Post Captain
Aubrey-Maturin Series, Book 2
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Post Captain
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Narrated by:
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Ric Jerrom
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By:
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Patrick O'Brian
This tale begins with Jack Aubrey arriving home from his exploits in the Mediterranean to find England at peace following the Treaty of Amiens. He and his friend Stephen Maturin, surgeon and secret agent, begin to live the lives of country gentlemen, hunting, entertaining, and enjoying amorous adventures. Their comfortable existence, however, is cut short when Jack is overnight reduced to a pauper with enough debts to keep him in prison for life. He flees to the continent to seek refuge. Instead he finds himself a hunted fugitive as Napoleon has ordered the internment of all Englishmen in France.
Patrick O'Brian is regarded by many as the greatest historical novelist of the 20th century. Post Captain is the second novel in his remarkable Aubrey/Maturin series.
©1972 Patrick O'Brian (P)2014 Audible, Inc.Critic reviews
Seriously, a rattling good listen as O'Brian fleshes out the characters of our two heroes and even gets them involved in (sometimes) rather too complex love affairs. He gets into his stride in HMS Surprise, but leaves this book with well-rounded and interesting characters, ready to give Bonapate a damn good hiding!
Excellent and convincing reading by Mr Jerrom, who again manages to make even the most obscure sounding naval terms understandable. Even Stephen Maturin might understand them.
Not my favourite
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What made the experience of listening to Post Captain the most enjoyable?
Ric Jerrom's performance is masterful, his speech crisp and his characterizations, of even bit-players, is fully developed and well-rounded. You get the sense that he's really enjoying the performance he's giving as much as you are, and you can oftentimes hear the smile he must of had whilst reading.What other book might you compare Post Captain to, and why?
Post Captain is often surprising in how much actually happens within it's covers, so much action that later in the book I thought some references the characters made were in the previous book, before realising, no! that was just in the first third of Post Captain! As such it compares favorably to an amalgamation of several of C.S. Forester's Hornblower series, although the latter is an easier, less technically complex read.Which character – as performed by Ric Jerrom – was your favourite?
Ric Jerrom's performances, as already stated, are all wonderful, however I was particularly enamoured by his interpretation of Dr Stephen Maturin, who's character in this book, the second in the series, really shifts up a gear in terms of his complexity and impact on the outcome of the story.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The Final two chapters in the book are particularly powerful, and lays the seed of an idea of what is in store for the characters over the next 19 books.Any additional comments?
I'd heartily recommend Post Captain. While the second book in the series, this book, moreso than Master and Commander, feels like it's laying roots for the future of the series. One word of warning: after listening you might catch yourself replying to emails as if you just ventured out of a Brontë novel.A Full Broadside of Character and Adventure
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It's a complete immersion into early 19th century seafaring life - it helps to know your spritsail-topsail from your t'gallants - but it's in the characterisation, the set-piece dinners, the humour, the attitudes, injuries and danger that it convinces, not in the jargon. Then there's the period spent ashore, which has as much sharp comment and observation of social and sexual politics as Jane Austen, though it's much more fun.
There's the absurd misery of Jack and Stephen's escape across the Pyrenees, stirring set-piece battles, financial ruin and recovery (of a sort) and of course the building blocks of what would become so familiar to O'Brian fans in later books: Stephen's identity as an agent, the establishment of Jack's naval followers such as Bonden, Killick, Pullings and Babbington and the introduction of Sophia and Diana. These two become the engine of the book and both are well-enough drawn to put O'Brian amongst that rare group of male authors who can write female parts as well as male.
Start with 'Master and Commander', if you haven't already. But if you have, get ready for the thrilling sensation of a great writer finding his wings and producing something better than Hornblower, better by far than Bolitho, maybe better than anything else. Well, it's only my opinion.
Oh, and Ric Jerrom's reading does it justice. There's no higher praise than that, really.
A colossal achievement
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Gripping Stuff
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Hot Seamen Dreamin'
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