On Desolation Island, with the known world out of reach, uneasy alliances are sometimes forged...

"The relationship [between Aubrey and Maturin]...is about the best thing afloat....For Conradian power of description and sheer excitement there is nothing in n

"A marvelously full-flavored, engrossing book, which towers over its current rivals in the genre like a three-decker over a ship's longboat." —Times Literary

Stephen Maturin brings Captain Jack Aubrey secret orders to lead an expedition against the French islands of Mauritius and La Reunion, but the conduct of two of

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are ordered home by dispatch vessel to bring the news of their latest victory to the government. But Maturin is a marked man for