-
Desolation Island
- Aubrey-Maturin Series, Book 5
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $25.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh of Bounty fame, Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend and surgeon Stephen Maturin sail the Leopard to Australia with a hold full of convicts. Among them is a beautiful and dangerous spy - and a dangerous disease which decimates the crew.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Jack Aubrey & Stephen Maturin: Master & Commander & Other Adventures
- A BBC Radio 4 Full Cast Drama Collection
- By: Patrick O'Brian
- Narrated by: Richard Dillane, Michael Troughton, Adjoa Andoh, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Widely regarded as the most engaging historical novels ever written, the 21 books in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series have garnered millions of fans since the publication of the first volume over 50 years ago. Included here are BBC radio adaptations of the first seven thrilling stories.
-
-
Not for fans of the books
- By Jonathan Woodward on 04-01-22
By: Patrick O'Brian
-
Sharpe's Tiger
- The Siege of Seringapatam, 1799
- By: Bernard Cornwell
- Narrated by: Rupert Farley
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, the first exciting adventure in the world-renowned Sharpe series, chronicling the rise of Richard Sharpe, a Private in His Majesty’s Army at the siege of Seringapatam.
-
-
Give us Farley!
- By Samantha Maxwell on 06-04-22
By: Bernard Cornwell
-
Mr Midshipman Hornblower
- By: C. S. Forester
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shaking off this label, a shy and lonely 17-year-old, Horatio Hornblower, embarks on a memorable career in Nelson's navy on HMS Justinian. In action, adventure, and battle he is forged into one of the most formidable junior officers in the service.
-
-
First rate historical fiction
- By Jason on 04-30-17
By: C. S. Forester
-
Wolf Hall
- A Novel
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Ben Miles
- Length: 25 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of 20 years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
-
-
Superb narration, but keep a character index at hand
- By Oculus on 12-27-20
By: Hilary Mantel
-
Litany of the Long Sun
- Book of the Long Sun, Books 1 and 2
- By: Gene Wolfe
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Litany of the Long Sun contains the full texts of Nightside the Long Sun and Lake of the Long Sun that together make up the first half of The Book of the Long Sun. This great work is set on a huge generation starship in the same future as the classic Book of the New Sun (also available in two volumes from Orb).
-
-
Utterly brilliant in it’s tedium
- By John on 04-14-22
By: Gene Wolfe
-
The Cuckoo's Calling
- By: Robert Galbraith
- Narrated by: Robert Glenister
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, creditors are calling, and after a breakup with his longtime girlfriend, he’s living in his office. Then John Bristow walks through his door with a shocking story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry - known to her friends as the Cuckoo - famously fell to her death a few months earlier.
-
-
Unbelievable debut mystery set in London
- By Tracey on 05-26-13
By: Robert Galbraith
-
Jack Aubrey & Stephen Maturin: Master & Commander & Other Adventures
- A BBC Radio 4 Full Cast Drama Collection
- By: Patrick O'Brian
- Narrated by: Richard Dillane, Michael Troughton, Adjoa Andoh, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Widely regarded as the most engaging historical novels ever written, the 21 books in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series have garnered millions of fans since the publication of the first volume over 50 years ago. Included here are BBC radio adaptations of the first seven thrilling stories.
-
-
Not for fans of the books
- By Jonathan Woodward on 04-01-22
By: Patrick O'Brian
-
Sharpe's Tiger
- The Siege of Seringapatam, 1799
- By: Bernard Cornwell
- Narrated by: Rupert Farley
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, the first exciting adventure in the world-renowned Sharpe series, chronicling the rise of Richard Sharpe, a Private in His Majesty’s Army at the siege of Seringapatam.
-
-
Give us Farley!
- By Samantha Maxwell on 06-04-22
By: Bernard Cornwell
-
Mr Midshipman Hornblower
- By: C. S. Forester
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shaking off this label, a shy and lonely 17-year-old, Horatio Hornblower, embarks on a memorable career in Nelson's navy on HMS Justinian. In action, adventure, and battle he is forged into one of the most formidable junior officers in the service.
