Master and Commander

Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 1

By: Patrick O'Brian

Narrated by: Patrick Tull

Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, Royal Navy, and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of life aboard a man-of-war in Nelson's navy are faultlessly rendered: the conversational idiom of the officers in the ward room and the men on the lower deck, the food, the floggings, the mysteries of the wind and the rigging, and the road of broadsides as the great ships close in battle.

Don't miss the rest of the Aubrey/Maturin series.

©1984 Patrick O'Brian (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC.

Critic reviews

"The best historical novels ever written." (The New York Times Book Review)
"No writer alive can move one as O'Brian can; no one can make you laugh so loud with hilarity, whiten your knuckles with unbearable tension or choke with emotion. He is the master." (Irish Times)

A Great Package of Fact and Fiction

This is the best intro possible for those interested in the Napoleonic Wars at sea. Great narration adds to the pleasure. Adding Dr. Maturin as the clueless (about war at sea) physician allows O'Brian to give us textures missing from the other solid versions of this story by C.S. Forrester (Captain Hornblower) and Alexander Kent (Captain Bolitho), both of which are fun too.

Liked the movie better

I didn't even realize I was at the ending! The story is enjoyable and does a decent job of transporting you to the time but it's not quite as exciting and emotional as the movie Master and Commander.

Painful performance by the narrator

Narrator reminded me of that old windbag who shows up at family functions and ruins it for everyone else by his blabbering on in a painfully comatose prose that makes you want to die in your sleep just to make it all end. Otherwise, the story is excellent. Beware: Buy the paper edition and read it with your own eyes or suffer having to listen to the narrator who literally may kill you with boredom.

Enjoyed the story

well written and entertaining and enjoyable and I will continue to follow this author

Great novel. Good professional narrator.

Celebrated novelist and historian Patrick O'Brain begins his massive 21 novel epoch with Master and Commander. Profoundly human subjects and a painstakingly reaserched setting, Patrick O'Brian's works speak for themselves and are widely regarded as great works of literature.
The narrator Patrick Tull is very good. Consistent and empathetic he has a steady cadence and reliable flow. The character voices are mild, accents understated yet are all particularly distinct. Aubrey with a bold confident English. Mautrin a muted soft Irish that contrasts Dillon's aristocratic proud irish. Molly Harte's strong husky alto. Captain Christy-Palliere's understated authentic French. Strong professional reader that does very good by the remarkable novel.

Absolutely superb book series

This series of books is one of the best that I've read. The characters are alive and lovable. A must read! I'm on book 5 now and can't wait to read the other 16 books.

Extraordinary

Any additional comments?

I am on my second time through the series and enjoying it almost as much as my first time throguh. I did not have an interest in nautical life/history when I started this book. That made for a bit of a learning curve to come to grips with the vocabulary, but it was well worth it. The combination of wonderfully deep characters, exciting naval actions, masterfully written relationships (of all sorts) gives this book a substance that goes far beyond "story-telling." You do not have to be a history buff or have an interest in sailing to love this book and series. As the author said, beyond the story and the history, the series is the study of human relationships and interaction (paraphrased from the interview with Patrick O'Brian at the end of The Wine Dark Sea).

My favorite novel.

Excellent performance by Mr. Tull. Especially Steven's part Irish, part Spanish accent. Great piece of work and I'm already downloading Post Captain.

Great book, performance could be better.

The British navy during the Napoleonic wars presented pretty realistically. I could not understand most of the nautical terms so a second listen is on the agenda.

Interesting for people who like naval stuff

I loved the movie and was looking forward to reading the books. This one is ok, but the narrator doesn't improve much and the flow isn't tight. In any case it's interesting for people who like naval tales and "historical" novels. The good surprise is tha Maturin, the doctor, is even better than the one in the movie, which is saying a lot.