“Master and Commander” is a novel of life aboard, and its strength is how fully it puts the reader on a Napoleonic-era warship. Doctor Maturin, new to the sea, has everything explained to him, and the reader learns alongside. Some readers feel they are being taught, welcome or not, and some struggle with the nautical vocabulary, especially early on. The friendship of captain and doctor starts a long series.

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About the book

Master and Commander is a nautical historical novel by the English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel Aubrey–Maturin series, set largely in the era of the Napoleonic Wars, on which O'Brian continued working until his death in 2000.

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Reading order · Aubrey-Maturin series

Full order & progress →

Where the score comes from

The sources average 8.0 across 219 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 60% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Classics average of 7.7. That is how 8.0 comes out.