The Ionian Mission (Vol. Book 8) (Aubrey/Maturin Novels)

For those that were growing weary of intrigues by land, of Stephen Maturin's intelligence work, who wanted to get back to sea with Lucky Jack Aubrey - well, this is the book for you. Capt. Aubrey is now in command of a 74-gun line-of-battle ship, sent to the Toulon blockade (the French Mediterranean naval base). Unfortunately for Jack, HMS Worcester is English-made (it is a truism in the Age of Sail that British ships were terribly built and expertly crewed.... and the opposite was true of the French and Spanish). Leaky, sluggish, and past her best-before date, the Worcester is still formidable in the hands of a skilled sailor like Jack Aubrey. Further complications ensue - the Vice Admiral o the fleet was cuckolded by Jack some years before. The Admiral, while admiring Jack's skill, is feeble and worn out by years on a dull station. The Ottoman Empire is fractious and internecine warfare is likely to break out at any time between pro-French, pro-English, and ambivalent beys who will sell their ports to the highest bidder.

But wait: perhaps the last is an advantage after all. After failing at an ambiguous mission designed to start a shooting war with a French squadron in a neutral port, Jack is given a second chance: take his old frigate Surprise, along with Stephen and a Turkish professor in the employ of the Foreign Office, to decide which of three rebellious beys will be able and willing to attack a French-held town in Ottoman territory. Naturally, Jack sees this as a military mission, requiring quick decision and overwhelming use of force. The diplomat, on the other hand, sees this as a delicate dance to extract concessions and formal treaties, possibly taking months to complete. Obviously this leads to conflict!

To say that the book is slow-moving is probably fair. That's not to say it isn't interesting, but those who do not care to be submerged in the world of Napoleonic Era Royal Navy life should probably pick something else. No other book in the series, so far, so readily encapsulates the actual job that the Royal Navy did during most of the war. After the Nile and Trafalgar, the French no longer left their ports, except in non-confrontational sorties that led to a lot of blundering around trying to find them in a storm, followed by a rapid French retreat back to the port without anyone having fired a broadside. The real action lay in the frigates, albeit usually in the North American station, where American privateers and their large frigates were eager to fight. Luckily for Jack and for this novel, there is at least one (fictional?) Turk willing to fight, and so we end the book with the Surprise trading shots with a modern and well-fought Turkish ship in a hectic and exciting battle. If you're willing to wade through 200 pages of blockade, jibs, and bully beef, you will be rewarded for your patience. And those 200 pages of blockade, jibs, and bully beef are actually pretty entertaining too.

Another great book in the series ! Captain Aubrey was chosen to undertake a particularly delicate mission requiring the greatest of judgment and diplomacy. His gut reaction to the choices
of who the British government should support proved to be spot on; despite the objections and excessive caution of his advisor and translator, Dr. Graham. Had the advice of his advisor been received, time would have been lost, the wrong choices made, and a catastrophic loss would have occurred. Fortunately, "lose not a minute" "spare not a moment" Aubrey drove on with his choice of alliances and seized the day and defeated the dreaded Mustapha ! What a story ! Action packed from beginning to end ! The crew of the Surprise, reveled in the victory and Captain Aubrey certainly redeemed himself fully for the failure to engage at Medina. If LT Pullings can pull through (no pun intended), certainly glory will be his and he will advance to Commander. Battlefield distinction certainly will trump the strap hangers at Whitehall. Well Done ! Time to open the bar and celebrate the victory !

Patrick O'Brian's "The Ionian Mission" is a solid entry in the Aubrey/Maturin novels- it could be read as a stand alone, but I do not recommend that. As is often the case, the story opens with Jack Aubrey on shore after a long series of adventures that have taken him to the far reaches of the globe. And equally unsurprising to those familiar with the series, he has quickly had his fill of domestic tranquility (or lack thereof) and is hounded by his creditors and a cabal of lawyers who threaten to undo his fortunes. So when an old Ship of the Line, the Worcester- named one of the `forty thieves' due to the corruption that riddled its construction some years before, becomes available to command Jack Aubrey jumps at the opportunity to escape and return to his natural environment. The mission is far from the dashing Frigate actions and independent journeys familiar to readers, however; Jack and Stephen are ordered to the Mediterranean to join the blockade of the French fleet.

