I don't know why his unjust conviction is making me feel more fondly for Aubrey, but it does. Usually he is the character I sit through to get to more of Maturin, but he comes off particularly well in his refusal to consider a pardon, on the grounds that it implies he did wrong in the first place. Which of course he did, but it was wrong on a minor scale - falling for a scam like a duffer - and not actual fraud, which he was punished for and did not deserve. His constant turning of failure into increasingly unbelievable riches induces ever more eye-rolling from me, however, and in this I have to admit Maturin is no better, inheriting incredible wealth from a dead relative as he has. 

Still. I am entertained by the plot, and especially by O'Brian's habit, in this volume, of cutting short action in favour of aftermath... given the action tends towards sea battles, I am not terribly sorry to miss it. I was very pleased, too, to see the return of Maturin's wife Diana, who is an excellent foil for her husband. Looking forward to the next book, where no doubt she'll pay a much larger role.