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Loading... Ship of the Line (Hornblower Saga) (original 1938; edition 1985)by C.S. Forester
Work InformationA Ship of the Line by C. S. Forester (Author) (1938)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. The second novel written in C.S. Forester's magnificent Horatio Hornblower series (though it's the 8th in chronology -- how in the world did Forester write 11 Hornblower books in non-chronological order? Wow.) This one, like all of the others, is a joyous, adventuresome read. It hasn't so much plot as some, being mainly the recounting of events in the course of one sailing mission, but that doesn't keep it from being a terrific reading experience. Its surprising ending has me scrambling to find the next volume in the series. If you've never read a Hornblower book, grab "Mr. Midshipman Hornblower" and start there. If you like (or even if you don't like) seafaring adventure, you will fall in love with these books. Forester (who also wrote "The African Queen," among many other books) writes with great clarity and dry wit. This is one of the best of the series. ( ) Summary: Hornblower finally gets a big ship to command and knows what to do with it. Things I liked: The way the character sizes up the other characters, some people would see this as cheap exposition, but I think it tells you a lot about Hornblowers view of the world and is not just a plot device. The way the author keeps managing to find new challenges for the character no matter where he is in the chain of command. Not just more of the same. Things I thought could be improved: Cliffhangers I think are a bit cheap as a way to end a book. If I didn't have the next one ready to go I'd be a bit upset. Hightlight: This reads like the sophomore effort it is: while some of Hornblower's trademark brilliance makes an appearance, most of the book is a slog through the horrors and stupidities of war. Forester is clearly trying not to duplicate his first book but is just as clearly unsure how to tell a different sort of story and still entertain. Because this is only rarely entertaining. Hornblower is awake to the psychological toll of war, but reading as he destroys the livelihoods of French civilians or accomplishes the Napoleonic war equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel is painful at best. Add in the constant hum of Hornblower's romantic angst, his admiral's incompetence, and the last ten pages of death, death, and more death—capped by a morose cliffhanger ending—and it's no wonder this is my least favorite of the series so far. Very good as far as Hornblower books go—but that's not saying much. Lots of action; in one three-day period Hornblower launches about a dozen different attacks. The glorification of war, usually one-sided slaughters (e.g., 500 enemy men versus two pigs) is rather disturbing. Hornblower is a superhero (to whom Forester tries to give some humanity with extremely clumsy writing), but still. It is like Grand Theft Auto in a book, made worse by the historical fiction setting, and Forester's pretense of gravity. > The toast was drunk with a murmur of approval while Hornblower blushed and stammered. The admiration of men whose approval he valued was overwhelming; more especially as now he was beginning to realize that he had won it under false pretenses. Only now was the memory returning to him of the sick fear with which he had waited the Natividad's broadsides, the horror of mutilation which had haunted him during the battle. He was one of the contemptible few, not like Leighton and Elliott and Bolton, who had never known fear in their lives. If he had told the whole truth, told of his emotions as well as of the mere maneuvers and incidents of the fight, they would be sorry for him, as for a cripple, and the glory of the Lydia's victory would evaporate. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesBelongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inCaptain Hornblower R. N.: Hornblower and the Atropos / The Happy Return / A Ship of the Line by C. S. Forester Captain Horatio Hornblower (Hornblower and the Atropos; The Happy Return; A Ship of the Line; Flying Colors) by C. S. Forester A Ship of the Line / Flying Colours / The Commodore / Lord Hornblower / Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies by Cecil Scott Forester Is abridged inHas as a student's study guideAwardsNotable Lists
May, 1810 and thirty-nine-year-old Captain Horatio Hornblower has been handed his first ship of the line. Though the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland is 'the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy' and a crew shortage means he must recruit two hundred and fifty landlubbers, Hornblower knows that by the time Sutherland and her squadron reach the blockaded Catalonian coast every seaman will do his duty. But with daring raids against the French army and navy to be made, it will take all Hornblower's seamanship and stewardship to steer a steady course to victory and home. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.912Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1901-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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