After the events of The Truelove, Aubrey and Maturin set sail for Peru to undertake the in­tel­li­gence mission originally begun four books ago in The Letter of Marque. O’Brian packs more than usual into this book: multiple sea battles, the Reverend Martin’s descent into madness, Stephen inciting a revolution of in­de­pen­dence against the Spanish, naturalism high in the Andes, Jack almost being lost at sea in a small boat, and a nerve-wracking encounter with an American frigate amongst the ice floes of Cape Horn.

Highly rec­om­mend­ed.