The Ionian Mission

The Ionian Mission gives the people what they want in an Aubrey/Maturin book, with a straightforward tale of rousing naval action. Captain Aubrey’s new command is a ship of the line, the unfortunate HMS Worcester, one of the notoriously poorly built “40 Thieves”, and his new assignment is blockade duty off Toulon.

I appreciate the return towards normalcy. Few captains have careers like Lucky Jack, and a lot of naval warfare is cutting tacks in almost the same place, stores and ships running down, waiting for the French to make their move. We see the issues of the fleet at sea, waiting for the French to do something stupid so that there can finally be a battle—and there are a couple of close calls.

Fortunately for us, intrigues with the ramshackle Ottoman government in the Eastern Mediterranean require a senior captain with a fast ship, and we’re back in the good old HMS Surprise to determine which of three local Turkish governors should get a gift of cannons to drive the French out of a nearby port. These political intrigues twist out of Aubrey’s control, and there’s a sharp battle at the end. Huzzah!

This book is probably the most traditional in the series since book three, a safe and thrilling exploration of the formula. But that’s what we’re here for. Lighter elements include Aubrey getting a supply of brightly colored fireworks powder for gunnery practice (Royal Navy captains had to supply their own powder for practice), the difficulties of putting on a performance of Hamlet and a choral concert, and a wardroom poetry contest on the theme of ships, where O’Brien demonstrates his own wit.