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The Wine-Dark Sea (Vol. Book 16)  (Aubrey/Maturin Series)
 
 
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The Wine-Dark Sea (Vol. Book 16) (Aubrey/Maturin Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "A purple ocean, vast under the sky and devoid of all visible life apart from two minute ships racing across its immensity..." (more)
Key Phrases: forenoon watch, starboard watch, great cabin, Captain Aubrey, Jack Aubrey, Captain Pullings (more...)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

List Price: $14.95
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o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
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Frequently Bought Together

The Wine-Dark Sea (Vol. Book 16)  (Aubrey/Maturin Series) + The Truelove (Vol. Book 15)  (Aubrey/Maturin Series) + The Commodore (Vol. Book 17)  (Aubrey/Maturin Series)
Price For All Three: $30.38

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  • This item: The Wine-Dark Sea (Vol. Book 16) (Aubrey/Maturin Series) by Patrick O'Brian

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  • The Truelove (Vol. Book 15) (Aubrey/Maturin Series) by Patrick O'Brian

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  • The Commodore (Vol. Book 17) (Aubrey/Maturin Series) by Patrick O'Brian

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this installment of O'Brian's maritime epic, Captain Aubrey and the crew of the Surprise are pursuing an American privateer through the Great South Sea. As is his custom, O'Brian grabs your attention with the first, beautifully memorable sentence: "A purple ocean, vast under the sky and devoid of all visible life apart from two minute ships racing across its immensity." And he doesn't relinquish it until 260 pages later, by which point Jack Aubrey is delighted at the mere fact of being alive.


From Publishers Weekly

Though the Jack Aubrey-Stephen Maturin books can be profitably read separately, as fans know, together they read as one long, wonderful novel. This 16th installment (following The Truelove ) is no doubt the best chapter yet. In the early 1800s, Bluff Jack, captain of the privateer Surprise , steers his frigate across the Pacific to South America, around Cape Horn and into the Atlantic, taking French and American prizes, fighting off a Yankee Man of War and suffering dire eye and leg wounds for his trouble. Subtle Stephen, ship's doctor and British intelligence agent, almost pulls off a coup in Peru and must escape across the Andes, losing some toes to frostbite for his efforts. Favorite characters reappear here: Killick, Jack's crabby steward; Sarah and Emily Sweeting, precocious Melanesian waifs attached to Maturin's sick-berth; Sam, Jack's illegitimate black son and rising Churchman. The naval actions are bang-on and bang-up--fast, furious and bloody--and the Andean milieu is as vivid as the shipboard scenes. As usual, readers can revel in the symbiotic friendship of Jack and Stephen, who make for a marvelous duo, whether in their violin and cello duets or in their sharp dialogue. If O'Brian hasn't quite had a break-out book yet, then this deserves to be it. 40,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (October 17, 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0393312445
  • ISBN-13: 978-0393312447
  • Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
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4 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars AUTHENTIC GOLD, March 15, 2000
By A Customer
I once had a creative writing instructor who insisted all ofhis students read one of O'Brian's novels to learn what truly superiorwriting was all about. I chose The Wine-Dark Sea and am I glad I did. O'Brian is truly a master! The Wine-Dark Sea opens with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in pursuit of an American privateer sailing the South Sea. The British, already engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, have made the mistake of also blundering into war with a young upstart, the United States. Maturin, in the Wine-Dark Sea, desires to relieve the pressure on the British government by inciting the revolutionaries of South America, more specifically, Peru. O'Brian, a master storyteller, also has a sharp eye for detail. His descriptions of the landscape, the sea, life on board the midgit man-of-war and even the Andes are no doubt the best in all of literature. The spine-tingling barbarity and bloody battle scenes are so real, they'll make you glad you're only reading a book (although the writing is so good you may forget that at times)! I really can't praise O'Brian highly enough. He is both artist and perfect craftsman and beside him, most authors rapidly pale. If you love the sea, if you love adventure, if you just love a good book, you absolutely can't go wrong with The Wine-Dark Sea or any of O'Brian's other novels. All of them are just perfect. END
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Aubrey chases a privateer through the South Seas, May 25, 2001

Another incomparable tale by that master of sea stories, the late Patrick O'Brian. Part of the Aubrey/Maturin series, this one follows the book "The Truelove," which led His Majesty's Hired Vessel "Surprise" to the Hawaiian (Sandwich) Islands to protect British whaling interests there, which were threatened by a pioneer of communism, Monsieur Dutourd, who was endeavoring to set up his own idealistic society there at the expense of British interests.

