Forester, C.S.

Average customer rating:

A Wonderful Friendship
Hornblower is beached.
Heartwrenching and warming
dull episode in series
Escape, daring do, and knigthood.

Flying Colours (Hornblower Saga)
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)
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ASIN: 0316289396

Book Description

A shy and lonely seventeen-year-old, Horatio Hornblower embarks on a memorable career in Nelson's navy as a midshipman on board H.M.S. Justinian. In action adventure and battle he is forged into one of the most formidable junior officers in the service.

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Friendship .......2006-09-09

This is the next Hornblower chronologically, it was not the next one written. Now that the series is completed it makes sense to read it as Hornblower's career progresses in the Royal Navy.

The whole series is a pleasure to read full of action and adventure; with enough time for a little romance.

Get acquainted with one of the most popular characters in modern literature.

After reading this you will be back for more. And that is a wonderful thing.

Hornblower is beached........2005-12-05

The Hornblower books are a great Napoleonic War era British Navy series. I definitely recommend the series if you like this genre.

This Hornblower is so far the one I've liked the least. It's not too eventful until the end. I think it was meant to show Hornblower in new situations (not just another battle, he spends most of the book hiding in France) to highlight additional facets of his personality. Kudos for trying to develop the character better but I can't say I learned much new about him. Still, worth reading if you like the series.

I have given this book a 4 but it was close to a 3. For me, a 5 is a book that 1) I would recommend to others regardless of whether they read the genre and 2) will most likely reread again in the near future. A 4 is one that 1) I'd recommend if they like the genre and 2) may read again. A 3 I liked but probably would never reread, a 2 was just ok, and a 1 was a waste of time.

Heartwrenching and warming.......2004-12-07

This is generally high up on most HH fans' favorites list. And there's no wonder why. For the first time, our heroic Hornblower has failed and lost his ship---which back then, was worse than death for the captain---it's a personal book with Hornblower worrying about his actions and the consequences to them. In addition, the care and attention he shows to Bush is heartwarming, his concern for his future and promise, "I'll make you a captain if it's the last thing I do." This book really put into perspective the fact that while Hornblower may not view Bush as the smartest of men, he IS his best friend. The affair with Marie also can pull a few internal strings, the devotion Marie has for this man and her haunting, "You're a man women can fall in love with." (attempting to get the quote right.)

A must-read. The pivot of the series.

dull episode in series.......2004-09-01

The premise of the book leaves Hornblower without a ship and defeat in the hands of French forces. He is to be sent to French for trial and execution. This book wasn't as entertaining as previous books in the series. The misery is still a recurring theme in Forester's books and the author also toys with Hornblower's torn feelings between two women in England as well as another he runs into in France. Hornblower worries about Bush, his court martial, his wife, Lady Barbara, his unborn child which served as the tension in the story. This really didn't serve the book in making it exciting yet in series like this you'll get a book that serves as a transition from one book to the other. The story felt like this kind of book. This book was trying to get Hornblower from the battle in the previous book back to London for the next book. This book had no plot really of the ongoing battle between France and Britain where one side was trying to outwit the other nor tension between characters the way "Midshipman" or "Lieutenant" did. Considering how Forester wrote the books out of sequence it's probably understandable to have a book like this in order to complete the picture of Hornblower's career. So Forester shouldn't be blamed for the lack of plot. The book on its own isn't that great yet necessary in order to maintain continuity of the series.

Escape, daring do, and knigthood........2004-02-27

Flying colors begins where Ship of the Line left off. Hornblower is in a Spanish prison in Rosas after sacrificing his ship Sutherland by attacking and destroying an enemy fleet. Along with his loyal lieutenant Bush and his servant Brown, Hornblower is soon loaded on a carriage for the trip to Paris where he is to be hanged as a public display by Napoleon. But of course it's hard to hang a man when the author is on his side. The carriage breaks down in a snowstorm and as luck would have it there is a river and a boat nearby. Always a man of action Hornblower makes his escape and stumbles into the home of a left over royal sympathizer who helps his party to hide until spring when they can make their way down river and escape. In the French port, Hornblower assumes the identity of a Dutch officer, commandeers a captured English cutter, Witch of Endor, and a crew of slave laborers to sail out of the harbor under French noses. Despite his constant self doubt he returns triumphantly to England where he finds out that during his absence his wife died, his beloved Barbara's husband died, and instead of losing his rank for losing his ship he is knighted to the order of the bath for heroism (and politics). The detail of ships and sailing in the early 19th century make the Hornblower series must reading for any man who loves the sea.

Average customer rating:

Historical Fiction at Its Best...and a Grand Hero
The best boy's adventure book ever
A Wonderful Friendship
C.S. Forester's Beat to Quarters
Mildly entertaining

Hornblower : Beat to Quarters
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)
Flying Colours (Hornblower Saga)
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Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)
Commodore Hornblower (Hornblower, 9)

ASIN: 0316289329

Book Description

Another exciting addition to our growing collection of sea stories, BEAT TO QUARTERS is a favorite among devotees of Horatio Hornblower, England's most durable sailor.

