The Wine-Dark Sea Book

Taking out American privateers and snatching up prizes is all in a day's work for Captain Jack Aubrey!

The Wine-Dark Sea moves the setting from Australia and the South Pacific on over to South America. This is a perfectly fine continuation of the series. If anything, it's the most O'Brian-esque book O'Brian ever wrote. It spends a great deal of time describing the world through the eyes of early 19th century English sailors. Aubrey's particular friend and ship's surgeon, as well as naturalist and intelligence agent, Stephen Maturin does a lot of botanizing along the South American coast in this one. It's fascinating stuff if you like nature. I do, yet even I yearned for a little more action and not so much reflection.

The details of the plot are not super enticing either. Parson and surgeon's mate Nathaniel Martin's dire illness is a concern, but it's not enough for the reader to sup upon. The storyline focusing on the Letter of Marque/pirate Dutourd is more interesting, but he's not a big threat until very late in the book, unless being too Democratic aboard one of His Majesty's frigates is a threat. Jack Aubrey would say so, but readers probably won't worry as much about it.

In the end, this is solid. I just can't recommend it as a standalone. If you haven't tried this series yet, don't start here. Begin at the beginning, and by the time you reach this, the 16th book, you'll enjoy it just fine!