluring local lady, a Mrs. Laura Fielding of Italian origin and a British subject by marriage, whose husband is currently a prisoner of the French. The lady has more than a fair share of her own troubles, but she is still capable of throwing a spanner into the marital wovs of many a landlocked officer:

It was pleasant to see how the captains, some of them true tartars aboard, most of them thoroughly accustomed to battle, and all of them capable of assuming great responsibility, played the fool before a pretty woman. 'There is a capital book to be written on the human mating display in all its ludicrous variety,' observed Dr. Maturin.

Readers who prefer sailing to spy games or boudoir romances may consider Treason's Harbour one of the lesser books in the series, but a closer examination of the text points out that there are three naval expeditions included in the current novel. My favorite is the first one, although the most dramatic one will be the last (don't worry, I will say as little as possible about the ending). Without a ship of of his own, Jack Aubrey jumps at the chance to go on a secret and urgent mission to the Red Sea, there to capture a treasure in French bullion. But with Malta being the nest of vipers it is, it seems that everybody has found out about the mission before Jack and Stephen even set sail for the Suez. There are even signs that point to a mole among the higher echelons of the British secret services.

'Professor Graham, sir, a good evening to you. I am come from walking on the bottom of the sea.'

One of the main attractions of the series for me is the scientific research performed by Maturin and his friends. In the present journey, the cherry on the cake is a brand new diving bell, a heavy and expensive toy hat nevertheless will prove its usefulness aboard a war frigate. As Jack Aubrey leads his task force south across the desert from the Suez peninsula, I was thrilled to notice he mentions the two towns I have been working in for the last couple of years : Jeddah and Yanbu, and that Maturin sings praises of the best weekend activities for the Red Sea (snorkelling):

For a contemplative mind, there can be few greater felicities than walking on a coral reef, with nondescript birds above, nondescript fishes below, and an unimaginable wealth of sea-slugs, plumed worms, mollusc, cephalopods in the nearby depths.



For a transition novel between longer expeditions (the next one on the list is the long awaited voyage to the far side of the world, the one that was turned into a movie), the stay in Malta proved in turns dramatic and humorous, and the sea battles make up for their shortness in sheer intensity like the horrifying explosion of a man-of-war at the end that sends to the bottom of the sea hundreds of men in a matter of seconds. The title of the novel is well earned as not one , but three betrayals push the plot forward : The Red Sea mission, a journey to Trieste, the final trap sprung in Zambra on the Barbary Coast


Note to self : I don't remember if I have have mentioned it before, but I love the series covers, and I plan to add to my wishlist an artbook of Geoff Hunt's paintings.

[Darwin8u · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It was as though he were running a race: a race in which he had done fairly well for awhile, after a slow start, but one in which he could not hold his lead and was being overtaken, perhaps from lack of that particularly nameless quality that brought some men success when it just eluded others, though they might take equal pains...""
- Patrick O'Brian, Treason's Harbour



"He could not put his finger on the fault with any certainty, and there were days when he could say with real conviction that the whole thing was mere fatality, the other side of the good luck that had attended him in his twenties and early thirties, the restoration of the average."
- Patrick O'Brian, Treason's Harbour

Nearly half done with the series and I'm still as entranced with it as I was with book one (Master and Commander). O'Brian does change things up a bit with this one that spends as much time on land as on water. I was excited about the extended period spent in Malta because I'm taking my family to Malta (staying in Valletta and traveling to Gozo) this summer. It was nice to get a literary exposure to spots one will spend a few days or a week in.

Anyway, I also enjoyed the espionage focus, the diving bell, the dog, the Suez/Red Sea expedition with its Arab and Turkish flavors. Strange as it may seem, I'm also becoming a bit emotional about the HMS Surprise. Sniff.

[Ken-ichi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another fine nautical gem, though clearly a piece with its successor, given the abruptly hewn finale, leaving me with the heavy burden of reading on. Heaven forfend! Also of note: no other books leave me laughing like an idiot in public places more than these. Reading Stephen effuse about his diving bell exploits floored me: "...but the annelids, my dear Graham, the annelids! Hundreds, nay thousands of annelids of at least six and thirty several kinds, some plumed and others plain. And wait until I tell you about my holothurians, my sea-slugs, my sea-cucumbers..." (p. 74). There's also plenty of fine Killick action in this one.

gregale (n): a string northeast wind of the Mediterranean, also used in Moby Dick, I think, though they never touched those waters. (p. 10)

crackit gaberlunzie (n): apparently a half-witted beggar, according to WikiPOBia (bless it!), though it provides no citation. A "gaberlunzie" is apparently a Medieval Scots term for a beggar, and I assume "crackit" can only mean something like "cracked" (this would certainly suggest so). See it in context here. (p. 11)

coriaceous (adj): leather-like. (p. 61)

hangi (n): clearly some kind of bird, as Stephen says, "Will you look at that bird [...:]. I believe it to be a hangi. They are said to be peculiar to this island." However, I've looked around, checked some checklists of Maltese birds, and found no mention of a hangi, except in reference to this novel. What could he have been talking about...

"Neeps hackit with balmagowry." This was the perfectly clear, lucid response to the question, "What are bashed neeps?" This is Graham the Scotsman again. "Neeps" are turnips, hackit:crackit::hacked:cracked, but balmogowry is apparently a neologism! If werdnerd you be, you must read this short letter from Lisa Grossman, co-author of Lobscouse and Spotted Dog Which It's a Gastronomic Companion to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels, on the origins of this word (warning: doing so may result in contraction of the Hockogrockle). (p. 74)

dragoman (n): an interpreter. Alas, poor Hairabedian. (p. 106)

mome (n): a fool. (p. 108)

vi et armis : with force of arms. (p. 146)

scend (v): to heave or lurch, also available as a noun! (p. 179)

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2008, and its the 9th magnificent volume of the amazing "Aubrey/ Maturin" series.

This seafaring novel is especially of intrigue and deception, and where action is also once again assured.

Set partly in Malta and partly in the pirate-infested Red Sea, Aubrey and Maturin will have problems from different angles.

