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mburnamfink 's review for:
The Mauritius Command
by Patrick O'Brian
The Mauritius Command changes up the Aubrey-Maturin formula by giving Captain Aubrey more than a frigate, though he does have the obligatory slow-sailing frigate to restore. This time, Aubrey is promoted to commodore, one of his greatest wishes, and has to deal with issues that cannot be solved by seamanship and personal presence.
The beginning of the book starts with the usual unhappy domestic scene. Jack is on half-pay which is not enough to support his newly expanded family, with wife, twin daughters, mother-in-law, and servants crammed into the small and damp Ashgrove cottage. He spends most of his time in his observatory, pretending to observe the moons of Jupiter for navigational purposes while really gazing at passing ships. Maturin arrives with secret orders to save the day, a mission to take the French colonies of Mauritius and La Reuniuon, where French privateers are playing havoc with the India trade.
The first problem is one of balance of forces. Aubrey's fleet is slow, undergunned, and with one ship in such bad condition that a hurricane or firing its own broadside would reduce it to splinters. The French have four newly built heavy frigates, each with 40 24 pounder cannons. British seamanship can even the odds, but those are long odds. The other problem is his subordinates. Lord Clonfert is ambitious, but desires the approval of his men more than anything else, and stretches the truth and naval discipline to fulfill his psychological needs. Captain Corbett is a flogging captain who retaliates against minor lapses with harsh physical discipline.
The campaign seesaws back and forth, the odds constantly shifting as Aubrey captures ships and loses them. One of the better segments is a losing battle, where Maturin accompanies Lord Clonfert on a raid that turns sour, and sees what dash untempered by good strategic consideration leads to. Aubrey would never make such a mistake, or have the bad luck to wind up there.
This is also the first time I've done the series on audiobook (thanks, local library) and everything said about narrator Simon Vance is true. That guy is fantastic!
The beginning of the book starts with the usual unhappy domestic scene. Jack is on half-pay which is not enough to support his newly expanded family, with wife, twin daughters, mother-in-law, and servants crammed into the small and damp Ashgrove cottage. He spends most of his time in his observatory, pretending to observe the moons of Jupiter for navigational purposes while really gazing at passing ships. Maturin arrives with secret orders to save the day, a mission to take the French colonies of Mauritius and La Reuniuon, where French privateers are playing havoc with the India trade.
The first problem is one of balance of forces. Aubrey's fleet is slow, undergunned, and with one ship in such bad condition that a hurricane or firing its own broadside would reduce it to splinters. The French have four newly built heavy frigates, each with 40 24 pounder cannons. British seamanship can even the odds, but those are long odds. The other problem is his subordinates. Lord Clonfert is ambitious, but desires the approval of his men more than anything else, and stretches the truth and naval discipline to fulfill his psychological needs. Captain Corbett is a flogging captain who retaliates against minor lapses with harsh physical discipline.
The campaign seesaws back and forth, the odds constantly shifting as Aubrey captures ships and loses them. One of the better segments is a losing battle, where Maturin accompanies Lord Clonfert on a raid that turns sour, and sees what dash untempered by good strategic consideration leads to. Aubrey would never make such a mistake, or have the bad luck to wind up there.
This is also the first time I've done the series on audiobook (thanks, local library) and everything said about narrator Simon Vance is true. That guy is fantastic!