Stephen Maturin, Jack Aubrey and the crew of the H.M.S. Surprise contend with pirates and Napoleon's spies in this splendid novel set on and around Malta. This is the ninth book in O'Brian's acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin series, which pits a British sea captain and his surgeon/naturalist sidekick against Napoleonic forces around the globe. The series is as laudable for its attention to geographical and natural detail as for its historically accurate, high-adventure plots.  (MLT16, $15.95)