Problems in Malta will be of the conspiring side of things, for while their ship being at its dockyard for repairs, Maturin will recognise and encounter various agents of Napoleon, and being that the case the Admiralty's intelligence network is thus compromised.

But due to Maturin's cunning they will succeed to fool the French and save their ship from sabotage and keep their intelligence work in tact, before they will set off for the Red Sea to confront and beat those pirates of the sea.

Highly recommended, for this is another excellent addition of this terrific series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Fabulous Harbour Of Secrecy"!

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

"‘Half a point a-weather,’ he said. ‘Half a point a-weather it is, sir.’ When they were within range the leading Frenchman would yaw to give the Surprise a broadside and ordinarily the Surprise would put her helm hard a-weather to avoid being raked. Yet with this scarcely perceptible half-point in hand he could haul his wind a trifle and not only avoid the broadside but perhaps sweep by before the enemy had time for another. Perhaps. So much depended on what the second ship did. It would be a most perilous business, getting past the two of them. Yet it had to be done. As if they had divined his intention the two frigates altered course, one slightly to starboard, the other slightly to port, to take him between them."

Many who enjoy this series do so for descriptions, such as the one above.

Patrick O’Brian’s deft touch with the saga of Captain Aubrey and Doctor Maturin is elevated to a new level in this novel. That may appeal to some of the readers and disappoint others.
What I mean by this is that I detect that O’Brian is, in effect, channeling Jane Austen.

This volume is much more a comedy, in the traditional sense. It explores relationships, personalities and mores in more depth than some of the previous volumes. It has all the elements of ethical missteps, mistaken identity, mistaken intentions, a satiric look at human desires, and humorous situations.

I found on this reading (not my first) that these elements enhanced my delight with this series.
Here are some examples:
"Dr Maturin, sitting with his legs crossed and his breeches unbuckled at the knee, felt a slight movement upon his calf, as of an insect or the like: instinctively he raised his hand, but years of natural philosophy – of a desire to know just what the creature was, and a wish to spare the honey-bee or the innocent resting moth – delayed the stroke. He had often paid for his knowledge in the past, and now he paid for it again: he had scarcely recognized the great twelve-spotted Maltese horse-fly before it thrust its proboscis deep into his flesh. He struck, crushed the brute, and sat watching the blood spread on his white silk stocking, his lips moving in silent rage."
"Mrs Fielding was certainly not at leisure in Maturin’s particular sense of the word, but it was pleasant too to see how well she took their open though respectful admiration, their kindly banter and their flights of wit – no missishness, no bridling, no simpering, but no bold over-confidence either: she hit just the right note of friendliness, and Maturin watched her with admiration. He had earlier noticed her ignoring of Pelham’s drunkenness – she was used to men of war – and now he observed her instant recovery from the shock of seeing Pullings’ face as Jack Aubrey led him out of the arbour’s shade to be presented and the particularly kind way in which she wished him joy of his promotion and asked him to her house that evening – a very small party, just to hear the rehearsal of a quartet: he saw her childish delight when the chelengk was put through its paces and her frank greed when she had it in her hands and she was admiring the big stones at the top. He watched her with curiosity, and with something more than that. For one thing she reminded him strongly of his first love: she had the same build, rather small but as slim and straight as a rush, and the same striking dark red hair; and by a very singular coincidence she too had arranged it so that a touchingly elegant nape was to be seen, and an ear with a delicate curve. For another she had shown him particular attention. Insects might still delude Maturin and pierce his skin, but at this late stage it was difficult for women to do so. He knew that no one could possibly admire him for his looks; he had no illusions about his social charms or his conversation; and although he felt that his best books, Remarks on Pezophaps Solitarius and Modest Proposals for the Preservation of Health in the Navy, were not without merit he did not believe that either would set any female bosom in a blaze. Even his wife had not been able to get through more than a few pages, in spite of her very real good will. His status in the Navy was modest – he was not even a commissioned officer – and he had neither patronage nor influence. Nor was he rich. Mrs Fielding’s amiability and her invitations were therefore prompted by something other than a notion (however remote) of gallantry or of profit: what it might be he could not tell unless indeed it had to do with intelligence. If that were so then clearly it was his duty to be all compliance. There was no other way in which he could sift the matter; no other way in which he could either surprise her connections or induce her to reveal them, or use her to convey false information. He might be completely mistaken – after a while an intelligence-agent tended to see spies everywhere, rather as certain lunatics saw references to themselves in every newspaper – but whether or no he intended to play his part in the hypothetical game. And he the more easily persuaded himself that this was the right course since he liked her company, liked her musical evenings, and was convinced that he could govern any untimely emotion that might rise in his heart. It was for Mrs Fielding that he had put on these white stockings (for neither his rank nor his inclination required his presence at the reception), and it was for Mrs Fielding that he now advanced, swept off his hat, made his most courtly leg and cried, ‘A very good day to you, ma’am. I trust I find you well?’ ‘All the better for seeing you, sir,’ said she, smiling and giving him her hand. ‘Dear Doctor, cannot you persuade Captain Aubrey to take his lesson? We only have to memorate the trapassato remoto.’ ‘Alas, he is a sailor; and you know the sailor’s slavish devotion to clocks and bells.’ A shadow passed over Laura Fielding’s face: her only disagreement with her husband had been on the subject of punctuality. With a slightly artificial cheerfulness she went on, ‘Just the regular trapassato remoto – not ten minutes.’"

