Velociworld

THANKEE KILLICK

Which I've just started the 16th volume of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin opus. And make no mistake, this is not a 20 volume set, it is one magnificent work of fiction. Each volume is identical in quality, timbre, and tone. Over 30 years O'Brian never once succumbed to changes in style, or current fashion.

I started reading the books after hearing an interview with O'Brian on NPR shortly before his death in 2000. I quit reading at number 12 about a year ago, knowing there were only eight left, then no more. I recently resumed after the Straw Man started devouring them, passed me at volume 14, and threatened to spill the beans at the end.

The continuity in the last eight or nine volumes keeps one primed for the next, because by that time O'Brian had eschewed tying up major plots at the end of each novel. I believe he was getting old, and knew his endgame already, and merely broke the narrative at the convenience of his publisher; to keep a few coins flowing through the Norton House.

I shall have to read a few of the ancillary books on the series. An entire cottage industry has arisen around various attempts to assist one in understanding much of the archaic terminology. I sailed on a square-rigger for three summers, and much of the argot is foreign to me.

Then I can reread the series a few times, hopefully gleaning an additional nugget or two each time.