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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A friend is a massive fan of this series and has been trying to persuade me to read them for years. Apparently you can either attack them in publishing, or chronological order. I went for the former and and for the sake of a little peace and quiet, I burned some Bezos Bucks and bought the first one.
I wasn't really expecting it to be my cup of tea, but I actually really enjoyed it. I liked the main character as despite being a captain and no sufferer of fools, he was full of anxiety and imposter syndrome, yet got the job done. Something I can identify with. Certainly very refreshing in a world of 'perfect' protagonists.
The eBook seemed to be the best way to read it as there was plenty of naval terminology that the Kindle's built in dictionary made short work of. I now know my mizzens, bulwarks and bowsprits from my carronades. It certainly added a lot of atmosphere.
Some of the language used was certainly a little problematic, but was probably perfectly acceptable in 1937 when the book was written and definitely 'of its time' in 1808 when the story was set. It didn't ruin it and sometimes you just have to put things in context and power through.
Good stuff though, I will be dipping into the series more in the future.
I wasn't really expecting it to be my cup of tea, but I actually really enjoyed it. I liked the main character as despite being a captain and no sufferer of fools, he was full of anxiety and imposter syndrome, yet got the job done. Something I can identify with. Certainly very refreshing in a world of 'perfect' protagonists.
The eBook seemed to be the best way to read it as there was plenty of naval terminology that the Kindle's built in dictionary made short work of. I now know my mizzens, bulwarks and bowsprits from my carronades. It certainly added a lot of atmosphere.
Some of the language used was certainly a little problematic, but was probably perfectly acceptable in 1937 when the book was written and definitely 'of its time' in 1808 when the story was set. It didn't ruin it and sometimes you just have to put things in context and power through.
Good stuff though, I will be dipping into the series more in the future.
an unpleasant book about an unpleasant man; didn't make it past the middle.
Racism, xenophobia, imperialism, British nationalism/classism, misogyny, and general disrespect for human life on the one hand; a bizarrely unexpected compelling lead character (who CRIES once??? I didn't know British sea captain heroes were allowed to do that, not that Hornblower thinks he is either), a rather touching little forbidden romance in the last few chapters, and awful gory battle scenes that temper the overtones of monarchic English glory on the other.
Finding a "correct" way to feel about this book is probably impossible, so... [shrug] The overarching ideals that support this story's plot are undercut at every turn by the fondness approaching tenderness with which Forester treats the few individuals and relationships he focuses on - and also vice versa. Very English.
Finding a "correct" way to feel about this book is probably impossible, so... [shrug] The overarching ideals that support this story's plot are undercut at every turn by the fondness approaching tenderness with which Forester treats the few individuals and relationships he focuses on - and also vice versa. Very English.
Enter Lady Barbara Wellesley! The pointless mission involving El Supremo was frustrating, but it's all okay now that Horatio has something other than Maria and duty to think about.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A great little romp with a surprisingly emotional ending.
The first Hornblower book I've read, it lives up to its billing as a fast read, a naval action-adventure from the age of sail. I look forward to more books in the series.
I'm a real Hornblower fan. This is the first Hornblower book Forester wrote but not the earliest in Hornblower's career. When I first read them I did it according to Hornblower's chronology, which I would recommend to others.
Hornblower's adventures in the Pacific and off the coast of South America. The action is tense, and the constant flip-flops of fortune really bring how how precarious communications and treaties were at the time. I found the romance a bit annoying to read, as Horatio's total inability to love his wife galls me a bit. The lack of divorce at the time is one of those hard cultural differences for me to grasp--though to be honest, even if it were easy to divorce his wife, Hornblower's sense of duty and obligation would probably keep him there anyway. Let's just say it's a conflict of which a little bit goes a long way for me, and it was too much the centerpiece of this book to make for an enjoyable read at times.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
currently reading a collection of the hornblower books after being intrigued by some really excellent transformative work inspired by the property; absolutely fascinated to see how and where the cumulative story progresses. horatio's voice hits loads of what i consider my favourite/the most compelling tropes for me -- crippling anxiety, heavy masking, trauma and responsibility and the kind of self-hating catastrophic imagination that leads to exceptionally unreliable narration -- but his level of hatred spills over into vicious racism, imperialism, and misogyny that may be roughly period accurate but can be VERY difficult to read. 1937 british novelist does 1808 british naval captain in the colonised carribean and it SHOWS. outside of that: the work is fast-paced, plot-heavy, and unafraid to confront the violence of war; the prose style isn't poetic but it is agile and the characters are vivid, compelling, and deeply flawed. i don't honestly know if i could recommend the books to anyone without a laundry list of caveats, but despite how many times i had to put it down, i still picked it back up because i had to know what the hell happened next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Medical content