The blockade duty is harsh and unforgiving, and Jack discovers that his old nemesis, Admiral Harte is the second in command of the fleet, and has forged an `unholy alliance' with Jack's political enemies ashore (one Andrew Wray). With little room for error, he conducts a series of political and intelligence missions with his ship's surgeon and naval intelligence officer, Stephen Maturin. Unfortunately, although the missions are not failures, they are far from successes, and offer little battle to distinguish the ship's officers and crew. With morale falling, Jack finds that Admiral Harte has taken command during the transition between Commander's in Chief, and he is given a sensitive mission in the Greek Isles that offers far more opportunity for failure than for distinction. Jack and Stephen plunge in to the twisted Byzantine politics of the Ottoman Empire's hinterland and the final climax is intense and explosive.

"The Ionian Mission" introduces Professor Graham, an interesting counterpart to Stephen Maturin, who provides some awkward conversations as well as humor. The chapter describing the `neutral' Barbary port of Medina is very exciting, and as the disappointments mount you'll wince with Jack Aubrey as he is berated before Admiral Thronton. Admiral Harte returns as the man we love to hate, and the political alliance with Andrew Wray sets up events in the novels to come. As usual, O'Brian's writing brings the characters to life, the dialogue is excellent, and you'll be longing for the next installment as soon as you conclude this one.

If this is your first look at a Patrick O'Brian novel, please start with "Master and Commander"- you'll find the whole series much more enjoyable if read in sequence.

"The Ionian Mission" is the eighth book in Patrick O'Brian's colossal Aubrey-Maturin series, and it is a solid entry . . . had it been written by another author, I'd probably give it five stars. To be fair, my expectations for this series are probably impossibly high.

Unlike many authors who write multiple novels about beloved characters, Patrick O'Brian allows his characters to age. This is a wonderful touch in "The Ionian Mission." Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin, intelligence agent, surgeon and naturalist, have been through many scrapes and adventures, and O'Brian allows the scars to show. Both Aubrey and Maturin are having some difficulties with their beloved musical duets on the violin and cello, thanks to their numerous wonds over the years. And Aubrey especially is beginning to resemble Frankenstein's monster, what with all his scars and gashes. In other words, these guys aren't James Bond, who emerges for each new story looking like a GQ cover model.

It is also delightful that O'Brian, for the all the successes he has granted both Aubrey and Maturin, leaves both characters at the mercy of their superiors. "The Ionian Mission" is more Aubrey's tale than Maturin's, and so we have several scenes where Aubrey worries about how the Navy - especially his nemesis, Admiral Harte - seems to want him to fail. This is in addition to Aubrey's legal woes, as lawyers descend like locusts to steal his hard-won fortune.

"The Ionian Mission" has a sprawling plot that veers from a tedious blockade of a French port to an aborted espionage mission for Maturin to the Byzantine diplomacy of Turkish politics. Culminating in a titanic naval battle as Aubrey leads his beloved ship Surprise against two Turkish warships - outnumbered by almost 200 men and dozens of cannon - "The Ionian Mission" is a completely original and fresh installment in this wonderful series of books.

As per usual, O'Brian offers his usual pitch-perfect throwaway lines, such as when Aubrey reflects that he "never was a hypocrite until he became a father" when telling a youngster to behave in a very un-Aubrey-like way. While O'Brian offers great battle scenes and vivid descriptions of life at sea, this little gems are what make these books so much darn fun to read.

If you haven't read any of these books yet, go grab "Master and Commander," apologize to the friends and family you are going to snub over the next few weeks, and dive right in. You'll be glad you did.

