The Mauritius Command

Like a favorite show of television, which just keeps getting better season after season, Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels are something I look forward to reading every year. Fortunately, there are 20 books in the series, which means I can read and re-read them forever, which I intend to do. That is how great this series is.

The Mauritius Command shifts a little from the first 3 books. This one spends far less time focusing on the love relationships of the two major protagonists and centers on the action of one difficult mission but the difficulty comes, of course, in Aubrey's challenges as a temporary commander of captains with challenging personalities. Much of the book's insight into character is described through Maturin's observations and one of the best aspects of O'Brian's writing is his ability to balance significant insight into a character with suspense and action on a larger (foreign for me) stage.

Oh, and he is FUNNY. I don't know if these novels get enough credit for how hilarious they are. O'Brian has a dry wit and the ability to make observations about little paroxysms of social behavior made ridiculous by wider perspective that are just priceless.

Anyway, an easy 5 stars. I can't wait until the next one and I urge you to start these books if you haven't already.

Captain Jack Aubrey of the British Royal Navy is promoted to Commodore and, along with secret agent Dr. Maturin and a couple other captains, is tasked with capturing two French islands in the Indian Ocean.

Book 4 in the series starts off slowly with Aubrey languishing with domestic life in his English cottage before he gets his commission to head to South Africa. Then we compare that to the enthusiasm and challenges of being in command of a ship, and then a squadron, on the sea. We see more of Dr. Maturin's work as a secret agent this time round, but only through second-hand accounts and reports, never from his own point of view in the narrative. We also get to learn new aspects of naval maneuvers, particularly the use of infantry when attacking land from the sea. The narrative is somewhat cumbersome as it is written in a style consistent with the times. And, while I don't pretend to understand all the movements made by the ships and crew, there is enough information for landlubbers to follow along while the sailors among us rake in the details.

All of this would only make it a 3-star read for me. What makes this novel something special is what it has to say about command, leadership, and decision-making. Aubrey has an admiral above him, captains of other ships under him, and sailors on his own ship to deal with. All of these must be factored into the decisions he makes. There are a multitude of issues at play here. Captains vie for recognition. Egos abound. Communication is difficult. What role should your own agenda play in the greater picture, not only in a larger group of people, but in a larger organization? How much do you allow immediate feelings of retribution to affect your long-term strategy? How do you handle disappointment and loss? Where do you find opportunities?

In almost all of these leadership aspects, Aubrey is a model for people to follow. I can think of only one area regarding communication where Aubrey falls short, with disastrous consequences. The first two novels in the series can be slow and tedious (particularly the second one), but things start to get good with the third book. I highly recommend this novel to anyone as a subtle study of leadership. Even I wasn't prepared for this little gem.

Repeated from review of Book 1

That Patrick O'Brian chose to place his characters on the sea in the not so distant past just raised the hurdle I had to leap to get to know this wonderful author.

I had never been enamored with sea stories, didn't much care for European history, and yet was wonderfully taken with this series. The sea is a major character, but history is not greatly illuminated, almost a backdrop to the specific circumstance the characters find themselves in. Which perhaps reflects the author's view, while the wide sweep of Europe's history progresses, men are left to deal with far smaller local problems.

And it is in men that O'Brian shines. O'Brian creates characters flawed enough to be human, without becoming base. Not the best of men, but rising to better as circumstance demands.

And while the author leaves the great sweep of history largely aside, the detailed history of these men's lives, the sacrifices, the conditions of life at sea are truly fascinating.