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    The Ionian Mission
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    The Ionian Mission
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    The Ionian Mission
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    The Ionian Mission

    Written by Patrick O’Brian

    Narrated by Robert Hardy

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Whether close to home or far away, there are no safe harbours while Napoleon seeks to dominate the known world.

    Jack Aubrey, veteran of numerous battles, has been promoted to senior captain commanding a ship that has been sent out to reinforce the squadron blockading Toulon. Compared to the early days of the Napoleonic conflict, the action is slow, cold and dull. But a sudden turn of events takes Aubrey, and ship’s surgeon and spy Stephen Maturin, off on a hazardous mission to the Greek Islands, where the skill, daring and, indeed, luck of both men will be tested to the utmost.

    With so much at risk, will a Turkish alliance carry the day?

    ‘I envy those who have never read Patrick O’Brian: an enormous pleasure awaits you.’
    Irish Times

    ‘Wonderfully spacious, generous, funny, intelligent books.’
    JOHN LANCHESTER

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 15, 2005
    ISBN9780007217397
    Unavailable
    The Ionian Mission
    Author

    Patrick O’Brian

    Patrick O’Brian was born in 1914 and published his first book, Caesar, when he was only fifteen. In the 1960s he began work on the idea that, over the next four decades, evolved into the twenty-novel long Aubrey–Maturin series (with an extra unfinished volume published posthumously). In 1995 he was awarded the CBE, and in 1997 he received an honorary doctorate of letters from Trinity College, Dublin. He died in January 2000 at the age of 85.

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    Reviews for The Ionian Mission

