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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In which Captain Hornblower suffers from ever changing orders.
Lady Barbara appears. She's good at whist. Also nursing.
You can kind of tell it's the first written. Some of the backstory hinted at doesn't line up with the backstory written about in Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, Lieutenant Hornblower & Hornblower and the "Atropos".
Bush isn't a terribly developed character in this book.
"Leeway" is a sailing term!
Hornblower is stiff-necked like crazy. You can really see the similarities to the Seafort books. I think the problem with Seafort is he has no friends to pull him out of funks. (IIRC).
Lady Barbara appears. She's good at whist. Also nursing.
You can kind of tell it's the first written. Some of the backstory hinted at doesn't line up with the backstory written about in Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, Lieutenant Hornblower & Hornblower and the "Atropos".
Bush isn't a terribly developed character in this book.
"Leeway" is a sailing term!
Hornblower is stiff-necked like crazy. You can really see the similarities to the Seafort books. I think the problem with Seafort is he has no friends to pull him out of funks. (IIRC).
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Excellent story of adventure on the high seas. History, intrigue, great battles, and even romance- this classic has it all! I read this in four short evenings with the winds and rain of Autumn in Alaska.
adventurous
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An amazing read. It was a nice change to have Hornblower in the Pacific and see how things were progressing there during this time period. I missed Bush though :-) Lady Barbara was hard to get used to though as Maria has been in the last 4 books, but the action more than made up for that.
This was the first-published of Forester's Horatio Hornblower series, taking place with Hornblower as a middle-aged captain following sealed orders that bring him to the Pacific coast of Central America and into the midst of a rebellion against the Spanish rulership of the Spanish-American colonies.
Faced with shifting alliances, a lunatic rebel leader with literal delusions of godhood, an English lady suddenly taken aboard as a passenger, and an outgunned battle against a Spanish ship-of-the-line, Hornblower battles his own insecurities as he guides his ship on its mission.
Those insecurities were the most fascinating aspect of the book. Hornblower feels the need to appear absolutely unshakeable to his men, when, in fact, just about everything shakes him to the core. He is exceptionally good at what he does, but no one is more aware than he is of how disaster is a mere change of the wind away at any moment.
The battle scenes were vivid and powerful, and there is something satisfying about the nautical jargon being thrown around in the midst of the mayhem, especially when it is Hornblower's forced-calm-and-casual, "Mister Bush, beat to quarters if you please, and clear for action."
The last third of the book is mostly devoted to a romantic subplot that plays heavily on Hornblower's anxiety, which makes perfect sense, but comes off as more awkward than anything else, and never really gets a full resolution. The ending felt a bit dragged out, with the best of the story left back in the Pacific as the captain and the crew of the Lydia make for home.
Faced with shifting alliances, a lunatic rebel leader with literal delusions of godhood, an English lady suddenly taken aboard as a passenger, and an outgunned battle against a Spanish ship-of-the-line, Hornblower battles his own insecurities as he guides his ship on its mission.
Those insecurities were the most fascinating aspect of the book. Hornblower feels the need to appear absolutely unshakeable to his men, when, in fact, just about everything shakes him to the core. He is exceptionally good at what he does, but no one is more aware than he is of how disaster is a mere change of the wind away at any moment.
The battle scenes were vivid and powerful, and there is something satisfying about the nautical jargon being thrown around in the midst of the mayhem, especially when it is Hornblower's forced-calm-and-casual, "Mister Bush, beat to quarters if you please, and clear for action."
The last third of the book is mostly devoted to a romantic subplot that plays heavily on Hornblower's anxiety, which makes perfect sense, but comes off as more awkward than anything else, and never really gets a full resolution. The ending felt a bit dragged out, with the best of the story left back in the Pacific as the captain and the crew of the Lydia make for home.
