On foreign shores, and far from home, a friend can become a foe in a heartbeat.On foreign shores, and far from home, a friend can become a foe in a heartbeat.Shipwrecked on an uninhabited island in the Dutch East Indies as the Napoleonic Wars rage on, circumstances look far from promising for Captain Jack Aubrey and his crew. And yet, having overcome the odds and contrived their escape, still further peril awaits in the fiercely tidal waters of the Salibu Passage and the penal settlements of New South Wales.What fresh dangers lie over the horizon and will Jack Aubrey prevail?‘In a highly competitive field it goes straight to the top. A real first-rater.’MARY RENAULT‘I’ve read [Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey‐Maturin nautical novel‐cycle] three times now, not least for its beautiful portrayal of a long‐term male friendship.’ROBERT MACFARLANE‘If O’Brian’s novels have become a cult, this is because they are truly addictive. . . They are, quite magnificently, adventure yarns whose superb authenticity never distracts from the sheer thrill of the action.’Caroline Moore, Sunday Telegraph‘The Aubrey–Maturin novels, by Patrick O’Brian, are so addictive that after I finish one I have to hide the next from myself for a little while in order to do anything else but read.’Louise Erdrich‘In Aubrey and Maturin, Patrick O’Brian has created two of the most enjoyable characters in twentieth-century fiction. Their relationship sustains an absorbing and thrilling sequence of naval stories, unrivalled in their complexity, full of impeccable detail and psychological insight. O’Brian switches from the intimate to the epic with equal assurance. One of the greatest authors to sail with.’Michael Palin‘My hero is Patrick O’Brian. It’s basically impossible to write that well.’David Mamet‘One of the most compelling and brilliant novelists of his time . . . Beyond his superbly elegant writing, wit and originality, Patrick O’Brian showed an understanding of the nature of a floating world at the mercy of the wind and the sea which has never been surpassed.’Max Hastings, Evening Standard‘I devoured Patrick O’Brian’s twenty-volume masterpiece as if it had been so many tots of Jamaica grog.’Christopher Hitchens‘Written with most engaging enthusiasm that can’t fail to give pleasure to anybody who enjoys historical adventure flavoured with more than a dash of realism.’The Sunday Times‘One of the most brilliantly sustained pieces of historical fictional writing this century.’James Teacher, Spectator‘Patrick O’Brian brings depth to his sea-stories with outstanding dialogue, characterisation, humour and a golden thread of romance. You don’t have to love books about naval battles to become entranced.’Katie FfordeREAD BY ROBERT HARDY'The Nutmeg of Consolation' opens with Jack Aubrey and his friend the intelligence agent Stephen Maturin stranded, following a shipwreck, on an uninhabited island in the Dutch East Indies, under siege by ferocious Malay pirates. They contrive their escape, but after a change of ship, find themselves caught up in a night chase in fiercly tidal waters and then embroiled in the much more insidious conflicts of the terrifying penal settlements of New South Wales.“The author’s voice is a wise one, humane, sceptical, kindly, just . . .'The Nutmeg of Consolation' brings his achievement to a new height. Any contemporary novelist should recognise in Patrick O’Brian a Master of the Art.”ALAN JUDD, 'Sunday Telegraph'“Robert Hardy’s reading gives a real feel of salt spray, not to mention a taste of the lash.”THE TIMESPatrick O’Brian was born in 1914 and published his first book, Caesar, when he was only fifteen. In the 1960s he began work on the idea that, over the next four decades, evolved into the twenty-novel long Aubrey–Maturin series (with an extra unfinished volume published posthumously). In 1995 he was awarded the CBE, and in 1997 he received an honorary doctorate of letters from Trinity College, Dublin. He died in January 2000 at the age of 85.Requires internet connection for purchase, plus iPod or other Audible-compatible player or iTunes software on Mac OS X or Windows• Available for the first time as a downloadable audio file.• Massive press and consumer interest in O’Brian. He has been hailed as the greatest historical novelist writing today and as ‘Jane Austen, sur mer.’• O’Brian’s profile has also never been higher. He was the first recipient of the Heywood Hill Prize for a lifetime’s contribution to literature. Interest in him continues unabated both in the UK and the US (he is Norton’s top-selling novelist).• New $150m movie due for release in 2003, starring Russel Crowe and directed by Peter Weir.Competition: clarissa oakes;post captain;treason’s harbour;desolation island;sharpe’s assassin;war lord;the last kingdom. by;bernard cornwell;julian stockwin;david gilman;alexander kent;allan mallinson;dean king;c. s. forester;dewey lambdin;jay worrall;diana gabaldon
Pubblicato da: HarperCollins Publishers