There is so much technical content - 19th century seafaring jargon - that my eyes roll up and call it a night almost as soon as I begin at night. And, of course, written by Patrick O'Brian.

Funny, historically accurate, full of adventure and friendship. ' This MIGHT be my favorite single book ever.

' Started off in a thoroughly early-Jane-Austen manner. ' My last un-read O'Brian seafaring novel. It was as if it was a completely different author. The story skips all over the place without really focusing on anything. I had great hopes for this one, but was let down. ' I have read all of O'brian's Master and Commander series and loved them. ' Historical fiction about life on the high seas. ' A good read, but not as good as the Aubrey/Maturin series. O'Brian is a natural born story-teller, backed up with historic detail. ' This is my first Patrick O'Brian read and I enjoyed it very much. ' Everything you'd want to know about 17th century sailing ships! ' - Deb, The never-ending series of setbacks got to be too repetitive, even if true. ' Interesting mostly as a precursor to the Aubrey/Maturin novels. While there were great tracts of this one that I enjoyed very much, parts of the last quarter of it dragged and I didn't feel like it was going somewhere as I do with the A/M novels. ' Very similar in tone to the Aubrey/Maturin novels, but I prefer those. ' Not the best of his books, but it definitely gives you a feel for the wonderful Aubrey/Maturin adventures that follow. Shackleton's Arctic escape is like a day out at the park comared to this. ' Harder to get into than The Golden Ocean, it's neverthless a hell of a ride. ' A good adventure story - less dense than some of O'Brian's works (there's more story and fewer pages full of nothing but numerous lines and sails and impenetrable ship-detail).

This one has similar characters to the Aubrey/Maturin series. ' This and 'The Golden Ocean' are independent of the Aubrey/Maturin series and are the first two seafaring novels that O'Brien wrote. This book is unpolished and a bit rough around the edges during some episodes but it tells a good story and a great adventure. ' This was a tantalizing glimpse of the Aubrey/Maturin series, no doubt. ' Great early sketches of Aubrey and Marturin. Overall Performance: Narration Rating: Story Rating:.

The Unknown Shore by Patrick O'Brian