Posted by Lyall Simmons on June 23, 1998 at 13:54:45:
In Reply to: Patrick O'Brian compared to Vance posted by Mike Berro on June 23, 1998 at 11:10:18:
: Some of you are replying to the Patrick O'Brian thread in the "archive" section, which doesn't work, so I'm starting a new thread here.
: I read about a third of "The Wine-Dark Sea", and it was like wading through molasses. I also didn't see any comparison to Vance's style.
: I have to agree. Although I enjoyed the O'Brian narrative , its hard to see any connection with Vance. Forester's Hornblower series (yes I've read the lot!) show a far greater grasp of the technical details of sailing in that era than O'Brian so add a satisfying dimension of reality that(IMHO) O'Brian lacks. This detail probably has more in common with Vance than O'Brian.