Just how many genres are there?

From ancient Roman private eye to rollicking tales of derring do on the high seas. I'm certainly filling in the time before starting to read a "proper" book. (By which statement, I imply no criticism of popular fiction; I enjoy it as much as the next person because it is reasonably honest about the expectations you should have of it and, in fact, am frequently exceedingly disappointed by the quality of so-called "literary" fiction)

By the above paragraph of convoluted syntax, you may have adduced some recent immersion in a pastiche of early 19th century English. You would be correct as I'm halfway through Patrick O'Brian's Mauritius Command which tells the tale of Captain Jack Aubrey on a little-known campaign in the Indian Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars.

The covers of these books always say they're "meticulously researched". I wouldn't actually know. They're certainly good fun and full of credible sounding details of nautical jargon and natural history. There are maps and a diagram of the parts of a ship. The books constantly remind you that then, as now, the Royal Navy was collection of fighting machines. The captains needed to be rather good at sums to make ships go faster than the enemy and shoot them harder.

I read the first of this series Master and Commander last year. This was recently a film which I enjoyed for making Russell Crowe seem like a nice-ish chap for once. Unfortunately this role was responsible for the idiotic ponytail he wore to his wedding.

The new book is number 4 in the series. Jack is older and wearier but so far just as lucky. It's a good read.