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      Another good sea adventure historical in this series.
    • 4/5
      Well, this was the first one of these that I had a little trouble finishing. It a lot going on here. I mean, of course the writing is beautiful, the language incredible, but I’ll admit I was a bit bored.
    • 4/5
      Book number eight in O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, featuring action on the high seas during the Napoleonic Wars.Although there is less action in this one than usual. Indeed, for much of the novel, there is incident after incident of utterly failing to engage with the enemy for one reason or another. You'd think this might be dull, but I found this one as pleasantly readable as any of them. And you'd think it would be frustrating, which is actually is, but it's frustrating the way I believe it's meant to be, as you vividly experience the characters' desire for battle and success along with them. And, of course, there is O'Brian's usual low-key humor scattered throughout it all to make it much more fun, no matter what is or isn't going on, plot-wise.
    • 4/5
      O'Brian is as excellent as ever. Rich characterisation, evocative prose, an intriguing plot which balances action with realism. Superb
    • 4/5
      The Ionian Mission, Patrick O’Brian’s eighth book in his Aubrey-Maturin series, sees Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin working on blockade duty around Toulon, France aboard the HMS Worcester. Much of the plot involves the prolonged sense of being outside the normal flow of time that accompanies blockade duty, with Aubrey struggling to find his usual zeal, the crew composing poems and practicing Hamlet for a way to break up the monotony, and Stephen intermittently engaging in some intelligence work, though he limits his activities due to his no longer being unattached (having married Diana Villers at the end of the previous novel) and his loss of cover (also in the previous novel). Jack must likewise attempt to balance his political obligations to Admiral Thornton, commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet and an old role model to Jack, with Thornton’s underline, Read Admiral Harte, who dislikes Jack based on past bad blood. Add to this Jack’s sense of obligation to his first lieutenant, Tom Pullings, who needs a successful action if he’s to have a chance of advancing to master, and our protagonists find themselves in an uncertain situation.Of particular note is the return of the HMS Surprise, Jack’s favorite ship, second only to the Sophie, his first command. Jack is tasked with control of the Surprise to negotiate with the various Turkish authorities in order to determine who will best aid England in harrying French shipping in the Ionian Sea. Like his previous novels, O’Brian perfectly recreates the world of the Napoleonic War in 1812, this time focusing on much of the careful negotiations between England and other European, Asian, and Arabian powers that enabled their eventual victory. This Folio Society edition reprints the original text with insets containing historical portraits and sketches to illustrate some of the scenes. A great contribution to the Aubrey-Maturin series and the second of twelve to focus on what O’Brian described as an extended 1812, with these dozen books taking place between the beginning of June 1813 and November 1813.
    • 2/5
      As much as I admire and enjoy the works of POB, I must confess that this volume of the Aubrey-Maturin was a painfully boring read. Perhaps the author intended to bore the reader, just as Captain Jack Aubrey was bored with this installments setting, which begins with his ship on blockade duty off Toulon. Adding to a fan's frustration, the interaction between Aubrey and Maturin is limited and shallow. Sure, this book includes the usual rich gallery of colorful secondary characters who enter and leave at various points over the course of the story, but they just didn't hold my attention because the plot was so thin. The story seems to meander about without much action and no sea battles until the very end of the novel. Patrick O'Brien was supremely gifted writer and a very good story teller, but this is not an effort equal to his other works.
    • 4/5
      This Aubrey-Maturin book moved a bit more slowly than I am used to, but its ending compensated for that. Looking forward to the next one in the series.
    • 4/5
      In which Aubrey assumes command of the Worcester and endures the Toulon blockade. Respite in the companionship of Maturin and Graham, a Scottish philosophy professor with a provisional role in intelligence. Maturin's own role is unknown to Graham, and proves problematic. The fleet is worn out from the battering after years spent tacking and wearing to maintain blockade, and Admiral Harte's health declines the longer the French avoid any and all confrontation. The tedium is broken with the opportunity to serve as diplomat-negotiator with three Turkish pashas in the Ionian: still more welcome is the reunion with HMS Surprise.//The main blockade action apparently inspired by a similar minor action of 5. Nov 1813 between Edward Pellew and French Vice-Admiral Maxime Julien Émeriau de Beauverger, with Jack stepping in for Pellew? Seltzer notes the novel is one of several taking place in the "repeating year" of 1813. Stephen and Diana's particular arrangement, so soon after their wedding. It appears to work, but it's soon yet. The theme of cuckoldry threaded neatly through, from Stephen to Jack, and to other characters in very different situations, cleverly done. Schuyler: "The real question is: Who is writing the letters?" (to Stephen falsely suggesting Diana is having an affair with Jagiello).Jack's purchase of coloured fireworks powder, used for gunnery practise and unexpected effect. Hauling the cannon overland. / Chapter 1 an amusing character sketch of Jack and Stephen, separately and together, O'Brian's gift to the reader in showcasing their friendship and individual personalities. Gower's tailpiece a wink regarding a running joke.Stephen suffers grave wounds (from splinters and falling shoulder block) during skirmish with Jemmapes. Later, his ill-advised decision to go a-swimming, almost lost at sea and cutting short Jack's effort to bring the French to bear. Jack's upperyardsman's race with Admiral Mitchell aboard flag, arguably to a draw. Jack later shares Stephen's legendary witticism about the dog-watch, to "infinite mirth". Surprise taking on the Turkish men-of-war Torgud and Kitabi. Pullings almost loses it in close-arms boarding action aboard the Torgud, falling to deck and saved only by Jack's personal intervention. Seltzer notes only the narrative takes place in the "repeating year" of 1813: next reading, suss out clues as to months or seasons.
    • 4/5
      The eighth installment in the Aubrey-Maturin series, The Ionian Mission sees our duo on blockade duty in the Mediterranean, which a bit of action thrown in at the end in a battle against some renegade Turks. Much of the usual here: sailcraft, spycraft, and a few unresolved plot threads at the end to keep the reader's tastes whetted for the next volume.
    • 5/5
      I cannot praise this series enough. The humor, authenticity and realism make this an absolute must-read for anyone who has an interest in naval fiction.
    • 5/5
      I love the way Mr. O'Brian can paint a whole picture in one vivid sentence. For instance - "Stephen walked on as far as the starboard forechains, took off his nightcap and nightshirt, stuffed them under the dead-eyes, scratched himself industriously for a while, crept out on to the projecting shelf, and holding his nose with his left hand, crossing himself with his right, dropped with tightly-shut eyes into the sea, the infinitely refreshing sea." Beautiful! Despite being the eighth of the series, I still manage to be impressed with the way in which Stephen and Jack come alive. This novel ends in a bit of a cliff-hanger so I'm heading for the bookcase now to get the next one!
    • 4/5
      I picked up this particular O'Brian novel on sale at a going-out-of-business Borders for a buck, and what a bang I got. Rip-roaring adventure, very dry humor (or humour, take your pick) and some wonderful descriptions of the naval idiom, mannerisms and life in the Napoleonic era. O'Brian writes with a deft hand, absolutely enjoyable. The only difficulty with his novels, as I see it from this one, is the lengthy nature of them. At this point (#9 or something in the series) O'Brian has given up on all pretense, if he had one, of singular novels and has instead rolled on with the Robert Jordan style lifetime taking epic. I struggle with novels (and series) such as these as one must either take all the novels as one or not at all. I've only gotten a taste of this journey, and yes, it does leave me ready to read another. The trouble is, O'Brian has set off for a long voyage, and there's not much for entertainment on a ship once you get to know your fellow passengers, no matter how enchanting they are. In small steps, yes, I could see reading this series over my (and his) lifetime...but he's dead, the last novels at the printers, and I have 15 or so books to wade through. Is the adventure worth it (and more importantly, did he finish the story arcs within the time allotted. I'm not getting sucked into a Robert Jordan/Mickey Spillane/that guy that wrote Dune half-ghost-written-style crap again.
    • 3/5
      I find all of these books enjoyable for their colorful and vivid portrayal of seafaring in the British Navy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. O'Brian's language just sucks me in and the time passes.That said, this is not the most colorful episode of the series. Those looking for action will find it light in that department. Those looking for a complete story line will be left somewhat wanting at the end—it's not a cliffhanger, but neither is there a sense that any of the various sub-plots spanning the volumes are resolved.In summary, as an individual volume, this is a mild recommendation though, as part of the larger series, the recommendation is stronger.
    • 3/5
      This book is a bit of a return to form after the domestic and on-shore dramas of the previous two books in the series. Aubrey and Maturin head east to Turkey to fight (or not) the French and make alliances with local Turkish leaders. Lucky Jack is reunited with HMS Suprise although he takes a big blow to his reputation, Stephen does some spying, and there are some rollicking adventures and sea battles.