Synopsis: In the beginning days of the Napoleonic wars, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin look for love, return to the sea, and advance in their careers.
Probably the easiest way to describe this book is to say it's Master and Commander in reverse. The exact events happen, but their sequence is almost perfectly reversed. Thus, when you consider how slow the denouement of Master and Commander was, it should be fairly clear that the beginning of Post Captain was slow. We're almost halfway through the book before Aubrey gets his new command.
That said, once we finally get Jack out to sea again, the book becomes a joy. There is something about the interpersonal relationships and sociality in these books. It's just fun to read. There is a kind of joy to everything, including being mugged.
The romantic plot of the book annoyed me. It wasn't bad. It seemed almost lifted from a Jane Austin novel. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but when you want a story of high-seas adventure, you don't really want Mr. Darcy.
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