-
-
First rate historical fiction
- By Jason on 04-30-17
By: C. S. Forester
-
Wolf Hall
- A Novel
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Ben Miles
- Length: 25 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of 20 years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
-
-
Superb narration, but keep a character index at hand
- By Oculus on 12-27-20
By: Hilary Mantel
-
Litany of the Long Sun
- Book of the Long Sun, Books 1 and 2
- By: Gene Wolfe
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Litany of the Long Sun contains the full texts of Nightside the Long Sun and Lake of the Long Sun that together make up the first half of The Book of the Long Sun. This great work is set on a huge generation starship in the same future as the classic Book of the New Sun (also available in two volumes from Orb).
-
-
Utterly brilliant in it’s tedium
- By John on 04-14-22
By: Gene Wolfe
-
The Cuckoo's Calling
- By: Robert Galbraith
- Narrated by: Robert Glenister
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, creditors are calling, and after a breakup with his longtime girlfriend, he’s living in his office. Then John Bristow walks through his door with a shocking story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry - known to her friends as the Cuckoo - famously fell to her death a few months earlier.
-
-
Unbelievable debut mystery set in London
- By Tracey on 05-26-13
By: Robert Galbraith
Related to this topic
-
10 Rules for the Perfect Murder
- By: James Patterson, Chris Tebbetts
- Narrated by: Reid Scott, Cobie Smulders, full cast
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the killing of a prominent mob lawyer, NYPD homicide detectives Jacob Jackson and Caitlin Grimes start receive chilling, written “rules” for how to commit the perfect murder. "Rule number one for the perfect murder: Evidence is your enemy. Leave none behind." Jackson (Reid Scott) and Grimes (Cobie Smulders) race to find the killer, setting them on a collision course with the city’s crime underbelly, and a perpetrator who seems happy to toy with them. “Rule number two. No crimes of passion. The perfect murder is always business, never pleasure.”
-
-
The ending
- By steven estrada on 10-29-24
By: James Patterson, and others
-
The Christmas Party
- By: Kathryn Croft
- Narrated by: Billie Piper, Avita Jay
- Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Sasha receives a call from her old university friend Gabby inviting her to spend Christmas at Gabby’s remote Scottish lake house, Sasha knows she shouldn’t go. Twelve years ago, on Christmas Eve, when Sasha and her five closest friends were celebrating the festive season, something truly horrific happened that would change the course of their friendship forever. Something that meant Sasha hasn’t spoken to any of them since that night.
-
-
I’d skip this one. It’s well voiced and you think it may be interesting , but not this one .
- By The Dark Side on 11-01-24
By: Kathryn Croft
-
7 Hours to Die
- By: James Patterson, Duane Swierczynski
- Narrated by: Sarah Paulson, Patina Miller, Mel Rodriguez, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kidnappers grabbed Jenna in broad daylight, right in front of her children and their horrified classmates. Her family was issued an insane ransom demand: $25 million in cash and jewels, payable by the end of the school day, otherwise they’ll never see her again. As Jenna’s mother scrambles to gather the money, detectives Mo Butler and George Ortega follow the trail of the kidnappers, which will lead them through a sordid landscape of jealous lovers, broken dreamers, and twisted schemers. But every second counts, and there’s one thing Jenna Wade doesn’t have: very much time.
-
-
Awesome quick story to listen to
- By Cody on 10-06-24
By: James Patterson, and others
-
The Woman in Coach D
- By: Sarah A. Denzil
- Narrated by: Katie Clarkson-Hill
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jenny sits in the same seat on the same train every week, seeing familiar faces come and go. Until a chance encounter shatters her world. Sixteen years ago, Jenny survived a traumatic ordeal that left her best friend, Susie, missing and presumed dead. The world has its theories about what happened to Susie Patterson, and one of those theories points the finger at Jenny. Now she lives a quiet life, volunteering at a crisis helpline while trying to deal with her own anxiety and the true crime fans obsessed with finding her missing friend.
