Rating: 
Summary: Ho-hum, sea-shanty
Review:
The continuing story of the exploits of Aubery and Maturin.
A mixture of derring-do, and unrequited romance and high seas.
I like the story, however I feel that the fact that there is a series of stories perhaps devalues each individual story. I also would like to be sure that the action parts are based on some reality - the enthusiasts for the series say that it is, and the writing has a realistic historical flavour; however the 'top-gallants a lee, bring 'er about, nicely lads' stuff could just as easily be gobbledook for all I know.
As a true son of Erin, I am quite happy with the reversal of usual stereotype - to have the English partner (Aubery) as a bluff, rash, unreflective type, and the Irish (or Catalan) type as reserved, intellectual, reflective but deadly.
p.s. this one also has requited and unrequited long distance love, perhaps to interest the Signoritas.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: "H.M.S. Surprise" is Patrick O'Brian's third book in his epic 20-volume 19th-century maritime series. Captain Jack Aubrey, on blockade duty along France's southern coast, must extricate his friend, ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, from a delicate situation. Then, aboard the H.M.S. Surprise they sail to South America, India and beyond, weathering storms, battling enemies, and stewing over their respective romances.Once again O'Brian delivers an excellent book, spare prose and nautical realism sweep the reader on deck. And, of course, the ending is a cliff-hanger, so you'll have to read the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Aubrey's and Maturin's Indian Voyage
Review: "H.M.S. Surprise", the third installment in Patrick O'Brian's magnificient Aubrey/Maturin series is set aboard Aubrey's favorite ship, the slender ex-French frigate Surprise, during a mission to Indian waters. Here O'Brian demonstrates again his great affinity for natural history, portraying Maturin as a fictitious predecessor to the likes of Charles Darwin and Alfred R. Wallace. Meanwhile both he and Aubrey must ponder how they can thwart a French flotilla from seizing the China fleet. Readers will treasure O'Brian's elegant prose and mesmerizing descriptions of natural history and sea battles.
Rating:
Summary: "A brilliant achievement." --Times Literary Supplement
Review: 3. One gropes in vain for superlatives (but not without appreciating the exercise) to express the many and rare pleasures O'Brian so lovingly bestows. There is real honest-to-God magic in these tales, the kinds of gifts for which critical praise is superfluous; detailed examination, unwelcome; a worthy expression of gratitude, impossible. Moreover, now that Amazon has posted little synopses in the spaces above (coinciding it seems with the latest installment in the series) -- and as if anyone required the least encouragement, from any quarter, having read the preceding novels -- I find my personal mission to bring joy to the world (at least that unlucky demi-hemisphere which has yet to know it, or O'Brian) happily superceded. My work is done.
Almost: Mr. O'Brian, if you are out there, sir: Knowing I am closer
to the first than the last who will do so, it gives me great pleasure to
wish you joy of
your victory.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels
Review: All the Aubrey-Maturin books are good, some better than others, but HMS Surprise is O'Brian's masterpiece. For its evocation of unforgettable characters and relationships, as well as the awe-inspring nature of seafaring and the complexity of naval warfare in the age of sail, this novel stands alone as the crown jewel of the series. It's a voyage you won't soon forget.
Rating: 
Summary: A fine introduction to Patrick O'Brian's work
Review: As other reviewers have noted, O'Brian is a wonderful writer. His ability to describe the early ninteenth century world of life on a naval ship is remarkable for the depth of his knowledge and way he can bring events to life. One can almost small the sea! O'Brian has a good ear for dialogue and his characters, particularly the principals Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, emerge as fully rounded, utterly credible figures. O'Brian's descriptions of battles at sea are riveting, but he is equally good at conveying the thrill scientific discovery in the form of Maturin's enthusiastic collection of animals and insects in the best Darwinian manner. Where I have a slight reservation about the book (and therefore four rather than five stars) is that the plot tends to wander a little -- a bit like H.M.S. Surprise's own journey. Like many ocean voyages, one realises that the journey is probably more important then the destination. Nevertheless, "HMS Surprise" is a wonderful, evocative book. A pleasure to read and (as it was for me) a fine introduction to O'Brian's novels.