"‘Your plan seems to answer, sir,’ said Giuseppe, watching the officers and Graham start climbing the steps towards the palace and Stephen and Mrs Fielding sit down to a dish of iced cream flavoured with coffee – they had agreed that Miss Lumley was not a sea-officer and could not therefore have so morbidly acute a sense of measured time. ‘I believe it may answer very well,’ said Lesueur. ‘In general I have found that the uglier the man, the greater his vanity.’ ‘Now, sir,’ said Laura Fielding, licking her spoon, ‘since you have been so very kind, and since I should like to send Giovanna off to Notabile, I shall ask you to be kinder still and walk with me as far as St Publius: there are always a great many blackguard soldiers hanging about the Porta Reale, and without my dog . . .’ Dr Maturin declared that he should be happy to act as vicar to so noble a creature, and indeed he looked unusually pleased and cheerful as they left the courtyard and as he handed her across the Piazza Regina, crowded with soldiers and two separate herds of goats; but by the time they were walking past the Auberge de Castile part of his mind had drifted away, back to the subject of mood and its origins. Another part was very much in the present, however, and his silence was in some degree deliberate; it did not last long, but as he had foreseen it disturbed Laura Fielding. She was under a constraint – a constraint that he perceived more and more clearly – and both her tone and her smile were somewhat artificial when she said, ‘Do you like dogs?’ ‘Dogs, is it?’ he said, giving her a sideways glance and smiling. ‘Why now, if you were an ordinary commonplace everyday civilly-prating gentlewoman I should smirk and say “Lord, ma’am, I dote upon ’em,” with as graceful as writhe of my person as I could manage. But since it is you I shall only observe that I understand your words as a request that I should say something: you might equally have asked did I like men, or women, or even cats, serpents, bats.’ ‘Not bats,’ cried Mrs Fielding. ‘Certainly bats,’ said Dr Maturin. ‘There is as much variety in them as in other creatures: I have known some very high-spirited, cheerful bats, others sullen, froward, dogged, morose. And of course the same applies to dogs – there is the whole gamut from false fawning yellow curs to the heroic Ponto.’"

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back with Captain Aubrey & Doctor Maturin, hoping this outing will be better than the last which turned out to be a bit of a stodgy affair, the only one so far I should add, in what has been a great high seas adventure series.

We start on land, although this time not in Blighty but in Malta with the focus very soon on espionage & Dr Maturin! The new characters are introduced very quickly, one being a femme fatale, a very transparent one at that, whilst others more shadowy lurk in the background coming out of hiding only briefly giving them a slow burn to the story. The doctor gives the impression of being rather naive & innocent in his role as botanist but he is far from it..... he is of very sharp wit & intelligence & fully aware of all that goes on around him which comes across splendidly in the writing. His comrade Aubrey on the other hand is more like a bull in a china shop in reality although he seems himself somewhat differently. I was hoping the story would settle on Maturin’s work but sadly it does not & peters out somewhat in this respect as Aubrey comes meandering into the tale......

And afore you know it, we are off to sea in a sloop on a mission to the Arabian Peninsula involving the Turks as allies in an effort to thwart a local leader before he gets into bed with the French & allows them to garrison his port leaving the British without a safe harbour in the Red Sea. A jolly adventure on the high seas then...... sadly no as that too peters out....

The book is nearly over before anything seems to happen & then it’s all over in a rush leaving a very unsatisfied feeling......

It’s ok, amiable enough but nowhere near as enjoyable as an earlier stretch of the books where the seas chases & battles were action packed & tension fuelled. 2.5 stars rounded upto 3 Stars is all as there were many pockets of becalm & drifting.

Thats two on the bounce now that have left me high & dry, perhaps it’s time to jump ship & part company with this once merry band?

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 – 4 stars

_Treason’s Harbour_, as perhaps evinced by the title, is one of the espionage-heavy entries in the Aubrey-Maturin series, thus giving a lot of page time to the good doctor Stephen Maturin. While stationed in Malta, Maturin becomes aware of a network of French spies and in the midst of turning Laura Fielding, one of their informers, over to the British side he inadvertently becomes suspected of philandering with the beautiful young lady in question (an act he would only too readily have performed in reality if not for the fact that she is the devoted wife to another naval officer currently being held in a French prison). It is this fact, of course, that the French are using as leverage for her cooperation. Aubrey, unaware of the truth behind the menage, and jealous due to his own infatuation with the lady in question, must instead settle for the undying love of her otherwise ruthless Illyrian mastiff Ponto which also causes most onlookers to think that Aubrey is the one enjoying the lady’s illicit favours much to the captain’s chagrin.

We soon find that the French network in Malta has a very far reach indeed due to the presence of a high level British accomplice and thus when Aubrey is sent on not one, but two missions of high import they both fail with nearly disastrous results. Luckily Aubrey is able to turn defeat, if not into victory, at least into something that doesn’t result in the destruciton of his ship and loss of his crew. The suspicious events also let Maturin and his superiors know that not all is well with their own intelligence network. To add to the bitter taste left by events in Aubrey’s mouth is the fact that his beloved ship the Surprise is deemed no longer fit for service due to her age, small size, and number of guns and he is tasked with the sad duty of sailing her back to England only to have her sold, or perhaps even destroyed.

I quite enjoyed this entry in the series, not least perhaps because I love the ones that strongly feature Maturin and his espionage activities. It was also a volume that had more than its fair share of humour, especially in light of Aubrey’s unhappy situation of being held to be cuckolding a fellow naval officer while in fact being unable to enjoy the supposed illicit fruits despite desperately wishing it were the case. There are a number of returning characters from the series and in addition to perennial favourites coxswain Barret Bonden and the irascible steward Preserved Killick there is a cameo from everyone’s favourite lieutenant, now down on his luck captain, Tom Pullings and some tension in the form of the incompetent Admiral Harte (whose hatred for Jack goes back to a real episode of cuckolding from his youth) and Andrew Wray. The latter is a man with highly placed friends who once cheated at cards against Jack and whom the latter called out (to no avail), but who is now in charge of the local British intelligence service and thus a man Maturin must cultivate despite his own feelings of lingering dislike. Of course the star of any scenes he is in is Ponto, Laura Fielding’s stalwart protector and devoted friend to Jack Aubrey.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one! Just the right mix of espionage related skulduggery, Naval derring do, whimsical Regency humour and desert crossing High Adventure.

Bring on the next book, though first I've got to pour one out for poor old Ponto...

[Malacorda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sempre ottimo O'Brian, sempre in forma smagliante. Nove episodi e non sentirli.