The creation of C.S. Forester (AFRICAN QUEEN, THE GOOD SHEPHERD), Hornblower is known and admired throughout the Western world. Winston Churchill was a notable enthusiast; he mentioned Hornblower in his WW II memoirs.

In BEAT TO QUARTERS, a still young Hornblower is captain of the 36-gun frigate Lydia. He sets his course for Spain and Nicaragua in his ongoing quest to cut Napoleon's lines wherever he crosses them.

Customer Reviews:

Historical Fiction at Its Best...and a Grand Hero.......2007-02-20

C. S. Forester, Beat to Quarters.
Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander
I've begun reading C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels for the fourth or fifth time and I'm enjoying them almost as much as the first time through. Last year, I read about half of Patrick O'Brian's stunning Aubrey-Maturin sea novels for a second time: they didn't lose a thing in the rereading, they're so good. Both authors knew their subject matter thoroughly -naval battle in the age of sail, the sea campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Both succeeded admirably in conveying the nature and feel of life at sea in crowded, sometimes ungainly, often elegant wooden sailing vessels that in the heat of battle often became floating coffins for the men who inhabited them. Self-doubting Hornblower and his loyal lieutenant Bush, ebullient Jack Aubrey and his surgeon-spy friend Stephen Maturin are men we easily come to admire, full-fleshed characters. The love stories which form a second melody in many of the books in both series are engrossing; you root for the course of true love, for Hornblower's indomitable Lady Barbara and Jack's virginal and stubbornly maternal Sophie.

There are differences. O'Brian is the more consistently superior writer and you laugh more when you read his books. Forester has the annoying habit of telling the reader about changes (largely naval practices) that occur later than the events described rather than, as does O'Brian, simply letting the details of the narration build up a sense of past times in the reader's mind. But Foresterr doesn't indulge himself often and it's a very minor irritation in a splendid narrative that spreads across how eleven novels.

The ambition of these writers is abashing. How did they keep narrative focus through eleven (in Forester's case) and eighteen (O'Brian's) books? How did they succeed -and succeed they truly did--in creating real characters who mature from book to book and communicate their humanity as well as their heroism to readers of a time two hundred years later? These are exceptional books.

The best boy's adventure book ever.......2006-11-19

This book (often collected with "Ship of the Line" and "Beat to Quarters" as "Captain Horatio Hornblower" is the best "boy's" adventure book ever, the gold standard by which all others are measured. It inspired, among others, O'Brien's Aubrey, Cornwell's Sharpe, Kent's Bolitho, and Weber's Harrington. It works perfectly as a sea story and romance, as the middle class Hornblower, Captain of the Lydia, meets and falls in love with Lady Barbara, the sister to the Duke of Wellington. Along the way he battles enemies of superior force, overcoming them as well as his own inferiority complex. Historical detail is superb and this book, as well as the series as a whole, is a superb introduction to the Napoleonic period, particularly class society in Britain. Forester passed away before he could write to Trafalgar, but Hornblower and the Atropos has a lovely description of Lord Nelson's funeral that I remember vividly 39 years later and used as a guide on a recent trip to London last month.

A Wonderful Friendship .......2006-09-09

C.S. Forester's Beat to Quarters.......2006-08-31

For new readers to the Hornblower saga, this is the book to start with, even though it's not the first book chronologically. It introduces many main characters, like Leutienant Bush, Lady Barbara Wellesley, and of course, Horatio himself.

Mildly entertaining.......2006-07-09

Though I'm not a huge fan of maritime adventure novels, this one was quite enjoyable and in my opinion is much more readable than the Aubrey/Maturin series. Horatio Hornblower is a much more engaging main character, and C.S. Forester does an admirable job of including enough detail about seamanship without making it a boring, technical manual. I couldn't say the same for Patrick O'Brien's Master and Commander, the first installment of the Aubrey/Maturin series. Beat To Quarters isn't so much a maritime adventure novel as it is simply an adventure novel that happens to take place at sea.

There's a little bit of everything in this book - some good battle scenes, a bit of humor, and even some romance. It's one small step above "fluff" fiction, a good summer read at the beach.

It took me a long time to figure out which book in the series to read first. Beat To Quarters was the first one Forester wrote, even though it chronicles the middle the main character's life. (Five books in the series detail earlier periods of his life even though they were written later.) I would recommend starting with this one. It has the feel of a complete novel, with a beginning, middle, and end, and it doesn't reveal anything that would spoil the works that precede it in the series.

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)

Average customer rating:

High Sea Adventures with Hornblower!
Good but not great
Along with O'Brian, tops of the genre
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Series)
Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower and the Atropos (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower : Beat to Quarters

ASIN: 0316289124

Book Description

Horatio Hornblower was born in C.S. Forester's fertile imagination and became arguably more famous, certainly more personal, than Nelson, Cook and Drake combined. He fought in a dozen major campaigns during the Napoleonic wars, and it was in these pages that we first got a glimmer of just how much Bonaparte was hated, and why.

