Treason's Harbour: Aubrey-Maturin Series, Book 9

The Mussulmans are stirring up trouble in the Red Sea, taking foreskins from good Christian Englishmen and generally siding with the d----ed French. Well, they're foreigners, so what can you expect? Jack Aubrey is dispatched to the region in the HMS Surprise accompanied by his particular friend, Stephen Maturin, to sort things out for King and Country. That there is a good chance of making a fortune in prize money has, of course, nothing to do with it...This is the ninth installment in o'Brian's epic twenty part series following the adventures and friendship of Lucky Jack Aubrey, a bluff, John Bullish Naval Captain and his friend Stephen Maturin, a surgeon, natural philosopher and spy. And a wonderful series it is too. The stories are generally nicely plotted but, for me, a little bit of a distraction. Never mind - there's always so much going on - naval battles, political intrigue by sea and land, Jack's financial woes and Stephen's precarious romantic assaults at home - that the actual plot tends to get lost in the smoke of battle. That doesn't matter too much (or at all) because each book is such a pleasure to read.The gloriously elegant writing, for instance. O'Brian's love of language makes every page a literal joy to read - try this quote from a later book,  The Commodore , (I make no apologies for it's length)."The still air was delightfully fresh with falling dew, and a late nightingale, in an indifferent voice, was uttering a routine jug-jug far down in Jack's plantations; closer at hand and more agreeable by far, nightjars churred in the orchard, two of them, or perhaps three, the sound rising and falling, intertwining so that the source could not be made out for sure. There were few birds that he preferred to nightjars, but it was not they that had brought him out of bed: he stood leaning on the balcony rail and presently Jack Aubrey, in a summer-house by the bowling-green, began again, playing very gently in the darkness, improvising wholly for himself, dreaming away on his violin with a mastery that Stephen had never heard equalled, though they had played together for years and years ... Now, in the warm night, there was no one to be comforted, kept in countenance, no one could scorn him for virtuosity, and he could let himself go entirely; and as the grave and subtle music wound on and on, Stephen once more contemplated on the apparent contradiction between the big, cheerful, florid sea-officer whom most people liked on sight but who would have never been described as subtle or capable of subtlety by any one of them (except perhaps his surviving opponents in battle) and the intricate, reflective music he was now creating."The sheer beauty of the writing compliments o'Brian's great wit. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments to be had in these books. These come from a variety of sources - Jack's complete lack of guile (and, frequently, diplomacy) and his own very simple, earthy sense of humour; Stephen's ineptitude as a sea man and unerring ability to cast himself or his posessions into the sea at a moment's notice; the tolerance of each for the other's failings. If it sounds like Jack and Stephen are a comedy duo - Laurel and Hardy, Morcambe and Wise, then you're not far off the mark, but don't let that put you off - the relationship that the two men share is deep and complex and portrayed by o'Brian with a profound respect - even love - for his protagonists. There is a little farce, some slap-stick, but the humour is varied, intelligent and bone-dry and, pardon the cliche, you are rarely laughing at the characters, more often with them.If I've said little about this particular installment it is because it is entirely subsumed within the series. Read one and you have to read all twenty of them.A twenty book long adventure which could be described (indeed has been described) as the greatest adventure sequence written in modern literature. Twenty books, savoured, will keep you going for how long? A year? Two? Think again. The real joy is that, before O'Brian first put pen to paper on this series (in 1969!) he was already an accomplished (although perhaps not particularly successful) author with some eight books to his name. What is more he had pretty much developed his protagonists under  different names   and themes . Now, with most long literary cycles, the characters evolve and the writing style improves so much over the course of the series that when you eventually return to book 1 it is often a deep disappointment on the second reading. Not so here: as you start page 1 of  Master and Commander , you are entering a world that is already fully matured, peopled with fully-formed characters. When you get to the last page of the last book ( Blue at the Mizzen ), you can return to Master & Commander and start reading again (as many AM connoiseurs do) without missing a beat. Indeed it is quite possible to re-read the entire series many times without tiring of it. Put simply, O'Brian's masterwork will last you a lifetime.It'll cost you an arm and a leg too, but hey! the children can go without their dinner for a couple of days or without shoes for a few months. It's important to get your priorities right."...very strangely, his officers looked upon Jack Aubrey as a moral figure, in spite of all proofs of the contrary..."¯ Patrick O'Brian,  The Mauritius Command

Read this book in 2008, and its the 9th magnificent volume of the amazing "Aubrey/ Maturin" series.This seafaring novel is especially of intrigue and deception, and where action is also once again assured.Set partly in Malta and partly in the pirate-infested Red Sea, Aubrey and Maturin will have problems from different angles.Problems in Malta will be of the conspiring side of things, for while their ship being at its dockyard for repairs, Maturin will recognise and encounter various agents of Napoleon, and being that the case the Admiralty's intelligence network is thus compromised.But due to Maturin's cunning they will succeed to fool the French and save their ship from sabotage and keep their intelligence work in tact, before they will set off for the Red Sea to confront and beat those pirates of the sea.Highly recommended, for this is another excellent addition of this terrific series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Fabulous Harbour Of Secrecy"!

The Aubrey/Maturin series is written in such a way that like Tolkein's books you're drawn into the world being created. I find myself using the sentence structure and grammar of the day and being concerned about the traps and pitfalls for the key protagonists being skillfully signalled in the narrative. My regret is that once I have finished the series I will have nothing to read! Highly recommended. O'Brian could make a series out of the delightfully drawn minor characters he bring in, or his inclusion of issues such as the inclosure act. Hand of the master.

Arrived on time in great condition, good value.

Whilst the style of writing and the details within the contextual period of the story continues to be excellent, this book, like its predecessor (within the series) seems to leave most of the ‘action’ to the very end of the story. It felt like there is now a formula to how the story will be presented, leaving the reader with no surprises or unpredicted conclusion. However, as usual the detailed historical information remains fascinating, holding the reader’s interest to the very end of the story.

I saw "Master and Commander", I came across an O'Brian book, decided I wanted to read the series.Have enjoyed the series.The story lines are bit repetitive. (20+ books)There is not a lot of 'action' in the books they are more 'drama' in their nature.The stories are interwoven with a lot of information about animals and birds that at times can become too much of a good thing.The stories are interwoven with a lot of information about the navy of the time that I found fascinating and not distracting. Apparently mutiny, within tightly specified protocols, was an accepted form of 'industrial action'.

Well I am a massive fan of the series, Have just read this one as I move through them. So pleased to have had them recommended to me. This one gives further character development beautifully interspersed with rampant action. It stands alone but comes into its own in the series. Here treason comes into the series, with the usual love, bravery, wit, wisdom, discipline and honour. The descriptions of life on the ship are so vivid I see the boat, the sails, the weather, I feel the wind on my face, not being melodramatic, but that's how it is. Great read for anyone interested in naval history, the Napoleonic wars, the Mediterranean or just gripping yarns.

One of the better books in the series mostly based in Malta, French agents everywhere despite Malta being a British enclave.The problem with most of these books is you can't put them down and you are left with an unsatisfactory ending with which you have to get the next book to find out what the outcome was! clever, thankfully you don't have to wait a year which seems to be the rate at what Mr O'Brian released them, as there all available now. Addictive!