Con questo episodio la narrazione riparte collegandosi direttamente alla battaglia che aveva concluso il volume precedente, e va a terminare lasciando alcuni nodi (veri e propri intrighi che vedono Malta trasformarsi in un nido di serpi) palesemente irrisolti, dunque si tratta di un anello strettamente collegato a tutto il resto della catena.

Mentre i primi tre libri della serie possono rappresentare, volendolo, una trilogia a sé stante; le vicende dal sesto al nono vanno complicandosi e intrecciandosi e dunque vincolando viepiù la lettura alla serialità. Ma la leggerezza, la freschezza, l'ironia e al tempo stesso la professionalità dell'autore rappresentano una contropartita imperdibile anche per chi si sente respingere dall'idea di una serie di episodi così lunga. Mentre rifletto se prendermi una pausa o ripartire subito con il decimo volume, mi limito a citare, a mo' di campione, una impareggiabile lettera in cui l'amabile dottore ci mette a parte dell'Odissea secondo il punto di vista del comandante Aubrey:

...lettera iniziata il giorno precedente, quando la Surprise, diretta a Santa Maura per lasciarvi due navi del convoglio, era stata costretta ad allontanarsi dalla sua rotta a causa del cattivo tempo, giungendo quasi fino a Itaca.

"A Itaca, parola mia d'onore. Ma forse che le mie suppliche e quelle di tutti i i membri più inciviliti dell'equipaggio sono riuscite a indurre l'animale a poggiare per dirigere verso quel sacro luogo? Certamente no. Sì, aveva sentito parlare di Omero, aveva perfino sfogliato la versione del signor Pope di quella fola, ma, per ciò che aveva potuto dedurre, quel tale non era un marinaio. E' vero che Ulisse non aveva un cronometro e probabilmente nemmeno un sestante; ma semplicemente con un solcometro e una vedetta, un comandante che fosse stato un vero ufficiale avrebbe trovato la via di casa dalla fott... Troia più in fretta di così. Un gran ciondolare nei porti e correre dietro alle gonnelle, ecco di che si trattava in fin della fiera, il brutto vizio di tutte le marine del mondo, da Noè a Nelson. E quanto alla storia di tutti i gabbieri trasformati in porci, così che non aveva modo di salpare l'ancora o fare vela, be', poteva andarla a raccontare ai fanti di marina. E poi si era comportato da vero farabutto con la regina Didone... anche se, pensandoci bene, quello doveva essere l'altro tipo, il pio Anchise. Ma era lo stesso, facevano una bella coppia tutti e due, né marinai, né gentiluomini e tutti e due una fott... noia per soprammercato."

Poi, temendo di aver esagerato un po' (perché l'animale in questione era naturalmente il comandante della Surprise), mise da parte il foglio e ricominciò...

[Joshua Rigsby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, as usual.

[Sherwood Smith]

In this latest installment in the Aubrey/Maturin roman fleuve, Patrick O'Brian does some interesting things. As always on my first read I galloped through it, loving the adventure, the descriptions, the diving bell and the naturalist explorations, far travels, vivid descriptions, various cultures, and exciting battles. O’Brian doesn’t let the reader down, with the expected comedic bits.

But on this reread of the entire series, when I came to this book I became aware of something I hadn't noticed before: I had actually reread it only once. The last couple of times I had reread the whole series, I did it in batches. I stopped with the previous one, The Surgeon's Mate, and then skipped ahead to one of the next.

On this reread, I had to figure out why.

In this book, for the first time, we see the villains and their machinations, while Jack and Stephen are oblivious. Knowing this means that I have lost the tension line, leaving a frustration instead. The frustration is compounded because their first big journey turns out to be a long, pointless frustration. Plus there is the frustration of being on blockade, and then the frustration of the decoy attack that leaves Jack’s crew thinking he’s a coward. On a first read, those were deeply absorbing, but after that . . . frustration, because I know what’s really going on, and know it will be a long while before our heroes catch up.

In addition, the emotional arc was not as satisfying. Diana and Sophie are totally absent. Jack and Stephen end up dealing with a woman who is not very interesting in herself with whom they are both assumed to be having an affair, which has dire consequences..

So all in all, despite the nifty segment in which Jack tries his hand at diplomacy, leading to some sharpish action leading up to the (abrupt) end, I think of it is the book of hindrances.

[Phillip Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great entry in the series that not only has a great story but leaves us with a feeling that the next book will be even better. Stephen Maturin is unaware of a traitor that is selling out to the French to pay his gambling debts. Jack Aubrey is still dealing with the higher ups that are casting him aside for the wealthy and well connected. What makes this a great series is eventually our heroes will overcome the long odds and win.

[Moloch · Rating 5 out of 5]

In questi ultimi anni, la regola è stata questa: 2 O'Brian all'anno e non più, uno si inizia il 1° gennaio, per inaugurare splendidamente il nuovo anno, l'altro ad agosto, per goderselo nella quiete di giorni meno impegnati. "Così questa serie mi durerà per anni!", avevo pensato imponendomi questo limite. Sono stata molto disciplinata finora, ma sapete che vi dico? Che questi mesi di attesa spasmodica fra un libro e l'altro iniziano a pesare, e mi sa che mi premierò più spesso con queste delizie letterarie.

N.B. La recensione contiene spoiler non segnalati per le puntate precedenti. Gli spoiler per questo libro sono invece nascosti.

