Synopsis: Jack Aubrey is arrested for debt, gets out, gets a new command, goes to India, and fights the French.
The real attraction for me in this series is the social dynamic. The way the characters get along, even with obviously hostile folk, draws me in. It sparkles. It's so different from our crass modern society.
This book returns to the fun of Master and Commander. And I think that's because much of the time is spent asea. In reading this, I realized why Post Captain irritated at times. I love Jack Aubrey. He's one of my all-time favorite characters. I can read about him doing nigh on anything. But you want to be able to root for a character with some expectation of him winning. Jack Aubrey will never win on land.
But at sea he is awesome. While we've seen him lose, we know he can win even when it's his small ship versus an entire fleet of the enemy. And O'Brian so immerses you in his world that you can smell the gunpowder.
Highlights: Rescuing Dr. Maturin from the French. Storms and albatrosses. Surgery to remove a ball from the pericardium. Surprise vs. the French fleet. Sneaking up behind a friendly ship and shouting, "Surprise" (not really much of a scene, but I found it particularly hilarious at the time). I'd go into detail about each of these scenes, but all I would say is that they are cool and spoil them for those who haven't read this yet.
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