Treason's Harbour (Vol. Book 9) (Aubrey/Maturin Novels)

Not what I expected. The book is of very different dimensions than the other 12 books I have in the series and looks odd in the book case. The dust cover does not fit correctly on the book. If I had seen this product beforehand I would not have purchased it.

A highly placed traitor compromises two British naval operations to the French. Most novelists might keep the fact and identity of the turncoat a secret to build suspense. Patrick O'Brian tells you exactly who the miscreant is; the pleasure comes in observing the heroes of our story figure it out themselves. In this he is staying true to his form, focusing his craft on the interrelationships between the characters.

"Treason's Harbour" is the ninth installment of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series of novels set during the Napoleonic war with Britain in the early nineteenth century. (At this point in the series, the year seems perpetually to be 1813.) In reviewing the previous book, "The Ionian Mission," which largely depicts shipboard leisure activities, I had expressed my hope that now that we had gotten the culture out of the way, it was time for a little "gratuitous sex and violence." O'Brian does not disappoint this time, delivering a somewhat more plot-driven story with intrigue, exotic locations, naval skirmishes, and yes, even intimations of sex.

The story largely takes place on the island of Malta, where Aubrey is awaiting orders. His best friend and ship's surgeon, Dr. Stephen Maturin, who also happens to be a secret agent for British intelligence, attempts to uncover and disrupt a French intelligence operation involving the wife of a captured British officer. This subplot is interrupted when Aubrey and his HMS Surprise crew are sent to capture a French treasure-laden Turkish vessel in the Red Sea, a clandestine mission about which the traitor is well aware. Later, Aubrey is entrusted with a diplomatic assignment that is also threatened by treachery, leading to a cat-and-mouse game between the Surprise and the French at sea. Silly French Navy: you have no hope against Aubrey.

There's a lot to like about this book. There's the intrigue of a highly ranked French mole in the British Admiralty. There's the renewed attention to the multi-dimensional Maturin; for instance, he experiments with a diving bell he has bought, and he's depicted wielding subtle powers of observation to humiliate the (still unknown to Maturin) traitor in a card game of chance. O'Brian also gives us some flavor of early nineteenth-century Malta and Egypt. And as always, there is Maturin's masterful depiction of ships and sea battles.

What's distinctive about "Treason's Harbour" among the books to this point is that this one ends with something of a cliff hanger. Most of the earlier books in the series are, while connected, fairly well self-contained. This book leaves things only partially resolved. It doesn't make you feel cheated--you do have a natural break at the end of the book--but neither do you feel like the story's ended. In a way, it helps put the subdued, interlude-like tone of "The Ionian Mission' in some context. The Aubrey-Maturin books are like one long serialized adventure. It's almost unfair to review them individually.

_Treason's Harbor_ primarily focuses on Dr. Maturin's role as intelligence officer and the intrigue espionage engenders, especially so here, as the story closely involves developing and recruiting a spy, and in parts reads as much like a John LeCarre or Tom Clancy novel (albeit set in the early 19th century). Added to the espionage-tint of the plot, are (unfounded) rumors of Aubrey again cuckolding a fellow-officer. From this brief synopsis, one would assume (correctly) that very little action takes place at sea. The nautical aspects of the story are closely intertwined with the espionage (and counter-espionage) which makes for a tightly-written story, although the scant time spent at sea seems to be more the means to other ends than the McGuffin driving the story.

The relationship between Aubrey and Maturin also takes a backseat to action here, which is a bit of a disappointment as well. I attribute this to the sensative nature of Maturin's work, precluding him from discussing this with Aubrey - nonetheless, it is an important aspect of the series that I miss. Similarly I was a bit frustrated at the novel's conclusion - it seemed rather open-ended, there being no clear resolution to the issues of treason, counter-intelligence, the dangerous (while unfounded) accusations of Aubrey's infidelity, and the incomplete conclusion of the misson AUbrey was tasked with. This said, I can't hardly wait to read the next in the series, in order to have these questions (that O'Brian leaves hanging) answered. The intrigue (and its play on policy and strategy) made for exciting and brisk reading. As with the previous books in the series, recommended.

