Hard to say Good-bye!

It is with a nostalgic twinge that I come to the end of a twenty-one book journey, following Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and the crew of the Surprise. Books penned by Patrick O'Brian from 1969 to 2004, these stories of nautical fiction were really something to look forward to. I started, of course, with the first, Master and Commander, after I saw the film of the same name. Actually, the movie was a joining of the first book to one that O'Brian wrote in 1984 (The Far Side of the World). I love that film, especially because it is a real look into how it was on board a vessel of those times. It is not romanticized or subject to Hollywood's all-too-dangerous artistic "license".

The books are the same. Not dumbed down. The vocabulary is filled with full-on naval terminology for how to sail, which sails are used, the protocols of the Royal Navy, etc etc. The dialog between the characters is typical of how they spoke at that time: the formality of address, the courtesy, the hierarchy.

The final book is a partial book, because O'Brian passed away in 2000. "The Final Voyage of Jack Aubrey", or  "21" as it is lovingly known, was not published until 2004 (hence the dates above). An interesting bit about the book is that it is not only published in text, but at the side of each of the three chapter pages, you see O'Brian's hand-written version, before editing, and finalization. He hand-wrote all the books.

The stories, as they always say, are truly better than the movie (in this case, if that's possible). The characters are developed over time, and the friendship of the Captain and the Doctor, which is really at the heart of the stories, is so very real. The Captain, though a true leader and commanding authoritarian while on the high seas, is a bit unsophisticated and emotional on land. Aubrey is totally loyal to his duty and the Crown. The Doctor is a physician which is something very much more than a surgeon, or pill-pusher. He is analytical and a bit mysterious, and plagued by some medicinal demons. And, he is a spy for the British government, and a secret sympathizer of the rebel Irish cause. They are the ying and yang of their times. They are one-another's conscience. I love them, and will miss their adventures.

I will have to start the series over again one day, but meanwhile, they have travelled forth, and now made landfall on my bookshelves.