Forester's genius was not tidy, and so this story, which sets Hornblower on course at age 17, is Forester's sixth book about him, though it should have been the first. LIEUTENANT HORNBLOWER, which follows it, carries the intrepid young man another step forward in his career.

Customer Reviews:

High Sea Adventures with Hornblower!.......2007-06-25

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is actually a series of short stories that chronicle the 18th Century (Napoleonic era) beginning naval career of C. S. Forester's fictional hero - Horatio Hornblower. The other books in the series follow Hornblower's naval career as he progresses from mere Midshipman to Lieutenant, Captain, Admiral and beyond.

Exciting and colorful narratives of ship vs. ship battles, "cutting out" parties, duels and life aboard a British ship of the line, give readers a glimpse of Napoleonic era naval adventures.

Much more readable and enjoyable than Patrick O'Brian's plodding and literary "dense" Aubrey/Maturin series - Forester's Hornblower novels will transfer the reader to the age of "wooden ships and iron men" without having to decipher archaic prose or master the British Seamanship Rules of Sailing Terminology.

Buy the entire Hornblower (11 books)series - it is well worth the money!

Good but not great.......2007-06-05

I just finished this book and have to say I was a little disappointed. I have read the O'Brian novels all the way thru twice and I guess I was expecting something along the same lines as that in the literary sense. Maybe it isn't a fair comparison.
The story telling is good here, albeit a little sparse and hurried. But it doesn't immerse you in the world of Nelson like the O'Brian books do. It reads more like a TV screen play than a literary work. I am such a fan of the period that I will undoubtedly read the entire series. But I would like to let others that are not familiar with the O'brian novels know that if you like the Hornblower series you'll love the O'Brian books!

Along with O'Brian, tops of the genre.......2006-12-11

Rather than review each book, I'll comment here on the entire series. Compared to other similar series (those of O'Brian, Kent, Pope, etc.), Forester scores at the top right along side O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin chronicle. The two series both revolve around the British navy in the Napoleonic era and take their fictional queues from Cochrane's real life exploits. The natures of the two main characters and the authors' styles of writing, however, are quite different. O'Brian's Aubrey is a loud, earthy, Falstaff of a character while Forester's Hornblower is a moody, self-doubting, self-conscious Hamlet flavored protagonist. O'Brian's writing is slightly more sparse (more fully modern in that respect), while Forester's style has a bit of old-fashionedness to it that perhaps gets one into the period better. As a slight criticism of Forester, it is obvious (as one reads the series in the chronological order of Hornblower's life) that the earlier books were written later. Primarily, this is apparent in finding Hornblower to be a more mature character as a midshipman and lieutenant than he is in later books. This is explained by suggesting that as Forester's knowledge of and familiarity with his creation grew he unconsciously wrote the more deeply known character into the later written/historically earlier volumes. At any rate, it does not significantly take away from the series - which is very good. I give it high marks: 4 stars (because that is how I ranked the O'Brian series and found them equally enjoyable); not 5 - I hold that in reserve, still hoping to find the perfect storm of British Naval fiction out there somewhere.

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower.......2006-11-04

When I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. Every word had to be savoured, it was such a brilliant book. It is about a young boy, Horatio Hornblower, who joins the Royal Navy in the fateful year of 1793, when Britain and France decvlared war on each other. Aboard the ship of the line Justinian Hornblower is seasick in 'calm' weather and gets mixed in a brutal duel, not caring if he lives or dies. Soon later, Hornblower is posted to a new ship, the Indefatigable, a large frigate under the command of Captain Sir Edward Pellew, one of the most famous officers of the navy. After encountering an enemy brig in the Bay of Biscay, Pellew sends Hornblower and four men to sail it back towards an English port. However, the brig, holed below the waterline in the encounter sinks, and Hornblower is captured by a French privateer. He deliberatly sets it alight when none other ship than the Indefatigable comes into sight. I don't want to spoil the book for you, but I would heavily recommend this historical novel by CS Forrester which leaves you speechless by the end, if you love a nice, long story about the live and battles of ships in the arly stages of the Napoleonic Wars.

By Francis Newman, age 10

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower.......2006-10-25

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
C.S Forester

I read Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. It is a really good book in the genre historical fiction. It does a very good job at portraying history. This the book seems so real that some might mistake it for a nonfiction book.

It takes place in the year is 1793, at the beginning of the Napoleonic wars. The main character, Horacio Hornblower, is a young midshipmen who has no naval experience. This book follows his first times on a ship from epic sea battles to thrilling duels to the death. The author's style of writing was good, but left to much to the imagination when he could have written about a grueling battle he simple said skirmish or fight or battle leaving out the blood and gore. His way of always putting Hornblower in the best place for suspense was unrealistic but flowed very well. It showed the mannerisms of the British navy and their emphasis on honor and discipline.

