*** Patrick O’Brian – The Yellow Admiral
**** Patrick O’Brian – The Hundred Days
**** Patrick O’Brian – Blue at the Mizzen
** Patrick O’Brian – 21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey

I finally made a push to finish the last three books of the Aubrey/Maturin series (21 doesn’t really count, being an unfinished fragment). A number of reviewers have described O’Brian as one of the finest writers in English (up there with Jane Austen), and this series as one of the best and longest-running novels ever written. With that in mind, I was a little worried about having the story feel unfinished, since I knew that O’Brian had died before completing 21 (and, for all I know, had contemplated writing many more). However, whether deliberately or not, Blue at the Mizzen, the last complete book, makes an almost perfect ending to the whole series. The last three books are excellent, and they form a story arc that wraps up in Blue, and that nicely caps the whole series. The overall driver to the story has always been the war with Napoleon; in these books he is exiled to Elba, escapes, and then is finally defeated at Waterloo. Jack’s part of the story has largely centered around his first passion: the British navy and his advancement through the ranks toward admiral, along with his many victories and setbacks. In these books, he first fears that he will be “yellowed” (passed over for promotion) and then, finally, achieves his dream, becoming an admiral and flying his blue pennant from the mizzen. Blue ends with him on his way to lead a squadron as admiral. A central thread in Stephen’s story was always his relationship with Diana. In these books, she dies, he almost loses the will to live from grief, and then he ends up courting Christine Wood. Christine is beautiful and intelligent, and unlike Diana a compassionate and considerate person. A marriage to her would be opposite the tempestuous one he shared with Diana. Blue ends with Stephen still unsure of her answer, but gaining confidence that she will accept as he goes to meet her. I already started rereading the series last year, and imagine I will read these books many times more. O’Brian really is an amazing writer, he’s created a wonderful set of characters, and the series is one of the best and most engrossing I’ve ever read.