I continue to marvel at how strong a series Patrick O'Brian has created with his beloved Aubrey-Maturin books. Now into their ninth novel, Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin have lost none of their appeal.

One of O'Brian's best decisions was to have Aubrey and Maturin play two dramatically different roles while serving together. Aubrey is a duty-driven fighting captain, good for plenty of gallantry and traditional British heroism. In certain novels, such as "Master and Commander," Aubrey gets to take the lead. Maturin, on the other hand, is a spy as well as a naturlist, humanist, and physician. O'Brian lets Maturin take the lead in other novels where dueling broadsides play less of a role. And thank goodness he did so, for after a few novels the stories of Aubrey leading ship after ship into combat would grow more than a little dull.

"Treason's Harbour" is one of the series' espionage-oriented novels. The novel opens in the titular harbour in the island of Malta. Aubrey's lucky ship "Surprise" is in for much-needed repairs, and Aubrey must confront the extortive practices of the local tradesmen in order to get his ship fixed. Maturin must confront the attempt by the French to seduce him using a charming local lady whom they have blackmailed. O'Brian masterfully injects humor into the scenario as Aubrey tries to rescue the lady's beloved (and mammoth) dog, who has fallen into a well. Despite falling in himself, Aubrey rescues the dog, who thereafter treats Aubrey with such affection that the local gossip swiftly becomes that Aubrey and the lady must be having an affair.

After this entertaining episode, it is off to the Red Sea for Aubrey and Maturin for more diplomacy. While there is plenty of time for seamanship, this mission is more in Maturin's line than Aubrey's. O'Brian treats the reader to several fun and thrilling passages, whether it is Aubrey trying to negotiate the desert on a camel, or Maturin using his new-fangled diving bell to explore the sea floor, or an unfortunate swimmer being devoured by a shark.

The pages of "Treason's Harbour" will fly by as Aubrey and Maturin move from scrape to scrape, eventually ending up in a sea battle with the French. All in all, a well-rounded entry into the Aubrey-Maturin series. I only give this one four stars to distinguish it from the best novels in the series, but this is by no means a criticism - sometimes you must discriminate between the very good and the excellent.

In "Treason's Harbour" Lucky Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin continue their adventures in the Mediterranean; only this time Jack's well-known luck fails him. The story picks up where "The Ionian Mission" left off, and CPT Jack Aubrey is dealing with the refit of both the Worcester and the Surprise. In the shipyards of the 1800's - Malta in particular - corruption is rife and while Aubrey deals with the frustrations of naval command's less glamorous details Stephen Maturin finds Malta to be a den of spies, loose lips and competing intelligence agencies. Here Patrick O'Brian continues to expand and excel with Maturin's espionage activities. Significant to this novel is the introduction of a villain who spans more than one volume. I will not spoil the surprise, but he has been previously encountered to those familiar with O'Brian's series. This quality makes "Treason's Harbour" a great read from the intelligence perspective: the reader is given Maturin's knowledge and the Villain's knowledge, and can see the interaction of their various skills and chance, and how this plays out into reality.

Stephen Maturin runs counter intelligence in Malta, attempting to use and save a woman who is being manipulated by deadly French agents, and due to leaks within one of England's compartmentalized and competing intelligence agencies, is at a severe disadvantage that he can only suspect. Needless to say, O'Brian's forte in writing includes both naval action and tense espionage.

Soon the Surprise is dispatched on a mission to Arabia, where CPT Aubrey is ordered to attempt another minor coup similar to what he performed in the Ionian: take a small but strategic island, and through the use of subtle and well plied political intrigue and military maneuver, oust the French and their agents, ensure the installation of a ruler friendly to the interests of His Majesty's Empire and confound Bonaparte's minions to boot. Well, as you will see, all that is easily stated in war plans is not so easily executed on the ground, and the crew of the Surprise are soon terrified by evil Jin spirits in the Arabian deserts and fighting an enemy completely outside of their element.

