Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)
by C.S. Forester
(Click here)
Book Summary Information
Author: C.S. ForesterEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1985-09-30
ISBN: 0316289361
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780316289368
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Book Reviews of Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)
Book Review: SHIP OF THE LINE by C. S. Forester
Summary: 3 Stars
Ship of the Line (1938), also known as A Ship of the Line, is C. S. Forester's seventh Hornblower novel by chronology, second by publication. Hornblower, who seemingly encounters ridiculous drama every time he gets a new command, takes charge of Sutherland, a ship of the line, then sails off to conduct various raids on the French.
Horatio Hornblower has never been as unsympathetic or unlikable as he is in Ship of the Line. Throughout the series, Forester has made Hornblower a particularly flawed character - that's part of Hornblower's charm. But here, Forester has gone too far - he's made Hornblower a loathsome, pathetic individual. Hornblower is obtuse; he's prone to paranoid inner monologues; he wallows in self-pity; he has no real moral values beyond his duty; he moons about, pining for Lady Barbara; he's racist, law-breaking, self-serving and dishonorable. Forester got a better handle on the character in later novels, but for the modern chronological reader it certainly appears that Hornblower is evolving into a despicable man of low character in his old age.
Most of Ship of the Line is action, but none of Hornblower's adventures in this novel are particularly remarkable. Capture a ship, sink a ship, attack a fort, weather a storm - been there, done that. There's no real plot here; it's just attack, attack, attack. And is Hornblower the only man in the Royal Navy who speaks Spanish? Really? This isn't the first time Forester's given the reader that impression, either. And again, a careful reader who has gone through the series chronologically will notice more events that Forester later retconned.
Ship of the Line is a tremendous disappointment, especially given the superior Hornblower novels Forester wrote after it. It ends with a cliffhanger, so you really can't skip it, but it's easily the worst book in the series to this point in the chronology.
Summary of Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)
May 1810, seventeen years deep into the Napoleonic Wars. Captain Horatio Hornblower is newly in command of his first ship of the line, the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland, which he deems "the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy List." Moreover, she is 250 men short of a full crew, so Hornblower must enlist and train "poachers, bigamists, sheepstealers," and other landlubbers. By the time the Sutherland reaches the blockaded Catalonian coast of Spain, the crew is capable of staging five astonishing solo raids against the French. But the grisly prospect of defeat and capture looms for both captain and crew as the Sutherland single-handedly takes on four French ships.Action & Adventure Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Hornblower
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1989-11-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.97
Price in other shops:
Lord Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1989-11-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Commodore Hornblower (Hornblower, 9)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1989-04-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Flying Colours (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1989-04-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.79
Price in other shops:
Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1985-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Hornblower : Beat to Quartersby C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1985-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Hornblower and the Atropos (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1999-04-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1990-04-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Series)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1998-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Lieutenant Hornblowerby C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1998-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.64
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1984-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.08
Price in other shops:
Lieutenant Hornblowerby C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1998-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.66
Price in other shops:
Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Series)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1998-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1990-04-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Hornblower and the Atropos (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1999-04-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1989-11-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.79
Price in other shops:
Lord Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1989-11-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops:
Commodore Hornblower (Hornblower, 9)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1989-04-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.74
Price in other shops:
Hornblower : Beat to Quartersby C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1985-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.16
Price in other shops:
Flying Colours (Hornblower Saga)by C.S. Forester
Back Bay Books; Published: 1989-04-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.50
Price in other shops: