slotperfect 7 #1 July 7, 2007 I saw the film "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" when it came out four years ago. Out of curiosity I poked around on the internet a bit, and found that the film was based on events from several of a series of novels by Patrick O'Brian, based on the friendship between a Royal Navy ship's captain and doctor. I read the first three books in the series of 20 (a partially finished 21st is also available) and was enthralled by the quality of the work. O'Brian bases many of the events on actual ships and actual battles during the Napoleonic Wars at the turn of the 19th Century. This weekend I started over again, and I'm enjoying them even more. Has anybody else become addicted to these? http://www.wwnorton.com/pob/pobhome.htmArrive Safely John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #2 July 7, 2007 I read part of the first book years ago, but it just didn't draw me in - I may have to give them another try, eventually...Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumper03 0 #3 July 8, 2007 I've got all of them if you want to borrow them I've read the series several times over - I'm actually re-reading the Yellow Admiral tonight. Scars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJL 232 #4 July 8, 2007 Great stories and O'Brian is very technically accurate. Do you sail or are you a history buff? His stories are usually too heavy for the typically reader."I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmaust 0 #5 July 8, 2007 Both O'Brian's series (Aubrey et al, which i don't like that much and i gave away my full set of his books), and C.S. Forrester's Hornblower's series (which i grew up on), are based on Lord Thomas Cochrane's real life exploits. A lot of the actions in the above books are taken from admiralty reports. If you're into this, to me his bio reads better than O'Brian's series: - Cochrane - The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain - Robert Harvey - ISBN 0-7867-0923-5 ------------------------------------------------ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumper03 0 #6 July 8, 2007 Quote Great stories and O'Brian is very technically accurate. Do you sail or are you a history buff? His stories are usually too heavy for the typically reader. I've always been a history buff and the books actually got me into sailing. I'm looking at buying my first boat in the next few months. Wanna go sailing John??? You can be Killick.... Scars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slotperfect 7 #7 July 8, 2007 QuoteDo you sail or are you a history buff? I have only been on a sailboat once or twice, but I do love history. I enjoy films that are "period pieces," which got me started down this road.Arrive Safely John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #8 July 8, 2007 I tried hard to get into them, but I found them a difficult read because O'Brian's writing style is right out of the early 19th Century. Were they written in a modern style, lke, say, Cornwell's series "Sharpe's Rifles", I'm sure I would find them more engaging. It's a shame, really, to not enjoy them as they should be, because they're written as though the author had actually lived at that time, using the grammar, punctuation and formatting, if you will, of his contemporaries from 1805-1810. mh ."The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