A gennaio dunque ci eravamo lasciati con Duello nel mar Ionio, uno degli episodi più "statici" della serie, con Aubrey impegnato nello snervante blocco di Tolone e solo alla fine libero di entrare in azione sulle coste albanesi. La vicenda riparte qui quasi senza soluzione di continuità, con tutto l'equipaggio di Jack fermo a Malta (importantissima base strategica da non molto in mano agli inglesi) in attesa che la loro nave, la "Surprise", venga riparata dalle ammaccature subìte nell'ultimo scontro, ovviamente con i ritardi, le lungaggini e le seccature che Jack ha imparato ad aspettarsi negli arsenali della Royal Navy. Una pausa di riposo, insomma, non del tutto sgradita pure per uno come Jack che starebbe sempre in mare, ma non priva di insidie. Avendo criticato l'idea dell'editore italiano di alterare il titolo della precedente puntata (The Ionian Mission era diventato Duello nel mar Ionio, facendo pensare a chissà che scontro fra due duellanti, appunto), non posso che apprezzare il fatto che invece, stavolta, Treason's Harbour sia stato reso fedelmente con Il porto del tradimento, perché davvero questa puntata si caratterizza per una complessa trama di inganni, astuzie, doppi giochi, segreti, ricerca con tutti i mezzi di informazioni.
Malta, all'apparenza così tranquilla, è un covo di spie, e tra queste vi è il francese Lesueur, che si serve per i suoi scopi di una vivace signora napoletana sposata a un ufficiale inglese, Laura Fielding, da cui Jack prende lezioni di italiano. Dietro la facciata di spensieratezza, Laura è in ansia per il marito prigioniero, e con l'esca di un trattamento di favore per quest'ultimo viene indotta da Lesueur a entrare nelle grazie di Stephen e a cercare di carpirne qualche informazione.

Laura viene ingannata, a sua volta cerca di sedurre e ingannare Stephen, che però non abbocca e (almeno inizialmente) la raggira lui stesso. Insieme poi si accordano per tener buono e ingannare Lesueur con false informazioni. La talpa che passa informazioni ai francesi è nientepopodimeno che Andrew Wray, e al momento il suo inganno sembra aver avuto successo persino sullo scaltro Stephen. I francesi ingannano gli inglesi attirandoli nella missione nel Mar Rosso, rivelatasi una beffa e una perdita di tempo. E il "tradimento" è anche sentimentale, immaginato, solo contemplato, temuto, con Jack che tenta qualche comico approccio con Laura, Stephen che, con quest'ultima così disponibile, deve combattere qualche tentazione e, allo stesso tempo, è morso da qualche fitta di dubbio sulla fedeltà di Diana in Inghilterra.

Tutto assai intricato ma gestito con la consueta perizia da O'Brian, in modo da alternare momenti più leggeri (Jack e il cane Ponto, ad esempio) ad altri avventurosi (la marcia nel deserto) ad altri infine carichi di tensione (la fretta di Stephen di tornare a Malta prima che vi giunga la notizia che il marito di Laura è fuggito dalle prigioni francesi, il che quindi rende la donna, non più ricattabile, ormai inutile per Lesueur e a rischio di essere eliminata).

Ormai da qualche puntata, la parte spionistica è andata crescendo di importanza a scapito di quella dedicata alla guerra sul mare, e spesso il personaggio che agisce con più consapevolezza della situazione e dei suoi fini, che forse rispecchia di più il punto di vista dell'autore e che più indirizza il corso della storia con le sue decisioni è Stephen (sempre a sbugiardare l'erronea convinzione iniziale che questa fosse una serie dedicata al comandante Aubrey e alla sua "spalla" Maturin: i due sono coprotagonisti a tutti gli effetti). Questo ha creato uno strano senso di "mancanza di scopo" attorno a Jack, sempre attivo, attivissimo ("non c'è un momento da perdere!" è la frase che lo caratterizza e per cui spesso Stephen lo prende in giro), ma che più volte è sembrato sballottato qua e là in azioni di cui conosce solo in parte lo scopo ultimo e che, spesso e volentieri (avviene anche in questo libro), si rivelano alla fine inutili, scarsamente risolutive, se non proprio fallimentari. La cosa meravigliosa è che questo senso di futilità, di corsa senza una meta, è avvertito anche dal personaggio stesso, e aumentano le sue meditazioni in cui comincia a realizzare di trovarsi a un punto morto della sua vita e della sua carriera, che però potrebbe anche preludere a qualche imprecisata e agognata svolta. Come quando riesamina la sua carriera nella Marina e si rende conto che, dopo un avvio brillantissimo, è rimasto al palo rispetto ad altri comandanti che, partiti più tardi o meno bene di lui, lo stanno superando nelle promozioni. Non può in coscienza rimproverarsi nulla, eppure continua a sentirsi insoddisfatto.

Da un po' di tempo, egli non era soddisfatto di se stesso e sebbene la sua missione nello Ionio avesse avuto come risultato l’allontanamento dei francesi da Marga, sapeva molto bene quale parte avesse avuto in ciò la fortuna, nonché la condotta magnifica dei suoi alleati turchi e albanesi. Sì, aveva affondato la Torgud, ma si era trattato più di un massacro che di una battaglia ad armi pari e un massacro non poteva guarirlo da quella profonda insoddisfazione. Gli sembrava che la sua reputazione nella marina e agli occhi del Jack Aubrey che osservava le sue azioni da una certa distanza e con la consapevolezza quasi perfetta delle loro motivazioni, fosse fondata su due o tre battaglie fortunate sul mare, azioni alle quali poteva guardare con reale compiacimento, per quanto piccole fossero; ma appartenevano al passato, erano accadute molto tempo prima e ormai molti altri godevano più di lui della stima delle persone di cui Jack apprezzava il giudizio. [...] Era come se stesse partecipando a una corsa: una corsa in cui, dopo una partenza lenta, fosse stato in vantaggio per un po', ma nella quale non riuscisse più a mantenere la posizione e si stesse facendo superare dagli altri concorrenti, forse per mancanza di resistenza, o di giudizio, o di quella particolare qualità senza nome che assicurava il successo ad alcuni e che sfuggiva ad altri, i quali pure si erano prodigati nello stesso modo. Non riusciva a mettere con certezza il dito sull'errore commesso e in certi momenti sentiva di poter affermare con vera convinzione che era tutta una questione di mera fatalità, il rovescio della buona sorte che lo aveva favorito tra i venti e i trent'anni: il ritorno a una condizione media. In altri momenti però intuiva che quel suo profondo disagio era una prova innegabile dell'esistenza di un errore e che, sebbene egli non riuscisse a dargli un nome, esso fosse invece evidente agli altri, in particolare a chi era al comando.

