H.M.S. surprise - Patrick O'Brian (Aubrey & Maturin #3)

H.M.S. Surprise follows the variable fortunes of Captain Jack Aubrey's career in Nelson's navy as he attempts to hold his ground against admirals, colleagues and the enemy, accepting a commission to convey a British ambassador to the East Indies. The voyage takes him and his friend Stephen Maturin into the strange sights and smells of the Indian subcontinent, and through the archipelago of spice islands where the French have a near-overwhelming local superiority.

Rarely has a novel managed to convey more vividly the fragility of a sailing ship in a wild sea. Rarely has a historical novelist combined action and lyricism of style in the way that O'Brian does. His superb sense of place, brilliant characterization and a vigour and joy of writing lifts O'Brian above any but the most exalted of comparisons.