The Reverse of the Medal

Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 11

By: Patrick O'Brian

Narrated by: Patrick Tull

Jack Aubrey is back in London after a successful mission. On the advice of an acquaintance he uses the time to invest some of his prize money. However when the investments link him to London's powerful criminal element and land him in jail it looks as if he has lost his post captaincy and the H.M.S. Surprise. It is once again up to ship's surgeon and covert agent Stephen Maturin to rescue his hapless friend.Don't miss the rest of the Aubrey/Maturin series.©1986 Patrick O'Brian (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"The best historical novels ever written." (The New York Times Book Review)
"No writer alive can move one as O'Brian can; no one can make you laugh so loud with hilarity, whiten your knuckles with unbearable tension or choke with emotion. He is the master." (Irish Times)

"[Narrator Patrick] Tull's characterization of these two heroes, his mastery of dialect and his rousing reading of these dramatic sea sagas have become a standard against which all other productions of O'Brian's work must be measured.... Historical fiction doesn't get any better, and Tull's narration is 'Prime.'" ( AudioFile)

One of the best of the series

One of the best of the series. Works towards one of the most emotionally satisfying moments in the series.

Superb, excitong, and moving (as always)

I've read the entire Aubrey/Maturin series a half dozen times, and now I'm so enjoying listening to the pitch-perfect narration by Patrick Tull. It took 11 n₩ovels, but finally in this one the traitor working for the French, who has wreaked havoc for so long, is finally unmasked! As the good doctor might say, I give you joy of this incomparable book (the whole series really being one magnificent book).

A Painfully Realistic Story

The story is so realistic that you feel you are living it. One of the best books showing how quickly life can change.

One of the great audiobooks of all time.

Tull's flawless command of accents and voices give this superb story added panache. This book is a masterpiece.

A turning point, as the name implies

I think these books are meant for re-reading, but I do think it helps to have the perspective I read after finishing. That this is an inflection point, where Jack's and Stephen's lives are changed significantly. Enjoyed this one, even though not as much naval action.

Wow, what a cliff hanger.

I loved this one. Such a story and left on a cliff hanger. I can't wait to start the next book.

A solid entry in a wonderful series

While this entry in the ongoing adventures of Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin may depart from the usual fare, it still solidly delivers in character development, period accurate dialogue and the reliably well researched portrayals we are used to. Some have mentioned problems with the pacing and the shift in focus away from seagoing adventures, but I find it incredibly gratifying to explore the time ashore with all of its political maneuvering, legal difficulties, and the less celebrated character traits that we get to experience in this book. I find it leaves me even more eager for the next book.

Great segue

Another entry very well done, making us racing to find the next. I have it teed up.

Most Moving

Just when you thought you’d had enough of this series, around the time the man hating tattooed Polynesian gals who sailed the sea looking to deprive men of their manhood with obsidian knives showed up in The Far Side of the World, and you were positively starved for some heroic naval action, you probably gave a heavy sigh when you read the description of this book. You have also probably read of Thomas Cochrane’s career – the actual Royal Navy Captain who inspired O’Brian’s Jack - and were wincing, knowing what was coming.

Buy this book. Read it, listen to it, find some way to insert it into your brain by any manner you prefer. Despite the pain, the anguish, and the infuriating forces aligned against Aubrey, this book has the most moving scene of the series. As one O’Brian reviewer once put it, “I will not say I cried, but I will not say I did not.”

A great combination

The story goes far from the usual plot to include a variety of twists and turns far from the sea but it is a great book, combining some of the spy elements, a legal thriller, and of course the Sea stories into a single book.