Master and Commander

It is the new year (2011) and I have decided that one of my key resolutions would be to post at least once per week. That being said I start with my first post of the year, a book which I have been trying to accomplish for several years now, Master and Commander. I have failed in my previous attempts, not because it is a boring book, nor because the characters and plot were unbelievable, but because it is filled with technical sailing jargon and written in 1969. The jargon meant that in most cases I had to continually consult the internet to find out what some of the more complicated terms meant. Also there is a fair amount of "period" slang used in the book. For instance Dee and I spent ten minutes researching and discussing the authors use of the term "it will be all skittles and beer." In this sense the term skittles is used to refer to a game regarded as the forerunner to ten pin bowling.

I decided to read this book because, well like most things, Dee and my father had already read the series and wouldn't shut up about it. I also read it because I have an inclination towards history and this book series has often been lauded as the best historical fiction ever written. The dialog is entirely made up but the situations that he (I refer of course to the main character Jack Aubrey) ends up in are often true historical events and more so the naval manueverings and such are in a very great number of cases based entirely off historical records.

The book is about Jack Aubrey (played by Russel Crowe in the movie rendition that is not based solely off this one book) and his friend Steven Maturin who shortly after the start of the book becomes Jack's surgeon aboard his first ship to which he is the Master and Commander. As a master and commander he is referred to as captain of the ship whereas he is not truly a captain. In order to be fully names captain you must be promoted to the rank of Post Captain, which oddly enough is the name of the second book in the twenty some odd book series. This is explained to Steven, who is a lubberly man having no knowledge of the sea or the inner workings of a ship (of any size and rate) nor the ways of her majesty's royal navy. This lack of knowledge on his part helps the reader in many ways because as Steven learns so does the reader, who in my case is also a lubberly know nothing of the sea type of man as well.

I admit I enjoyed the book thoroughly. I managed to surpass a good deal of the jargon slowing me down by finishing this book partly through reading and partly through listening. The naval battles were easier, and more enjoyable, to understand when read slowly and in a British accent. I decided in the end to post it as a book because all in all I probably did more reading than listening and many parts I did both to make sure that I didn't miss any of the plot which has a tendency to thicken quickly. I also didn't list it as an audio book because there is no precedent on this blog of doing so and I didn't want to be the first one to make that move.

In any case I finished the book and I plan on finishing more of them in the coming year. I also hope to finish a brief history of time, Scribblenauts 2 and how George Washington fleeced the nation by the end of the month.