"The Ionian Mission" is every bit as worthy as any of the Aubrey/Maturins that came before. This time they are engaged in Jack's worst nightmare: a blockade, which is bad enough, but in this case Rear Admiral Harte is second in command. Harte is a scrub to those under him whom he doesn't especially dislike. But to Aubrey! Ugh.
But Jack gets a respite from the tedium when ordered to escort the ship captained by his old mid, now Commander William Babbington, on a mission that Harte hopes will set Aubrey up for a fall.
We're at sea. Babbington is visiting Captain Aubrey aboard the Worcester, his Dryad sailing along over there, when we are treated to one of tasty little morsels that O'Brian's sack is so full of. Babbington and Aubrey are leaning on the Worcester's rail when the quote begins:
The Worcester and the Dryad had hardly sunk the squadron's topsails below the western horizon before the sun came out and the breeze increased so that the sparkling blue was flecked with white horses.
"Buttons, the French call them," observed Captain Aubrey in his thick, cold-ridden voice.
"Do they indeed, sir," said Captain Babbington. "I never knew that. What a curious notion."
"Well, you could say that they are as much like sheep as they are horses," said Jack, blowing his nose. "But sheep ain't poetical, whereas horses are."
"Are they really, sir? I was not aware."
"Of course they are, William. Nothing more poetical, except maybe doves. Pegasus, and so on. Think of the fellow in the play that calls out 'My kingdom for a horse' -- it would not have been poetry at all, had he said sheep."
In this episode Jack re-encounters that dusky maid, Mercedes, a re-encounter that might have been a reunion if Stephen had not made the most untimely and unwelcome entrance to the Crown in his life. And it is Stephen's turn to issue the call, "Come brother. There is not a moment to lose. We must run to the boat."
It ain't all poetical and dashed hopes, however. Fate delivers to Jack his favorite ship, the Surprise. She takes on two ships in as furious a little battle as you could ever wish to see. And wins, with Bonden doing it the civil, tucking the vanquished Turk's swords under his arm with savoir faire.

This book was very enjoyable, but, after reading the first eight books in this series, I have the feeling that I've already read the best of the series. This book is wonderfully well-written, as have been all of the books in this series so far, and there is no shortage of the wit and humor that O'Brian is famous for. There are a couple of problems with this book, however. First (and this will be a problem for all of the rest of this series as well) there is the problem of time. In the previous book in this series, O'Brian stopped giving us real historical events that would allow us to know exactly what period of time the events in the books are taking place in. The reason is obvious; by the time the events in this book have taken place, the war would be very nearly over (I figure late 1814 at the earliest) and there is still another ten books or so in this series before the war ends. The other problem with this book is that nothing very exciting happens until about two-thirds of the way through this book. In the last third of the book, Jack is given a special mission that requires diplomacy as well as fighting ability, and even Jack knows that diplomacy is not his strong suit. There is a great plot twist towards the end of this book worthy of a good mystery novel which leads to a fantastic ending. Everything comes together at the end of this book, and it gives the reader a good reward for persevering through the earlier slow parts. I will certainly continue reading this series, although I don't think the later books will quite equal his early masterpieces.

I admit, I picked up Master and Commander after seeing Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany play Aubrey and Maturin in the movie, so my entire experience of reading these has been colored by their very specific performances. I've been working my way thru the series since then, spacing them out over time, knowing that there are only 20 (well, 20 and a draft) of them, and that I have to ration them to make them last...finding the tiny bits and pieces of it in each book has been a particular delight, with so much of the adaptation taken from the series as a whole and not just the 2 primary sources.

That said, I had read thru the whole first seven books of this series without a single real, true belly laugh until I reached the inevitable first gun practice of the new crew with our cannon-mad captain. Jack says of the results of that most un-Navy-like display (pun intended, oh, yes, pun intended!) that they will make of the Worcester a happy ship; I know I was certainly happy to be aboard her! Even after putting down the book at the end of my lunch hour, I found myself giggling all afternoon at the result of the widow's powder in battle conditions. In fact, I'm giggling as I type this :)

I haven't finished the series, obviously, but I have to say, that from the description on the back cover of "...that lion in action and ass ashore, Jack Aubrey" right thru to the end, I found the humor in this book irresistible-some of it truly sophomoric, admittedly, but accessible in a way that some of the earlier books haven't been. A horrible job to do, no battle, etc., could have made for a really dreadful scenario-instead, it's the most endearing portrait of all the crew so far. Plus my favorite character from the movie, dear Mr. Calamy, finally arrives, and is as adorable as I suspected he would be. I love him, and his bull calf.

