For a series that's essentially about sailing ships, it's sadly amusing that I prefer everything that happens on shore. Like the last volume, this is an enjoyable read, and the continuing emphasis on politics makes this series more and more entertaining. As such, this volume sagged in the middle a bit for me, when the politics got taken over by the endless sailing around and storms and so on - though I did notice the odd place where Maturin notes a sailing difficulty, goes to bed, and wakes up with everything solved, which I was always grateful for! I have as little interest in the mechanism of sailing as he does, and it strikes me that positively the best use of Aubrey is having him sort that all out offscreen, while Maturin mulls over the interesting bits. And on that subject this volume, together with the last, has actually succeeded in making me invested in Diana, which is nice, as Sophie's a total non-entity. I don't expect this series will turn into the Political and Natural Adventures of Stephen and Diana, alas, but it's when it does, in small episodes, that I am the most attached.