Description
As his naval battles with Napoleon conclude, Horatio Hornblower must rescue a man he knows to be a tyrant from the mutiny of his crew.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1946
Publication
Oslo : Aschehoug , 2005
Pages
286
ISBN
8203209033 / 9788203209031
Library's review
While a book in a longer series, I read this without much prior knowledge of the character and enjoyed it fine even so. We here follow naval hero Horatio Hornblower's outer and inner struggles in the final years of the Napoleonic wars. The novel begins very strongly, in my opinion, with Hornblower
Forester's ability to show the positives and negatives of Hornblower's (for a literary war hero perhaps slightly unusual) constant introspection, prickly pride and chiding self-deprecation, strikes me as very impressive. It never slows down the narrative -- even during the slow bits mentioned above, this is if anything one of the redeeming qualities -- and only very rarely gets heavy-handed with spelling out for the reader how his thoughts and reality don't necessarily match up like he thinks they do.
All in all, despite the weaker second half of the book, I enjoyed this novel, and if I stumble over another Hornblower story in a bargain bin somewhere, I might well pick it up.
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sent to deal with a mutinous crew with whom he secretly sympathizes. The pages flew by here, dove-tailing into a rather different tale as the resulting mission creep ends up being quite extreme. However, by the time a new status quo is set, the book starts dragging its feet, more and more so, and the middle third of the novel gradually loses all the steam of the first third. There is a rallying sequence of exciting action towards the very end, albeit comparatively brief, but this still ended up weakening my impression of the novel as a whole by rather a lot.Forester's ability to show the positives and negatives of Hornblower's (for a literary war hero perhaps slightly unusual) constant introspection, prickly pride and chiding self-deprecation, strikes me as very impressive. It never slows down the narrative -- even during the slow bits mentioned above, this is if anything one of the redeeming qualities -- and only very rarely gets heavy-handed with spelling out for the reader how his thoughts and reality don't necessarily match up like he thinks they do.
All in all, despite the weaker second half of the book, I enjoyed this novel, and if I stumble over another Hornblower story in a bargain bin somewhere, I might well pick it up.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Hornblower was the inspiration for Star Trek's Captain James Kirk, as well as Cornwell's Sharpe. Hornblower is more cerebral and socially awkward than Kirk, more educated and refined than Sharpe. In his own right, Hornblower is certainly an engaging and complex character and the series is an
I do think the series lost something after Hornblower gained so much in rank and position. I think the best books run from Hornblower and the Hotspur to Flying Colours when he captained ships of his own. But I do think one of the strengths of the series is we see Hornblower at all stages of his naval career--from raw teenage midshipman to admiral. And it's not as if this book doesn't have its share of daring do and loss. Hornblower has his faults, his moments of self doubts, and his dealings with women... well. But especially in the course of reading several books he begins to feel real in a way few fictional characters do. I'd say he's easily as indelible and remarkable a literary creation as Sherlock Holmes. And if this isn't in my opinion as good as those books with him as captain, it's stronger than others in the series, and certainly very readable.
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interesting study in leadership, and a fascinating portrait of life at sea in the age of sail. I do think the series lost something after Hornblower gained so much in rank and position. I think the best books run from Hornblower and the Hotspur to Flying Colours when he captained ships of his own. But I do think one of the strengths of the series is we see Hornblower at all stages of his naval career--from raw teenage midshipman to admiral. And it's not as if this book doesn't have its share of daring do and loss. Hornblower has his faults, his moments of self doubts, and his dealings with women... well. But especially in the course of reading several books he begins to feel real in a way few fictional characters do. I'd say he's easily as indelible and remarkable a literary creation as Sherlock Holmes. And if this isn't in my opinion as good as those books with him as captain, it's stronger than others in the series, and certainly very readable.
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LibraryThing member TadAD
The books begin to head downhill a bit. The first part of this volume is fine; the second part gets quite tedious.
LibraryThing member wvlibrarydude
Hornblower is a complex character that comes close to portraying the actual life of a real person. He has these wonderful analytical abilities, but is plagued with self doubt and a desire for love that steers him into troubling spots in his personal relationships.
I am struggling on whether to give
I am struggling on whether to give
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3.5 or 4 stars. I would definitely give four if there had been more action. The real disappointment was Bush. Here is a character that has been a great foil for Hornblower throughout most of his career, and he barely appears in the book before being dismissed. Bummer. Show Less
LibraryThing member 5hrdrive
Brilliant beginning. I had no clue how Hornblower was going to get out of the mess he found himself in - really clever solution.
Sags a bit in the middle but picks up towards the end. Don't want to spoil it for anyone, but be prepared to shed a tear!
Sags a bit in the middle but picks up towards the end. Don't want to spoil it for anyone, but be prepared to shed a tear!
LibraryThing member mbmackay
Hornblower still outwitting Boney.