Rating:
Summary: A Voyage of Friendship
Review: Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy in the midst of the wars against Napoleon, and his particular friend Stephen Maturin, physician, naturalist and intelligence agent, journey from England to India and back in this epic of friendship. Along the way there are battles to be fought, storms to be weathered, and love to be found. This is also the first book of the twenty-volume "Aubreyad" where we encounter the Surprise, that sleek, swift frigate which transports the two friends through so many other oceans and adventures. But this is not your Napoleonic technothriller. No, this is a cut above Ramage, Bolitho, even Hornblower. This is literature, and there are observations on relationships between men, women, men and women, men and the sea, and the ultimate questions of the human existence, wrapped up in language wonderfully witty and hilariously humorous. This, and the others in the canon, are not books that will be read once lightly and forgotten. No, you will come back to them time and again for the pure pleasure of the reading and to discover something fresh each time.
Rating:
Summary: Awe inspiring sea adventure!
Review: H.M.S. Surprise is an extraordinary sea going adventure. Patrick O'Brien's masterful character development of Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin continues. In this adventure, we see our heroes in action in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. We also gain a closer glimpse of their unique friendship as well as their personalities and desires. These glimpses can only be seen as these men go to sea and face the inevitable hardship of life during war. In short we see both Lucky Jack Aubrey and Dr. Maturin fall in love. Of course both fall for very different types of ladies, and that reveals much about both men. Lucky Jack falls for a respectable woman with a dowry that he cannot marry because he is in debt and faces debtor's prison. Dr. Maturin's love is unrequited for a widow who treats him cruelly. We see Dr. Maturin imprisoned as a spy and Captain Aubrey's expected successful rescue. The backdrop for the conclusion is the British colonies in India. After saving a Company ship and its very valuable cargo from the French, Captain Aubrey is handsomely rewarded. His reward is large enough to get him almost out of debt and free to marry. Dr. Maturin proposes, ends up defending his honor in a duel, and loses the girl to an American in the end. Patrick O'Brien's sense of detail and historical accuracy is awe inspiring. This is an adventure that I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Awe inspiring sea adventure!
Review: H.M.S. Surprise is an extraordinary sea going adventure. Patrick O'Brien's masterful character development of Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin continues. In this adventure, we see our heroes in action in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. We also gain a closer glimpse of their unique friendship as well as their personalities and desires. These glimpses can only be seen as these men go to sea and face the inevitable hardship of life during war. In short we see both Lucky Jack Aubrey and Dr. Maturin fall in love. Of course both fall for very different types of ladies, and that reveals much about both men. Lucky Jack falls for a respectable woman with a dowry that he cannot marry because he is in debt and faces debtor's prison. Dr. Maturin's love is unrequited for a widow who treats him cruelly. We see Dr. Maturin imprisoned as a spy and Captain Aubrey's expected successful rescue. The backdrop for the conclusion is the British colonies in India. After saving a Company ship and its very valuable cargo from the French, Captain Aubrey is handsomely rewarded. His reward is large enough to get him almost out of debt and free to marry. Dr. Maturin proposes, ends up defending his honor in a duel, and loses the girl to an American in the end. Patrick O'Brien's sense of detail and historical accuracy is awe inspiring. This is an adventure that I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: This series is simply as good as it gets
Review: H.M.S. Surprise, like the two books before it in this series, is excellent in every way. There is great dialogue, subtle humor and riviting action. We finially get to see what Jack Aubrey can do when given command of a decent ship (as oppossed to the little Sophie and the piece of junk Polychrest). I think most male readers will like this book a little better than Post Captain; the main characters spend a lot less time on shore and there is a little less romantic/relationship stuff. From the reviews I have read of this series, it stays pretty good at least through book #17 and then deteriorates badly. Although it is a shame this series is not strong until the end, O'Brian did write a very large number of excellent books that we should all be grateful for. In my humble opinion, if O'Brian had not written another word after finishing H.M.S. Surprise he would still deserve to be remembered as the best novelist who ever wrote in this genre.
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