I did like this book even though it seemed to drag some times. It was an interesting book that at some times I could not put down. I would rate this book a three out of five. It is a way for post World War II Britons to remember their past glory but to a present day reader it seemed boring at times. I may say that this book might be for older reader. But if you like this book then you may want to read Lieutenant Hornblower, Hornblower and the Hotspur and Hornblower During a Crisis since they are written by the same author and they follow Hornblower all though his naval life

Average customer rating:

A Wonderful Friendship
The destiny of the world
Russian politics and naval strategy
Good adventure reading
Buy the whole package

Commodore Hornblower (Hornblower, 9)
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Lord Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies (Hornblower Saga)
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Hornblower and the Atropos (Hornblower Saga)

ASIN: 0316289388

Book Description

"In this ninth installment in the Hornblower series, the incomparable Horatio Hornblower, recently knighted and settled in as squire of the village of Smallbridge, has been designated commodore of his own squadron of ships, led by the two-decker Nonsuch and bound for the Baltic. It is 1812, and Hornblower has been ordered to do anything and everything possible, diplomatically and militarily, to protect the Baltic trade and to stop the spread of Napoleon's empire into Sweden and Russia. Though he has set sail a hero, one misstep may ruin his chances of ever becoming an admiral. Hostile armies, seductive Russian royalty, nautical perils such as ice-bound bays, assassins in the imperial palace--Hornblower must conquer all before he can return home to his beloved new wife and son, as his instructions are to sacrifice every man and ship under his command rather than surrender ground to Napoleon."

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Friendship .......2006-09-09

The destiny of the world.......2006-08-04

This was my first introduction to Horatio Hornblower, and I'm hooked...couldn't put this down, or any of the next two either.

Hornblower is made a commodore and given a small fleet, and sent to the Baltic to ensure the safety of maritime trade. The local threat to British shipping is dealt with in short order, but the diplomatic situation quickly becomes complicated as the neutrality of Sweden and Russia are threatened. Will the Sweden be dragged into the war on the side of Napoleon, will Russia submit to French mastery of Europe?

Hornblower has the opportunity to dine with the czar and participate in the seige of Riga. By the end of the novel, his health is spent, the tide of the war is turned, and you care intensely about the next chapter of the saga.

Russian politics and naval strategy.......2004-02-29

In Commodore, Forester takes our hero to the Baltic Sea to intervene in the war between the Russians and Napoleon. Now on the top half of the Captains list, Hornblower is given command of a small squadron of ships and sent north in as much of a political gambit as a naval one. There are no real naval threats to Hornblower's fleet, a few coastal raiders on British shipping, but the one they find is easily dispatched. Forester spends time detailing the use of bomb vessels, ungainly ships with large mortars in the center. They are used to shell and destroy a ship in a harbor and enemy positions on shore. When Napoleon attacks Russia he sends one army north towards St. Petersburg along the eastern most end of the Baltic, and of course Commodore Hornblower is there to save the day and negotiate a switch of sides by the Prussians. It's a little short on naval lore and a little long on period politics. A contrived dalliance with a Russian lady gives Hornblower flees, and then typhus. At the time it was written it was pretty unusual to have an adulterous affair in a fiction of this kind. It gives more variety to our understanding of British Naval operations in another area of the world.

Good adventure reading.......2003-10-06

I am sad to see that I am close to the end of Forester's Horatio Hornblower series. I am greatly enjoying this series of novels.

Buy the whole package.......2003-09-18

Start with Midshipman Hornblower and take a vacation. You won't put any book in the series down until you finish them all.

Average customer rating:

Lt Hornblower
The beginning of a beautiful relationship --
A Wonderful Friendship
Review of audio Lieutenant Hornblower
Livin' the life

Lieutenant Hornblower
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Series)
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower and the Atropos (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower : Beat to Quarters

ASIN: 0316290637

Book Description

Read by Ioan Gruffudd Two cassettes Running time: 2 hours

Customer Reviews:

Lt Hornblower.......2007-01-09

Forester's key book on the times...the made-for-tv series episode parallels this book very closely. And I am very picky when it comes to sea books. Definitely at the same level as the Bolitho series!

The beginning of a beautiful relationship --.......2006-11-19

This is arguably the best book as "literary work" in the "Hornblower" series (although my personal favorite is the collection of short stories called "Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies.") This story has two aspects that make it unique:

1) it is told from the viewpoint of Hornblower's comrade Bush (who is senior to Hornblower) and provides a completely different view of Forester's diffident hero.

2) It shows how Hornblower functions and succeeds as subordinate while working through some thorny ethical dilemmas that stump Bush and the rest of the characters.

The story line is terrific, as always, with dramatic action "drawn from the files" of the Napoleonic Naval Gazette providing the backdrop to life at sea.

Like Forester's other books, this can be read by adults but it is for young male teens, and suitable for even younger ages. If you like Hornblower, and want a similar story by the same author, read the stand alone novel "The Captain from Connecticutt" which looks at the naval war of 1812 from the American point of view and, as a book, is better than most of the Hornblower series.

