I enjoyed the film this weekend but I haven’t read any of the books in this series. Is this film a composite of MASTER & COMMANDER and FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD or is it just the latter? How close are the characterizations and plot to the books? One reviewer stated that in the book FSotW the enemy ship was American rather than French- is this true? And value judgment: I understand the books are expertly researched, but is the dialogue/plot/character development any good or is it Dan Brown/Tom Clancy’ish?
Having read “Master and Commander”, and seen the movie, I’ll say that it’s probably 90% “Far Side of the World”, with a few M&C scenes thrown in- the brain surgery and the night chase/decoy buoy parts in particular stood out as being M&C elements.
And you’re right- everything I’ve read says that it was a US Frigate in 1812 or so, not a French one in 1805, but that doesn’t really make much difference to the movie.
While I can enjoy Clancy, there’s no comparison. Clancy is easily readable light entertainment. O’Brian is literature.
His writing is complex. There are references and jokes that you won’t understand, even if you speak both French and Latin, have sailed around the world, and have a doctorate in history.
It doesn’t matter. The books are great. Read them. I’m currently going through the series for the third time. And I suggest reading them in order. There are themes and plot threads that extend beyond each book. For example, there’s one non-major female character that appears in most books. If you start midstream, her actions and the reactions of the major characters to her might be hard to understand. (This is just one example.)
Keep in mind that the saga is basically ONE LONG STORY. The strength of the story is the characters. You come to know Jack and Stephen really well, and (if you’re like me), you really like them. Yup, there’s a ton of nautical stuff that may seem overwhelming at first, but persevere. (There are also web pages and reference books you can consult if you feel the need for more explanation.)
I’ve read one Tom Clancy novel and one Dan Brown novel. I’ve read something like 24 Patrick O’Brian novels (the series, plus several others.) They are amazingly detailed works of art if you like that sort of thing.
Patrick O’Brian is to Tom Clancy as a Rembrandt is to Black Velvet Paint-by-Number. O’Brian creates complicated characters and puts them in an incredibly rich context, while Clancy replicates a context and inserts stereotypes to interact with it.
I think the idea is to take the prize ship back to England because of it’s advanced design. Also, Aubrey says to the new captain of the prize) something about seeing him back in Portsmouth with him at the helm . . or similar.
Other thing, I thought the idea – once the French Captain’s ruse was discovered – was to escort the prize into the South American port. At that time, Aubrey could tell the skeleton crew what’s a foot because the French Captain is obviously a slippery old dog – a doctor you ‘d give more latitude to, but not the Captain who’s proven his abilities.
The thing I’m not sure about is what the French ship was still doing on the other side of the same Island . . . the whole conversion into a whaler seemed a bit of a stretch as well.
I thought some of the photography was pretty good and I very much enjoyed the portrayal of ‘men at sea’ the esprit de cour within different ranks and between. Obviously very important for the efficient running of the ship.
Not great but I enjoyed it. As mentioned, a bit Kirk/Spock/two-guys-on-an-adventure at the end but otherwise . . a reasonable couple of hours . .
Oh, I never worked out who it was who was cut adrift going around Cape Horn . . . ?
The best of anything written in the past 50 years, IMHO. I think you could look long and hard through all of English literature to find character development that passes PO’B’s.
I agree that, though not essential, it’s best to read the books in sequence. I envy anyone who has this in front of them.