-
-
Awesome
- By Anonymous User on 10-27-24
By: Sarah A. Denzil
-
Dead Med
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso, Scott Merriman
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Heather McKinley dreamed of becoming a doctor, she imagined curing sick kids and sporting pink stethoscopes. She never anticipated the sleepless nights, grueling exams, and endless labs. And she certainly never knew that her medical school earned the nickname Dead Med thanks to the tragic history of students overdosing on illegal drugs. But Heather would never consider doing anything like that. That is, until her longtime boyfriend dumps her, she finds herself failing anatomy, and her world starts to crumble.
-
-
Hmm
- By Morgan Meaux on 08-22-24
By: Freida McFadden
-
Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
-
-
intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
-
10 Rules for the Perfect Murder
- By: James Patterson, Chris Tebbetts
- Narrated by: Reid Scott, Cobie Smulders, full cast
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the killing of a prominent mob lawyer, NYPD homicide detectives Jacob Jackson and Caitlin Grimes start receive chilling, written “rules” for how to commit the perfect murder. "Rule number one for the perfect murder: Evidence is your enemy. Leave none behind." Jackson (Reid Scott) and Grimes (Cobie Smulders) race to find the killer, setting them on a collision course with the city’s crime underbelly, and a perpetrator who seems happy to toy with them. “Rule number two. No crimes of passion. The perfect murder is always business, never pleasure.”
-
-
The ending
- By steven estrada on 10-29-24
By: James Patterson, and others
-
The Christmas Party
- By: Kathryn Croft
- Narrated by: Billie Piper, Avita Jay
- Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Sasha receives a call from her old university friend Gabby inviting her to spend Christmas at Gabby’s remote Scottish lake house, Sasha knows she shouldn’t go. Twelve years ago, on Christmas Eve, when Sasha and her five closest friends were celebrating the festive season, something truly horrific happened that would change the course of their friendship forever. Something that meant Sasha hasn’t spoken to any of them since that night.
-
-
I’d skip this one. It’s well voiced and you think it may be interesting , but not this one .
- By The Dark Side on 11-01-24
By: Kathryn Croft
-
7 Hours to Die
- By: James Patterson, Duane Swierczynski
- Narrated by: Sarah Paulson, Patina Miller, Mel Rodriguez, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kidnappers grabbed Jenna in broad daylight, right in front of her children and their horrified classmates. Her family was issued an insane ransom demand: $25 million in cash and jewels, payable by the end of the school day, otherwise they’ll never see her again. As Jenna’s mother scrambles to gather the money, detectives Mo Butler and George Ortega follow the trail of the kidnappers, which will lead them through a sordid landscape of jealous lovers, broken dreamers, and twisted schemers. But every second counts, and there’s one thing Jenna Wade doesn’t have: very much time.
-
-
Awesome quick story to listen to
- By Cody on 10-06-24
By: James Patterson, and others
-
The Woman in Coach D
- By: Sarah A. Denzil
- Narrated by: Katie Clarkson-Hill
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jenny sits in the same seat on the same train every week, seeing familiar faces come and go. Until a chance encounter shatters her world. Sixteen years ago, Jenny survived a traumatic ordeal that left her best friend, Susie, missing and presumed dead. The world has its theories about what happened to Susie Patterson, and one of those theories points the finger at Jenny. Now she lives a quiet life, volunteering at a crisis helpline while trying to deal with her own anxiety and the true crime fans obsessed with finding her missing friend.
-
-
Awesome
- By Anonymous User on 10-27-24
By: Sarah A. Denzil
-
Dead Med
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso, Scott Merriman
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Heather McKinley dreamed of becoming a doctor, she imagined curing sick kids and sporting pink stethoscopes. She never anticipated the sleepless nights, grueling exams, and endless labs. And she certainly never knew that her medical school earned the nickname Dead Med thanks to the tragic history of students overdosing on illegal drugs. But Heather would never consider doing anything like that. That is, until her longtime boyfriend dumps her, she finds herself failing anatomy, and her world starts to crumble.
-
-
Hmm
- By Morgan Meaux on 08-22-24
By: Freida McFadden
-
Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
-
-
intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
-
The Ex
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie thinks she has met the perfect man. Joel is sweet, handsome, romantic, and best of all, he’s crazy about Cassie. She thinks she’s found the guy she’ll spend the rest of her life with. Have children with. Grow old with. Yes, she knows about his perfect ex-girlfriend, Francesca. The beautiful, brilliant chef, beloved by all his friends. But she thinks Francesca is out of the picture. She thinks Francesca is gone for good. Think again, Cassie.