A Wonderful Friendship .......2006-09-09

Review of audio Lieutenant Hornblower.......2006-03-08

I found these tapes easy to listen to. Ioann Gruffudd has an ideal voice for this story, and conveys each character with realism (as one would expect, of course). The abridgement remains remarkably faithful to the novel (I checked this) and one can follow the action with ease. The piano interludes allow the listener breathing space and indicate the passing of time very neatly. This would make an excellent an introduction to Hornblower for anyone embarking on a reading of Forester's stories.

Livin' the life.......2005-12-20

This book struck me so hard, all I can say is I AM LT HORNBLOWER!

Average customer rating:

A Wonderful Friendship
Cunning and determination
Naval hero helps end the war.
Good adventure reading
If you have gotten this far, forget quitting

Lord Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies (Hornblower Saga)
Commodore Hornblower (Hornblower, 9)
Flying Colours (Hornblower Saga)
Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower : Beat to Quarters

ASIN: 0316289434

Book Description

"In this, the tenth volume in C.S. Forester's series of classic naval adventure tales, Horatio Hornblower must rescue a man he knows to be a tyrant from the mutiny of his crew--a dubious chore, but one that leads Hornblower, with the aid of his old love, Marie, to the glorious conclusion of his own battle with Napoleon."

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Friendship .......2006-09-09

Cunning and determination.......2006-08-07

A crew has mutinied and threatens to hang their captain and turn their ship over to the French if they don't receive pardons and their captain isn't tried for his cruelty. Simple force cannot subdue the mutineers, as they have only to sail into Napoleon's embrace to escape punishment. Their demands cannot be granted, lest every crew with a cruel captain take the law into their own hands. Our hero is summoned to solve the problem, which he does with aplomb. This leads to a gripping series of diplomatic and military moves, and the ultimate defeat of the French tyrant. This part is good; I would give it 5 stars.

The book has a second part: after Napoleon is exiled, Barbara goes to Vienna to help put Europe back together and Horatio goes to France...for a bad reason. When Napoleon returns to power, Horatio is trapped, and must use his wits and guts to survive. I didn't like this part as well: I don't understand the choices Horatio makes (perhaps because I started the series with Commodore Hornblower and have yet to read the earlier books), the ending struck me as a cop-out, and the whole thing just seemed so much smaller than the first part of the book. I would give this part 3 stars.

Naval hero helps end the war........2004-02-29

After recovering from the typhus and attending to ceremonies of the knights of the bath, Commodore Hornblower is sent to Le Havre in Normandy to intervene in some mutineers who are demanding a pardon on threat of turning their ship over to the French. In typical Hornblower fashion he captures a very large French cargo vessel, the mutineers ship and another French navel vessel all in a couple of days. But Hornblower isn't done yet. He negotiates with the Mayor of Le Havre to turn against Napoleon with British naval support. Hornblower sails into the harbor with a few hundred marines and takes over. For some weeks he is bound up in administration of the port and it's defenses. A French siege army approaches but a daring row up river blows up their siege guns and powder. Captain Bush is killed in the explosion. The crown prince of France arrives and a whole entourage, along with Lady Barbara. With his army defeated in the south and Normandy held against him, Napoleon abdicates. Hornblower and the crown prince sail up the Seine toward Paris. For his achievements and for political reasons Hornblower is appointed "Lord Hornblower." Lady Barbara goes to Vienna with her brother for political peace talks, so Hornblower visits his friend from "Flying Colors." While he's there Napoleon retakes the country and Hornblower leads a small resistance force tying up several thousand men who might have made a difference elsewhere at Waterloo.

There is plenty to like in Lord Hornblower, bravery and wit overcoming long odds at sea, adventures in politics and the splendor of the court. The saga continues.

Good adventure reading.......2003-10-06

This Hornblower novel was not quite as good as some of the others mostly I think because it was set mostly on land and had too much to do with ground war engagements than sea battles. The writing was every bit as good but the story was not as exciting at least for me.

If you have gotten this far, forget quitting.......2003-09-18

Get this one and see if it quells your appetite. It won't, but you'll be in the company of the rest of us. Read it again in a couple of years. I've done it half a dozen times.

Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Series)

Average customer rating:

Absolutely wonderful!
A Wonderful Friendship
Brings the moment to vivid life
Hot action even in winter.
Not the best in the series

Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Series)
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)
Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower and the Atropos (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower : Beat to Quarters
Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)

ASIN: 0316290467

Book Description

The problem with Hornblower books is that they are addictive...not just to youngsters, but to adults as well. Winston Churchill, for instance, read them en route to naval rendezvous during WW II.

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely wonderful!.......2007-01-27

I have now bought the whole series so I can watch it for myself in the order they were filmed.
This is a great adventure and fun to watch.

A Wonderful Friendship .......2006-09-09

Brings the moment to vivid life.......2006-02-01

This novel was written after 'Beat To Quarters', but chronogically takes place before.

This was my favorite in the series. A landlubber all my life, Mr. Forester's writing brings the seaman's life to vivid imagery.

Hornblower is in command of the Hotspur and for part of the story is autonomous on the seas, indulging in his spirit of adventure. Every sea battle is unique. It's during the time of the Napleonic war from the British point of view.

I've read this novel a few times. Even knowing what happens next, once I start reading I can hardly put it down.