I just wish that gun practice had been in the movie...what a trailer it would have made! I'll bet if they'd included it in the movie, more people would have gone and we'd have gotten a sequel or two out of it. Peter Weir, what were you thinking?!

This is the eighth in the naval action adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin, and, except for the last twenty pages, there's a surprising lack of action. Jack is doing a turn commanding a seventy-four-gun ship of the line in the blockade of Toulon on the French Mediterranean coast, a mostly cold, dreary, boring, enervating sort of warfare. The admiral he admires is wasting away from overwork and the vice-commander, Jack's old nemesis, tries to use him in a diplomatic feint which turns into a debacle, damaging his reputation among those of his crew who don't really know him and even making him doubt himself. Stephen is busy behind the scenes, sharing the secret limelight with Prof. Graham, an expert in all things Turkish. Finally, in a narratively somewhat disconnected incident, they are sent off to the Turkish-held Greek islands to undermine the French among the local beys and pashas. While it makes for interesting reading in depicting another, rather less dashing, side of the naval war against Napoleon, this volume is uncomfortably episodic and not at all one of O'Brian's best. I would definitely not recommend this as one's first novel in the series.

The eighth installment in Patrick O'Brian's brilliant nautical series, Ionian Mission pleases like the rest. Captain Aubrey and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin return to the Mediteranean for the first time since the third book ("HMS Surprise") and even have a chance to sail again in the Surprise. Ionian Mission is really the first of two in a mini-series in which the British and Ottoman empires meet on the waves and the towns of the Med. It is as much about diplomacy, though of a twisted devious sort, as straightforward naval action. The Kirkus Review, above, incorrectly states that "fickle westerlies" take them to the Aegean (they are never in the Aegean, and the only fickle winds are the levanter that prevents their passage of Gibralter for a few days). The book is a lively fictionalized view of the Barbary States and the tedium of the blockade of Toulon - indeed this blockade was underway five books ago.
O'Brian once again delivers. Ionian Mission is a fun read, a worthy addition to the Aubrey/Maturin series.

Needing a reliable book for a long flight, I turned to a random O'Brian work. They never disappoint, and The Ionian Mission was true to form. I am about halfway through the series, and am avoiding the sequential order. It's very doable. All of the usual wit and nautical flourishes are here, and most readers will learn a good deal more about the foreign world of early nineteenth century nautical diplomacy and warfare. I was searching for a distinguishing theme in this book, as I seem to recall finding in others; this one was a little more elusive. Nevertheless, I particularly enjoyed to diplomatic intrigue in the Ottoman empire along with the discovery of Bach and the preparation for the Handel oratorio. Better still was the representation of how the foibles of career advancement played out in the British navy.

Capt. Jack Aubrey of the British navy sets out on a delicate mission calling for cunning, finesse, and political acumen -- not generally his strong points, at least on dry land. With the advice of his friend, surgeon and sectret agent Stephen Maturin, Aubrey must choose which of three rival regimes to support in their conflict over a disputed territory. If he chooses amiss -- as some in the admiralty seem to hope he will do -- he faces disgrace and quite possibly bankruptcy. Can he navigate the treacherous waters of politics in the Ottoman Empire? I wouldn't dream of giving it away!
Along with the dry humor and vivid historical texture Patrick O'Brien can be counted on to provide, this book brings out depths in Aubrey's character that hadn't been apparent in earlier books. I rate this one of the best of a very good series. (They're best read in order; start with Master & Commander, if you haven't started yet.)

