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perturbedpossum's review against another edition
5.0
this was so fun, entertaining and kept me pretty interested all the way through, the last chapter was hilarious and am very excited to continue the series
megadan777's review against another edition
4.0
The second novel in the Hornblower series. Really loving these novels and the swashbuckling adventurous story-lines. The second continues the adventures but from the perspective of another lieutenant Bush. It was great following Hornblower's adventures and decisions from a different perspective as he assists the English against the Spanish and French. Can't wait for the third and this months book club book.
mdunnbass's review against another edition
4.0
This was the first Hornblower novel I've ever read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As an enormous fan of Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin series, I will say that it didn't quite live up to that series in the writing, but still it was a wonderful adventure. My only issue with it is that I feel it failed to fulfill one of the promises it made early on in the book. One character gets injured under mysterious circumstances, and there are several references throughout the rest of hte book to people trying to understand how it happened. I honestly felt that the answer would be forthcoming at the end, and it wasn't. I have not problem with unsolved mysteries in books, and things being left up in the air, when that is the nature of the story being told. But in this case, I felt that the nature of the story required an answer to this riddle. Especially when a certain character is revealed to have died in the closing chapters of the book, that was the perfect opportunity for another character to confess their knowledge of the incident. Grrr... The more I think about it, the more I want to lower it to 3 stars..... Better stop here before I do. Otherwise, the rest of the book was a real treat to read.
floatsomejetsome's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reading the series in order - another nice addition!
ashrafulla's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book first before going back to Midshipman Hornblower. I think the writing and diction is very good because it sways between the action-packed battles, the hard life at sea and the sort of confusion at the end when the ship is decomissioned. It's also very well paced. I don't really consider the book memorable, which is why this review will be short, but that does not make the book bad either.
mary846's review
5.0
I love this book because we see Hornblower through the eyes of William Bush - as Bush passes from caution, to irritation, to respect and then to genuine affection for the intelligent, courageous and dashing Lieutenant.
13delathauwere's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0