Following the conclusion of their attempt in Arabia, Jack is dispatched once more to deal with a small potentate along the Barbary Coast, who has been playing both sides in England and France's struggle for dominion. The conclusion of the book will leave you at the brink, wanting more, and racing to the library or the bookshop to get the next adventure. "Treason's Harbour" is a great book by any standards, and excels even by the elevated expectations that O'Brian continues to set.

Treason's Harbour provides a couple of interesting twists for the Patrick O'Brien fan. These twists involve failed missions which interrupt the continued series of victories we come to expect, yet which we know are not the stuff of reality. Captain Aubrey and his Surprises are sent on a mission by land across Egypt to the Red Sea to intercept a cargo of French bullion. We have high hopes for this adventure, as it would enrich Aubrey, and end his financial difficulties at home. This mission, however, ends in abject failure, for want of first rate military intelligence, and as a result of leaks of confidential information. The second twist is Dr. Maturin's dangerous efforts at counter-intelligence, in which he pretends to be seduced by the wife of a British officer, who feigns cooperation with the enemy in the hope of freeing her husband who is being held captive. This counter-intelligence effort is also unsuccessful. In short, even the fictionalized version of war embodies unfortunate disaster as well as brilliant victory. As usual, however, we are treated to a wealth of detail as to the operations of the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and to the minutiae of naval administration. For instance, we see the corruption of the dockyard shipwrights when Capt. Aubrey has to pay bribes to get the Surprise refitted on schedule. this book will not be a favorite of the fan of naval warfare, as the only action is brief, and is inserted ten pages from the end, as in afterthought. There is also some contemporary relevance, as the action of the book is set in Muslim lands during Ramadan, and we see the effect of Islam playing through the story line. Overall, it is a stand-alone plot, and no previous knowledge of the characters or precedence is required. Read it for the twists, and shake the Egyptian sand from your boots when you return home.

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.

I am very conflicted about rating this novel. The Aubrey-Maturin books are a series of novels, but in fact area almost a single novel rather than a series of stand alone books. Disliking one novel is almost tantamount to saying that you dislike a chapter of a book, which is almost silly. I must, therefore, confess to feeling a bit silly saying that this is one of my least favorite novels in the series. The series as a whole is masterful, and group of books that I love dearly, and it is to be expected that some parts are to be less successful than others.
TREASON'S HARBOUR is from first to last a spy story. This is not always apparent, but even the two long segments that interrupt the more straightforward espionage sections of the narrative result as they do because of a major British official selling state secrets. O'Brian's genius lies in his willingness to leave so many strands of his story unresolved at the end, and while this willingness to forestall resolving his tale weakens TREASON'S HARBOUR taken exclusively on its own, it strengthens the series of books overall.
The novel finds our heroes in Malta, following the events of THE IONIAN MISSION. Almost immediately we find that French agents have identified Stephen Maturin as a British intelligence agent, and they point their reluctant agent Laura Fielding--an Italian beauty who is the wife of a British naval officer who has been imprisoned by the French and who can therefore be used to force her to comply with their needs-at the good doctor, hoping to make her his lover in order to accumulate secrets. When finished with Maturin, they clearly mean to kill him. Meanwhile, we learn that a major British official is in league with the French, and is passing on secrets to them. Twice Jack is given assignments to carry out that are compromised by secrets shared by the official. One act of treason even leads to the death of Jack's long-time nemesis Rear Admiral Hart, in rather shocking fashion.
One of the amazing things about the Aubrey-Maturin series is the extraordinary number of locales that it takes the reader. One of the stereotypes of sea going novels is of a protagonist who boards ships because he wants to see the world. This is unquestionably the case with these stories. This entire novel is set in the Mediterranean, the fleet being based at Malta, and Jack being given assignments in Egypt and Algeria. One benefit for me of reading the novels has been my constant running to an Atlas to locate with greater specificity the various ports of call encountered in the various novels.
In short, while this is one of the least eventful novels in the series, and while it barely manages to stand on its own, it nonetheless plays a crucial role in the series as a whole. Moreover, it contains many of the virtues of the other novels. I can't imagine anyone who has loved other novels in the sequence not loving this one also.