Some critics have referred to the Aubrey/Maturin books as one long novel united not only by their historical setting but also by the central plot element of the Aubrey/Maturin friendship. Having read these fine books over a period of several years, I decided to evaluate their cumulative integrity by reading them consecutively in order of publication over a period of a few weeks. This turned out to be a rewarding enterprise. For readers unfamiliar with these books, they describe the experiences of a Royal Navy officer and his close friend and traveling companion, a naval surgeon. The experiences cover a broad swath of the Napoleonic Wars and virtually the whole globe.
Rereading all the books confirmed that O'Brian is a superb writer and that his ability to evoke the past is outstanding. O'Brian has numerous gifts as a writer. He is the master of the long, careful description, and the short, telling episode. His ability to construct ingenious but creditable plots is first-rate, probably because he based much of the action of his books on actual events. For example, some of the episodes of Jack Aubrey's career are based on the life of the famous frigate captain, Lord Cochrane. O'Brian excels also in his depiction of characters. His ability to develop psychologically creditable characters through a combination of dialogue, comments by other characters, and description is tremendous. O'Brien's interest in psychology went well beyond normal character development, some books contain excellent case studies of anxiety, depression, and mania.
Reading O'Brien gives vivid view of the early 19th century. The historian Bernard Bailyn, writing of colonial America, stated once that the 18th century world was not only pre-industrial but also pre-humanitarian (paraphrase). This is true as well for the early 19th century depicted by O'Brien. The casual and invariable presence of violence, brutality, and death is a theme running through all the books. The constant threats to life are the product not only of natural forces beyond human control, particularly the weather and disease, but also of relative human indifference to suffering. There is nothing particularly romantic about the world O'Brien describes but it also a certain grim grandeur. O'Brien also shows the somewhat transitional nature of the early 19th century. The British Navy and its vessals were the apogee of what could be achieved by pre-industrial technology. This is true both of the technology itself and the social organization needed to produce and use the massive sailing vessals. Aubrey's navy is an organization reflecting its society; an order based on deference, rigid hierarchy, primitive notions of honor, favoritism, and very, very corrupt. At the same time, it was one of the largest and most effective bureaucracies in human history to that time. The nature of service exacted great penalities for failure in a particularly environment, and great success was rewarded greatly. In some ways, it was a ruthless meritocracy whose structure and success anticipates the great expansion of government power and capacity seen in the rest of the 19th century.
O'Brian is also the great writer about male friendship. There are important female characters in these books but since most of the action takes place at sea, male characters predominate. The friendship between Aubrey and Maturin is the central armature of the books and is a brilliant creation. The position of women in these books is ambiguous. There are sympathetic characters, notably Aubrey's long suffering wife. Other women figures, notably Maturin's wife, leave a less positive impression. On board ship, women tend to have a disruptive, even malign influence.
How did O'Brian manage to sustain his achievement over 20 books? Beyond his technical abilities as a writer and the instrinsic interest of the subject, O'Brien made a series of very intelligent choices. He has not one but two major protagonists. The contrasting but equally interesting figures of Aubrey and Maturin allowed O'Brien to a particularly rich opportunity to expose different facets of character development and to vary plots carefully. This is quite difficult and I'm not aware of any other writer who has been able to accomplish such sustained development of two major protagonists for such a prolonged period. O'Brian's use of his historical setting is very creative. The scenes and events in the books literally span the whole globe as Aubrey and Maturin encounter numerous cultures and societies. The naval setting allowed him also to introduce numerous new and interesting characters. O'Brian was able to make his stories attractive to many audiences. Several of these stories can be enjoyed as psychological novels, as adventure stories, as suspense novels, and even one as a legal thriller. O'Brian was also a very funny writer, successful at both broad, low humor, and sophisticated wit. Finally, O'Brian made efforts to link some of the books together. While a number are complete in themselves, others form components of extended, multi-book narratives. Desolation Island, Fortune of War, and The Surgeon's Mate are one such grouping. Treason's Harbor, The Far Side of the World, and The Reverse of the Medal are another. The Letter of Marque and the ensuing 4 books, centered around a circumnavigation, are another.
Though the average quality of the books is remarkably high, some are better than others. I suspect that different readers will have different favorites. I personally prefer some of the books with greater psychological elements. The first book, Master and Commander, is one of my favorites. The last 2 or 3, while good, are not as strong as earlier books. I suspect O'Brian's stream of invention was beginning to diminish. All can be read profitably as stand alone works though there is definitely something to be gained by reading in consecutive order.

Not familiar with Aubrey and Maturin? Patrick O'Brian's nautical series is a MUST READ, especially the narrated audible version narrated by Patrick Tull. The hours just seem to slip by, as you listen to the gritty, amusing and stoic account of the dynamic duo's life on the high seas during the Napoleonic era.

