C. S. Forester (1899–1966)

This is the last Hornblower novel chronologically, the second last by publication order, and the last that was not a reread for me. I was a little apprehensive going in, because the post-Flying Colours novels had been disappointing to me, because things seemed too good for Hornblower, who works best as a character when he's on the back foot. (I'm convinced that if Forester knew he was going to write more than the original trilogy, he wouldn't have married Hornblower off at the end of Flying show more Colours.) Additionally, Forester occasionally struggles to bring cohesion to some Hornblower novels (e.g., Commodore Hornblower, Hornblower and the Atropos).

Well, I need not have worried, because Admiral Hornblower is one of the best Hornblower books, a great way for the series to end (or almost end). Hornblower feels much less overly accomplished in this one-- sure, he's an admiral, but when you're an admiral essentially on your own in the West Indies, that often constrains you more than it enables you. Much moreso than Commodore or Lord, Admiral captures how more responsibility makes things more difficult. So in some ways this is a return to the Hornblower of old, the captain we met in Beat to Quarters and Ship of the Line, and the wily young officer of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower and Lieutenant, but he's been successfully transposed to a new setting. One supposes it would have been possible to do the Star Trek thing, and have Hornblower technically be an admiral but still facing captain's problems, like in The Motion Picture or The Wrath of Khan, but Forester gives him admiral's problems that he deals with in his usual fashion: rogue French armies, diplomatic relations with Spain, sailors who need executing, and so on.

The book also benefits from being, like Mr. Midshipman, a series of short stories (or probably novellas, as there are just five of them) rather than a novel, though they don't have individual titles (in my edition at least; I see titles listed on Wikipedia). Forester doesn't struggle to unite disparate incidents, but can simply show the reader a series of problems across two years of being stationed overseas. There are a lot of great individual stories here, such as Hornblower having to violate his word for the first time in his career, or Hornblower's inventive solution to catching a slave ship when treaty forbids him to set sail immediately, or Hornblower facing a band of pirates, or accidentally supporting the wrong side in a revolution.

The very best one, though, is the last one, which covers Hornblower's need to enforce discipline by death (moreso than ever before, but for the most trivial of disobediences), his insecurities in his marriage, and a dramatic hurricane. It's great stuff, Hornblower at his most human as he doesn't quite believe in Barbara's love for him, and at his most superhuman as he tries to keep a tiny ship afloat in a gigantic storm, needing all his cleverness and charisma. The storm itself is some of Forester's very best writing, and I found the whole thing an emotional and fulfilling wrap-up to the Hornblower saga. Whether it's since Mr. Midshipman or Beat to Quarters, he's come a long way, no matter how you look at it. show less

The Good Shepherd is an incredibly taut novella about an anti-submarine action in the North Atlantic during World War 2. Lieutenant Commander Krause is in command of a small flotilla, guarding 37 small merchantmen against a Nazi U-boat wolfpack. Over the course of 48 hours, he must defend his command against slash attacks from a deceptive and elusive foe. The book is tightly focused on Krause, on the responsibility of command and the need to make instant decisions with poor information in show more the strange game of cat-and-mouse. One of Forester's best books, this is well worth a read. show less

Short but enjoyable, masterfully written, entirely character driven description of a brief encounter between the English convoy guard the light cruiser Artemis, and the Italian Navy, in the deciding battle of the fight for Malta in 1943.

Each short chapter is headed by a sentence from the captain's report of the incident e.g. 'the enemy was sighted' followed by a description of the persons involved, what they did and how they felt about it. From the Paymaster contemplating if it is safe to show more send lunch out, to the lookout at the masthead savoring the pickled onions, and including the captain's secretary musing on the women he left behind without missing any signal flags, every detail is lovingly recorded.

This unusual narrative style means that the plot doesn't proceed with any pace at all. I suspect in a longer book it would rapidly lose its allure. But in a short work of this nature it functions very well. The duties and responsibilities of every link in the chain are highlighted; the importance of a basic 'hostilities only' seaman doing his menial job well is clearly just as vital as the captain issuing the correct orders. And although mentioned in passing rather than in detail we look at the estimated '40 million' people (somewhat high I feel) involved in mining the ore, refining the steel, casting the shell, packing the explosive, and then in detail, lifting the shell from the magazine, through the loaders, sighters, spotters and finally the Gunnery officer responsible for crying 'shoot' as a shell is launched that turns the battle, saving the convoy, resupplying Malta, which causes Hitler to divert arms from Russia, leading to his eventual capitulation. This is a mighty consequence of Seaman Triggs remembering to take a fuse out of a tin.

The only real drawback is the continual use of Navy ranks without any explanation of where they stand in relation to each other. Is an Able Seaman above or below a Leading Seaman? It also highlights the surprising lack of technology in even the latest of the WWII ships. Order conveyed by flags, the reliance on manual sighting, spotting and range finding, the quivering of needles and dials, although I'm sure more reliable technologies were known by then.

A surprisingly un-harrowing account of the superiority of the British Navy, envy of the world.

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This is really very good. It is more a psychological study of a man losing his mind as a result of his actions.
At the beginning of the book, the Marble family are struggling financially, they are living within their means but have not actually taken any steps to address the problem and now it has become acute. The "solution" arrives in 2 parts, one legal, if slightly immoral, the other most certainly not legal. One rests on his conscious, the other not at all.
From this point on, the money show more worries vanish, but Mr Marble, in particular, has a new obsession, not being caught for his actions. This disrupts his family's lives in many ways, which are fascinating to follow. The way his anxiety escalates into paranoia and obsession is very well done, you can almost feel your skin crawl at times. The ending is brilliantly executed and most unexpected. show less