Master and Commander

Unabridged
Author: Patrick O’Brian
Narrator: Simon Vance
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Date: March 2004
Length: 13 hours, 30 minutes
Ratings:
Formats:
  • CD
Abridged
Author: Patrick O'Brian
Narrator: Robert Hardy
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio (UK)
Date: October 2003
Length: 4 hours, 24 minutes
Ratings:
  • Book Rating: 0/5
Formats:
  • CD

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Overview

Tie-in edition to the major film coming next Spring from Fox. Starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind) as Stephen Maturin. Directed by Peter Weir. Master and Commander is the first of Patrick O'Brian's now famous Aubrey/Maturin novels, regarded by many as the greatest series of historical novels ever written. It establishes the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey RN and Stephen Maturin, who becomes his secretive ship's surgeon and an intelligence agent. It contains all the action and excitement which could possibly be hoped for in a historical novel, but it also displays the qualities which have put O'Brian far ahead of any of his competitors: his depiction of the detail of life aboard a Nelsonic man-of-war, of weapons, food, conversation and ambience, of the landscape and of the sea. O'Brian's portrayal of each of these is faultless and the sense of period throughout is acute. His power of characterisation is above all masterly. This brilliant historical novel marked the debut of a writer who grew into one of our greatest novelists ever.

Selected Reviews

Lots of rewinding

by 45 minute commute
  • Book Rating: 4/5

The best!

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 6

Reviews (6)

Lots of rewinding

Written by 45 minute commute on July 22nd, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

The story is, for the most part, memorable. The reading, however, can lull one into a coma, requiring energy to remain focused on listening. I had to re-wniod a lot.

The best!

Written by Anonymous on September 27th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I loved the books, and the audio version is even better. It's like going back and visiting all the old friends. The narration is great, captures the accents and personalities. And as far as being "manly", I am a woman and have read every one of the books and loved them all. Great adventure and too much fun!

Master and Commander

Written by W.P. Foreman on August 16th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 5/5

Recently completed the first four chapters and they were excellent and true to the book which I had also read. Iwas dumfounded over how much of the plot detail I had missed during the read; that was brought to light in listening. I am looking forward to the follow-on chapters and would highly recommend this book.

Fabtastic

Written by Anonymous from Athens, GA on May 16th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 5/5

A fabulous narration of a fantastic story. This was, curiously enough, very funny when heard, far more humorous than when I read it.

Detailed and absorbing

Written by Robin Fingerson on November 29th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 3/5

As advertised, Patrick O'Brien creates a vivid and colorful image of life in the English navy -- you can almost hear the creak of the timbers and the booming of cannons. The narrator does a fabulous job of capturing the individual characters' accents and patois. It sounds sexist, but these are "manly books", full of manly adventures and manly sorts of descriptions -- not that women won't enjoy them, but they are routh, almost blunt adventures stories that spend more time describing battles and the intricacies of ships' rigging than in character exposition or meaningful dialog. A very enjoyable book -- and many more in the series if you like this one.

Master and Commander

Written by Richard Costa from Sacramento, CA on June 10th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I liked this. Had been curious about the series of books after seeing the movie. The movie is different than the script. But it was very enjoyable and well read by the actor.

Selected Reviews

Lots of rewinding

by 45 minute commute
  • Book Rating: 4/5

The best!

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 6

Author Details

Author Details

Johnson, M.D., Spencer

"Spencer Johnson, M.D., is the author of several New York Times bestsellers, including The One Minute Manager, all in the entertaining style of a parable that contains useful information readers can use in their own lives. There are more than thirteen million copies of his books in print in over twenty-five languages.
Dr. Johnson's education includes a psychology degree from the University of Southern California, an M.D. from the Royal College of Surgeons and medical clerkships at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic."