|
Raskolnikov2089 posted:One of my favorite ongoing jokes is that the entirety of Surprise, crew and officers all, think Steven is a lecherous, violent drunk, and absolutely love him for it. That's probably how they interpreted his habit of sleeping until noon and snarling at everyone except Jack until he'd had a pot of coffee. They had more experience with drunks than with junkies.
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2023 21:32
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 16:47 |
|
|
Finished up Far Side of the World, this one really felt like Desolation Island redux but not quite as good, I very much enjoyed marooned Jack and Stephen (although I wish it went on a bit more) and the further development of Martin's character and then the tension between them and the Americans, and going back to a more Jack/ship sailing focused story compared to Treason's Harbour. I also love his descriptions of ships trying to weather a storm, captures that feeling (or what I imagine it would be like) so well. Now I just have to wait for my copy of Reverse of the Medal to arrive so I can crack on to the next few.
screaden fucked around with this message at 06:18 on Jul 3, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jul 3, 2023 06:16
|
|
|
Finished up Reverse of the Medal last night, this was a drat good one. I know a lot attention is given to the sailing side of the books and that reputation is well deserved but he's also so drat good at the spycraft stuff, and most of the time it's just Stephen's internal monologue or chatting with Blaine, but I love it, Fortune of War so far has my favourite Stephen moments when he gets a chance to really let loose so this one was a nice little detour from the sailing stuff. All the sailors from all over the country coming out to support Jack was a great moment too, a perfect capper to that whole story. I've been reading https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/426215.The_Command_of_the_Ocean in chunks in between books and learning about the history of the Navy and it's provided some neat context to some of the stuff in the books, like in Reverse it absolutely tracks that the government severely misjudged the feelings of the people when it came to the service. Seeing Jack's unwavering resolve and belief in the service being completely shattered was kinda depressing though.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2023 00:46
|
|
|
You might even like The Letter of Marque better. Very good Stephen moments and you get to read about Aubrey coping with being a privateer/putting pride before politics. Plus we are introduced to the Sethians and Shelmerston. I won't spoil anything else. Tace is Latin for a candlestick.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2023 21:49
|
|
|
Mulaney Power Move posted:You might even like The Letter of Marque better. Very good Stephen moments and you get to read about Aubrey coping with being a privateer/putting pride before politics. Plus we are introduced to the Sethians and Shelmerston. I won't spoil anything else. Tace is Latin for a candlestick. Yep, I moved straight on to that one but it was a busy weekend so I'm only 30 or so pages in but I can already feel that side of Jack coming out. I think it was a few pages back where someone pointed out how the stories get separated in to loose series, but to me it feels like Master and Commander and Post Captain make up an entry series, then HMS Surprise through to Surgeon's Mate make up a second series, and then Ionian Mission through to Reverse of the Medal make up a third and now Letter of Marque is starting up a new one, even the structure of Reverse of the Medal felt much more final than the books that came before it, and so far it feels like Letter of Marque is starting up a bit more traditionally. Anyway, my last lot of books have come, I'm so very close to finishing up the set. 
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2023 01:22
|
|
|
Now that's a fine looking set of books!
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2023 08:11
|
|
|
Arglebargle III posted:That's probably how they interpreted his habit of sleeping until noon and snarling at everyone except Jack until he'd had a pot of coffee. Also things like him renting a room in a whorehouse.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2023 17:40
|
|
|
Notahippie posted:Also things like him renting a room in a whorehouse. On the other hand, the officers know his ascetic qualities a bit better and are shocked! There's that bit where the sailing master takes him aside and warns him it's a house of ill repute. And I think when seeing him walk away from a ball with Diana in Post Captain, Pullings says to the other disappointed admirers 'in the Sophie we looked on him as a sort of monk'. It's a really great running joke about how people see us vs our internal motivations.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2023 18:58
|
|
|
screaden posted:Master and Commander and Post Captain make up an entry series, then HMS Surprise through to Surgeon's Mate make up a second series, and then Ionian Mission through to Reverse of the Medal make up a third and now Letter of Marque is starting up a new one, even the structure of Reverse of the Medal felt much more final than the books that came before it, and so far it feels like Letter of Marque is starting up a bit more traditionally. The first three books definitely make up an arc. Mauritius Command is a bit of a side story, or almost feels like a flash forward in some ways.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2023 20:31
|
|
|
Lockback posted:The first three books definitely make up an arc. Mauritius Command is a bit of a side story, or almost feels like a flash forward in some ways. I've only read through the series the once, but Mauritius Command definitely struck me at the time as a book where O'Brien was anxious to get his big real-life campaign with the Warhammer-equivalent figurines out, which he might not have been so quick with if he'd magically foreseen that he'd be writing 20 of these.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2023 14:22
|
|
|
freebooter posted:I've only read through the series the once, but Mauritius Command definitely struck me at the time as a book where O'Brien was anxious to get his big real-life campaign with the Warhammer-equivalent figurines out, which he might not have been so quick with if he'd magically foreseen that he'd be writing 20 of these. I suspect he thought that would be the last book but then decided to go back and write the next 16. There's points where I kinda think they "forget" that Aubrey was a commodore for this really significant campaign through the story, though the Naval Command are just kinda douches like that anyway I guess, so maybe it was just more convenient to pretend that Aubrey didn't take such a lofty (temporary) role. I also feel like if POB could "do-over" he probably would't have skipped so much time between 3 and 4.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2023 20:19
|
|
|
Commodore was a very temporary position in the Royal Navy of the time. Rowley, the real historical figure whose lunch Jack is eating in Mauritius Command, didn’t immediately get a whole lot out of it himself. He was sent back home with the admiral’s dispatches (as Jack is) and spent the rest of the war in charge of a third-rate in the Med (where Jack gets a particularly lovely fourth-rate to take to Australia). Rowley did eventually get real rank and a title out of his exploits in Mauritius, but he had to wait a couple years, till the war was wrapping up. So no longer than Jack, objectively speaking! There’s a funny little bit of discontinuity with Mauritius Command too. When they’re on the Java (before it gets blasted by Constitution) in Fortune of War, Jack is telling Stephen all about the Java’s captain, but neglects to mention that both of them should probably already know the guy, since the actual historical figure was Rowley’s second in command for the Mauritius campaign. Not quite on the level of Babbington’s mistress briefly forgetting his name but yeah.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2023 21:23
|
|
|
Fanny might actually do that though
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2023 03:37
|
|
|
Babbington was always an infernal whoremaster.