This novel (book 8), finds Aubrey and Maturin in the Greek Islands, in a sub-standard 'ship of the line' called the Worcester. The crew must cope with boredom, storms, and an inscrutable Scottish moralist, Graham. In particular I found the parts with the old Admiral and his little pug dog particularly moving. This novel is a MUST read for fans of nautical fiction.

Entertainment in its purest form.

I love a competent wordsmith and Patrick O'brian is the best. This is my second time reading the entire series.These Aubrey/Maturin books are not just about navel warfare, they gives a wonderful glimpse of life in the early nineteenth century onshore as well as on the water.

THE IONIAN MISSION, the eighth novel in the "Aubrey/Maturin Series," is not a stand-alone book by any means. The revelation of Dr. Stephen Maturin's marriage to Diana Villiers near the opening of the book will have no significance to those who have not read the preceding works, particularly THE MAURITIUS COMMAND, and even its predecessor, POST CAPTAIN. As mentioned in reviews of some of the earlier volumes in this series, each novel is most accurately pictured as a chapter in one incredibly long story, not as an individual book, for, so far at least, a satisfactory understanding of each book depends upon some knowledge of what transpired in previous ones. However, this inevitably raises the question as to whether the entire series is worth the hours of one's life span required to read it.

Patrick O'Brian (whose real name was Richard Patrick Russ) is an uneven writer at best. Each volume in this on-going sea-faring adventure does have stirring scenes of battle, often complete with missing limbs, shattered appendages, and other naturalistic gore. At these points, the books are veritable "page turners" for readers who enjoy fast-paced action and the vicarious excitement of pitched battles among men-of-war, frigates, sloops, and other fighting ships. Some of the descriptions are also rather educational; the reader comes away with a new appreciation of what naval battle was like in the days when ships were at the mercy of wind and wave. One learns what a "fighting top" was in these ships and why they carried foot soldiers as well as sailors.

On the other hand, O'Brian/Russ is a less successful writer when he endeavors to incorporate human-interest themes not directly germane to naval warfare. The pages devoted to Maturin's marriage to Diana are an unfortunate example of this weakness. The reader learns that it is hardly an intimate or passionate sort of marriage, and both partners are happy enough when Maturin goes again to sea with his captain, Jack Aubrey. This parallels a similar description in an earlier volume of the not-very-joyous marriage of Aubrey with his own sweetheart, and neither adds significantly to the overall story line.

Probably as in real life, there are also stretches of time in the novel where little transpires. The lack of any particular action or even captivating intrigue for rather long periods leaves the reader wishing that something of interest would happen. At one of these rather boring stretches of nothingness, I laid the book aside, read UNDER A FLAMING SKY: THE GREAT HINCKLEY FIRESTORM OF 1894 by Daniel James Brown, and then returned to finish THE IONIAN MISSION.

The ending of this volume leaves the reader suspended in the literary air, by the way. Aubrey has successfully attacked two Turkish warships in a thrilling climatic chapter. Having boarded one of the Turkish ships, he stands on the deck when one of his officers advises him to return to their own ship because this one happens to be sinking. End of book. Essentially, the volume ends in the very midst of an infrequent, exciting action. There is no sort of literary resolution, denouement, conclusion, or sense that anything has been completed. The ending is incredibly unsatisfying, and one prays that the next book in the series, TREASON'S HARBOUR, picks up exactly where this one leaves off, but, if O'Brian/Russ runs true to form, we'll rejoin Aubrey and Maturin somewhere in the future with no clue as to what happened after his victory over the Turks.

All in all, I find O'Brian/Russ to be generally a decent writer but hardly a great one. His books are generally entertaining reads but not memorable ones. His story line is generally entertaining but not a significant contribution to modern literature. One could certainly find a much worse use of time than reading his seafaring novels, but then one could likely find a better use as well. The one recommendation I shall presume to offer is that, if one wishes to sample O'Brian/Russ's writing, he begin with the first novel of the series, MASTER AND COMMANDER, and come to this one in its proper place in the series so as to properly understand many of the references and characters.