Master and Commander

Master and Commander

by Patrick O’Brian

Jack Aubrey, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, makes friends with Stephen Maturin, a doctor, naturalist, and geek. When Jack is given command of HMS Speedy, he invites Stephen to come along and be the ship’s surgeon. Jack is an absolutely fantastic commander, but he’s completely lost away from the sea. Stephen is an absolutely fantastic surgeon and scientist, but he’s completely lost on a ship. This “Odd Couple” relationship is really the main focus of the story.

There is plenty of action, too. Jack Aubrey is based on Thomas Cochrane, one of the most awesome naval officers ever, and many of the battles described in the book and the rest of the series actually happened.

There is a fair amount of naval slang in the book. If you don’t know what a “fo’c'sle” is, neither does Stephen. You can count on him to ask about some of the words, but if he doesn’t, or if your eyes glaze over when Jack explains what a mizzenmast is, don’t worry. You don’t need to know. If you do really want to know all the details and definitions, though, you might want to check out the book A Sea of Words.

You can look it up on Wikipedia. You can also read some of it online at Google Books.

Other books you might want to check out

• A Sea of Words, 3rd Edition, by Dean King, John B. Hattendorf, and J. Worth Estes
  Defines all of the terms used in the series, and gives a whole lot of other information that you might find interesting if you are really into the series.

• Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain, by Robert Harvey
  This is a good biography of Thomas Cochrane, the person Jack Aubrey (and Horatio Hornblower and pretty much every other fictional sea captain) is based on. This is one of those times when truth is stranger than fiction: I’m amazed by a lot of the crazy stunts Cochrane was able to get away with.

Where to Find It

You can get it from the public library.

June 9th, 2009 Tags: adventure, books with movies, friendship, geeks, napoleonic war, naval, scientists, ships, war | Category: Historical Fiction | Write a comment |