What is the author's style in The Yellow Admiral by Patrick O'Brian?

The story is told in the third-person with the point of view changing between a number of characters. For the most part, the action stays with Jack or Stephen, with Stephen taking the preponderance, but the author makes frequent dalliances into the minds of bit characters. On a few occasions the intended point of view is difficult to guess. It could be either Jack or Stephen, but the writing is detached to the point of sounding like omniscient third-person narration. The author does not always mark changes in the point of view with breaks or new chapters, but sometimes switches on the fly between the characters.