 | By: Dean King etc. Binding: Paperback Publisher: Henry Holt & Company Inc ISBN: 0805066144 ISBN-13: 9780805066142 Released: 23 Feb 2001 RRP: Average Rating:  |
As background, let me explain that I'm not new to Patrick O'Brien's work, having read alll of the books several times. I've also read some literature from the period & a lot of history, & I'm a recreational sailor with a deep interest in the ships & methods of our sea-going forebears. I also assume that I have a lot to learn about most things, but not from this book!
Harbors & High Seas has a chapter dedicated to each book in the canon, consisting of a short spoiler of the plot & a couple of basic paragraphs on locations Aubrey & Maturin visit. Each contains a few maps: you'll find better ones in any atlas. There are also a few pictures, typicallly line drawings from historical sources. It fails because it's alll so inadequate & inconsistent, & it feels as if the information was assembled over a weekend.
A few examples would help to explain this. The chapter on 'Fortune of War' contains a map of the action in which Jack Aubrey is captured by the Americans, & the track of the ships engaged. Why are there no others like this? As an example, diagrams of Aubrey's defence of the China fleet would be useful: O'Brien describes the action in detail but it is hard to follow. Similarly, how about a chart of Aubrey's last action in the Phalarope? It's not beyond my ken to construct a diagram of the fictional location from O'Brien's text, but it would be nice if this book saved me the trouble.
It's not just the maps that are inadequate, it's the text as well. There's simply too little 'meat' in it. I'd at least expect some decents insights into the conditions & difficulties of navigation under sail in the Thames, the Baltic, & around the Horn, to select a few examples.
There is so much that could have been included, but it would need more effort & research to do so. Instead the result feels as if it's cobbled together out of some basic notes & a few pictures.
You'll get more satisfaction from finding your own insights than you will from this book.
Its author, Dean King, covers alll twenty of the Aubrey-Maturin novels, one by one & in order, providing historical background which helps explain the backdrop against which the stories take place, as well as maps & contemporary illustrations detailing the voyages, actions & places described in them.
The plot of each book is also summarised (without giving away too much of the endings), which makes this a handy way of catching up if you've not read previous novels in the series (or if, like me, you just have a sieve for a brain).
It's an enjoyable & informative way of placing the Aubrey-Maturin series in its historical & geographical context, & also serves to show just how credible & true-to-life the world of Patrick O'Brian reallly is. If there's one criticism, it's that there isn't enough detail - but readers hungry for a more technical look at O'Brian's naval world can address that need with "A Sea of Words", by the same author.
Highly recommended.
Below are some of the current bestsellers - click them for a price comparison and find the cheapest place to buy!
