Scan barcode
A review by timnorman
Ship of the Line by C.S. Forester
2.0
Not the best of the Hornblower series, but entertaining enough in parts. Strangely enough, I enjoyed the beginning and end the most and found the middle to be rather unremarkable.
The opening chapters deal with Hornblower's troubles in getting his ship ready to sail and for some strange reason I actually enjoyed these chapters. It also deals rather briefly with his relationship with his wife, but it's mostly about his struggles in getting his ship ready to sail, and his inner doubts about how that will affect his career and reputation. I wouldn't expect most people to really care to much about the logistics of provisioning and manning a ship though.
The end of the book sees his ship facing long odds in a battle and then ends on a cliff hanger. I planned on reading the next book regardless, but I don't appreciate books (even if it is part of a series) that don't have their own resolution. The description of the battle is excellent though -- I found myself just slogging through the middle of the book, but sped through the last few chapters.
The middle of the book was rather dull even though it contained several battles (on land and sea) and a storm that ravaged his squadron. My problem with these chapters was that Horatio was never really in danger; his luck always held (although I will grant him that it was often due in part to his own preparations) so there was never a sense of conflict.
The opening chapters deal with Hornblower's troubles in getting his ship ready to sail and for some strange reason I actually enjoyed these chapters. It also deals rather briefly with his relationship with his wife, but it's mostly about his struggles in getting his ship ready to sail, and his inner doubts about how that will affect his career and reputation. I wouldn't expect most people to really care to much about the logistics of provisioning and manning a ship though.
The end of the book sees his ship facing long odds in a battle and then ends on a cliff hanger. I planned on reading the next book regardless, but I don't appreciate books (even if it is part of a series) that don't have their own resolution. The description of the battle is excellent though -- I found myself just slogging through the middle of the book, but sped through the last few chapters.
The middle of the book was rather dull even though it contained several battles (on land and sea) and a storm that ravaged his squadron. My problem with these chapters was that Horatio was never really in danger; his luck always held (although I will grant him that it was often due in part to his own preparations) so there was never a sense of conflict.