Captain Jack Aubrey was known in the Royal Navy as "Lucky Jack" in his earlier career, but he hasn't been so lucky of late. This ninth novel in the series, which continues immediately after _The Ionian Mission_ (and appears to be the middle installment of a mini-trilogy), is a satisfying mix of naval adventure, set mostly in the Red Sea, and spy story, set in Malta and revolving around Stephen Maturin's befriending of the young wife of a captured naval captain who is working, semi-unaware, for the French intelligence service. He's much better known to his enemies now than in times past, which has increased his personal danger greatly, and -- while we all know he's going to survive -- it's interesting to see how he does it. As always, O'Brian shows himself a master of early 19th century slang and jargon, and also of droll wit. The extra fillip this time is the pair's adventures crossing the desert between the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Suez, combined with Maturin's acquisition of a massive brass diving bell. And the account of the pellmell journey down the narrow passage in pursuit of a galley hopefully filled with French gold is one of the author's best extended scenes yet.

I started reading this series a little more than a year ago, and have been pacing myself. I found that once I had gotten used to the style of the first novel, I could easily consume the series and decided to slow down. A year later I arrive at this installment. It took me a few days to decide how I felt about it, but I have decided that its one of the best in the series.

Like other reviewers, I agree that this series is much like one long novel, and that each volume could be considered a chapter. This is not one of the more action oriented installments, but is full of intrigue and complexity which is itself exciting. I have found that while some of the books are more "broadside and boarding axe" heavy, others are more character driven, as is this one.

Probably more surprising than the activities of Mr. Wray, is the demise of Admiral Harte, whom we assume is lost in an explosion during one of the few battle scenes in the book.

I suggest this to any fan of the series, but like others I strongly suggest starting with the first volume and working towards this one.

Not so much swashbuckling in this story. Oh for sure there are two voyages and battles, but as the titles suggests the plot thickens in the harbour of Valletta Malta. Good enough historical fiction to keep you entertained and turning the pages. Doctor Maturin chases a couple of spies around and discovers a leak, not in the bottom of the ship, but in the Admiralty. Buy it if you like the genre and if you are a O’Brian fan. But if you’re new to O’Brian buy the Master and Commander to start reading his books.

This installment, like the rest of this series so far, is suspenseful, funny and populated with characters that seem very real. One new character, Laura Fielding, is admirably faithful to her imprisoned husband, and is, in general, a very likable character (and one that charms both Stephen and Jack). The Middle Eastern setting of this book is exotic and very vividly described. Stephen's adventures in his new scientific marvel, the diving bell, are both funny and interesting. Jack's encounters with Laura's massive dog Ponto are hilarious. The end of this book is very suspenseful because the reader has come to really care about the characters involved. The most notable thing about this book is what a great job O'Brian did of keeping this series fresh by bringing in new locations, characters and situations. O'brian did a great job of not letting this series fall into predictable formulas and repetition. The only failing of this book is that the very end is just a little disappointing and O'brian leaves the reader hanging much more than in the previous books.

I eventually purchased the entire collector's edition of O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin series, and I could not put them down. I started at Book One and flew through the final book. Fascinating, wonderful, informative, spell-binding. I hated to turn the last page of the last book. It was almost as though you were actually there. You knew to expect that, if it was a Wednesday, that meant the crew would be fed salt-horse, etc. I wish I had purchased the thesarus, so that I would have understood better/sooner all of the sea-farer's jargon. One of the things I found myself enjoying, as well, was recognizing the "origin" of so many of the phrases we use today: "coming to grips," the "skuttle-butt," "first-rate" (vs. second-rate, third-rate, etc.) -- but there they are, and now they make better sense. An awesome read.