Great GREAT book.

Hot action even in winter........2004-02-29

Hornblower is promoted to Commander, not quite a post rank yet, and given command of a small ship, the H.M.S. Hotspur. He is sent for two years at sea patrolling off Brest as part of the English blockade of French ports. Hotspur is a small vessel that can maneuver close inshore so our hero is supposed to sail close enough to peer into the harbor and report any suspicious activity. The large fleet is farther offshore so Hornblower has independence to sail where he thinks best. The rocks are tricky, the winter weather worse, but through it all the men of the sea navigate back and forth. Maybe out of boredom, Hornblower always manages to stir up some action. He harasses coastal shipping, and engages in "cutting out" invasions in the dead of winter. One of the best part of the whole Hornblower series is the accuracy and detail with which the life aboard vessels is depicted. You can almost feel the

Not the best in the series.......2004-01-16

In this volume, Hornblower takes command as the Commander of the Hotspur, a sloop which is a small ship used as a reconnaisance ship. Hornblower has the task of trying to frustrate the objectives of Napoleon's ambition of dominating Europe for king and country.

The book is flooded with intrigue and packed with descriptions of life aboard this vessel as well as the personal turmoil of Hornblower. The book has some bright spots including the side plot between Hornblower's reluctant marriage to Maria Mason. Hornblower is torn between feeling pity for a woman who is deeply devoted to him as well as the true thought that he is not in love with her. For Horatio, this seems to tug at him because there are many points in the story that challenge his integrity. In this book, Hornblower will face conflicts that will challenge his views and force him to decide what is the right thing to do. Should he choose to suffer for pride or should he succumb to temptation? Should he choose duty or should he choose sentimentality? I suspect that this is the style of Forester's writing that will probably come up again and again as I read more of his books. In a tiny ship like this in the middle of an epic war with a nation with the mightiest army in Europe, the officers and crew of the Hotspur face endless misery due to poor living conditions aboard the ship. The food quality is poor, there is no proper way to groom yourself as fresh water is mainly used for drinking here, the toil of furling and unfurling sails as well as pumping out water that has seeped into the ship is torturous back breaking work if done often enough, and most likely the crew was conscripted by press gangs led by midshipmen and marines rounding up men during the wee hours of the night.

Yet with all that hardship, Hornblower maintains better judgement under these pressures as well as the fear of the well being of his pregnant wife and fulfilling his duty to his King and his ship.

However there are lulls in the story where the technical aspects of manuevering the ship even in a scene with the enemy in sight sounded unenticing. The book liberally throws nautical words like leeward, bow, starboard, mizzen, etc. to add some flavor and adventure which may have impressed readers of Forester's generation but not of today's e;ectronic gadget driven generation. The book doesn't impress me but the book has some interesting insights that dive into the nature of the characters as well as how people would have thought during this point in history. Every time I pick up a book about life during this period I alway am grateful of the technological advances man has made since then improving the quality of life. But nevertheless one man's misery is another man's adventure.

Book Description

"The eleventh tale of naval adventure in C.S. Forester's Hornblower series finds Horatio Hornblower an admiral struggling to impose order in the chaotic aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. As commander-in-chief of His Majesty's ships and vessels in the West Indies, he must take on pirates, revolutionaries, and a blistering hurricane. The war is over, but peaceful it is not."

Customer Reviews:

Five Desperate Adventures in the Twilight of Hornblower's Career.......2007-02-12

This, the last in C. S. Forester's Hornblower series, is very unlike the novels which proceeded it. This book is segmented into five stand-alone short stories, the first four of which could be read in any order. The fifth story needs to be last as it relates Admiral Hornblower's retirement from active duty and return to Britain with his wife, Barbara, whom we first met in "Ship of the Line." The Napoleonic wars are over, Bonaparte is in prison for the second time, in St. Helena, and our aging (46) hero is in the twilight of his career. He is effectively waging a police action defending British interests in the Caribbean and fighting stateless piracy (the terrorism of that age). In the first story Hornblower discovers through stealth that a French ship in New Orleans has taken on six hundred muskets and bales of French uniforms. When he learns the the captain plans on racing to St. Helena, freeing Bonaparte, and restoring the French Empire, we are off to the last naval engagement of the Napoleonic wars. In the second story Hornblower engages a large topsail schooner, the Estrella del Sur, in a desperate race to prevent her cargo of slaves from reaching it's destination, Havana. Flying Spanish colors, she takes refuge in San Juan. Hornblower's plans to capture this much faster ship pits his daring and ingenuity against his opponent's two knots superiority in speed. The third story takes place entirely on land, on the island of Jamaica. Hornblower and his secretary, Mr. Spendlove, are captured and held for ransom by pirates. The pirates' impregnable lair is on a ledge on the face of a high cliff. The conclusion involves a weapon we see here for the first time, a ship mortar, which fires bombs with a timed fuse. The fourth story has a more historical setting, Bolivar's defeat of royalist forces in Venezuela's fight for independence from Spain. Readers familiar with Lord Cochrane's campaigns in Chile and Peru will see his persona recreated in Mr. Charles Ramsbottom. He is the wealthy son of a Bradford wool merchant, and arrives in Kingston harbor in his private yacht, a decommissioned brig. Eventually we discover that he is what was then called a "Liberal," come to the assistance of the revolutionary, Bolivar.

