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I just finished Blue at the Mizzen. I started the series based on this thread's recommendation, and I know that I'll enjoy it even more the second time though. It seems like O'Brian was equally interested in almost every aspect of life, and could bring that zeal and humor to everything. So somehow it isn't a chore to sit through official dinners and tough it out through the doldrums again, even after having done it a dozen or more times before. Just an absolute joy to read. I will also say that the most shocking event of the series (for me) was Diana's offscreen death. She wasn't the most sympathetic character, but everyone in-universe had a real affection for her (as did I). Even though she jerked Stephen around pretty badly and wasn't a great mom to start. It's the only character death in a work of fiction that left me feeling exactly how the characters in the book react - that sudden inner emptiness, the childish impulse to think maybe it's all a bad dream or a mistake, crushed under the terrible knowledge that it's for real and there's nothing you can do. I felt for Stephen in a shadow of the way I might feel for a real friend. I don't typically get so emotionally involved in the books I read, so that was a surprise. But it's been a ridiculously great and even-quality ride. One battle scene in particular stands out to me, in The Surgeon's Mate, when Jack in Ariel juuust cuts off Meduse and batters her enough to let Jason close and bring her to action. The way that Jack signals to Jason's captain (revealing his identity and that he outranks him), the super tense chase, the somehow completely satisfying conclusion that Jason catches up, but that we never know if the action is decisive, or who wins, or anything else. Jack played his badass part, and it's good enough to leave it at that.
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Apr 12, 2014 21:07
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 03:26 |
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I almost included that too, it was definitely #2. No matter what they say, he won that boxing match.  It occurred to me many times, given how many people die in each book, that it was sort of strange to have so many old hands like Joe Plaice and Bonden around for so long. Then again, vastly more people live through a full career in any job than die doing it. Death is just so infrequent in our lives that losing a few men and boys each voyage gets sort of blown out of proportion - it's vastly more than we're currently used to, but was still somewhat rare. So really a lot of oldsters isn't that surprising. I guess I sort of fell in to the fallacy of "well if they've made it this far..." but of course that's true for every single person, right up until they die.On a strange sidenote, I read a random spoiler tag in this thread that seemed to indicate that Babbington would die (looking back it just must have referred to him making post and going his own way in the books and never coming back), and I spent many books anxiously waiting for the awful news. I'm very glad he never did. Same with Reade and Tom.
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Apr 13, 2014 02:41
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Six Frigates rocks because at one point it just straight up quotes The Fortune of War while describing the HMS Java / USS Constitution battle. It's also a very good read otherwise.
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Apr 18, 2014 00:18
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So at my local used book store they have all 20 novels in paperback (same editions too). $6 each. Worth it?
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Nov 14, 2014 02:24
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Much more time spent describing food, much less time practicing gunnery. 
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Dec 20, 2014 19:38
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The answer to that, for any series, is always "published." Prequels depend on knowledge of the "later" events to give them context.
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Jan 7, 2015 18:03
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Yeah the I think the closest American analogue to that scene would be a new batter in a baseball game suddenly using his bat like a lacrosse stick, catching/blocking the pitch, dodging around the stunned fielders, running with the ball balanced on his bat in to the outfield, and flinging the ball at the backstop of an adjacent field, thinking it was the opposite goal. Or something like that. I loved that scene.
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Jan 21, 2017 03:58
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If you haven't seen them, the youtube series following the rebuild/restoration of the 1910 wooden sailing yacht Tally Ho is excellent at getting across various wooden ship construction techniques, and their rationales. The work is ongoing (they just poured a new lead ballast keel!) and the videos are super detailed and engaging. And as someone who works mostly with computers it's really satisfying to watch all that manual labor add up to something increasingly tangible. Obviously it isn't 1:1 with 19th century warships, but it gives you an idea of how complex even a relatively small boat is to build, and they're sticking as close to the original plans and using traditional materials and techniques as much as possible. I'll definitely go in to my next read through with much clearer pictures in my head, especially when Jack is consulting with Chips. Here's a bit explaining why they're casting bronze floors (brackets between the frames and keel timber). Later they cast bronze knees! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foDRc2X_Utg&t=388s
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Feb 28, 2022 01:16
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how are the hanging knees looking?
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Jun 20, 2022 08:28
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There's at least one moment where Jack is about to reflexively call out to Bonden about prepping his gig, or have him demonstrate something to the youngsters, or something routine like that, and he has to stop himself. There's no pronounced sadness or expressed grief, just the (implied repeated) recognition that a person he liked, respected, and took for granted is gone. Days like normal, punctuated in mundane moments by "oh, right, he's dead ." I agree it's intentional, it leaves you feeling hollow and just sort of stunned. You can't assimilate it even though you know it's a fact. I think the same is true for the characters, they're mostly just in shock and haven't started to process the loss. I fortunately can't speak from much personal experience, but that initial (non)reaction to the death of somebody close is pretty frequent in e/n, at least.
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Jul 21, 2022 03:41
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Nice 3D breakdown of Victory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nr1AgIfajI
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Mar 11, 2023 22:56
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 03:26 |
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Very in character for Stephen to think that the Moon is visible every night and for Jack to let that pass without comment.
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Apr 26, 2024 06:06
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