H.M.S. Surprise cover art

H.M.S. Surprise

Aubrey-Maturin Series, Book 3

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

About this listen

H.M.S. Surprise, the third in O'Brian's acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin series, follows the variable fortunes of Captain Jack Aubrey's career in Nelson's navy, as he attempts to hold his ground against admirals, colleagues, and the enemy, and accepts a commission to convey a British ambassador to the East Indies. The voyage leads him and his friend Stephen Maturin to the strange sights and smells of the Indian subcontinent, and through the archipelago of Spice Islands where the French have a near-overwhelming local superiority.

Rarely has a novel managed to convey more vividly the fragility of a sailing ship in a wild sea. Rarely has a historical novelist combined action and lyricism of style in the way that O'Brian does. His superb sense of place, brilliant characterisation and a vigour and joy of writing lifts O'Brian above other writers in this genre.

©1973 Patrick O'Brian (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Action & Adventure Genre Fiction Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Sea Adventures Thriller & Suspense Adventure Fiction Sailing
All stars
Most relevant
The action with the convoy was enthralling and will be with me for a while.

Loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Ric Jerrom deserves an oscar for narrating the complete Aubrey/Maturin works
There must be an English award for best narrating !

One of the best books in the series

Ric Jerrom deserves an oscar

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Characters the focus of this 2nd book on the series - sets me up to read all. Far less action but the union between the captain & surgeon fascinating set up the series brilliantly.

Characters the focus of this 2nd book on the series - sets me up to read all

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have live every book of this series, they are incredibly entertaining and captivating. They set the scene remarkably and keep the listener hooked throughout the narrative.

Excellent series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
My royal-navy-loving husband wore me down and got me listening to these books, after finishing the Sharpe series. I'm well and truly hooked on the story and been slowly acquainting myself with nautical vocabulary. Truly suspenseful storytelling, awesome narrator, lots of humourous dialog! Adventure stories GOLD.

Favourite book of the series so far

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews