Books with author Patrick O'Brien

Meet Megatooth -- the giant prehistoric shark that was even bigger than T-rex!Ten million years ago, giant beasts walked the earth. But the biggest one of all did not walk -- it swam. It was large enough to eat whales. It was more enormous than the biggest dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus rex. It was Megalodon -- or Megatooth -- the giant shark, and it ruled the seas. Great White sharks may be huge, but their ancient ancestors were even bigger and more powerful. Scientists aren't sure how big Megalodons really were, since the only things they left behind were enormous teeth. But teeth can tell us a lot. Filled with fascinating facts and gorgeous, highly detailed illustrations, this book will thrill dinosaur and shark fans alike.

Life sailing with the Royal Navy in the 1780's was particularly miserable: sailors slept in crowded hammocks, ate moldy cheese and maggoty bread, and were subject to very harsh discipline. So when the HMS Bounty arrived in Tahiti after 11 months at sea, the crew of the Bounty thought it was heaven on earth. Living on the island paradise made them lazy and careless. As the return journey began, Captain Bligh's crew proved reluctant to leave. His temper began to flare, and his second-in-command and old friend Fletcher Christian suffered the worst of Bligh's outbursts. His honor at stake and a longing to return to the island, Christian led a mutiny, then set Bligh and 18 loyal crew members adrift in a launch. A daring escape by Christian and the mutineers, paired with Bligh's amazing story of survival all make up one of history's most rousing true maritime tales, and Patrick O'Brien's 85 illustrations reach epic proportions of drama and realism.

An archaeological expedition with a cargo of priceless jade is pursued across the Gobi Desert into the snows of Tibet. This story begins where Patrick O'Brian's devoted fans would want it to, with a sloop in the South China Sea barely surviving a killer typhoon. But the time is the 1930s, and the protagonist a teenaged American boy whose missionary parents have just died. In the company of his rough seafaring uncle and an elderly English cousin, an eminent archaeologist, Derrick sets off in search of ancient treasures in central Asia. Along the way they encounter a charismatic Chinese bandit and a host of bad characters, including Russian agents fomenting unrest. (Most of these meet very bad ends.) The narrative―as in all of O'Brian's novels―touches on surprising subjects: astronomy, oriental philosophy, the correct identification of ancient Han bronzes, and some very local cuisine. It ends in an ice-bound valley, with the party caught between hostile Red-Hat monks and the Great Silent Ones, which is how the Tibetans designate the yeti.

Fan favorite Captain Raptor returns for another thrilling space adventure in this action-packed young nod to graphic novels. In their newest endeavor, intrepid leader Captain Raptor and his space-dino crew must rescue a team of scientists from a doomed planet--while evading flaming asteroids, predatory beasts, and a volcano about to blow. Could this be the end of Captain Raptor? Old fans and new will be drawn to the mix of dinosaurs, space, and science-fiction parody."Kudos to this prehistoric Buzz Lightyear…long may he sail the spaceways"—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of their beginning, with Master and Commander, these evocative stories are being re-issued in paperback with smart new livery. This is the nineteenth book in the series. Following the extraordinary success of The Yellow Admiral, this latest Aubrey-Maturin novel brings alive the sights and sounds of North Africa as well as the great naval battles in the days immediately following Napoleon's escape from Elba. Aubrey and Maturin are in the thick of the plots and counterplots to prevent his regaining power. Coloured by conspiracies in the Adriatic, in the Berber and Arab lands of the southern shores of the Mediterranean, by night actions, fierce pursuits, slave-trading and lion hunts, The Hundred Days is a masterpiece. 'O'Brian is far and away the best of the Napoleonic storytellers and The Hundred Days is one of the best of the series: a classic naval adventure, crammed with incident, superbly plotted and utterly gripping!This is O'Brian at his brilliant, entertaining best and when he is on this form the rest of us who write of the Napoleonic conflict might as well give up and try a new career. Fans of the series will need no encouragement to buy this book, but if you are new to Aubrey and Maturin then this is as splendid an introduction as you could wish for.' Bernard Cornwell