En esta novela el lector es trasladado a un escenario poco conocido de las luchas napoleónicas, el Mar de la China, y a la pugna que allí se libró entre los servicios de espionaje francés y británico. Consecuentemente, buena parte del protagonismo de la novela recae en Stephen Maturin, que nos muestra los métodos empleados para conseguir sus objetivos estratégicos (básicamente el soborno). Al mismo tiempo, el descubrimiento de una fauna poco estudiada en Europa en esa época y los avances en la cartografía de esa zona añaden a la trama un interés adicional.

La 13 de la serie, es buena como relata la vida a bordo. Los mandan al lejano oriente y por ahí andan acompañando una misión para ganar a los diplomáticos franceses una alianza. El tema es que para describir la vida de los personajes se descuida unpoco la trama principal que se resuelve rapidamente. ( )

Another good one in the series. ( )

Typical O'Brian. typical Aubrey/Maturin. Rich characterisation, evocative prose, fascinating plot. ( )

At some point O'Brian decided this series would go on indefinitely. The structure of some of the books then became odd. There are some that don't end - they just stop. There's an obvious on-going, unresolved plot but - tough luck - you're gonna hafta wait for the next volume to get a resolution. This is one of them. It ends with a cliff-hanger (which some don't) and for some reason it's easier to handle then when a book just stops apparently arbitrarily.

So, thirteen books in and it's getting harder to find non-repetitive things for Aubrey and Maturin to do with each volume, yet O'Brian pulls it off again! Making Maturin not just a physician but an intelligence officer was a stroke of genius in this regard. It offers a much greater range of possible and plausible adventures than regular Royal Navy work could...and so we are off to the Pacific on a diplomatic mission with clandestine additional motivations. The best, most delightful part of this volume is an almost complete aside from the main plot, however: Maturin indulges his interest in natural history by visiting a volcanic island where Orangutans abound.

Back to the cliff-hanger. I have not had so urgent a desire to read the next in this series since probably somewhere in the first five volumes. I think I overdosed for a while and I also think the quality varies somewhat between volumes in this series, but this one is the best since the tenth, at least. ( )