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21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (Aubrey/Maturin Series) | 
 enlarge | Author: Patrick O'brian
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
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Rating:  34 reviews
Sales Rank: 74894
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 144
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 10 x 7.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 039306025X
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780393060256
ASIN: 039306025X
Publication Date: October 30, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: clean tight pages! minor wear to dust cover. PLEASE VERIFY YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESS TO AVOID DELAYS! average shipping is 7-10 business days media mail. need it quicker choose expedited shipping! thanks!
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Product Description
In response to the interest of millions of Patrick O'Brian fans, here is the final, partial installment of the Aubrey/Maturin series. Blue at the Mizzen (novel #20) ended with Jack Aubrey getting the news, in Chile, of his elevation to flag rank: Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron, with orders to sail to the South Africa station. The next novel, unfinished and untitled at the time of the author's death, would have been the chronicle of that mission, and much else besides. The three chapters left on O'Brian's desk at the time of his death are presented here both in printed version—including his corrections to the typescript—and a facsimile of his manuscript, which goes several pages beyond the end of the typescript to include a duel between Stephen Maturin and an impertinent officer who is courting his fiancee. Of course we would rather have had the whole story; instead we have this proof that O'Brian's powers of observation, his humor, and his understanding of his characters were undiminished to the end.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 29 more reviews...
 A Final Gift to Patrick O'Brian Fans October 22, 2004
Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States)
112 out of 114 found this review helpful
An excellent gift to the fans of Patrick O'Brian but, I am sure, of little interest to anyone else. Certainly it would be the worst possible introduction to O'Brian's wonderful nautical fiction. But for those of us who have for years read and re-read his tales, so beautifully written and so infused with the great friendship between his two central characters, this fragment of O'Brian's intended twenty-first novel in the series allows us to pay one last visit to these two fascinating men. And happily we find them in a time of comparative joy and leisure. Gentle humor abounds as Aubrey and Maturin tease one another, based on their sure knowledge of one another's quirks and modes of thought. Although it seems certain that the typewritten manuscript of the these three, rather short chapters would have received further polishing and likely substantial additions before the book was completed, what we have is not only recognizable, but very characteristic O'Brian prose, often illuminated by the choice of exactly the right adjective that is at once both unexpected and yet revealed as inevitable. I would go so far as to argue that even as it stands, the writing here more nearly approaches that of O'Brian's best books than that of at least the last few novels.
A unique feature of this final book is that it presents the printed text face-to-face with O'Brian's handwritten draft for that same text, and it can be fascinating to see how the prose evolved from pen to typewritten versions. But the typewritten text ended with still several handwritten pages yet to go, and the publishers have elected to present those last pages as they were found without transcription into print. As a previous reviewer noted, deciphering those handwritten passages can be a thorny task (after a week of it, there are still a number of words I can claim to read only tentatively and a few not at all). But I think the publisher was right in not attempting to integrate those last handwritten pages into the printed text drawn directly from what had already been typed up by O'Brian. First, there would have been a problem of continuity. As O'Brian worked on his manuscript, changes were being made in the storyline so that the remaining handwritten pages do not really reflect plot developments that had been typed up. And perhaps more importantly, much of this last handwritten portion bears evidence of being a rapidly written first draft, sketching out the storyline more than attempting to create anything close to an envisioned final version; some words are omitted, some are unintentionally repeated. Undoubtedly, these imperfections in these last few pages would have been corrected if O'Brian had had the opportunity to redraft them by hand (as seems to have been his usual working method) or typewriter, but for the publisher to transfer them into print would have required either a heavy hand in editing - thus departing unfortunately far from the O'Brian original - or acceptance of a stylistically incompatible finale. No, all in all I agree with the publisher's decision to leave these last several pages in O'Brian's own handwriting. For those of us sufficiently interested, decipherment at least to the extent of following the storyline is not too difficult a job, and it is a task that ultimately brings us closer to this most favored of authors as, in his last days, he once again sailed in company with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin.
One final note: if given a choice between obtaining the American edition of this book published by Norton or the British edition issued by HarperCollins, I would suggest the latter. Although the Patrick O'Brian content of the two is the same, the UK edition also contains an illuminating introduction by William Waldegrave and, perhaps even more pleasing, it is printed on a superior paper stock for clarity and simply more luxurious feel.
 A shortened voyage. October 12, 2004
klownboy (Minnesota - Where if its not mandated, its prohibited.)
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
I am grateful for any new crumb of an O'Brian seafaring tale that I can get my hands on. This one included. But even taking into account the unavoidably abrupt end of this novel fragment, "21" still lacks significantly due to some inexcusable decisions on presentation.
