Master and Commander was great. I’ve read all the books and found it outstanding and true to the novels.
True, he made changed the nationality of one ship…hardly wrecking the plot since the film was based on elements from several books.

I have read all the books, at least twice – second time during a long spell in hospital following a heart attack – and know the stories well. I was indicating that Weir wrecked the plot of the series as a whole, not the one book, ‘Master and Commander’ which had none of its story line in the film.

By calling it ‘Master and Commander : The Far Side of the World’ Weir has effectively undermined any future attempt at a proper run at these books.

I have an extended edition on DVD with extra’s including Weir’s justification for what he did, along the lines of ‘by the time you have shaken out the prose in the books there is not much of a story line’ – I beg to differ. Sure I am not a high flying film director but I still stand by my assertion.

Weir said that since the War of 1812 isn’t all that well known…except for the English burning Washington D.C. before losing another war with the U.S…. and since the overall theme of the series is Britain fighting France…that’s why he made the change.

Lame excuse in my opinion. So he ducked issues and that war remains obscure.

I have quite a library on the sailing navies of that period, many books on the 1812 War amongst them, including that early work by William James, and his other six volume history of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Sorry, but I am still not impressed. Bit OT I guess so don’t intend to continue.