Master And Commander

It contains all the action and excitement which could possibly be hoped for ina historical novel but it also displays the qualities which have put OBrianfar ahe... » 

It contains all the action and excitement which could possibly be hoped for ina historical novel but it also displays the qualities which have put OBrianfar ahead of any of his competitors his depiction of the detail of life aboarda Nelsonic manofwar of weapons food conversation and ambience of thelandscape and of the sea. OBrians portrayal of each of these is faultless andthe sense of period throughout is acute. His power of characterisation is aboveall masterly. This brilliant historical novel marked the debut of a writer whogrew into one of our greatest novelists ever the author of what Alan Juddwriting in the Sunday Times has described as the most significant extendedstory since Anthony Powells A Dance to the Music of Time. «