C. S. Forester hasn't lost his knack for a tale: "There was something just over the horizon of his mind, some stirring of an idea. And within a second the idea was up over the horizon, vague at present, like a hazy landfall, but as certain and as reassuring as any landfall. He could not help glancing over at the Estrella, sizing up the tactical situation, seeking further inspiration there, testing what he already had in mind."

A Wonderful Friendship .......2006-09-09

A collection of short adventures.......2006-08-07

Napoleon is securely in exile, and Admiral Hornblower is in charge of the Royal Navy in the Caribbean. It is the end of the pirate age and in the midst of the rebellions of the Spanish colonies. It's a series of short stories without a larger theme, but they're well-written and worth reading.

Dissappointing End to an Otherwise Brilliant Series.......2005-08-22

I found this book to be excrable. It was inconsistent, badly designed, and really a let down, after the other 10 books which were (mostly) surperb.

Spoilers ahead: One of Hornblowers firmly established character traits was his beating himself up over those he perceived as having "failed," his dead wife Maria, his dead lover Marie, his dead best friend Bush. And his sad remembrances of his two dead children. He thought of all those "ghosts" often.

In this book, he's facing death in a hurricane. Through the days of this storm, he gives not a single thought to any of these people, or even to his one living son, who will in all likelihood, be left an orphan.

All he can think about is how jealous he is that his wife was once married. HELLO? HE (Hornblower) WAS ALSO MARRIED, and had children, no less. But, his biggest thought is how happy he is when she callously says she never loved her (dead) husband.

This overjoys HH who now feels "healed." Very disturbing. Very lame.

While I never enjoyed HH's exploits and infidelities, I did relate to his love of those people he'd lost. This last book he was so self-absorbed, even the cool pirate battle couldn't redeem it for me.

Honestly, I'm sorry I read it and in the future, will stop with Book 10. Trust me on this.

C.S. Forrester makes a clever joke.......2004-12-02

This final book of Hornblower's advertures is structured into 5 relatively self-contained episodes concerning his final posting before retirement at half-pay. The final story contains a really good joke, too. A young marine bandmember faces court martial for refusal to play exactly as the music is written. Hornblower and Lady Barbara take an active interest in his case. The joke here is that the musician who bucks the system in order to maintain his sense of dignity plays the cornet. He literally is a HORN BLOWER!

Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)

Average customer rating:

A Wonderful Friendship
Would've been a good novel but the best part wasn't written.
Cleaning up Forester's Desk
good, but unfinished leaves you wanting more
The last book in the series...

Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Hornblower and the Atropos (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Series)
Hornblower : Beat to Quarters
Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)
Flying Colours (Hornblower Saga)

ASIN: 0316289442

Book Description

Captain Hornblower, after two hard years on blockade at Brest, has relinquished the helm of the Hotspur. He has no ship, only the promise of one. Meanwhile there are battles to be fought.

This reading of HORNBLOWER DURING THE CRISIS includes two other stories, "Hornblower's Temptation" and "The Last Encounter," all published after C.S. Forester's death in 1966.

"Because Forester died before completing this novel, the reader is left with a summary sketch and his own imagination for final details of the plot. For Forester devotees, this will not detract from the essential verve and dash of Hornblower's last chase." (The Christian Science Monitor)

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Friendship .......2006-09-09

Would've been a good novel but the best part wasn't written........2004-03-01

This novel picks up with Hornblower relinquishing command of the Hotspur and returning to London for a new command. As typical in a Forester novel, nothing ever goes as planned and action follows Hornblower on his way home from a supply ship. There are only about 150 pages of text in this story and what was missing in the story were what Hornblower did that lead to the eventual decisive Battle of Trafalgar. It was nice to see what Forester wrote anyway only because I like the genre and I like Forester's details and descriptions of being in the Service and living during that time. But this book wouldn't be good on its own.

Cleaning up Forester's Desk.......2004-02-27

Hornblower During the Crisis is apparently a couple of pieces of left over script that Forester hadn't finished when he died, and was later published. The first half deals with Hornblower's trip home to England as a passenger on a water hoy (a supply ship that brings water to ships of the line). The water how is such a dog that after several days of beating back and forth they are still where they began. When they finally do get a fair wind they are chased by a larger French brig and only by some of Hornblower's usual trickery and bravado do they turn the tables and escape. The battle is a little too unbelievable for me; it relies too much no surprise and a sleeping French crew, which I found beyond the realm of possible. Nevertheless our hero returns safely to England.

The second part of the book is another short story about how Hornblower was assigned to be some kind of spy in Spain to deliver fake messages ordering the Spanish fleet out to sea. It's more plausible, but a short story.

