A great Historical naval story: C.S. Forester created a superb naval drama that gave me an inside look at the life of a sailor serving in the Royal Navy on the wooden war ship Renown. With Hornblower, and his companion Bush dealing with their befuddled Captain and fighting off the attacks by the Spanish this book kept me reading page after page. I believe this is one of the best books in the Hornblower series and I would encourage anyone with an eye for historical novels to check this series out.

Definitely one of the classics of this genre of historical adventure writing. It's a quick book to read - 300 pages long in my paperback copy, but it feels much shorter because Forrester's pace simply zips along. Hornblower is a lot more of a repressed prat than he is in the movie miniseries, but I was expecting that from what I'd been told. It has to be said, however, that it is one of the most homoerotic novels I have ever read, and that Bush is so obviously in love with Horatio that I wonder to god how no one ever picked up on it. *boggles a little* I don't think it's a patch on O' Brian, but still a classic and definitely worth the read. ( )

Exceptional. I've read so many books that are twice as long that contain less than half the story that this one does. Love the style, the characters, the plot, everything. The only thing that would improve the experience is if I could read it while at sea! ( )

This is the second (chronologically) Hornblower book. It departs from the format of the first in that it is a novel and not a collection of short stories. I enjoyed this book as much as the first. In Lieutenant Hornblower, the titular character is 4th Lieutenant under the command of an unfair captain. The captain's obsession with mutineers and conspiracies drives all the lieutenants to speak of removing the captain from command, but the captain then has the most unfortunate accident of falling into a hatch and severely injuring himself. For some reason, the other lieutenants suspect Hornblower knows more about the captain's accident, but if so he won't talk about it. The first lieutenant then takes temporary command, but is hesitant in all his decisions. They end up following the now-deranged captain's sealed orders to take a fort that has been harassing their ships. Hornblower is instrumental in its taking, and is rewarded. Before his promotion can be ratified, though, England declares peace and quickly disbands most of its naval officers. Hornblower is left to his own devices until Napoleon's marshaling of his navy prompts England to respond in kind. ( )

“This book is second in the life of Horatio, although not second in the order written. In this book we learn about Hornblower's competency under fire, his cunning and skill at anticipating the enemy and his willingness to take bold chances. We also learn that Hornblower isn't good with money during peace time and that a woman loves him. The main difference is that this story is mostly told by one of Hornblower's peers, one Lieutenant Bush. Bush is a competent naval officer, and at the start senior to Hornblower. Over the course of the novel Bush learns not only to trust Hornblower, but to like him. I found it an engaging way to tell the story and to reveal more about the character of Horatio Hornblower. Great Read!” ( )