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.