This is probably as close as one of these novels has come to getting four stars from me. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying reading the series - the central friendship is excellently done - but once I've finished it I probably won't pick it up again. It's not that it's badly written, because it isn't. They're extremely well-written and well-researched books. I just cannot make myself all that interested in the sea-going part of it. The first half of this book is a case in point: sea battles, sea travel, and it was all very slow and I didn't care that much. Then Aubrey and Maturin arrived in Australia, and what with the natural history and the political conflict and the really cynical view of Australian colonisation, the book improved out of sight. Had the second half been all of it, I would definitely have given it four stars, but that first half... I'm sorry, it's just a wee bit boring. It's a boat. It floats. Move on.

Towards the very end, I was almost hoping for a blow-up. As much as I enjoy that central friendship, Maturin (who will always be my favourite) and Aubrey have different goals and different priorities. For half a minute, it looked as if they were going to fall out and the book would end on a cliffhanger, and honestly I was here for it. Then a venomous playtpus spoiled my suspicions. But, you know, it's a venomous playtpus and so I couldn't be wholly disappointed. I'm glad the library has the whole series, because I'm ready for the next book.