Having returned to Master and Commander for a third or fourth read, I am  still amazed and grateful for Patrick O'Brian's skill.  This novel is the  opening chapter in the greatest naval story of all time.  Once you have  completed the third or fourth book, it really sinks in and you are  hooked.
Master and Commander one of the better Aubrey/Maturin novels,  which is saying a great deal.  Patrick O'Brian makes good use of a  distinctive writing style and deft humor to breath life into his principle  characters, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin.  When I initially started  these books in early high school I read them for the gunsmoke of battle and  the incredible acounts of seaborne action; however, now it is the  characters and their relationships that bring me back.  There are no boring  personalities in this book.  No dialogue that is mechanical.  It all  sparkles with life not to be found in the average bestseller, and the story  itself speaks of more than a mere naval adventure.
When read as an  individual book, Master and Commander is the best action-drama there is,  whether on the ocean or off.  It brings the Napoleonic Wars to a stature  well deserved.  O'Brian is a master at throwing all that existence has to  offer at his characters, good and bad, then seeing what happens in the  aftermath.  You will never read anything like it.  When read as a series,  the Aubrey-Maturin novels become a grand epic that reflects on the nature  of human life: the adventure, passion and heartbreak that we all are a part  of.
A classic for all time.
Having returned to Master and Commander for a third or fourth read, I am  still amazed and grateful for Patrick O'Brian's skill. This novel is the  opening chapter in the greatest naval story of all time. Once you have  completed the third or fourth book, it really sinks in and you are  hooked. Master and Commander one of the better Aubrey/Maturin novels,  which is saying a great deal. Patrick O'Brian makes good use of a  distinctive writing style and deft humor to breath life into his principle  characters, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. When I initially started  these books in early high school I read them for the gunsmoke of battle and  the incredible acounts of seaborne action; however, now it is the  characters and their relationships that bring me back. There are no boring  personalities in this book. No dialogue that is mechanical. It all  sparkles with life not to be found in the average bestseller, and the story  itself speaks of more than a mere naval adventure. When read as an  individual book, Master and Commander is the best action-drama there is,  whether on the ocean or off. It brings the Napoleonic Wars to a stature  well deserved. O'Brian is a master at throwing all that existence has to  offer at his characters, good and bad, then seeing what happens in the  aftermath. You will never read anything like it. When read as a series,  the Aubrey-Maturin novels become a grand epic that reflects on the nature  of human life: the adventure, passion and heartbreak that we all are a part  of. A classic for all time.