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 enlarge | Author: Patrick O'brian
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $14.81
You Save: $9.19 (38%)
New (13) Used (17) from $12.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 120456
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 329
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.7 x 5.6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0393037061
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780393037067
ASIN: 0393037061
Publication Date: November 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 4 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Few left in stock - order soon. Code: N20090105043406T
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| Customer Reviews:
 Best in the Series! June 6, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This one has it all! Romantic tension, exploding ships, climactic battle scenes, and (my favorite) ingrigue! The characters, are at their most Jack-and-Stephenesque. O'Brian manages to fit more meaning and emotion into a single simple sentence than any author since Austen and he manages to fit more events into this book than many of his others. Anyone who has gotten this far in the series doesn't need me to urge them to read this one, but I couldn't help but sing its praises.
 . . . Aubrey & Maturin delayed in Boston- their adventure home continues April 19, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"The Fortune of War" continues where "Desolation Island" left the readers hanging in Patrick O'Brian's previous novel. But rather than being rescued and safe, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are taken out of the frying pan and put in the fire. Whether it is an exploding ship heading home, the pummeling broadsides of the USS Constitution, or the clutches of the fledgling American intelligence network; Patrick O'Brian gives his famous and beloved protagonists almost more than they can handle.
Aubrey and Maturin spend the majority of this novel as prisoners of war in Boston, while the War of 1812 continues a series of great victories for the newly founded American Navy. Aubrey, severely wounded, is more of an auxiliary character in this novel, and Stephen Maturin comes fully into the foreground as the main protagonist attempting to save his friends. Diana Villiers also returns to the series, and Maturin must deal with his feelings for her in addition to the American agent with whom she is currently associating. The great intelligence coup Maturin achieved in the previous novel has returned to haunt him, as his powerful enemies close in on all sides. . .
This novel is great spy adventure set in Boston, and contains two very well written historical engagements with America's new fleet of frigates- the USS Constitution and the Chesapeake. As a patriotic American, it was a challenging read, as my two favorite literary characters would have been my adversaries if I had been their contemporaries. However, O'Brian writes this story with a well balanced eye to this conflict of interests between the British and American people. Additionally, I have to give a shout out to the USS Constitution, as I am a member of its honorific namesake in the modern American Army- the 1st Armored Division "Old Ironsides", and have spent some great times in her city of origin, & where she can be seen today: Boston. The one drawback of this story is that it has a substantive portion of the adventure on land. Granted, it is still a great story and very well written, but the magic of journeying across the wild and untamed ocean is not present.
While not the best of the Aubrey/Maturin series; I am always eager for more action at sea, "The Fortune of War" is very readable and enjoyable. It is also essential to read in order as the second installment of the first miniseries within O'Brian's larger story arc. Make sure you start with "Desolation Island" first.
The Fortune of War June 28, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the sixth volume in the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian.
In the first (Master & Commander) I was exposed to a new language and the nautical terms were a bit of a mystery, but now after reading the first six books I am addicted to O'Brian's "voice", style and masterful story telling. I finished this book while on vacation and the ending left me eager to pick up the next one in the series; alas, I had to wait for my return to "civililization" to find #7. This is character development at its best and O'Brian must be among the finest authors of action/adventure novels, especially of the Napoleonic wars era.
Another Strong Outing October 11, 2004
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the sixth volume in the Aubrey/Maturin series, and focusses on the War of 1812 - although less than a third of the way through the series, we are now getting quite late in the Napoleonic Wars. The story continues the same voyage from 'Desolation Island', and the events and characters of that book are significant. So it's advisable to read that prior to this, even if you don't read all of the five prequels.
Two naval battles and a desperate longboat voyage are featured, but the heart of the story is Aubrey and Maturin as POWs in Boston, where Maturin's past spying activities are coming back to haunt him. This part of the story is done very well.
The principal complaint is one that applies to all the books in this series, so at least readers will be used to it by now. The books are loaded with contemporary naval terms and slang which O'Brian never stops to explain, leaving the reader to spend almost as much time at sea as the heroes.
The series is generally strong on historical authenticity, but an earlier revewer complains that this volume is an exception. I suspect that is so; from my own knowledge of the War of 1812, the close Franco-American alliance which is portrayed in this book, while it would have made political sense, never really existed. Such errors are unfortunate in an author who normally avoids them, but they didn't spoil the story for me.
They keep getting better July 5, 2004
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Amazing.
The above reviewer dissatisfied with this book misses the (whole) point I fear, else he is small-minded.
I confess I don't read for historical accuracy, but enjoyment.
This author has it all; psychology, character development, action/suspense, technics, logic, you name it. (Maybe not history; I don't follow.)
I am not a scholarly reader, but these books astonish me; I believe some of the best in english fiction.
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