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A review by thisotherbookaccount
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies by C.S. Forester
4.0
My journey with CS Forester's Hornblower series began in 2015 (thanks, Goodreads). At the time, I was looking for a naval-based historical fiction to read, and Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series proved to be too technical for my taste (I promise to come round to it again). So then I went with the alternative, and it has been an amazing journey with Horatio Hornblower over the last three years.
The Hornblower series always delivers. While none of the books ever made it into the five-star region, the first eight books were all four-star reads. They were consistently entertaining, and my favourite part about the series is the variety of adventures that Forester puts Hornblower through. Every book has a different mission, from battling French naval forces on the high seas and punishing hurricanes to unreasonable admirals and sinking funeral boats, there's always a different challenge for Hornblower. Even though the quality of the story did dip a little towards the end, with Hornblower spending way too much time on land in Book 9 and much of the action happening off screen in Book 10, I am happy to say that Book 11, Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies, ends on a high if not bittersweet note.
This book is a collection of four short stories, and each is a return to form for Forester. My personal favourite is probably The Star of the South, where Hornblower's crew has to chase down a slave ship in peacetime. It has all the little nuggets of gems that make this story a quintessential Hornblower tale. With that said, other stories are just as good as well. Barbara once again proves herself to be one of the best characters in the series, even if she doesn't feature very prominently in the story. I sort of wished that there was a series of books told from Barbara's perspective, in a strange way.
To be honest, I am a little sad that my journey with Hornblower has come to an end. There are other naval-based historical fiction out there, of course, but there is something endearing about Hornblower as a character. It's being a good ride!
The Hornblower series always delivers. While none of the books ever made it into the five-star region, the first eight books were all four-star reads. They were consistently entertaining, and my favourite part about the series is the variety of adventures that Forester puts Hornblower through. Every book has a different mission, from battling French naval forces on the high seas and punishing hurricanes to unreasonable admirals and sinking funeral boats, there's always a different challenge for Hornblower. Even though the quality of the story did dip a little towards the end, with Hornblower spending way too much time on land in Book 9 and much of the action happening off screen in Book 10, I am happy to say that Book 11, Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies, ends on a high if not bittersweet note.
This book is a collection of four short stories, and each is a return to form for Forester. My personal favourite is probably The Star of the South, where Hornblower's crew has to chase down a slave ship in peacetime. It has all the little nuggets of gems that make this story a quintessential Hornblower tale. With that said, other stories are just as good as well. Barbara once again proves herself to be one of the best characters in the series, even if she doesn't feature very prominently in the story. I sort of wished that there was a series of books told from Barbara's perspective, in a strange way.
To be honest, I am a little sad that my journey with Hornblower has come to an end. There are other naval-based historical fiction out there, of course, but there is something endearing about Hornblower as a character. It's being a good ride!