-
-
Too bizarre for someone who loves bizarre
- By G. C. Webster on 07-01-22
By: Freida McFadden
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
Artemis
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Rosario Dawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
-
-
A ferrari with no motor
- By will on 11-18-17
By: Andy Weir
-
Too Late
- Definitive Edition
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Ryan Gray, Maxine Mitchell, Joe Arden
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does so, every single day. Caught up with the alluring Asa Jackson, a notorious drug trafficker, Sloan has finally found a lifeline to cling to, even if it’s meant compromising her morals. She was in dire straits trying to pay for her brother’s care until she met Asa. But as Sloan became emotionally and economically reliant on him, he in turn developed a disturbing obsession with her—one that becomes increasingly dangerous every day.
-
-
Triggering and poor narration
- By Katherine Epperson on 07-11-23
By: Colleen Hoover
-
Mad Love
- By: Wendy Walker
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Alexis Bledel, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were madly in love. The perfect couple. That was the story everyone in South River believed...until Gin Talcott and Adam Archer are found shot in their bed. Adam is dead at the scene. Gin is fighting for her life. Detectives Greta Jessup and Finn Pate are assigned to the case. Greta has a long history with Gin’s first husband, Eddie, and is determined to protect his 18-year-old twins. Piper discovered the bodies. Daniel is missing—and so is Adam’s gun.
-
-
Surprised
- By marcie on 05-25-24
By: Wendy Walker
-
Do You Remember?
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tess Strebel can’t recognize her own face. She can’t recognize her home. Her bedroom is unfamiliar. And she can’t remember the handsome stranger lying next to her in bed. A stranger who claims he’s her husband. Tess reads a letter in her own handwriting, composed during a rare lucid day, explaining her life as it now exists: she was in a terrible car accident one year ago. Every morning, she wakes up unable to remember most of the last decade. Including her own wedding.
-
-
Eh
- By Zoe on 03-16-24
By: Freida McFadden
What listeners say about Desolation Island
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark O'Connell
- 05-31-21
No German flutes in the Ward Room, if you please.
I love Rick Jerome, he is the narrator of the world, the true apotehosis of a story teller, for all over, never has such a man read such works!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- PJ
- 05-04-21
The Unlucky Ship
Jack and Stephens relationship comes under great strain as they transport convict prisoners to Botany Bay in New Holland.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dr. Terence M. Dwyer
- 09-29-20
Too good!
It won’t help you go to sleep if you wake up during the night. Excellent reading and accents.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jefferson
- 06-15-15
Psychological Age of Sail Adventure
Desolation Island (1978), the fifth novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, begins like the fourth one, depicting the home life of Captain Jack Aubrey, but now his situation appears to be improved, due to his successful completion of the Mauritius mission (complete with juicy prize ships) in the fifth novel, so that he's paid off the debts of his mother-in-law-from-hell and has enough money to add extensions to his house and even to lend 780 pounds to his bosom buddy Stephen Maturin. Jack's twin daughters are looking like little girls instead of like wizened aliens, and his infant son is healthy. Wife Sophie is worried, however, because Jack ashore tends to be too trusting, with the result that he's being cheated out of money by card sharps and a dubious silver refining venture. As a sailor aptly puts it later in the novel, "When we're ashore, sometimes we're a little at sea." Luckily for Jack, he's got a new commission: he's to captain the Leopard, a renovated fourth class war ship, some 15,000 miles to Botany Bay, Australia, there to deal with a delicate situation involving Captain Bligh, who has suffered from a second mutiny after the famous Bounty incident.