There were many ways that this project could have gone. Rumors of another author attempting to finish the work; pretending to the mastery of O'Brian's steady hand at the tiller. Rumors of a note-filled outline that would allow the reader to know the broad strokes of the story, even if it hadn't yet been filled with the flowing detail and observations that are the author's hallmark. It was hoped by many that whatever was to be released would remain true to O'Brian and his richly described world.
What we get in "21" is more, and less, than what we would want. O'Brian's handwritten manuscript is presented next to his approved typed pages. It reveals the steady flow of his narration, written out on the page in an almost finished form. Remarkable when considering the period dialect, obscure adjectives, and insightful eye for detail already present in this hand-scripted draft. Enlightening in what it reveals about the author's method and capability. In just 3 chapters the story is already off to a great start and promising more. Reunions, rivalries, complications are all well in motion when O'Brian is forced to take his leave, and the story left untold.
The decision was made not to present the final pages in a typed format on the excuse that O'Brian had not reviewed them in type prior to his death. They are presented only as facsimile copies of the author's handwritten notes. As a result, the last few storied words of O'Brian's unfinished tale cannot even be savored as they trail off into eternity, they must be deciphered, decrypted, almost mined from the page out of scrawled, scanned handwriting that in many places renders entire lines of text unreadable. Because of this short-sighted gimmicky decision, obtaining the last literary gasps of Admiral Aubrey and Dr. Maturin becomes not an act of story-telling, but one of crude indelicate interrogation (an activity that Dr. Maturin, and by extention, O'Brian, abhorred).
Instead of transporting me to the southern oceans and distant shores full of adventure, this presentation of O'Brian's final unfinished tale commutes me to an office cubicle where I find myself occupied with an activity more akin to deciphering old faded electrical schematics. I unfortunately have to knock my rating down from 5 to 4 stars.
Again I am grateful that even this much was presented, but in the end, one of the most important elements of O'Brian's work is intentionally missing from this book: it's accessibility.
LOVED IT, BUT... November 18, 2004
Peter R. Santell
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
I had just finished the 20th novel yesterday, BLUE AT THE MIZZEN, and then read this book, which came out just in time for me to finish THE AUBREYIAD.
The book has both a copy of the handwritten manuscript, and a typed up version of the work that O'Brian was able to revise before he died. The manuscript has more of the story that O'Brian didn't have time to revise, so about 5 pages are only found in manuscript form, and they aren't typed up. I really wish that the publisher had typed up these last 5 pages of the manuscript, because some of the manuscript is unreadable. The untyped manscript covers a duel, and would really make excellent reading. I'm afraid I don't have Dr. Maturin's ability to decode.
 Milking a dead cow--greedy and ghoulish July 20, 2005
The Sanity Inspector (USA)
19 out of 37 found this review helpful
Books like this are why some authors put clauses in their wills to have their unfinished manuscripts destroyed. Patrick O'Brian brought great joy to millions of readers with his nautical adventures, and it is a thousand pities that there won't be any more from him. But I can't help but view this book from the POV of the writer. If I were him, I'd no more want someone poking through my in-progress works than I'd want my fans surprising me in my bath. I don't doubt that O'Brian fans have been baying the publisher deaf for unreleased works, but this book is nothing but a cash-in, and should never have been published.
5 Stars for O'Brian fans, not for newcomers October 12, 2004
Steven B. Weiner (Chicago, Illinois USA)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
What a treasure this book is. Not only does Aubrey finally hoist his flag, but he and Maturin begin another adventure - one that will not end, but nonetheless a fitting departure.
Of equal interest to those who have followed the series is the mix of handwritten text with typescript that has gone through a first stage of revisions. You can actually see how O'Brian assembled the pieces of each chapter, notes to himself to add this detail or to flesh out that one, even a diagram of how the characters were placed as they sat around the table at dinner. Some observers believe that for outstanding writers such as Patrick O'Brian, these stories spring from his thoughts, practically complete at first blush. The handwritten text shows that excellent writing is very hard work.
This is clearly not the way for O'Brian newcomers to begin their acquaintance with Aubrey, Maturin, their families, the Surprise, Killick, or any other aspect of the series. It takes good eyes and tenacious dedication to read the handwritten manuscript. It is all still too raw to make a lot of sense for those fresh to this sea.
But for those who have read and reread this series, perhaps listened to the audio book versions, who have purchased Geoff Hunt prints and who, despite misgivings, saw "Master and Commander" in the theater, "21" cannot be missed.
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