Lord Hornblower (Hornblower Saga) by C. S. Forester
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.95 You Save: $8.04 (57%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.07 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Lord Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)
Book Review: Difficult and unusual tasks
Summary: 4 Stars
An initially bleak tale of storm and mutiny in the old British Navy is elegantly told as only Forester has done. The pioneering modern writer of naval sail novels, he set a standard occasionally matched but never surpassed nor so elegant. One of the things that separates Forester's (and initially O'Brian and Pope's) novels is the parallel lives of loved ones ashore whom we occasionally glimpse. This depth of story confers a sense of larger life in a more real world than seaborne battle and naval intrigue alone can do.This book especially is full of the pathos of life, and the vicissitudes of love-of a crew for the Commodore, for spouse or lover, royal or commoner, and Horatio for his long subordinates Bush and Brown. It is a story of passions, of mutiny or loyalty to country and crew, battlelust and lust of woman, "Boney" and the apathy of peace. Powerful emotions are stirred here. Hornblower is clever at sea but faces disaster on land. The cover art is once again bleak and dark in this Back Bay edition, more redolent of the pain than of the excitement to be found within.
Book Review: The ninth book in the Hornblower series.
Summary: 4 Stars
It is 1813 and Lord Hornblower has been given the task to rescue Lieutenant Chadwick from the mutinous crew of the Flame. Force does not seem to be the answer, but if Hornblower does not do something the crew threaten to turn the ship over to the FRENCH! And THEN he has to deal with a Prince of France and his wife Barbara meets his mistress Marie!Book Review: Good adventure reading
Summary: 4 Stars
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.Book Review: Not as good as others ...
Summary: 4 Stars
This wasn't one of my favorite Hornblower books. He's stuck as an administrator for much of the book and I had trouble seeing him lead a bunch of partisans on land. I'd recommend this book only to people who have already read the other novels in the series.Book Review: Hornblower Forever!
Summary: 3 Stars
This is probably my least favorite novel in the Hornblower saga, in that it shows the hero (who by now has become an old friend) is capable of acting like a bit of a cad.The thing which has always drawn me to the series is the intricate character study of Hornblower. He begins as a deeply serious teenager, becomes a neurotic, driven, and somewhat paranoid introvert, and gradually matures into a man that others can like as well as respect.
In Lord Hornblower, we see him at last beginning to be comfortable enough with himself and his position that he can question his orders, negotiate with his superiors, and sometimes make selfish decisions without penance. Even when those decisions are destructive, as when he offends Barbara, the great love of his life, and then goes off to renew his affair with Marie.
His reaction to the shocking death of Bush, who was his good right arm through so many other volumes, is instructive. Where once he might have despised himself for being so human as to feel grief, now he at least questions the need for such extreme stoicism and - to some extent, at least - permits himself to mourn.
His actions in winning a pardon for the mutinous crew are another case. A younger Hornblower would have swallowed back his nausea and hanged them all for the good of the service, believing his convictions to the contrary to be personal weakness. But now he takes drastic steps to win their freedom as the right thing to do, even if it throws the alliance into doubt.
For a person just discovering the Hornblower books, Lord Hornblower is not the place to start. A much better starting point would be Beat to Quarters, the first book in the "Captain Hornblower" trilogy. This was the point at which Forester began writing about Hornblower, and it contains a certain amount of backstory which helps the reader understand what makes this complex and sometimes difficult character tick. A completist might really begin at the beginning with Midshipman Hornblower. But if you haven't read this series, you should. Though in many ways I find the Aubrey/Maturin stories superior, I can say with conviction that you really can't consider yourself a complete human being unless you can quote large passages of the Hornblower saga from memory.