The Wine-Dark Sea, by Patrick O'Brian

[rowyn]

This is #16 of the Aubrey-Maturin series. I liked this one, in fine O'Brian style with lots of ups and downs and sea action and naturalism. It also finally sees the end of the mission Aubrey and Maturin set out on five books ago, so that was cool. I am wondering if they'll make it home in the next book sometime? I am quite anxious to see how their families are. There is an annoying allusion to events off-camera at one point: a character notes he saw 'poor X's widow' and I am like wait what X is dead what happened to him? No one else asks. COME ON. I know this is a minor character from a prior book but STILL.

Anyway, looking forward to reading #17, though I'm gonna take a break and read something else first. For variety. And also I am running out of Aubrey-Maturin books now anyway. c.c

Comments

[rowyn]

GODDAMMIT BONDEN DIES IN BOOK 19 F U POB WHO'S NEXT KILLICK?

;_;

(I'd be more ticked about Diana dying -- off camera! SHEESH -- but her death was spoiled for me so I've been waiting for it for 12 books now.)

[alltoseek.livejournal.com]

Yeah, people are pretty upset about the way Bonden is offed - so random, which kinda makes sense, because it was just a bit earlier that I had been thinking about how none of the repeating characters get killed off, just new ones, and that's not how it would go in RL, esp for a gunner like Bonden - and then Whoops! there he goes D: Just when we were getting to know him too (the whole boxing thing, and the head injury).

But what upsets people is how he is barely mourned. Jack gives him a fleeting thought later and then that's it.

Diana gets mourned by Stephen for pretty much an entire book.

Yeah, I got spoilt for Diana's death early on too - like FoW. All I heard was something about a carriage, so every time she went traveling I went yay this is it we don't have to deal with her anymore! Only to be disappointed. I hate that POB offed her just when she was finally getting fun to have around :P :P :P

Doing it between books like that was cheap too. But POB lost his own beloved wife about the same time; I think that was part of the reason Diana died. POB himself felt a lot like Stephen did; prolly easier to write that way.

You asked about Killick - Shall I spoil you for future deaths?
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spoiler: there aren't any. of anyone we know & love. there's an admiral that dies but we didn't love him and anyway i think you got to that part already.

[rowyn]

I didn't really expect a big fuss over him because POB never does -- I kind of feel like that's part of POB's image of the time period, that death was so common in the Navy that you could not really mourn when it happened. I was a little surprised at how much grief Stephen was permitted.

I'd started liking Diana several books ago, so I wasn't looking forward to her death. v_v