His main characters are very likable, yet he leaves them with very human faults which remain fairly consistent throughout the series. Obviously, the nautical aspect is exact, but so are the tiny details of everything else. He takes no liberty in modernizing anything at all. It is almost as though Patrick O'Brian really lived in 1800 (OK, he only missed it by 100 years!), because every aspect of his story is so totally authentic. If you saw the movie, it is not the same (entirely) as this book, as that plot draws from several books in this series. As a former US Navy guy, it is also scary to see just how much from this era is EXACTLY the same today.
It was great to finally "read" the first book after knowing how the realtionship developes later on. I love it, and look forward to all 20 books being available on Audible. Tull has a much more raspy, colorful voice, and gives particular accent to the "Irish" characters-no so in the Brown-read books. The reader is not the same guy as in later books (Richard Brown later, Patrick Tull on this one). This recording is pretty good, technically, but I can hear a faint echo in the background on my player, leading me to believe it was transcribed from tape.
I have listened to several of this series previously (mostly on cassette from the Public Library-some with parts damaged, etc.). As most if not all the series is available from both narrators, I suggest listening to the sample of each and deciding which you prefer. From the other reviews not everyone seems to share this opinion. His portrayal of the various period accents is pitch perfect to my ear and perfectly fits the spirit of these books. Although I have listened to several other books narrated by Simon Vance who always gives a laudable performance, in my view Patrick Tull is the ideal narrator for this series. The first in this series I listened to was narrated by Patrick Tull and then I inadvertently purchased the second book narrated by Simon Vance. One thing that is a bit confusing is that there are two versions of most if not all the audio books - one narrated by Patrick Tull and one by Simon Vance. The characters are engaging and I personally thoroughly enjoy the period language and historical naval theme.
This is a marvelous series - one which I've purchased to continue as I did not want to wait on my monthly membership credit.
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