Sono brani meravigliosi, che arrivano inaspettati tra una conversazione e l'altra, quasi a rendere l'affiorare improvviso di questi pensieri negativi nella mente di Jack, e tanto più colpiscono perché, mentre la parte oscura di Stephen è stata ampiamente presentata e indagata (il suo passato difficile e ancora in qualche modo misterioso, la doppiezza di cui è costretto ad ammantarsi a causa del suo lavoro di agente segreto, l'inaspettata violenza di cui è capace, l'abisso della depressione in cui rischiava di cadere, la sua tormentata storia d'amore con Diana), Jack è stato sempre, di contro, un personaggio "semplice", solare, diretto, legato all'azione e al qui e ora, e, anche se la sua natura aperta, schietta e fiduciosa (finanche ingenua in alcuni casi) rimane comunque il tratto più autentico della sua personalità, è una scoperta vedere un lato più inquieto e pensoso del suo carattere che egli tiene nascosto a tutti, anche al suo grande amico, una scoperta emozionante per l'affezionato lettore.
Se posso permettermi di suggerire qualcosa al Maestro, vorrei che O'Brian, dopo aver creato questo efficace preludio, questo senso di incombente "crisi", dagli esiti positivi o negativi che siano, nei prossimi libri dedicasse finalmente maggiore spazio alla vita privata di Jack, ai suoi problemi finanziari sulla terraferma, costantemente richiamati ma poco indagati finora, ai suoi rapporti familiari (con moglie e figli, col padre).

Il porto del tradimento introduce un personaggio simpatico (che forse ha già terminato qui la sua storia o forse no, tornerà in seguito, chissà), quello di Laura Fielding, rimasta invischiata in un gioco più grande di lei e costretta a improvvisarsi seduttrice e spia poco convinta e un po' maldestra, e porta in primo piano quello che forse (insieme a Lesueur?) sarà l'antagonista principale per il prossimo futuro, e cioè Andrew Wray, funzionario corrotto e al soldo dei francesi per motivi di denaro. Wray in sé è ancora poco interessante, forse O'Brian non avrebbe dovuto scoprire le sue carte così presto, ma si prospetta un duello intrigante con Stephen.

I consueti comprimari hanno stavolta meno spazio del solito (anche se il burbero e acido Killick brilla sempre come "comic relief"), così come la vita a bordo e le avventure nautiche (io che ho una preferenza per le vicende sulla terraferma non posso che esserne contenta). Fantastiche le esplorazioni sul fondo marino di Stephen e del reverendo Martin, altro appassionato naturalista, all'interno della "campana di Halley". In questo libro c'è (presumibilmente) l'ultima apparizione di Harte, il comandante incompetente, meschino e vendicativo che non ha mai perso un'occasione per mettere i bastoni tra le ruote a Jack (che come sappiamo i guai se li è andati sicuramente a cercare mettendogli le corna): mentre la sua uscita di scena apre probabilmente la strada a nuovi sviluppi (Wray, che ne è diventato il genero, ora erediterà una fortuna, e questo potrebbe renderlo più potente e pericoloso?), mi è particolarmente piaciuto come O'Brian ha scritto la sua ultima chiacchierata con Jack in cui, inaspettatamente, Harte mostra il suo lato migliore, in modo che i due si lasciano con una nota, se non di amicizia, almeno di calore, inedita nei loro rapporti. Un piccolo segno, forse (io almeno lo voglio leggere così), del grande amore dell'autore per tutte le sue creature, per il suo mondo di fantasia, per la sua storia, amore che è così palpabile per i suoi lettori in ogni sua riga e che è una delle qualità che rendono i suoi libri dei capolavori.

[Karl Jorgenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

O'Brian continues his run of brilliance. As with the previous books, the nautical language, the 19th-century culture, the wooden-ship British Navy and the physical and practical challenges of war on the ocean in wind-driven vessels without lights, reliable navigation, or communication captivate me, as does O'Brian's vivid characterizations. As with previous books, the episodes blend together in a story that isn't quite cohesive; this book ends with a major plot-point unresolved. Not to worry; the next book will pick up where this one stopped. This entire series could be packaged as one two-million word book or be sliced into any arbitrary number of novels. I will be so sad when I reach the end.

[Eric Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A particularly Maturin-centric, spycraft-focused entry in the series - just what I wanted.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Treason's Harbour, the ninth in the Aubrey/Maturin series, we find Jack and Stephen in Malta. While Jack worries about his ship's repairs, Stephen is being dogged by French spies (who aren't above attempting to honeytrap him), and it seems that the British intelligence network itself has been compromised...

I'll be honest - at this point in this series I have lost all objectivity, with Jack and Stephen having become my imaginary best friends and my times aboard ship a blissful holiday from the real world. No matter what their adventures, and even when there's no adventuring at all, I could roll happily around O'Brian's world and words forever.

I doubt it will be long before I find myself devouring number ten.

[jrendocrine at least reading is good · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh glorious Stephen, oh marvelous Jack! How fortunate to spend time with you! And Patrick Tull, narrator for everything!!
You are so urbane, so witty, so droll (Stephen), you have such integrity and seamanship (jack!, obviously not SM!) - I will willingly sail all the seas with you both!

And thanks to the Patrick O’Brian mapping project for my bearings!

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treason's Harbour is a strange and wonderful chapter in the Aubrey/Maturin tale. It almost feels like nothing happens over the course of the story, yet the truth is that Treason's Harbour is overflowing with happenings.

The life of a dog is saved. A man becomes a feast for fish in the most shocking manner. Bedouins steal some ships of the desert from the crew of Surprise at an oasis, and this during a desert crossing by seamen. A ship blows up and 500 die. Jack manages to wriggle out of two traps set by spies (and spies abound in the tale). Maturin wins big at cards. Killick delivers a thrashing to some Frenchmen with a candlestick. Maturin's intelligence machinations throw Jack under the guns of a young, jealous Lieutenant who thinks he's been cuckolded. A nemesis of Jack is finally removed from the board. Maturin gets to play around with a diving bell. Prizes are won and lost. And as the book closes the chief double agent remains unknown to Aubrey & Maturin, though he is right under their noses.

