We're reaching peak O'Brian with this book. Packed full of the best of A-M. The sense of humor is there, and adventures are about equally divided between land and sea. I love the interplay between Jack wishing to carry on an actual affair with Mrs. Fielding, the beautiful, married Italian woman (voiced expertly by Patrick Tull) and Stephen's fake affair with her, meant to titillate the local French spy organizations. Jack, sore over the arrangement and unaware that it's a fake affair, moralizes over Stephen's status in a hang dog way.

We have here also Maturin's diving bell used to recover - almost- a sunken 'treasure' from an Turkish galley, and Maturin's rather goofy friend the half blind Reverend Martin. Jack has also to contend with friend-for-life Ponto, Mrs. Fielding's enormous dog, who he saves from the cistern.

There are also spy shenanigans aplenty as Lesueur circles Stephen and plots against him with his Maltese henchmen, while Stephen, always with the upper hand, delivers false information to them through Mrs Fielding. Add to this the presence of Way, that sneaking, conniving spy planted high up in the British hierarchy, and how Stephen beats him at cards, winning a ship assignment for the newly minted Captain Pullings among other things.

Of course, Surprise is there in all her glory, as is Heneage Dundas, the awful Admiral Harte, the employment of a drag sail as a ruse de guerre, a hike across a desert with camels, Aubrey's diamond chelengk, a captured French privateer, a dashing rescue of Mrs Fielding by Stephen in the night - so much going on here that's so much fun. This one is worth a re-re-re-read. ( )

Todas las fortalezas de Patrick O'Brian están a la vista en esta novela de acción e intriga, ambientada en parte en Malta, en parte en las aguas traicioneras e infestadas de piratas del Mar Rojo. Mientras que el capitán Aubrey se preocupa por las reparaciones de su barco, Stephen Maturin asume que el centro del escenario está lleno de agentes de Napoleón, y la red de inteligencia del almirantazgo está comprometida en los astilleros y salones de Malta. La astucia de Maturin es el único baluarte contra el sabotaje de la audaz misión de Aubrey.

Another great book in this series. Very addictive. I like the friendship between Jack and the doctor and the spy activities, etc. ( )

Estacionado en Malta Aubrey se preocupa porque las cosas no le estan saliendo bien. Por su parte el Dr Maturin se encuentra con una red de espias franceses que no termina de desenredar. En el medio misiones que fracasan, al Mar Rojo cruzando el Sinai, a a costa africana. ( )

Book 9 in Patrick O'Brian's series of sea stories featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and ship's doctor and part-time spy Stephen Maturin. In this one, they go after a potentially incredibly valuable prize and deal with some issues of compromised intelligence.

You know, it sometimes occurs to me to think that either O'Brian knows nothing about pacing or just does not care, and this volume is very much a case in point. Rambling conversations about nothing relevant go on for pages while dramatic moments where plot-critical things are happening are sometimes passed over very quickly. And yet somehow, at his best, he makes that work for him. And as far as I'm concerned, it definitely worked for him here. This was kind of slow, and not all that exciting, but doggone it, I found it just terribly pleasant, somehow, as I sat there reading it in my living room on a series of lovely spring days, imagining the desert breeze wafting in through my windows might at any moment start bringing me the scent of the ocean and feeling content with my life of not being shot at by the French. ( )