Despite its shortcomings, the detail of ships and sailing in the early 19th century make the Hornblower series must reading for any man who loves the sea.

good, but unfinished leaves you wanting more.......2004-02-06

like most of the reviews the book is unfinished, which I thought was unfortunate. i really love reading about HH. i find his thoughts and thought process intriguing and his outlook on others who are involved in his life. CS Forester really gives you a feel for this charactor and puts you in his mind.

"Hornblower During the Crisis" is only 117 pages. i enjoyed it and have read all of the novels up threw "Crisis". im reading in chronological order. so i was dissapointed for it to end so quick. it is your typical HH novel, he starts out sailing and then the frogs show up, HH comes up with an idea and ofcoures it works out for the better. ends up in england with some important papers from boney. he gets promoted to captain only if he goes on a spy mission he came up with, that is where the book ends. a shame, i really wanted to see HH as a spy.

"Hornblowers Temptation" - is the first short story. it comes after "Midshipmen Hornblower" although one review said it came after "Lieutentant Hornblower", the reason is because Mr.Bush is not on board and captian sawyer is still alive. good short story, i agree with some reviews that the character is not like the HH we know. he does things for his own conscious , and not for king, for county. also this mentions that they have gone to the west indies, but in "Lieutentaunt HH", he remarks to Bush how he has never seen some sort of fish which are only in the west indies. good short story, if u like HH series then you will like this, although we are not use to this softer side of Horry.

"The Last Encounter" - this makes no sense with the HH books. his wifes is named Barbara, who he loves and can't keep his eyes off of, his only child is named Richard and he likes wine or "port" as they call it. never the less is was an ok read. i think forester wrote this just for fun. the story is about a man who comes to the door and says he someone famous and dead. HH is like whatever, but helps him anyway. not bad, i didn't really like it because it didn't hold true to Maria and his 2 kids.

this is a decent book, i wish it was finished, it really leaves you dangling. the only regret is the price $15, which are the prices for completed books. we should pay half this since we are getting half a story.

The last book in the series..........2004-01-06

Or is it? The incomplete story, 'Hornblower During The Crisis' seems to be set just after 'Hornblower And The Hotspur'. The story was never finished and the ONE page of notes at the end DO tell you how the story turns out but doesn't have much in the way of details. It would of been nice to see a dozen pages or so of the author's notes.
The next two stories, 'Hornblower's Temptation'(which seems to be set after 'Lieutenant Hornblower') and 'The Last Encounter', which is the very last tale about him, are both short but complete. They show us a very interesting view of Hornblower's inner thought process when he was young and when he gets old.
So in a way it does end the series, but also shows him during earlier periods of his life.

Hornblower and the Atropos (Hornblower Saga)

Average customer rating:

Great
A Wonderful Friendship
Seafaring men with cunning and bravery.
It's numero cinco
3.5 stars -- occasionally drags, but still good

Hornblower and the Atropos (Hornblower Saga)
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Sea Adventures | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower : Beat to Quarters
Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Series)
Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)
Flying Colours (Hornblower Saga)

ASIN: 0316289299

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

Great.......2007-01-23

If you enjoyed the Horatio Hornblower movies on A&E you will enjoy the books more. A must have for the Hornblower fans.

A Wonderful Friendship .......2006-09-09

Seafaring men with cunning and bravery........2004-02-29

Hornblower is promoted to Captain, a post rank, and quick advancement for a young officer. As the youngest Captain he gets the duty of organizing a funeral parade for Lord Nelson, during which his grand barge springs a leak and disaster is narrowly avoided. He then takes his small ship Atropos to the Mediterranean where he executes a daring and tricky salvage operation under the guns of a suspicious foreign port captain. Hornblower always manages to stir up some action. One of the best part of the whole Hornblower series is the accuracy and detail with which the life aboard vessels is depicted. You can almost feel the deck pitch. Great adventure in a great series.

It's numero cinco.......2003-09-18

You are hooked. You can't get loose. Buy it.

3.5 stars -- occasionally drags, but still good.......2003-05-03

I would put this chapter in the life of Horatio Hornblower in the same category as Mr. Midshipman Hornblower -- good, not great

The 5th book in the Hornblower saga concerns a number of events related to Horatio's first command as Captain -- a 22-gun sloop of war. But it doesn't get there right away. First, we get a rather slow segment of Horatio guiding a canal boat into London, then an even slower segment in which Horatio is put in command of Lord Nelson's funeral procession. Both segments are interesting historically but drag in the narrative -- a rare occurance for Forester.

Once we get out to sea, the story picks with Horatio's tour of duty in the Mediterranean trying to recover sunken English treasure. It reaches its pinnacle with the dramatic confrontation between Horatio and the Turks.

I'm not sure why this didn't grip me the way the other novels did. There are some very good things about it -- the interesting dynamic with a German prince stationed aboard the Atropos for example. But the story spend a lot of time wallowing in irons instead of the usual racing before the wind. Horatio's character is static -- his usual daring and courage subdued. And the ending is rather abruptly tacked on.

Still, I will recommend this book as a good part of the Hornblower saga. But it's far from the best.

Authors:

Authors

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