Blue at the Mizzen

Blue at the Mizzen is the twentieth book in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, and the last he completed. The story starts after Waterloo, and the Surprise is off the coast of Africa. Captain Aubrey must resupply, repair, and crew his ship. Though he is still part of the Royal Navy, hoping for a promotion to admiral, he is assigned detached duty taking the Surprise to South America to promote Chile's independence from Spain.

Dr. Maturin has a central role to the story. His advice as a spy and a political advisor help Aubrey navigate the diplomatic waters. On their way down the coast of Africa, Dr. Maturin makes a marriage proposal to a beautiful widow who shares his interest in nature. However, she turns down his offer. Maturin is disappointed but not dejected.

The Surprise faces difficulty navigating Cape Horn but they survive without serious damage. In Chile, they discover that war is imminent between Chile and Peru, and the Chilean navy is woefully unprepared. But Jack leads a daring raid against the Peruvian port and captures the largest Peruvian ship. Before long, Jack gets a message that he is to sail to the coast of South Africa to take command of a squadron.

The plot is slow in developing. A lot of the story is taken up with the lives of the people on the ship, including a young man who is the illegitimate son of a prince who comes aboard as a midshipman. Unfortunately this and Dr. Maturin's intrigues and naturalism aren't quite enough to keep the story interesting. It doesn't get exciting until the sail around Cape Horn, and then the battle with the Peruvians. This book is one of the weaker of the series. B-

The Hundred Days

The Hundred Days is the nineteenth book in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. Jack Aubrey is a commodore in the English navy and is assigned to the Mediterranean when Napoleon escapes from Elba. All of Europe is an an uproar as Napoleon quickly rebuilds his armies and tries to dominate the continent again. Captain Aubrey is commanded to monitor the ports in the Adriatic Sea, find ships being built for the French, and either convert them to English ships or destroy them.

Stephen Maturin, Jack's friend and the ship's surgeon, is mourning the death of his wife in a road accident. The story focuses on him as he is assigned a mission to prevent a large amount of gold being transported from Africa to Europe to assist mercenaries in joining Napoleon's army. Maturin travels into Algeria with a new friend Dr. Amos Jacob. They convince the Dey of Algiers not to transport the gold, but are dismayed when they learn he has been overthrown and a new Dey more friendly toward Napoleon. The ship with the gold tries to sneak through Gibraltar but Jack spies it. A long chase ensues but Jack finally captures the ship and the gold. When Jack and Stephen make it back to the port of Gibraltar, they learn that Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo.

This is a fun installment in the series, but it lacks a bit of suspense and excitement in some of the other volumes. The first half of the book is taken up with small successes as Jack attacks shipbuilding in various ports. There is not much of an overall story form here. Stephen's adventures in Algeria are more interesting, especially when he goes hunting and shoots a lioness. There is real intrigue when Stephen deals with the Dey and his assistants as well as the local English ambassador. The chase at the end is when O'Brian shines, with days of firing guns back and forth and suspenseful changes of the rigging. This book is not my favorite in the series but was still worth the read. B+

Ship of Magic

Robin Hobb's Ship of Magic is a family drama set in a fantasy world where ships made of wizardwood quicken after three generations and gain sentience. The magic ships can sense their crew and cargo and the winds and the current; they can communicate with their "family" and sail better than an ordinary vessel. The novel is about the liveship Vivacia and the Vestrit family that sails her.

Althea Vestrit is a young woman whose family liveship is close to quickening. When her ailing father dies on the deck of the ship, the figurehead comes to life. Althea and Vivacia have a strong bond thanks to the years that Althea spent on the ship with her father. However Althea's brother-in-law Kyle Haven, who is in charge of the family fortunes, has different plans for the ship. He sees Althea as a spoiled girl who should stay at home and take care of family business instead of doing men's work on a ship. Althea is heartbroken that she cannot be with her ship, and angry at Kyle for keeping them apart. She swears that she will prove herself as a sailor, ending up posing as a ship's boy to get experience and validation in the form of a ship's ticket. This proves to be a big lesson for her. She realizes how easy she had it as the daughter of the ship's captain. She changes from being a spoiled girl to being a wary young woman.

Wintrow Haven is the thirteen-year-old son of Kyle Haven and Althea's sister Keffria. At the start of the story Wintrow is at a monastery. He was sent there against his will four years earlier but has settled well and believes he has found his calling. After coming home to be with his family at the death of his grandfather, his father Kyle forces him to abandon the monastic life and live aboard the Vivacia, who requires a Vestrit to be aboard her. Wintrow is devastated, and Vivacia is distraught at having an unwilling family member aboard her instead of the loving Althea. Wintrow cannot please his cruel and demanding father. He finally adjusts well to the ship (Vivacia is his only friend on board), but decides he must jump ship and try to make his way to his monastery.

Ronica Vestrit is the widow of Ephron Vestrit who finds herself in an awkward position. She is dismayed at Kyle's treatment of her grandson but is powerless to act. Moreover, she must help her daughter Keffria raise Keffria's adolescent daughter Malta. Malta is headstrong and ready for the benefits of being a young woman, but has no understanding of the commitments she is involving herself with. Malta realizes how she can manipulate her father, yet she must live with her mother and grandmother while Kyle is sailing the ship.

Kennit is a pirate captain who has grand designs that include the capture of a liveship. He makes a deal with his first mate Sorcor that they will pursue a slave ship for every liveship they pursue. Kennit becomes a hero to the slaves that they free. And in the Vestrit's home of Bingtown a mad blind liveship sits and waits in solitude with occasional visits from friends and strangers.

This story is about these characters and others. Althea and Wintrow and their family are complex and growing. Even Vivacia is a complex character who changes throughout the story. The story is more dramatic with the constant theme of slavery, which moves from the background to take a central role in the story. Kyle's decision to use the liveship as a slave ship has serious consequences. I hadn't expected such a hard look at the evils of slavery but the story swept me up and kept me involved. The troubles of the Vestrit are engrossing and make for a great story. The story mixes fantasy and ships in a fresh new blend. A-