Post Captain (Aubrey/Maturin)

I have read and greatly enjoyed the Aubrey-Maturin books. These are a wonderful and unique series in what may be a favorite genre for me; historical fiction.
Comments that follow apply to the audio CD version only.

Since I now must spend much time in my car, what better than to spend it in the world of the Royal Navy and the Napoleonic wars. And the voice of Simon Vance adds much to the experience. However, Post Captain contains several CD's with incorrect metadata. Disc 6 is "Peter Pan", disc 11 is yet another book, and disc 2 is Post Captain, but chapters are mis-numbered, and then repeated on disc 3. I returned this to the store who promptly and kindly replaced the set. The replacement, however, contained precisely the same errors! I phoned the publisher who promised to replace the three discs containing the errors, but, thus far, I have received nothing. So now I fear to order the third audio book... though I do wish to go on with this wonderful series.

Has anyone found these or similar errors with Audio Book 3 in this series?

I found the storyline good but the old English words and phrases sometimes caused confusion. Also, for a non-seafaring person such as myself, I really did not understand what part of the ship was being referenced to. Eventually I ignored the details and just read for the general plot.

Volumes have been written about this series. Some of them are worth reading and contemplating, useful derivatives of some of the best literature I have ever read.

In some ways this series is less entertainment than obsession. Also uplifting, educational, extremely funny, difficult, challenging. Amazing.

If you enjoyed the movie - this is the second book from the series that started it all. Beware, you will get lost in the naming of the sails and the various terms. Its bad enough that they have a chart in the front of the book - which is useless, because the sailors have a nick name for every sail too!

I am almost finished with my third book. It is very interesting with regards to debtor prison, English laws and the funny games that went on in English society.

I would recommend that you read Master and Commander, first, and then Post Captain!

Cheers and good sailing!

This second volume in the Aubrey/Maturin Series continues both the friendship and the adventure for the two protagonists. They vie for love, struggle with poverty, and continue to harass both French and Spanish shipping. Anyone who enjoys a good sea adventure will be sure to be entertained.

I have read and reread this series over the years, and now that it is on the Kindle, I intend to read it again! There is enough history in this series about the Napoleonic Wars to keep you interested, and enough character development to wish that Waterloo was a century away.

Post Captain, the sequel to Master and Commander, became the precursor that launched 18 additional complete volumes of the remarkable Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin friendship in the British Navy fighting sea battles against Napoleon's French fleet. But it is much more than swash-buckling action as O' Brian composes character developing conversations that can only be compared to the greatest English novelist of all time, Jane Austen.

This second book in the Aubrey/Maturin series is a largely land based. This reread was on a Kindle and the access to a dictionary opened the text and the sophistication of the writing. In this book we learn of the personalities and motivation of the complex heroes of these wonderful books. Rereading this volume has brought more pleasure than I expected.

Historical fiction of the 18th Century British Navy is my favorite! And I have read them all: Forester, Kent, Lambdin to name but a few. O'Brien is, by far, the most erudite and stylish. His presentation of a battle scene draws the reader in so completely that it requires restraint to remain seated.

Lacking a little the tempo of the first novel. However, it suits the plot and allows more time to go deeper into the various characters. And O'Brian still excels at creating an exciting, palpable atmosphere using only a few well-considered words. For non-native speakers: profound knowledge especially of dated words and phrases is needed. It's best to use an E-reader with an built-in and easy-to-use dictionary to enhance the reading experience.

This is an excellent source of history. Well written and engrossing. I think it is important that you read the entire series, and best in order, started with Master and Commander. Also an excellent series for books on tape.

The first book in this series is excellent, and so is this one. That said, I've now had 3 books from the store, which I read on my Android Tablet using Kindle reader, where pages are repeated, mangled, or out of order, causing me to have to jump around to find out where the actual page picks up from where the last one left off. Now, I know the original book was not printed this way, which begs the question, why, then, is this book (and the two others) so messed up? I have to tell ya, it really takes the pleasure out of reading a fine piece of literature. Funny, I have far more titles on my B&N account, and have never once had a mangled book from them. We're paying a very high price for something that has no publishing cost beyond a bit of space on a server. I'd like to be able to read it without having to jump around to find the pages.

I enjoyed this read immensely. I had forgotten how entertaining the series is. Unfortunately, my communication has now taken a 19th century nautical slant. I'm now moving to book three and still maintaining the weather gauge. Ha ha . . .

Another brilliant example of the historical fiction genre.
Crafted to entertain and inform. O'Brian draws you in with well described , all too human characters.
The reader will feel their happiness and defeat.A great pity that the author is no longer with us to create such eminently readable books.

Technically accurate in every way it gives one a feeling that you are actually there attempting to circumnavigate the globe. Also the endless corruption that plagued the Royal Navy makes the admiralty decisions understandable. Sailing was never so understandable and alive.

After having read the whole Aubrey/Maturin series of novels - and reveled in them - I can wholeheartedly recommend Post Captain - and the whole of the series - to one and all.
I sent both Post Captain, and Captain and Commander, to a dear friend to introduce him to O'Brian. Needless to say he is now equally enthusiastic.

Patrick O'Brian did an excellent job with this book and the whole series. I have and do recommend this book and series to friends. Anyone interested in history and sailing that enjoys historical novels like Horiatio Hornblower will also enjoy this series as well.