Desolation Island cover art

Desolation Island

Aubrey-Maturin Series, Book 5

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Desolation Island

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

Commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh of Bounty fame, Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend and surgeon Stephen Maturin sail the Leopard to Australia with a hold full of convicts. Among them is a beautiful and dangerous spy - and a dangerous disease which decimates the crew.

©1978 The Estate of the late Patrick O'Brian CBE (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Action & Adventure Espionage Genre Fiction Historical Medical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Fiction
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This is the fifth novel in the series, and the storyline continues to draw you into the world of the English navy in the Napoleonic era.

This novel has female intrigue and great wildlife scenes in the southern ocean, as well as a ship battle in extreme weather.

It's much easier to follow the technical naval language when told by a professional voice actor than on the printed page.

I look forward to the next voyage of Captain Jack Aubrey.

Great seagoing novel

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My favourite instalment in the series so far! I couldn’t put it down, and finished it in only a few days. I enjoyed the closeness to home, and was amazed to find that the Richard Linton original lithograph hanging in my study, belonging to my late father (an accomplished sailor himself), depicted the Bounty making landfall in Tahiti, no doubt with Captain Bligh on the quarter deck! I also loved the dual narrative, swinging between Dr Maturin’s machinations and the myriad perils faced by those aboard the Leopard. Jerom never fails in his superb reading, and one cannot resist hanging on his every word. Bring on the next instalment!

Riveting, suspenseful, and beautifully read

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This volume of the Master and Commander series is as good as the previous ones. The level of naval detail is never tedious and immerses one in the time and place.

Excellent detail to enrich the story

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Loved it and recommend it if you are a fan of the series. A journey on a distant voyage that did not go where I wanted it to but still a solid story

Another engaging epic

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