There is tension. There is action. There is adventure. There is everything that makes an Aubrey/Maturin novel crackle. Yet it still feels like almost nothing happened.

Now that may sound like a complaint, but I think it is quite the opposite. Treason's Harbour exemplifies (especially during rereads) what makes the Aubrey/Maturin series special. We are embedded in the careers and lives of the men in these stories, and their day to day happenings -- sailing their vessels, playing their games, scraping out their music, drinking their coffee and eating their toasted cheese, swimming in the ocean, marvelling at sea-life, getting excited by new toys and new places, making silly mistakes, and on and on -- make everything so familiar to us that even when a story is teeming with incident, it all feels like a comfortable day at the office, albeit an office with sails and and creaking ropes.

Sure Treason's Harbour's just another chapter in the Aubrey/Maturin tale, but it is a cracking chapter. Cozy, fun, and soothing as it is exciting.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some may say that listening to an audio book doesn't count as reading it--that you lose something in the process of imagining the action for yourself, and that there's an extra layer of interpretation between you and the author's words because someone else is reading them to you.

Me, I don't quibble about this much. As far as I'm concerned, a decent narrator can do a great deal to make a story come alive, and Patrick Tull did do a very fine job narrating the version of Treason's Harbour I listened to. I did have to do various mental doubletakes at his portrayals of various character accents, since I have Aubrey and Maturin thoroughly imprinted into my brain as Mr. Crowe and Mr. Bettany from the movie--but aside from that, Mr. Tull did do very well distinguishing character accents from his own voice. And in general he seemed a fine narrator for the overall flavor of an Aubrey-Maturin adventure, very British, very proper, and sounding in character for the time frame in which the books are set.

As for the story itself, now we're talking. This has been my favorite of the last few of the Aubrey-Maturins I've read, in no small part because of the delightful intrigue plot involving Stephen having to help Mrs. Laura Fielding, who's been forced by the French to try to spy on their behalf because they've imprisoned her husband. There are quite a few hijinx involving Aubrey being mistaken for her lover while she is in fact trying to seduce Stephen, and Aubrey himself mistakenly believing that Stephen is in fact having an affair with her--all of which provides quite a bit of lovely character interaction between our two principles.

Played off against this is Stephen's actual intrigue going on with Mrs. Fielding, as he enlists Mrs. Fielding's willing help to turn the French's efforts against them. Meanwhile, Jack has intrigue of his own as he's ordered to go on an urgent mission into the Red Sea, which gives the reader a fine opportunity to see an older, more seasoned Jack desperately trying to turn his fortunes around by pulling off another spectacular success... and what happens when things don't go quite so well as that.

Overall this was highly enjoyable, as the Aubrey-Maturins generally are for me, and I'm ready to take on The Far Side of the World! Four stars.

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

A truly superb 'chapter' in the Aubrey-Maturin canon! Loaded with adventure, intrigue, and humor. The book opens with Surprise and its crew in Malta, with Surprise being repaired after her battle with the Torgud and Kitabi (see book no. 8, The Ionian Mission). The French intelligence network is strong in Malta, and Stephen Maturin is tested to his limits to endeavor to thwart it.

The scene then shifts from Malta in the Mediterranean Sea to a slog across the Sinai Desert to the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea as Jack, Stephen, and the crew of Surprise 'borrow' a ship from the East India Company to pursue the nefarious and scheming French in a devilishly clever little campaign. Stephen even brings along a diving bell that he uses to investigate the gin-clear water of the Red Sea and marine life of the tropical reefs.

This novel really has it all. I really enjoyed the time spent in Malta, as O'Brian describes, for the reader, of just how important Malta was strategically, to both sides, during the Napoleonic wars. As usual, O'Brian includes loads of music, good food, interesting women, intelligent and witty dialogue, espionage and intrigue, exciting naval action, and lots of natural science. From virtually the first page, Patrick O'Brian pulls the reader deeper into the world of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. While I heartily love all 20 of the completed novels, Treason's Harbour is just a cut above; a wonderful, wonderful novel!

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Stephen Maturin, you had me at "underwater diving bell".

This is book nine in O'Brian's naval adventure series about British captain Jack Aubrey and his friend/surgeon/spy Stephen Maturin set during the Napoleonic wars, and it is wonderful. This installment was a quicker read than usual for me, for whatever reason, but just as enjoyable as I have come to expect. There is lots of on-shore spying and intrigue in this one (hooray!) as Maturin deals with French spies in Malta, but it does not skimp on the seafaring adventure (bad weather, battles, sharks). I must admit that even nine books into this series that is rich with period and naval language, I really have only the vaguest notion what a topgallant or a staysail is, but it doesn't matter-- these books are so funny and smart and exciting and fantastic. Onward to number 10!

[Renee M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The one with the man-eating shark and the fancy diamond pin.

There is no joy quite like that of going to sea with Stephen and Jack. Lots of intrigue in this one. And some pretty thick suspense over the fate of a lady spy. Plus, a bit of a cliffhanger concerning a mole in the service with the power to do both our heroes some real harm, if left undetected. Great stuff!!

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another authentic and amazing voyage with Aubrey and Maturin, this time originating in Malta, where Stephen encounters the lovely Mrs. Fielding who has been turned under duress by the French. This story in the series has its own charm—the animals, the sea and bird life, Killick’s constant grumbling, Aubrey’s deftness at handling the surprise attack of a French man of war, the descriptions of a nacreous sea, the scent of a huge lemon tree in a piazza, Maturin’s musings over his new toy, the Halley diving bell, all bring you along on yet another adventure filled with narrow escapes, wit and humor. These are some of the best stories told about the British navy during the time of the Napoleonic Wars.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best in the series so far. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the narration.
Stephen's dark side is quite something:
His cold, reptilian glare shocked them; their jocularity died away; they let him go.
Or
Maturin, when playing cards, was not the most amiable of mortals. When he was playing seriously he played to win, as though he were conducting an operation against the enemy; and although he scrupulously observed the letter of the rules he always, and in the most civil way, seized upon any advantage that might present itself.

