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)

The story was too hard to follow

I totally prefer Hornblower or Bolitho. The plot in Master and Commander is really easy to lose. Tull’s performance, however, was very strong.

A great read! (err, Ahh Listen I Mean)

I thought this was a great book. I read/listened to it after having seen the movie by the same name, although the similaritys are few. If you have seen the movie, it will not ruin the book for you. I started listening to the wrong portion of this book, and it was teribly confusing. I thought to myself, this author is rotten, there is no background on any of the characters, I have no idea why they are doing the things they are doing, or who is who. When I realized I had started int he middle of the book, and changed sections to listen to the first section I was much happier. (I was not quite used to listening on my new palm yet, much different than the MuVo better I would say.) At any rate, I was very pleased to find that there is a whole series of books about these characters. I intend to read/listen to all of them.

Well done

Even tho i was unfamiliar with most of the nautical terms, i found the story terrific and the narrator superb. I learned more about the ships of that era than I expected.

Fabulous

This was my third time through the story (first time with Audible) and I love it even more; I can't wait to experience the entire series. Bravo.

Great 18th Century English Naval history Novel

Excellent novel if you enjoy fiction based on English naval history. You will learn much of ships and their officers and their sailings and battles with the French and Spanish in the Napoleonic era.

Beautiful performance of a classic.

Absolutely submersive. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Great character potrayals by both the author and the reader. Love the nautical language.

Narrator Improves Upon Perfection: Brilliant!

One of my favorite authors... brought to life by the narrator's phenomenal talents. Nuanced performance. Amazing characterization. Brilliant pacing.

perfect performance

Would you consider the audio edition of Master and Commander to be better than the print version?

A favorite series of mine for years, now every time I read one of the books I will hear the characters in my head as voiced so perfectly by Patrick Tull.

Very well done! Quite so!

I loved the film, but the book is so much more detailed and the performance of the narrator makes me feel as if I was there.

Unique Style of Storytelling Makes for a Good Read

Master and Commander, book 1, Audrey O'Brien, and narrated by Patrick Tull. The story of a would be Royal Navy ship captain, Jack Aubrey, at the turn of the 19th century. It is also, the story of his ship’s medical officer or surgeon, Stephen Maturin. The first of a 20 plus book series.

Commander Aubrey is audacious and lucky. Maturin is well-read and considerate. Audrey is into battles and Maturin into saving lives. They have a natural affection for the other’s nature and Audrey’s travels and injury to humans in war provide opportunity for Maturin’s need to learn of the natural world and do surgery. They are symbiotic counter parties and good friends. They make for a good team.

There is an interesting twist to how these stories are told. The author develops encounters, that are attention getting and contemplative stories. This is true whether telling of on land interactions between peoples in the naval forces or at sea strategies and battles. These stories are a great read. The author though, has a unique style. Once an episode becomes obvious as to its result, the story never finishes but jumps to a later interaction that reveals the result of the never completed previous interaction. It works great. What a unique style.

There is a sort of negative to the read. Before Mr. O’Brien involves you in the novel, he gives you a course on the very early 1800s men of war ships, and their components. Too difficult to follow unless you sit there with a dictionary or pictionary.

Mr. Tull is not the most exciting of readers and takes some deep gasps of breath – but nevertheless does carry off the story quite nicely. Will I read on into the series? Perhaps. Not quite 1930s detective novels noir but not bad in and of itself.