Another great book in the series which offers new adventures and new insights into the capabilities of Dr Mauturin. The dynamic duo managed to win political victories with a port of diverse people, reinforce the citadel, and sink a few ships along the way ! Brilliantly done in the fabulous style of Patrick O'Brian ! I can't believe that each story gets better and better. Adding Laura Fielding to the mix and finding out more of the treachery of Mr. Wray has added new dimensions to the story. I can't say to much about this one, but it is brilliantly narrated.

Aubry still has trouble with his second - lower - "brain" as the Doctor continues to thwart the French intelligence agents. I get the occasional disconnect between Capt Aubry's Naval brilliance and his almost buffoonery on land. Find myself "speed reading" through a lot of the story line, especially the poetry. Never been a big fan of poetry. I also find myself looking for a little more action and a little less musical interludes and dinner repartee. Hoping to se it kick up a bit.

My opinion of TREASON'S HARBOUR, ninth book in the Aubrey-Maturin series, changed in the process of reading it. At the beginning, I was bit dismayed to find that the plot dealt with an on-shore scenario, in the shipyard at Malta, to be precise, since I have found the author's treatment of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin to be pretty boring whenever he has them off the water. This time, however, the reader is treated to a rather interesting situation of international intrigue, with French agents using British collaborators to gather military intelligence. There are at least two significant collaborators, too, one rather highly placed in the government and who has fallen into such debt through his poor card skills that he is beholden to the French for funds. The other, Mrs. Fielding, believes her husband to be a prisoner of the French and her information to be the sole thing keeping him alive. Maturin, as we might expect, skillfully uses her to feed false information to the French, which, of course, puts her life in jeopardy should the French discover the ruse.

Now, here we are, following this spy-versus-spy intrigue when suddenly Aubrey receives orders that send him and Maturin to sea again. Now, the plot lopes along as it always does when our characters become seaborne, and the reader is treated to Richard Russ's (real name of "Patrick O'Brian") galloping descriptions of the ship, her frisky flight before the wind, and her captain's skill at evading and sometimes engaging the French ships he encounters. However, at this juncture, the reader is also wondering what the heck is happening to poor Mrs. Fielding back in Malta and whether or not we'll ever learn her fate at the hands of the French agents. I was quite ready to give this book a grudging three stars for changing the plot in midstream and leaving Fielding hung out to dry, so to speak.

However, we do get to return to Malta and resume the spy story, suddenly given more impetus by the fact that Mr. Fielding is no longer a prisoner and is, in fact, returning to Malta himself. As soon as the French agents suspect that Mrs. Fielding is aware of this and so have no further control over her, her life will be forfeit.

I must say that Russ/O'Brian does follow through with the plot threads in this book and treats the reader to almost as much suspense and excitement on shore as on the deck of an ocean-borne ship. This is a very welcome change to his earlier books which, as I have noted, tend to become plodding when their story lines leave the sea. This is not to say that Russ/O'Brian ties up all the loose ends and gives the reader a satisfying denouement at the end of the book. No, as is characteristic of some authors who plan sequels, some loose ends are definitely, and probably intentionally, left hanging, including the fact that Maturin never has a clue as to who the high-official collaborator is and continues to send him sensitive data! We must wait until the later books in this on-going saga provide a satisfactory end to that particular thread.

On a final note, I am delighted that Russ/O'Brian's writing skills appear to be improving. True, he still delights in throwing about nautical terms, and some nautical slang, as though he expected his readers to be old tars from the Royal Navy. Here is a lovely example: "Davis would give her foretopsail bowline an extra swig-off for what he considered smartness; and being a horribly powerful man with poor coordination he would sometimes pluck the bridle bodily out of the cringles." One really feels sorry for that poor bridle and greatly hopes that the cringles can recover. Fortunately, Russ/O'Brian's tendency to truncate space and time and cram an action or a bit of speech against another without a decent interval, a weakness that I have illustrated in reviews of almost all of the eight earlier books in the series, has absented itself from this one. Bravo, Russ! It took eight books, but I believe you're finally learning how to write! Now, on to the tenth book in the series, THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD.

