The Golden Ocean Audiobook By Patrick O'Brian cover art

The Golden Ocean

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The Golden Ocean

By: Patrick O'Brian
Narrated by: John Franklyn-Robbins
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The first novel Patrick O'Brian ever wrote about the sea, a precursor to the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series.

In the year 1740, Commodore (later Admiral) George Anson embarked on a voyage that would become one of the most famous exploits in British naval history. Sailing through poorly charted waters, Anson and his men encountered disaster, disease, and astonishing success. They circumnavigated the globe and seized a nearly incalculable sum of Spanish gold and silver, but only one of the five ships survived.

This is the background to the first novel Patrick O'Brian ever wrote about the sea, a precursor to the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series that shares the excitement and rich humor of those books. The protagonist is Peter Palafox, son of a poor Irish parson, who signs on as a midshipman, never before having seen a ship.

Together with his lifelong friend Sean, Peter sets out to seek his fortune, embarking upon a journey of danger, disappointment, foreign lands, and excitement.

Here is a tale certain to please not only admirers of O'Brian's work but also any reader with an adventurous soul.

©1956 Patrick O’Brian (P)1995 Recorded Books Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Sea Adventures Adventure Witty

Critic reviews

"An entertaining and psychologically astute narrative....This early work has practically all the naval lore and sense of place that grace the Aubrey/Maturin books." (Publishers Weekly)
"A rousing novelistic retelling of a particularly colorful chapter in the history of the imperialist wars of the mid-18th century...Robust and exhilarating." (Los Angeles Times)
Captivating Tale • Interesting Characters • Thrilling Naval Battles • Historical Authenticity • Comic Elements
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this early work shows just how great Patrick O'Brien was. All of the elements of an epic are here. he does a wonderful job of showing the Arcane world of the royal Navy. the characters leap off the page

Excellent all around

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Loved the Irish men and their way of speaking. The humor in hard times and the love of adventure. A wonderful Patrick O’Brian sea story.

Amusing high sea adventure

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I enjoyed following the lives of Peter & Shawn as they sailed around the world & the experiences they had. I gave it 4 stars bc there was as a lot of sailing information I didn’t understand

The Golden Sea

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This being my first audio book, I think I've been spoiled. What a wonderful narrator. I read all 21 Aubrey-Matruin novels but goingback to Patrick O'Brian's first was a joy. The narrators inflexions in his voice for each character allows the reader to identify with the character immediately.

A pleasure to listen

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I’m a huge Patrick O’Brian fan and have read most of his books. I decided to listen to The Golden Ocean because I haven’t read it in about 20 years and thought it would be a good listen. I had forgotten how slow the book starts and it really doesn’t capture the true O’Brian sea tales that I love until about 3/4 through the book. The ending is pure O’Brian treasure, but it takes a long time to get there. My biggest complaint and probably the reason for the slogging through the majority of the first half is the narrator. He would be great for a story about an old man, but this is a tale of a young midshipman heading to sea. The old man’s voice can’t capture the youth of the story.
I’m still a huge O’Brian fan and always will be. I’m looking forward to continuing listening to his other works, just hoping the narrator matches the tale.

The story was good, but the narrator was ok.

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Great story, excellently narrated. Characters are voiced wonderfully, reading pace very well done. O'Brian fans will not be disappointed. Highly recommended!

Very well done!

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The narrator entertainingly portrays all the different characters and their accents, bringing O’Brian’s captivating tale to life with all the author’s trademark dry wit, wealth of seafaring detail and trenchant observations of human nature. The only thing better is reading the book yourself, but that’s hard to do when you’re driving. A joy either way.

Absolutely brilliant. O’Brian is a genius.

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This may be my favorite O'Brian book though it is less known than the Aubrey/Maturin series. O'Brian is unrivaled in his ability to make us hear the booming of the big guns in battle, but in this book he also shines in the moments when his marvelous comic sense comes to the fore.

A 1st Rate Listen

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Although I am familiar with the movie Master and Commander, I haven't treaded into the lives of Aubrey/Martian. I read all the Hornblower books about 20 years ago and loved them and maybe I felt it would be disrespectful to go into another author. This book was a great introduction to the author and has led me to purchase master and commander so I am excited about getting started on the story of Captain Jack.

Detailed with a good story

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I love this book. I loved the story. I laughed out load. My eyes teared up. The only negative...and it was not too negative...was John Franklyn-Robbins. He just is a bit above good.

So Good to Read Patrick O'Brian Again

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