Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga) by C. S. Forester
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Book Reviews of Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga)
Book Review: ENDS ON CLIFFHANGAR
Summary: 4 Stars
Excellent book. But just remember...BUY FLYING COLOURS AS WELL. This book ends on a cliffhangar that you cannot concentrate on DeCartes' theorems in class because you are aching to know what will happen next.
This books completely set the stage for the internally-evntful FLYING COLOURS, especially with the frequent haunting memories of young Horatio. Full of foreshadowing, we cannot help but pity our Captain as he hits rock bottom after so much good luck.
Makes ya wonder why everything HAD to happen to him. *sad*
Book Review: One of the best in this series of novels.
Summary: 4 Stars
It seems that by the time Forester wrote the predecessor to this novel, "Beat to Quarters" he had gained maturity and considerable ability as a writer. By this point in the series he is writing a whole lot more about what Hornblower is feeling and thinking and that makes this a much better novel than some of its predecessors. I think the battle scenes too have gained quality and are even more exciting now. I very much look forward to starting the next novel in the series.Book Review: Excellent. One of the best of the Hornblower Saga
Summary: 4 Stars
A great read. Full of action with a great ending. The saga is less enjoyable after this one.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.