Clarissa Oakes cover art

Clarissa Oakes

Aubrey-Maturin Series, Book 15

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Clarissa Oakes

By: Patrick O'Brian
Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
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About this listen

Captain Jack Aubrey sails away from the hated Australian prison colonies in his favourite vessel the Surprise, pondering on middle age and sexual frustration. He soon becomes aware that he is out of touch with the mood of his ship: to his astonishment he finds that in spite of a lifetime's experience he does not know what the foremost hands or even his own officers are thinking.

They know, as he does not, that the Surprise has a stranger aboard: and what they, for their part, do not know is that the stranger is potentially as dangerous as a light in the powder magazine itself.

©1992 Patrick O'Brian (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Contemporary Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction
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This instalment stands out as one of the most emotionally mature narratives in the series, and it is striking when compared to earlier books in the series that dealt with matters of the heart, and matters of female company. For the first time, the dismal lives of many women during the time period are laid bare and matter-of-fact, and instead of being passed off as a fact of life or twisting those women into dislikable or damaged, it opens the door for real discussion and emotional growth, as well as a healthy dose of humanity.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the exchanges between the sailors and the inhabitants of Moahu. As always, the action is brought to life in such a way as to maintain a suspension of disbelief. However, it is the respect for personal, and cultural differences, as well as a clear avoidance of ‘low-hanging’ racist tropes (which have made appearances in POBs earlier works) that suggests some valuable work has gone on behind the scenes, and will keep bringing me back for more.

Some humanity for female characters at last

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as usual EXCELLENT STIRY NARRATION PREZENTATION AT USUAL SHPER STANDARD.
ENJOYED IT IN ALL RESLECTS

pboz

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Ric Jerrom, you star! I very much appreciate your voices- enough to distinguish the characters, but not over the top.

Huzzay for Ric Jerrom

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You can almost visualise the tropical islands and the queen Poalami. A very enjoyable listening book

Excellent story

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Having read the whole series I found this disappointing, very slow and almost like just filling sound bytes - skipped some sections to see if improved and didn't really - hoping next one is better

Normally a fan but this was a

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Compared with the previous 14 Aubrey-Maturin audiobooks I have much enjoyed, this audiobook was "Missing in Action". There is almost no plot. Often the text was boring, even tedious. If it was the first of the series, there probably would not be a second.

plot not found

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.