Books - What are you reading?

A friend who knows I like (some) historical fiction has been pushing me to read the Aubrey-Maturin (Master and Commander) series, his favourite. So I did try. Now trying to think of a polite way to say "This is bilge."

The web is full of fan puffery claiming the books are the very peak of literature in the historical fiction genre. The reality is just fucking embarrassing. There's a running joke that the main character thinks he's funny but isn't - he does terrible puns that aren't puns. Sadly, the author's sense of humour is no better than that of his hero. There's a bunch of limp jokes about Aubrey being a dim-witted man-baby (a very few jokes, endlessly repeated), there's piss-poor vaudeville farce about Maturin, the other main protagonist, doing things like coming on board in a onesie and carrying a glass beehive ("hilarity" ensues as the crew try to cope with the bees), there are joke names for imaginary places and ships that would embarrass a Christmas cracker.

I have no problem with some humour in historical fiction; the Flashman books did it well. This isn't done well. To call it "Abbott and Costello meet Napoleon" would be unfair only because those guys could be funny. It's like trying to read a history book while trapped in a room with somebody who is watching Mrs Brown's Boys at full volume.

Every so often the author forgets his shit imitation of Jane Austen and those bits aren't bad. Sadly, that happens less and less as the books go on. Out of respect to my friend, I made it as far as the third book but I'm just walking away now. I got to the point where I had to summon reserve strength just to read a single page, then had to put it down and find something pleasant to do. I actively hate the characters. Goodbye sailor.