The Far Side of the World
by Patrick O'Brian · first published 1984
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4HN commenters
2015–2025first – last mentioned
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I very much enjoyed the fun that O'Brian had in The Far Side Of The World with the unavoidable problem of plot armor with which authors of book series with continuing characters must deal.
on “Ken Follett Says Readers Still Like Epic Books” ↗…"did not feel good" about suggesting Americans, rather than the British, captured the naval Enigma cipher:" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-571_%28film%29#Controversies... Master And Commander: The Far Side of the World - "...as the producers wished to avoid offending American audiences [...] the fictional opponent was changed from the USS Norfolk to the French privateer frigate Acheron" (Original book was only loosely…
on “Ken Taylor, Legendary Canadian Diplomat, Dies at 81” ↗…principally a book about whaling with a bit of story mixed in. That's true, but it turns out whaling is fascinating. Imagine a world without whales. If JK Rowling had written a book about people sailing to the far side of the world to hunt sea creatures whose heads are full of substance that looks suspiciously like semen, nobody would have published it because it would be too unrealistic.
on “A Whale-Oiled Machine” ↗…Played way too much Sea of Thieves * Helped plan a company on-site sunset sail on a sailboat in Boston Harbor * Learned to sail at Community Boating over the last 2 seasons * Watched Master & Commander: Far Side of the World after seeing too many memes about it * Listened to the first 3 of the Aubrey-Maturin series on audiobook * Gifted the entire 21 book series for my birthday * Reading through them all this year (otherwise…
on “A Private Life – Nikolai Tolstoy Remembers Patrick O'Brian” ↗