Best O'Brian, Patrick
O'Brian renders in riveting detail the life aboard a man-of-war in Nelson's navy: 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 roar of broadsides as the great ships close in battle. Aubrey and Maturin have been described as better than Holmes and Watson, the equal of Quixote and Panza . ''Earphones Awards winner [audiobook narrator] Simon Vance juggles multiple characters, accents, and dramatic and comedic scenes with aplomb . Vance's warm, welcoming voice captures colorful characters, entertaining relationships . Readers in search of a handful of excellent companions with whom to spend many enjoyable hours will be hail and well met.''.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"For my commentary on this book, I'll reference the tags that Amazon asks you to choose between for the plot, mood, pace, and characters. He writes friendships and hatred, hope and fear, and all the reasons and ways that we suffer and rejoice in little events and big."
"But a bit stilted and old fashioned in terms of the style and language used."
"Delving into life at sea in the early nineteenth century, with an opportunity to get to know people, places and modes of living that are hard to even imagine nowadays."
"What a wonderful novel!"
"The writer was both a neighbour and a friendly visit to the painter in his late years, and the keen observer and tolerant humanist in O'Brian drew a carefully neutral, informed close-up of the man."
"It is said by some modern Naval Officers that in those days men of steel sailed ships of wood, while today ships of steel are sailed by men of wood."
"Nevertheless, these events have been recorded, honors awarded, prizes taken, etc.There are a great number of unfamiliar (to me) nautical term used throughout the work."
"For by the time you get to the end of the second book, you will completely immersed in an amazing literary accomplishment. At the beating heart of the Aubrey/Maturin series is the story of friendship and a world that's changing around them."
HMS Surprise is set among the strange sights and smells of the Indian subcontinent and in the distant waters ploughed by the ships of the East India Company. full of the energy that comes from a writer having struck a vein... Patrick O'Brian is unquestionably the Homer of the Napoleonic wars.''. Thank God for Patrick O'Brian: his genius illuminates the literature of the English language, and lightens the lives of those who read him.''. [O'Brian's] erudition is phenomenal, as is his capacity for creating another completely believable world. ''As sinewy, and virile as its predecessors, this is a copper-bottomed investment for the numerous fans of Jack Aubrey . Vivid and authentic as is Mr O'Brian's mastery of period and life at sea, it is in his creation of characters that he excels.''. ''Earphones Awards winner [audiobook narrator] Simon Vance juggles multiple characters, accents, and dramatic and comedic scenes with aplomb . Vance's warm, welcoming voice captures colorful characters, entertaining relationships . Readers in search of a handful of excellent companions with whom to spend many enjoyable hours will be hail and well met.''.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I've become a huge fan of this series by Patrick O'Brian."
"The language of the period is perfectly evoked and I've gotten over not entirely visualizing all the details about ships and battles."
"The important character development ashore is mixed in with Jack Aubrey and his sea going adventures."
"I have read the complete Aubrey/Maturin novels."
"Good action tale with mixed personalities."
"The story is set in the time of Bonaparte."
"I read the whole series about 20 years ago and then sold the set."
"Patrick O'Brian is rightly praised as one of the finest modern authors of our times and I have never read a single negative comment EVER regarding his brilliant Aubrey Maturin series."
On 11 CD's, read by Patrick Tull.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I think it's a good story, although parts are familiar to the readers of all of the previous books. I like it so much I'm reading the entire series for the second time."
"For non-sailors, there may be ships terms used that are not understood (e.g., cathead, cross-trees) and some descriptions of the positioning of ships prior to engaging in battle (e.g., gaining weather gage), which add to a sailors reading enjoyment, but for others just read through and enjoy the content!"
"He made one weep, he made one laugh; he made the day worth enduring for the sake of the next volume in this remarkable series."
"I've never before been hooked on a book series but, with the completion of each book, it's impossible not to go immediately to the next one."
"A continuing great British sea story series, great story line."
"I find all of O'Briens novels in this series great reading with high adventure."
"I think this series is one , if not, THE best that I have read."
"If you saw the movie, Master and Commander; Far Side of the World,staring Russel Crow as Capt."
Best Orwell, George
Orwell's brilliant 1946 satire, chronicling a revolution staged by the animals on Mr. Jones's farm ( Animal Farm ). ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL. BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS. George Orwell's classic satire of the Russian Revolution is the account of the bold struggle, initiated by the animals, that transforms Mr. Jones's Manor Farm into Animal Farm--a wholly democratic society built on the credo that All Animals Are Created Equal. Out of their cleverness, the pigs Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball emerge as leaders of the new community in a subtle evolution that proves disastrous.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"One can definitely see the parallels in today's politics, a must read for everyone ."
"Orwell managed to make readers relate to the story, and connect actual figures (whether in business or politics), to the story characters (according to my friends, who also read the story, I am Benjamine!).."
"Beautiful book, is now my favorite book of all time."
"This should be a must read for everyone!"
"Good price...high school summer reading!"
"2 classics I've always wanted to read!"
"Classic must read."
"I love the book."