Master and Commander

Aubrey-Maturin, Book 1

By: Patrick O'Brian

Narrated by: Robert Hardy

Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

1800. Napoleon Bonaparte is the biggest threat to peace yet seen.

Newly promoted to command of his first ship, Captain Jack Aubrey, along with his crew, and new friend and ship’s surgeon Stephen Maturin, must patrol a Mediterranean fraught with peril but rich with rewards. A glimpse of white sails on the horizon could mean a prize to be taken – or a fight for survival.

©1994 Patrick O'Brian (P)2003 HarperCollins UK

Critic reviews

"In Aubrey and Maturin, Patrick O’Brian has created two of the most enjoyable characters in twentieth-century fiction. One of the greatest authors to sail with." (Michael Palin)

"There are two types of people in the world: Patrick O'Brian fans, and people who haven't read him yet." (Lucy Eyre, Guardian)

Not a great one for Audio

I had huge problems following the action in this book. Most of the time I had no clear idea what was going all. So much unfamiliar nautical jargon, combined with somewhat careless and muffled narration, just meant this was all a bit baffling. I have listened to a lot of Hornblower on audio without this being a major problem.Yes, sometimes listening to Hornblower I get a little lost. But I was basically lost from go to whoa on this one.
I thought Robert Hardy would be wonderful, but his voice is a just a little too phlegmy and fruity for comfort. He sounded like he was having a bilious attack most of the time. I found him hard to understand. His voice is very plummy and it kind of annoyed me.
I think I will try to get my hands on the hard copy of these books, which have been highly recommended to me several times.

Abridged

I would not have bought this book, had I realized it was abridged. Thus the story lost a lot of it's sense and continuity. However it was well read.

Please give us Patrick Tull

I enjoyed the book and have continued with the series. While Robert Hardy is a fair narrator, the versions of the series read by Patrick Tull are perhaps the finest narration I have heard. You will enjoy it, but I hope Audible can get the Tull versions soon.

Absolutely first-rate!

I have long been a fan of this brilliant series and jumped at the chance to hear it read by the redoubtable Robert Hardy. Hardy brings the characters to life in a way that enhances my memories of the printed page and the only bittersweet disappointment involved was that he was reading from an abridged version. No, no, no! Read the whole thing! We are missing all the asides and digressive bits that admittedly add nothing to the plot but which constitute so much of the period charm of this fascinating ongoing tale. It is primarily the story of a deep and enduring friendship between two very unlike men, one the bluff and hearty Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy, lucky at sea but prone to every disaster on land, and the other the sardonic and secretive surgeon and natural philosopher Stephen Maturin with his mixed Catalan and Irish loyalties. They clash, they reconcile, they play music together, they watch out for one another's interests ... and then they clash again. The background to all this is the war at sea against the Empire of Napoleon and the action ranges from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and from there to the furthest oceans of the world. This is rivetting stuff and is punctuated by periods ashore where the sharp-witted Stephen proves himself more adroit than his naive and trusting companion.

Oh dear! Nothing to be done. With a sidelong glance at my perilous bank account I went out and bought the whole series and spent a week or so rather blissfully submerged in a bygone world so well recreated that you can actually feel yourself within it. I was quite casually referring to male friends as 'my dear' and 'my love' in conversation, oblivious of some rather strange looks ....

Belatedly, an unabridged version of this series has begun to appear which comprises (so far) the first three volumes; 'Master and Commander', 'Post Captain', and 'HMS Surprise' read quite creditably by Ric Jerrom. When I tell you that these versions run from 15 to 18 hours apiece compared to Robert Hardy's average of about 3 hours you can understand the source of my anguish above. What to do? Do as I did, I suppose. Start with the whole series read by Hardy and then go back and do it more slowly with Ric Jerrom. On the other hand, if you don't like spoilers start with the unabridged versions. But if you choose to go that way you will miss the unparalleled spine-tingling readings of Hardy! Tough decision.

abridged too far

Highly enjoyable, ripping yarn. I read the first 8 books of the Aubrey/Maturin series a few years ago and was looking forward to the audio version. Mostly I was not disappointed. Robert Hardy does an excellent job on the narration, with good salty accents and believable characterization.

My quibble is with the abridging, which left out some important (to my mind) stuff, eg the trapanning scene where Maturin cuts open the guy's head in front of the ship's company, a suspenseful and interesting scene in the original. There were also some abrupt scene changes, esp between the capture of the Surprise and the board of inquiry.

This was pretty good, but I wish it and the rest of the series were available unabridged.