Can Captain Jack Aubrey and his crew defy the odds and outmanoeuvre the French to take two small but vital islands in the Indian Ocean?Life ashore on half pay despite the joys of family life is unlikely to satisfy a man of action such as Jack Aubrey. The sea calls to him. And so when his friend ship’s surgeon and secret agent Stephen Maturin arrives with secret orders Aubrey soon finds himself in command of a frigate and setting sail for the Cape of Good Hope.But in Nelson’s navy there are as many enemies within as without.‘A few books work their way . . . onto [bestseller] lists by genuine lasting excellence - witness The Lord of the Rings or Patrick O’Brian’s sea stories.’URSULA K. LE GUIN‘I devoured Patrick O’Brian’s twenty-volume masterpiece as if it had been so many tots of Jamaica grog.’CHRISTOPHER HITCHENSIn this historical fiction the thrill of military adventure is palpable as Captain Jack Aubrey a man of action finds himself in the throes of war. The bestselling author Patrick O’Brian masterfully weaves a tale of espionage and medical intrigue keeping readers on the edge of their seats.For fans of Simon Scarrow (Eagles of the Empire I II and III) and Robert Harris (V2).
