"Kirkus Reviews" found this novel to have splendid adventures and the writing at a stately pace, reviewing it at the reissue in late 1991. Aubrey loses favor inside the Admiralty: "He can't get things right on shore, but he is quick enough to put "Worcester" to trim, taking slack out of the sails and the crew until "Worcester" is the ablest ship in the line bottling up Napoleon's navy in Toulon." Maturin is now married, but he joins Aubrey for this mission, doing some intelligence work. The old ship "gives up the ghost after one too many skirmishes" and Aubrey shifts to HMS "Surprise" to "tinker with the balance of power at the fringes of the Turkish empire. Splendid adventures at a stately pace."