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2023 23:42
|
|
|
Monger, shipmate. A whoremaster is one who manages them, and Babbington certainly was not capable of that, ho ho ho.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 00:14
|
|
|
Not to be confused with Jack's bankers.Jack, to young Babbington, posted:'Give your father my compliments and tell him my bankers are Hoares.' For Jack, like most other captains, managed the youngsters' parental allowance for them. 'Hoares,' he repeated absently once or twice, 'my bankers are Hoares,' and a strangled ugly crowing noise made him turn. Young Ricketts was clinging to the fall of the main burton-tackle in an attempt to control himself, but without much success.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 01:55
|
|
|
Lewd Mangabey posted:Not to be confused with Jack's bankers. LOL. I love the humour in these books so much. EDIT: Paraphrased: [of Mowett's publishers] they are the most infernal procrastinators - "oh dear, said Fanny, how awful. Do they go to special houses, or . . . ?" He means they delay, interjected Babbington.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 08:47
|
|
|
Genghis Cohen posted:LOL. I love the humour in these books so much. lol
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 13:34
|
|
|
So let's get real. Who else suspects Diana really did bang Jagiello? And Sophie that Captain Apollo guy.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2023 22:16
|
|
|
Mulaney Power Move posted:So let's get real. Who else suspects Diana really did bang Jagiello? And Sophie that Captain Apollo guy. yes and yes
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2023 22:42
|
|
|
Deffo
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2023 23:32
|
|
|
I think maybe Diana and Jagello were innocent. He seemed to really have an issue with women
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2023 04:54
|
|
|
My assumption was that even if she did take a run at Jagiello he'd be too oblivious to realize she was propositioning him.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2023 05:11
|
|
|
We all know it's true in our hearts: Diana taught Sophie how to masturbate.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2023 12:19
|
|
|
Diana no, Sophie yes. Jagiello was way too blaise when Stephen showed up and Jack had it coming, Sophie forgave him because she had evened it out. Also yes to Diana (and Clarissa) teaching Sophie about masturbation.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2023 19:49
|
|
|
I don't think Diana was particularly faithful but I think it was setup as kind of a joke that she didn't hookup with Jagiello despite him basically being here type and the opportunity ripe.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2023 13:25
|
|
|
Haven't re-read that particular book in awhile, but I thought it was pretty clear that Sophie had "evened the score" in order to let go her resentment toward Jack for his infidelity.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2023 18:33
|
|
|
Mulaney Power Move posted:So let's get real. Who else suspects Diana really did bang Jagiello? And Sophie that Captain Apollo guy. I may be too accepting of Diana's words at her face value, but I do believe her that she didn't actually have an affair with Jagiello - didn't 'accept his protection'. I don't think she necessarily found monogamy and continence all of a sudden, just that after her experiences with Canning and Johnson she was smart enough to not want to be isolated in that very precarious social position in a foreign land. Sophie definitely had it off with that random officer, yes. Fair is fair.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2023 19:38
|
|
|
Agreeing with Sophie yes, Diana no. I'm not even sure if Jagiello banged the woman who said his loins were as hot as a goat. He did say she knew nothing of his loins.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2023 04:47
|
|
|
I challenge anybody to surmise the movie, nay, the entire series with more brevity.
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2023 23:11
|
|
|
Never anything you can dance to
|
|
#
?
Aug 15, 2023 02:43
|
|
|
Scrape scrape scrape all day long
|
|
#
?
Aug 15, 2023 07:42
|
|
|
Nektu posted:Scrape scrape scrape all day long No escaping, always scraping barnacles, fiddles, decks, jaws, guns across the endless sea.
|
|
#
?
Aug 15, 2023 15:35
|
|
|
Remember when the one midshipman fell to his death skylarking after a jam session 
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2023 18:25
|
|
|
I just pulled off a bandage and bled a little bit on my gym shorts and as always, I heard Mrs. Williams' shrill voice in my head reminding me "You must always use cold water for blood! Should they not be told they must use cold water for blood?" Got it clean, too. We manage tolerably well at sea, ma'am.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2023 19:32
|
|
|
I’m rereading Master & Commander and thoroughly loving it while being afraid of Post Captain, which I recall from some years ago as being slow and it killed my intention of continuing the series dead. I hate to ask this because normally I won’t skip anything but I want more boat adventures. Would it be safe to skip Post Captain and come back to it later?
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2023 04:18
|
|
|
Yeah you’re good. Don’t worry about it
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2023 04:26
|
|
|
I actually liked Post Captain far better the second time after rereading it recently.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2023 11:23
|
|
|
It's fine to skip it, it's also fine to skip the first half and start reading when they're actually at sea. It's quite a short book but it feels so much longer, I agree. I'm also not a Jane Austen fan and it's an homage to her work.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2023 12:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 16:47 |
|
|
Any of these would be an excellent approach, but every time I've gone back to Post Captain I've liked it more and more, until now it's among my favorites in the series. The first time through, I found it to be an obnoxious slog.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2023 13:11
|
|