[Arnis · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...

[Sid Nuncius · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is now my third time reading through this brilliant series and I am reminded again how beautifully written and how wonderfully, addictively enjoyable they are.

Treason’s Harbour is intimately concerned with intelligence affairs as it becomes clear that there is a traitor within the Service in the Mediterranean. Jack and Stephen are again dispatched to the Eastern Med, this time to deal with the situation in a small state on the Red Sea, with the usual intimate, sometimes very exciting account of naval life, Steven’s intelligence work and, of course, his explorations of natural history.

Patrick O'Brian is steeped in the period of the early 19th Century and his knowledge of the language, manners, politics, social mores and naval matters of the time is deep and wide. Combined with a magnificent gift for both prose and storytelling, it makes something very special indeed. The books are so perfectly paced, with some calmer, quieter but still engrossing passages and some quite thrilling action sequences. O'Brian's handling of language is masterly, with the dialogue being especially brilliant, but also things like the way his sentences become shorter and more staccato in the action passages, making them heart-poundingly exciting. There are also laugh-out-loud moments and an overall sense of sheer involvement and pleasure in reading.

I cannot recommend these books too highly. They are that rare thing; fine literature which are also books which I can't wait to read more of. Wonderful stuff.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The continuing adventures of Dr.Maturin and his bff, Captain Aubrey of the Royal Navy. This is a particularly endearing look at them, because both are in fine form. Aubrey is able to showcase his incredible seamanship, strategy, and leadership, while Maturin's naturalist excusions are a humorous counterpoint to his intelligent manipulations. The humor of their strange shipmates and odd customs of the Navy, the obvious intimacy with Maturin's foibles, the affection shown by all of them toward each other--I really loved it.

Three things spoiled my enjoyment: Patrick Tull is generally a good narrator, but his voice for the Italian Mrs.Fielding is atrocious, so bad and artificial that it sounds like a parody. Being party to the French Intelligence officers' meetings is fun for the reader, but made me impatient when Maturin didn't figure out the various French plots. Particularly annoying was his continued trust in Ray, because there were numerous clues that Ray was involved with the French, and Maturin had absolutely no reason to trust Ray. And thirdly, the book ends right in the middle of a spy plot and right before more ship battles! I could hardly believe the book ended in such an awkward spot--at first I thought I'd downloaded it wrong!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

And we're back into regular form, praise be, after the meh that was the Ionian Mission.

The battle : It's rare that Aubrey's battles go awry, but here they do, through no fault of his own. He is first dispatched down the Red Sea to take an Arab fort and capture some French gold (a LOT of French gold), only to find it was a trap and there was no gold, only lead. Alas! And then is sent to treat with a small Ottoman local warlord up the Albanian coast...only to be caught in a harbor and have to fight his way out past three pretty heavy ships. He does so successfully, but at the cost of his companion ship the Pollux being blown to kingdom come when a shot hits the magazine. However since Aubrey's bete-noir Admiral Harte was on board and therefore similarly blown to kingdom come, I have to think Aubrey would call that a win, on sober reflection. The battles themselves are not described with as much clarity and passion as in previous installments, regrettably, but the setup for each and the unique scenery they take place in helps make up the defect somewhat.

The scientific / spywork : It looks like Maturin has finally found a kindred spirit in the pastor Mr. Martin, and they find a number of unique birds and such. Don't ask me to name them, I didn't recognize any of them. They also experiment with a diving bell, which is novel for the time period and is an interesting diversion. Also : sharks. Red Sea sharks, one officer warns before their mission, are particularly deadly and you shouldn't go swimming. I believe his name was Lieutenant Chekhov? Something like that. And then their Arab interpreter decides to go for a swim and is almost immediately set upon and horrifically dismembered by sharks in full view of the crew. Eep!

The spywork is back, and Stephen is up to his usual form here, dealing with tricky political situations in the Ottoman end of the Mediterranean, as well as trying to unmask a high-level traitor who is wrecking a lot of stuff -- both of Aubrey's missions in this book are betrayed in advance, unbeknownst to him, which is why they both go so poorly. But I guess if you're going to lose one villain in Admiral Harte, you might as well gain a new one! Stephen also rescues a distraught English lady who has been forced into espionage work by the French, and uses her to plant some misinformation. I could not help but compare this unfavorably to Louisa Wogan from earlier books, though Wogan engaged in her spycraft voluntarily (and was played by Stephen unknowingly), as opposed to Laura Fielding who is forced into spycraft, and willingly abetted Stephen in planting the bad info. I think Wogan was a better character, and a better spy. This felt a bit too much like a Bond sub-plot, and Bond has NOT aged well as a go-to reference for ... well, bluntly, how to write women.

The relationships : Not a ton of development here. Maturin continues to get letters insisting Diana is cuckolding him, which is starting to shift the wind in the sails of my thought process around into it not actually being true and someone is just messing with him. Aubrey considers bringing his son to sea (well not really, but putting him on the books of a friendly captain so he can get years of seniority without actually doing anything), and teaching his girls to ride horses. His family again does not appear in this novel, but these little snippets remind you that they are growing up. His girls are apparently showing their maturity by only using the blue language they learned from all of Jack's sailor friends when they're deep in the woods, so ... progress? Personally I think it would be much funnier if they swore like sailors in public but this is the Napoleonic Era so fat chance of that.

The medical : Minimal.

Today's mixed metaphor : I was worried we were going to be stuck with only "The best-led mice gang oft astray", which is really not so much mixed as just one metaphor criminally abridged (and why use the original Scots "gang", but then use "astray" intead of the more euphonious Scots "agley"?), but at almost the very last page we get this gem :

"I was afraid you would say that," said Jack, with a longing glance over the water towards Zambra. "Yet there is a great deal to be said for making hay while the iron is hot, you know...but clearly we must not kill Mr Eliot. And it would be stretching my orders uncommon far to sack the town."

9 down, 11 to go!