Series: Aubrey / Maturin Series
Audio CD
Publisher: RecordedBooks; Unabridged CD Audiobook edition (1994)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1419309021
ISBN-13: 978-1419309021
ASIN: B0053EKLPC
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #4,838,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #84 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( O ) > O'Brian, Patrick #9295 in Books > Books on CD > Mystery & Thrillers #143973 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical
I once had a creative writing instructor who insisted all ofhis students read one of O'Brian's novels to learn what truly superiorwriting was all about. I chose The Wine-Dark Sea and am I glad I did. O'Brian is truly a master! The Wine-Dark Sea opens with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in pursuit of an American privateer sailing the South Sea. The British, already engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, have made the mistake of also blundering into war with a young upstart, the United States. Maturin, in the Wine-Dark Sea, desires to relieve the pressure on the British government by inciting the revolutionaries of South America, more specifically, Peru. O'Brian, a master storyteller, also has a sharp eye for detail. His descriptions of the landscape, the sea, life on board the midgit man-of-war and even the Andes are no doubt the best in all of literature. The spine-tingling barbarity and bloody battle scenes are so real, they'll make you glad you're only reading a book (although the writing is so good you may forget that at times)! I really can't praise O'Brian highly enough. He is both artist and perfect craftsman and beside him, most authors rapidly pale. If you love the sea, if you love adventure, if you just love a good book, you absolutely can't go wrong with The Wine-Dark Sea or any of O'Brian's other novels. All of them are just perfect. END
Why would I recommend not reading this book? The answer is simple; I urge you to start at the beginning and buy Master and Commander, the first book. I say this because the odds are you have not read O'Brian before, if you had, you would scarcely need a recommendation for a book in the middle of the series. No, if you had read O'Brian before you would have either decided not to read more or as so many have before you, would have read the series, devouring one book after another in the order they were intended to be read. The Wine-Dark Sea is a section of one of the greatest examples of nautical fiction ever written, don't deny yourself the joy of watching these characters grow and develop over the course of the opus.
Another incomparable tale by that master of sea stories, the late Patrick O'Brian. Part of the Aubrey/Maturin series, this one follows the book "The Truelove," which led His Majesty's Hired Vessel "Surprise" to the Hawaiian (Sandwich) Islands to protect British whaling interests there, which were threatened by a pioneer of communism, Monsieur Dutourd, who was endeavoring to set up his own idealistic society there at the expense of British interests.As this book starts, Dutourd's ship, the "Franklin," is being pursued by Aubrey in the "Surprise," on a strange, wine-colored sea in unusual weather. Soon the reason for the strange sea and weather becomes evident as an erupting volcano causes damage to both ships. The story revolves around British intelligence agent Dr. Maturin's attempt to influence political events in Peru, several battles at sea with the concomitant taking of prizes, battle with a pirate, deaths and injuries in battle, and the nearly deadly struggle of Dr. Maturin's medical assistant, the Rev. Martin, with his conscience.No one knew nautical lore and the square-rigged vessels of the Napoleonic era (ca. 1800) as well as Patrick O'Brian. Many of his sea battles are taken directly from the annals of the British Admiralty, and his dialogue is replete with period expressions that lend even greater authenticity to his tales.I recommend that a newcomer to this series start with "Master and Commander," the first book of the series. Untold hours of pleasure await you. ...
The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O'BrianThere are few prose stylists writing today who can compare with Patrick O'Brian for the smooth, evocative and fluid stories which come from his pen. This book, a particularly fine example of O'Brian's craft, is part of his Aubrey/Maturin series of sea-faring novels. Sailor Jack Aubrey, while a typically crusty man of the blue briny, is also a well-read and witty contrast and companion to Doctor Stephen Maturin, an erudite physician with a huge love of the sea. Together, the two have had many adventures, but in The Wine-Dark Sea, they face some of their greatest challenges ever with remarkable spirit and aplomb. The story here is great entertainment with lots of page-turning action, but the lush writing is simply seductive and so easy to become lost and quite "at sea" within. While these are often consider "men's books," I strongly suspect that many women would be attracted to the strong plots, grand characterization, and fine writing; there is never the least hint of the crude or the coarse in these highly literate, but so readable novels. I have often suggested the works of Patrick O'Brian to writing students as a model for crisp, fresh, lively prose and most highly recommend this series to anyone who loves a great read.
Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, having sailed off on a combination privateering and intelligence mission in the SURPRISE back in the twelfth novel in the saga, finally are nearly home again -- and this is installment number sixteen! It's hard to believe, too, that after so many volumes, with at least one circumnavigation and any number of roundings of Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, we find Britain still embroiled in what we in the States refer to as the War of 1812. And what a journey this book narrates, from the witnessing of a new volcanic island and capture of a most irregular privateer in the mid-Pacific, to anxious flight through the Andes by mule and llama, to yet another encounter with ice-islands in the south Atlantic. Although the plotting seems thin at times and lacking in useful details, the narration is as adroit as ever, especially in the author's patented style of understatement. Not his best work by far, but very much worth reading.
The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O'Brian Narrated by Patrick Tull Unabridged CD Audiobook (Aubrey Maturin Series, Book 16) The Nutmeg of Consolation by Patrick O'Brian Narrator Patrick Tull Unabridged CD Audiobook (The Aubrey / Maturin Series, Book 14) Post Captain by Patrick O'Brian Unabridged CD Audiobook (the Aubrey / Maturin Series, Book 2) The Reverse of the Medal by Patrick O'Brian Unabridged CD Audiobook (Aubrey / Maturin Series, Book 11) The Truelove Patrick O'brian Borders Unabridged Audiobook (Audio Cd) (#15 in the Aubrey/Maturin series) H.M.S. Surprise by Patrick O'Brian Unabridged CD Audiobook (The Aubrey / Maturin Series) Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O'Brian Unabridged CD Audiobook (The Aubrey / Maturin Series) The Hundred Days by Patrick O'Brian Unabridged CD Audiobook (The Aubrey/Maturin Series, Volume 19) Blue at the Mizzen: Aubrey-Maturin Series Book 20 (Aubrey-Maturin (Audio)) The Hundred Days: Aubrey-Maturin Series Book 19 (Aubrey-Maturin (Audio)) The Surgeon's Mate (Aubrey-Maturin series, Book 7)(Library Edition) (Aubrey-Maturin (Audio)) Post Captain (Aubrey-Maturin series, Book 2)(Library Edition) (Aubrey-Maturin (Audio)) Patrick O'Brian Collection Part 1. (The Aubrey-Maturin Chronicles) The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey / Maturin Series, No. 16) The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey-Maturin) The Wine-dark Sea/ The Commodore / The Yellow Admiral (The Aubrey-Maturin Chronicles) Post Captain [UNABRIDGED CD] (Audiobook) (The Aubrey/Maturin series, Book 2) The Thirteen-Gun Salute [UNABRIDGED CD] (Audiobook) (The Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 13) The Letter of Marque [UNABRIDGED CD] (Audiobook) (The Aubrey/Maturin series, Book 12) The Fortune of War [UNABRIDGED CD] (Audiobook) (The Aubrey/Maturin series)