Stephen is in bad condition because Diana Villiers has yet again jilted him by going to America with another man and because his laudanum regimen has begun to debilitate him, but Jack's mission might get him out of his funk. Because an American friend of Diana's, Mrs. Louisa Wogan, has just been arrested for spying on England and will be transported to Botany Bay aboard the Leopard, Stephen will join the voyage in both his official role as ship's surgeon and his covert role as intelligence agent, and the prospect of encountering interesting flora and fauna in the southern hemisphere appeals to him. And of course Jack and Stephen enjoy each other's company aboard ship, whether making good music with their violin and cello or good conversation when duty permits.
Over their voyage of thousands of miles, Jack and Stephen have to deal with challenging matters relating to their respective duties, Jack captaining a ship full of 340 men, a score of transportation prisoners (including, much to Jack's discomfort, a few women), and an untrustworthy officer, all the while being on the look out for enemy ships (England still being at war with Bonaparte's France and the Dutch) and, after a certain point, "ice islands," while Stephen has to keep the people on the ship in good health while withdrawing from laudanum and plumbing Mrs. Wogan and befriending her lover to see how deep her espionage runs. Though the book has fewer exciting violent action scenes than earlier novels in the series, there are two wonderfully suspenseful, extended passages that offer unique challenges to Jack and his men (O'Brien is skilled at finding ever new types of opponents, battles, and disasters for his characters without repeating pattern or outcome).
This novel has at least as much psychological exploration and action as the others in the series so far, about drug addiction ("habituation"), superstition, love, leadership, and espionage in situations of close proximity to other men (as on a ship for over a year) or intense activity (as in battles or wrecks). Stephen's diary is full of insights on himself and the people around him. He worries that his manipulation of people for his intelligence work could corrupt his character. And he is able to tell Mrs. Wogan (from first-hand experience) that love involves "the abdication of the critical sense."
O'Brien varies his narration by adding the ship's log, Jack's letters to Sophie, and Stephen's diary entries to his basic third person narration limited to Jack or Stephen's points of view. There is little here from the female point of view, apart from one letter by Mrs. Wogan to Diana (that we take the liberty of reading when Stephen does), and although the American woman's laughter is large and her lover says of her that "the word possession is so very foolish when it is applied to a woman as entire as Louisa," the novel is, like the others so far, male-centered.
In addition to developing the ever-worsening relations between the USA and the UK, implying that war will break out in future books in the series, Desolation Island offers plenty of fascinating depictions of flora and especially fauna, as of myriad penguins flying under the water as they chase fish chasing shrimp while they themselves are being chased by seals being chased by killer whales, or as of, 12' wing-span albatrosses gracefully at home in ocean gales, and a sublime 100' blue whale. And of course the novel features O'Brien's wonderfully precise, beautiful and bracing prose of "the splendid, empty sea":
"The long, even, fairly heavy swell lifted him and set him down at a measured pace, so that sometimes his horizon was no more than three miles away, and sometimes he saw an enormous disc of ocean, a cold uneasy sea, endless miles of desolation, a comfortless element, in which he was at home."
Reader Ric Jerrom continues to be O'Brien, Jack, and Stephen for me; I'll continue listening to any books in the series read by him. And I'll continue enjoying and recommending the series (starting with the first novel about Jack and Stephen, Master and Commander) to readers who like psychological historical nautical fiction. Each book so far has been of a different shape and texture and mood and pattern, all so far being unified by the complex and appealing characters of Jack and Stephen and by their rich friendship.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 09-26-14
Thrilling and masterfully narrated.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The main protagonists Jack and Steven are my favourites, often I thought: " That's Jack for you, he would say that" or when Steven says something particularly droll... I laugh out loud!
Believable characters.
Have you listened to any of Ric Jerrom’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Having listened to the previous 9 books and looking forward to a whole lot more, The combination of Patric O'Brian's work and Ric Jerrom's voicing makes this an great series to listen to.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
The thrilling chase by the dutch 74 gun ship, murderously on the tail of Capt. Aubrey's relatively smaller and slower ship, and the most heart racing outcome of that scene. I still see it clearly in my mind.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 09-04-15
excellent series
Again I love the Albury Machurin series of books, reside permanently on my phone and listened to several times a year.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Taylor Britton
- 01-08-20
great naval action
even more dynamic naval action and mechanics than the last book, but now I just wish I could play it as a resource management heavy age-of-sail videogame.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!