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Summary: Headstrong Bravado in the Royal Navy
Review: In CS Forester's first book of the now famous HORATIO HORNBLOWER series, the resourceful hero acquires his sea legs--plus the respect of some of his superiors and peers. Young, unpredictable, quick to anger and self-reproach, he grows to love the life of a seaman in majesty's 18th century service. When not outsmarting the Frogs or the Dons, HH dazzles seasoned naval officers with incredible daring and brazen foolhardiness--which often succeed! Although a raw youth of 17, he learns to swallow his pride as he metes out his own self-punishment--in rough and ready maritime morality. Forester points out the benefits of linguistic skills, as his hero is pitted against a pompous French captain and a wily Spanish Don. His adventures in this debut novel run the gamut of foreign intrigue, shipboard politics, and naval life in general--all served up with an extra measure of human nature. Thanks to Forester's remarkable knowledge of the maritime milieu, the entire series offers readers great details about various types of ships, national differences on the high seas, and the inevitable internal and foreign affairs. An underlying theme emerges re the responsibility and fitness of those in command. This is one delightful swashbuckler which will appeal to boys (and women) of all ages! Set your sights on Adventure!
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Summary: Better than the movies
Review: There are few books I enjoy reading more than the Hornblower book (OK NO BOOKS.) This one starts you off on the right track. Right from the start you see, unlike the movies, hornblower as the tragic caluclator. Calculating the way out of his torment, Calculating the true "EVEN CHANCE" (One Pistol Loaded One not.) These short stories set a fine tone for the rest. Forester lets his character develop here to grow the man that would command the books in his novel already written. Each story builds more of the "hornblower" way from decisive and caluclation action to his own judgement of himself which is always the harshist. The advantage of several short stories allows several short reads. Like a fisherman these stories bait the reader. By the end we are hooked and ready for LIEUTENANT HORNBLOWER. Read and enjoy
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Summary: Superb start
Review: This is the start (biographically speaking) to the thrilling Horatio Hornblower series set in the British navy at the culmination of the Age of Fighting Sail two centuries ago. Here are 10 short stories that fill out the early background for the original Capt. Hornblower trilogy (Beat to Quarters, et seq.). Each story reveals a successive character-forming or -revealing stage in Hornblower's emergence from abject misery, through disaster, small success, and capture, to a leader with a passion for action. Curiously, however, we learn nothing of his family or who bought his way aboard ship. Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series may take you authentically deeper into the lives and concerns of able sailors and quarterdeck commanders, but no one's prose scintillates like Forester's. His writing is flowing, precise, colorful, and atmospheric. With stirring descriptions and flashes of humor, he leaves a tingle of pride in Hornblower's excellence and goodness amidst a harsh and butcherous, but passionate, world. (Dewey Lambdin's LEWRIE rather exploits and revels in it instead.) Far from the boys' adventure stories of a bombastic figure I once thought would be Hornblower, he is shy and insecure (until gripped by a brilliant battle madness), and enmeshed in real historical situations and events (although their larger political contexts during the French revolution may not be so clear as in, for example, Woodman's rather gray DRINKWATER series). The Back Bay pb edition is appropriately old-fashioned in appearance. It lacks any "navigational aids," like ship diagrams or maps. Those who have finished Hornblower might want to keep an eye out for the vivid new series by Julian Stockwin entitled KYDD (and to avoid the new one by W.P.Mack). For the landsmen's view of the Napoleonic Wars there is, of course, Cornwell's outstanding SHARPE series.
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Summary: Not as good as I expected
Review: This book is a collection of stories about the first three years of Horatio Hornblower's career in the British Navy. Over the coarse of the book, we get to see him become involved in a number of adventures during the early 1800's. He takes over a captured ship and helps with fights on other ships and forts among other adventures. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this book. I really didn't like Hornblower's actions in the first story, and it took most of the book for me to get over that. The sailing terms could have used better explanations as well. Still, there were some entertaining moments in the book. I especially enjoyed the story where he went for his first test for the rank of lieutenant. I've heard enough positive things about the series that I will probably read the next one. But this book wasn't the engaging start to the series I expected.
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Summary: Young Hornblower
Review: Midshipman Hornblower is a series of well crafted stories that bring to life the early Hornblower. The author succeeds brilliantly in depicting life in the Royal Navy at the end of the 18thC and also introduces us to Horatio as a promising young naval officer replete with his idiosyncracies and foibles. I was disappointed in the Duchess however as her behavior strains the bounds of credulity. No self-respecting Englishman of the late 18thC would have been caught dead (in public at least ) with this Duchess.
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Summary: The First in a great series...
Review: Maybe not best of the series, it is the first in the timeline and you may wish to read it first. It is set up as a series of short stories, so you can put it down and pick it up later, taking breaks between chapters without the 'flow' being broken. Hornblower is a amazing character, with both merits and some funny flaws, like getting seasick! His character is a balance between smarts and greed, fear of failure and a strong sense of honor. The books follow him as he goes up the ladder of command, each book's scope getting larger and the problems he faces becoming more and more complex. Other books you might enjoy, if you enjoy this series, is the 'Honor' series by David Weber (a sci-fi version of Hornblower, but pretty) and the large hardcover: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections Man-Of-War, which is great for understanding the ships and their crew. All the books, including the Hornblower books are something both young adults and older parents would love.
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Summary: One Midshipman of Another
Review: This was the first Hornblower book I ever read, assigned to me in my Literature of the Sea class at the U.S. Naval Academy during my Third class year. I had a great time, and since then I've read both "Lieutenant Hornblower" and "Hornblower and the Hotspur". This one has been my favorite so far (though the others are excellent as well). Ten excellent, consequent short stories that paint a picture of a 17 year old boy fresh out of prep school, thrust into battle almost immediately. Forester's style is excellent...by simply telling the story, he offers up the important lessons that Horatio must learn about command at sea. The way literature should be.
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Summary: Cleverly written
Review: In this book Forester truely shows of his genious in written and especially describing characters. The book starts out with young Horatio Hornblower joining England in the war against Napoleon and France and their alies like spain. It is much like a biographie of Hornblower. Even more since the characters are so extremley life like and totally believeable. This is a great book which I recommend.
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Summary: the adventure begins....
Review: Meet the young midshipman who will become the captain whom Gene Roddenberry used as a model for James Kirk. Well-written and very entertaining.
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Summary: Mr. Midshipman Hornblower: A Slow Start for the Series
Review: The 'Hornblower' novels by C. S. Forester are all consistently entertaining and fun, but the first novel in the series, 'Mr. Midshipman Hornblower,' is a rather slow start. Rather than a single novel, it is a series of short stories revolving around Hornblower's first years at sea. While the stories maintain that sense of adventure that are Forester's trademark, it lacks a consistency which is to be found in the later volumes. 'Mr. Midshipman Hornblower' is must reading for fans of the series but for those new to the 'Hornblower' novels perhaps a better introduction would be to read 'Lieutenant Hornblower,' the second novel of the series.
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