In summary, I found TREASON'S HARBOUR to be a generally captivating read. There was the usual exciting action at sea and, for a change, intriguing action on land. The author's stylistic weaknesses were much improved over his earlier books, bridles and cringles notwithstanding. Wish he hadn't left the spy undiscovered, for I hate to end a book with a plot thread left unresolved, but perhaps that thread will be resumed in a subsequent book. This technique obviously makes for good entrepreneurism if not, perhaps, for great literature.

This book is very good, incredibly so. Each book so far in the series has been better than the last, but this book is about the same as the previous book. It is not a bad book, that is just an observation- as no one can make each book twice as good as the previous one.

Triggers:

War story, so lots of violence.

Great book in a great series. A series one loathes to finish, but also books which reveal more at a second or third read. This is a different story, but O'brien's ability to create believable characters even at the fourth or fifth level of significance without resort to stereotyping or cheap literary tricks is still stunning. It might be a passing description of a crewman or an admiral, that once seen for a few pages, disappears from the novel, but through a couple pages of dialogue, a particular psychological loaded scene, or a simple reference, they come alive. I can't think of a writer that's developed fully the sheer number of very real personalities described in these books. Most authors toil at three or four characters, while O'brien develops dozens. This one stands shoulder to shoulder with the rest. The fate of heretofore scrub Admiral Harte at the end of the book is particularly cool and shows great sensitivity and complexity in a relatively few pages.

Patrick O'Brian continues his excellent prose as Captain Jack and naturalist/spy Dr. Maturin engage in intrigue in Malta. Most of the book takes place on land (many fans of the series do not like landlubber tales) which I don't have a problem with but alas O'Brians fan/critics about hit the mark on this one. The story DOES drag somewhat and the writing is missing some of the polish and sparkle of the earlier books in the series. The reader must be patient however as there are some fantastic moments throughout and, as always, O'Brian stealthily injects witty and endearing humor. I very much consider Patrick O'Brian's series to be literature of the first order and although this installment misses the mark somewhat (in my opinion), it is still an excellent read.

A good change of pace for O'Brian. His characters get involved in the intrigues on land and an interesting side trip by sea and land. Some readers often accuse these books of dragging, when the characters hit the beach, while accelerating in action and interest once they go to sea again. This book breaks that pattern very well. Highly recommended to solid Aubry/Maturin fans, and to readers of Le Carre novels, too. Deep, dark stuff.

In "The Ionian Mission," Mr. O'Brian causes Mr. Williamson to lose an arm:

And a third [ball], fired as Jack was giving Williamson orders
to carry forward, took the boy's arm off at the elbow.

Now, in this next novel, Mr. Williamson washes face, neck, and both hands. Actually, throughout this novel, Mr. Williamson works like a midshipman with two hands (and arms).

Otherwise, this is another fascinating O'Brian novel.

Steven becomes more fleshed out and human with his dealings with Mrs Fielding and the French intelligence. He is a very complicated man and O'Brian's sense off humor and dry wit paint a portrait that is genius.

Treason's Harbour is an extremely slow paced story of mild intrigue in Malta. The period details sound a bit strained--would Jack Aubrey really treat his diamond headband so recklessly? And the two minor naval engagements seem thrown in for no other reason than to justify the cover. I certainly feel that I know more about eighteenth century music parties of the Mediterranean than I have any business knowing. Overall, the novel was not terrible, but I wish I'd re-read a Hornblower novel instead.

This novel of the Napoleonic Wars represents one of the very best in this deservedly beloved series. While the plot is dense with intrigue and surprises, the characterizations are what set this book apart from its mates. The closing passages contain some of O'Brian's very finest prose. Highly recommended.