As this book starts, Dutourd's ship, the "Franklin," is being pursued by Aubrey in the "Surprise," on a strange, wine-colored sea in unusual weather. Soon the reason for the strange sea and weather becomes evident as an erupting volcano causes damage to both ships. The story revolves around British intelligence agent Dr. Maturin's attempt to influence political events in Peru, several battles at sea with the concomitant taking of prizes, battle with a pirate, deaths and injuries in battle, and the nearly deadly struggle of Dr. Maturin's medical assistant, the Rev. Martin, with his conscience.

No one knew nautical lore and the square-rigged vessels of the Napoleonic era (ca. 1800) as well as Patrick O'Brian. Many of his sea battles are taken directly from the annals of the British Admiralty, and his dialogue is replete with period expressions that lend even greater authenticity to his tales.

I recommend that a newcomer to this series start with "Master and Commander," the first book of the series. Untold hours of pleasure await you. ...

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Please do not read this book - YET, July 30, 2000
By Stephen P. Kemp (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews
Why would I recommend not reading this book? The answer is simple; I urge you to start at the beginning and buy Master and Commander, the first book. I say this because the odds are you have not read O'Brian before, if you had, you would scarcely need a recommendation for a book in the middle of the series. No, if you had read O'Brian before you would have either decided not to read more or as so many have before you, would have read the series, devouring one book after another in the order they were intended to be read. The Wine-Dark Sea is a section of one of the greatest examples of nautical fiction ever written, don't deny yourself the joy of watching these characters grow and develop over the course of the opus.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Gz20090709
Patrick O'Brian continues to impress with his ability. It is unfortunate that he passed away before completing the Aubrey story.
Published 4 months ago by C. M. Guzowsky

5.0 out of 5 stars stirring adventure, strong characters, and gentle good humor
One of the best of the series, and its combination of stirring adventure, strong characters, and gentle good humor leaves me a bit ahoo that only one more remains in the series... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Todd Stockslager

4.0 out of 5 stars Epic series keeps going strong
From the opening chapter of "The Wine-Dark Sea," the 16th book in Patrick O'Brian's hallowed Master & Commander series, the reader knows that something special is going on... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Scott Schiefelbein

4.0 out of 5 stars very impressed
Very impressed with this book. I really enjoyed when they went to Peru. This is my 3rd of his books and really enjoyed this.
Published 23 months ago by frmertd

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Read This Book. . .
. . .without first reading Truelove. Wine Dark Sea is the 16th
book in the Aubrey/Marturin series and as usual, the writing
is as rhythmic and sensual as the sea... Read more
Published on August 2, 2007 by Lynn Hoffman, author:The Short...

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, As Usual
Wine-Dark Sea is the sixteenth in Patrick O'Brian's wonderful 20-part nautical series. It is also the final in a four-part mini-series, as volumes thirteen through sixteen are an... Read more
Published on May 17, 2004 by richard_t

5.0 out of 5 stars Aubrey and Maturin in the Pacific and Andes of South America
"The Wine-Dark Sea" is the immediate precursor to "The Commodore", chronicling the final exploits in the Surprise's mission to the Pacific and the west coast of Spanish America... Read more
Published on January 27, 2004 by John Kwok

5.0 out of 5 stars Joint Review of All Aubrey-Maturin Books
Some critics have referred to the Aubrey/Maturin books as one long novel united not only by their historical setting but also by the central plot element of the Aubrey/Maturin... Read more
Published on October 26, 2003 by R. Albin

4.0 out of 5 stars Never look a llama in the eye . . .
Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, having sailed off on a combination privateering and intelligence mission in the SURPRISE back in the twelfth novel in the saga, finally are nearly... Read more
Published on January 8, 2003 by Michael K. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars Comment on High Cotton Review
The joy of Patrick O'Brian's books is the accuracy of his language among the characters as they speak ("Give you joy! Read more
Published on September 28, 2002 by J. C. Lautsch

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