Read in Samoa Feb 2003
Read in Samoa Feb 2003
LibraryThing member buffalogr
The tenth in C.S. Forester's series British naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars--this adventurous fiction depicts a deeply human hero. The story was actually several stories all glued together, but they flowed much better than earlier attempts. Hornblower shows remarkable human emotion all the
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way to the end of the book...perhaps too much for Lord Horatio. In this book, he actually sets strategy for the ships at sea, as a Commodore should do, but it almost reads like he's the captain. After he's appointed governor of a small French town, there's little relative to the governance of it and more about the visiting Duke from jolly ol' England. I'm ready for the next book in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member Hamburgerclan
It was the best of books, it was the worst of books... Okay, that's a bit of hyperbole. Lord Hornblower, the penultimate novel of the Hornblower series, is a very good adventure. Once again Horatio Hornblower finds obstacles in his mission--this time his task is to recover a ship captured by
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mutineers. Once again he wrestles with self doubt. And once again he proves himself to be the resourceful, creative, and heroic commander that everyone else in the story knows him to be. But then Mr. Forester has to peg on another adventure, where Hornblower is less than exemplary and which ends... well, let's just say I was completely underwhelmed. I think I liked the ending of the unfinished novel better. In Mr. Forester's defense, he did need to follow history in this historical novel. Letting Hornblower enjoy a "happily ever after" at the end of the first adventure really wasn't an option. Anyway, don't let my grumblings dissuade you from checking it out. It really is a book worth reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stevil2001
I kind of think that Forester noted about Commodore Hornblower the same thing that I did in my review: that it all seemed too easy. Lord Hornblower starts with a big challenge for Horatio, to bring back a group of mutineers without compromising discipline or just slaughtering them all. It's a
After that (about the first third or so), though, the book flounders, as Hornblower convinces a French town to come over to the side of the French Royalists. Like Commodore, it doesn't feel like it matters. How will the war or Hornblower suffer if this plan fails? And land-bound politics just aren't what one reads a Hornblower novel for. Bush is killed. It's a typically understated moment, but I understand it; it doesn't seem right that all these military men could live through a war, and so someone's gotta die, even if it's just before the close. Feels unfair that a born sailor should die on land, though.
The final third picks up, chronicling what Hornblower gets up to when Napoleon escapes while he's vacationing in France, and thus suddenly becomes a wanted man. It's harsh and bleak and well-written but I just don't think it's where I would go with this series. Again, it just doesn't feel like what one reads Hornblower for. A well-executed version of an ill-conceived plan, I guess. The climax to the whole thing is pretty great, though.
Anyway, the next Hornblower book is our first jump backward, and I can see why; the two post-trilogy books have largely lost what made the first book work so well, and maybe by going back to the roots of the character, Forester can also get back to the roots of the series's appeal.
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sticky problem; Hornblower thinks they have a point, but can't give them clemency. But if he fights them, they'll just flee into the arms of the French. What's a captain to do? As always, it's enjoyable to see Hornblower's mind work over the problem and come up with one of his typically clever solutions.After that (about the first third or so), though, the book flounders, as Hornblower convinces a French town to come over to the side of the French Royalists. Like Commodore, it doesn't feel like it matters. How will the war or Hornblower suffer if this plan fails? And land-bound politics just aren't what one reads a Hornblower novel for. Bush is killed. It's a typically understated moment, but I understand it; it doesn't seem right that all these military men could live through a war, and so someone's gotta die, even if it's just before the close. Feels unfair that a born sailor should die on land, though.
The final third picks up, chronicling what Hornblower gets up to when Napoleon escapes while he's vacationing in France, and thus suddenly becomes a wanted man. It's harsh and bleak and well-written but I just don't think it's where I would go with this series. Again, it just doesn't feel like what one reads Hornblower for. A well-executed version of an ill-conceived plan, I guess. The climax to the whole thing is pretty great, though.
Anyway, the next Hornblower book is our first jump backward, and I can see why; the two post-trilogy books have largely lost what made the first book work so well, and maybe by going back to the roots of the character, Forester can also get back to the roots of the series's appeal.
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LibraryThing member benkaboo
Summary: Hornblower takes it up a notch as a undisputed lord and commander and also get's into a little Rambo action towards the end.
Things I like:
Still good challenges even though he's at the top of the command chain.
Still good human insight - hard to give up control to others when you
Things I thought could be improved:
Kind of drifts a bit around the middle. The danger didn't feel as immediate.
Highlight:
When hornblower slams his boat between two gunboats and let's rip with both broadsides, quite thrilling
Things I like:
Still good challenges even though he's at the top of the command chain.
Still good human insight - hard to give up control to others when you
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think/know you can do the job better yourself. Things I thought could be improved:
Kind of drifts a bit around the middle. The danger didn't feel as immediate.
Highlight:
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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
Episodic, as most Hornblower novels are, but the ending of several plot threads in the canon. Hornblower's attachment with Marie de Garcie ends with her death, and so does the career of the faithful friend, Bush. Hornblower begins this chapter by ending a mutiny, and ends it when the revolt of
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Napoleon against the settled order of Western Europe also ends. Our hero could have ended here as well, but later, commercial drives became paramount for the publishers. Show Less