Customer Reviews

The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book: Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon in the Aubrey-Maturin Sea Novels

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Of "our world, our wooden world," as O'Brian wrote in the Nutmeg of Consolation. As an O'Brian devotee who is compiling a quotation book for naval officers and mariners (The Literary Mariner; look for it next year), I have found this Muster Book to be more useful, in its own way, than even Dean King's excellent Sea of Words. King's work is mostly a wonderful timesaver--you needn't hunt up terms in other reference books--but Gary Brown's POB Muster Book is unique and indispensable: no where else will you find the attention paid to and the cross-referenced information on the characters, ships, and animals of the entire Aubrey-Maturin series (what one reviewer called the Aubreyiad, a term I like very much).

Once the book was in hand, for example, I was able very quickly to answer three questions that had been bothering me: was Awkward Davis and Awkward Davies the same man (yes); were the Dumanoirs mentioned separate characters (yes); and what were the names of the various cannon in Surprise.

There is a very useful and succinct summary outlining the entire series, and the lengthy essays on each of the major characters also walks through all the books from that character's perspective (warning: if you haven't read the Aubreyiad through, these will be spoilers). Gary Brown also makes good use of helpful references to biographies (Dean King's and Nikolai Tolstoy's--see my Amazon reviews) and to historical works. This is simply a stunning achievement.

This is a new edition of the work formerly entitled "Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon in the Aubrey-Maturin Sea Novels of Patrick O'Brian". The first edition was a bit rough around the edges, but this one is much more polished. Many errors have been corrected, material has been added on the novels and fragments published after the first edition went to press, and there is now an interesting biographical article on O'Brian himself. Another improvement is a key to abbreviations at the foot of every second page, so you no longer have to scratch your head trying to remember what TGS or WDS stand for.

The text shows evidence of a good going-over. Spelling, punctuation, and wording have been cleaned up, and some articles have been expanded; for example, there is now factual information about Lucatellus's balm, where formerly there were only citations of its several appearances in the novels. Some minor errors remain, though: for example, there is no entry for HMS Goliah, which occurs as such (rather than as Goliath) in some editions of "HMS Surprise".

As before, Brown's notes about the correspondence of fact and fiction are among the best things in the book. He also does a commendable job of sorting out, as far as possible, the tangled and often contradictory histories of the major characters. (It's said that even Homer nods; and at times O'Brian seems to have been fast asleep.)

As in the first edition, Brown seems determined to catalog every named entity in the novels, even those the reader might be expected to have general knowledge of, such as Luke the evangelist, Jesus, and, for that matter, God. This is commendable thoroughness, but one feels that a line might have been drawn somewhere.

On the other hand, I don't quarrel with the inclusion of minor figures. When a character appears only once, it's sometimes nice to be able to confirm that. Even an entry like "Grace, Your", although it appears silly at first (it is based on something said to an anonymous person), has some value when the author explains what rank the addressee might have.

The book is attractively and durably bound in glossy, color-printed hard covers. Despite the steep price, O'Brian fanatics will want to have it.

I must say that my recent purchase of "PO's Muster Book" is worth the investment. I wish I had bought it sooner.

I am not quite finished with all 20 and 1/2 volumes of the O'Brian 19th century odyssey, having only finished the first 18, but I became an Aubrey/Maturin junkie after reading the first two novels and watching the movie. Comprehending the wealth of people, places and events, real and imagined, combined with a liberal use of foriegn languages was difficult and intimidating. I was often confused, because I didn't readily remember names and places from one chapter to the next.

Fortunately, before I started no. 5, I discovered, through Amazon, the companion books advertized there. I purchased "Sea Of Words", "Harbors And High Seas" and "Patrick O'Brian's Navy". Problem solved. I constantly cross referenced my new literary tools several times a chapter to interpret the rich mix of story and detail woven together in O'Brian's romantic chronology. The downside is that I needed to carry a tote when I went to read at the coffee shop as well as use an extra chair to hold my not so portable library.

Recently, I have added "The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book" and I immediately liked using it. Actually, it could be a "stand alone" companion book, except that it is absent of maps, diagrams, pictures or a commentary on the life and times. I know that this type information is beyond the scope of "Muster" by nature, so, my other books are still important to me, just not needed by the night stand.

That said, I am pleased with the appearance, organization and thoroughness of "Muster". Formatted like Webster's, it is highly informational and allows quick alphabetical access to the who and the where along with the what and the when not as easily accomplished by the other companion books. I can quickly remind myself of the names and places and not lose track of the story in doing so. Additionally, it lists all O'Brian's books with a Cliff Notes style summary and along with each item is the cross reference of all mentions in the series by book and chapter. It has helpful optional references to deliniate the fact from fiction.

While I finish the series and re-read it, as I'm sure I will, "Muster" will be my favorite companion. Now, when I'm reading on the plane, I won't have as much baggage.

There are other companion books to Patrick O'Brian's world and works, but none better than this one. Being a foreigner and rather a recent fan, I really need the help of such books to attain at least the merest understanding of what's going on, so I own several others which I enjoyed enormously. However none is so complete and helpful as this one. Most recommendable.

As an academic, I was first introduced to O'Brian by a colleague who thought I might find it interesting to compare O'Brian's works to Jane Austen's. As I did so I became convinced that there was more than a chance connection between the authors' works, but with O'Brian's expansive Aubreyiad, trying to corroborate the simplest connection became so time consuming it was discouraging. I happened across the first edition of this book on Amazon, ordered it, and three published academic articles later, it may well be the most indispensable work in my library. So much so, that when a newer edition came out that included the last few novels O'Brian wrote, I had to have it. I haven't been disappointed. Whether you're a "fan" or an academic, Gary Brown's meticulous research is sure to add to your understanding and appreciation of the genius of Patrick O'Brian.

Anthony Gary Brown's "The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book" is truly the ultimate literary companion volume for O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin nautical historical novels. Every serious fan of the series should get a copy. Every named person, animal, ship, or even cannon gets its own entry, very often exploring obscure references (and nicely cross-referencing multiple appearances throughout the series). This new edition of Brown's work covers the entire series, including the twenty-first volume left unfinished at O'Brian's death. It serves to enhance reading (and re-reading) the novels and will provide many hours of pleasant browsing for the serious fan.

If you are one of the vast multitude of lovers of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, you should own this book. It is the most fascinating, detailed, no-seashell-left-unturned compendium published today. If it's not here, it doesn't exist. Period. A truly fine companion to O'Brian's magnum opus.