Rating: 
Summary: The last part of a magnificant career
Review: After the fall of Napoleon the British navy has less to do and is significantly decreased in size. Lord Hornblower gets posted as Admiral and commander-in-chief of all His Majesty's ships and vessels in the West Indies. Pirates and slave traders make up his main adversaries, with occasional troubles by revolutionaries. As usual Hornblower's rapier wit and brilliant strategy saves the day. There is plenty to like in Lord Hornblower, bravery and wit overcoming long odds at sea, adventures in politics and the splendor of the court. The saga continues.
Rating:
Summary: The last part of a magnificant career
Review: After the fall of Napoleon the British navy has less to do and is significantly decreased in size. Lord Hornblower gets posted as Admiral and commander-in-chief of all His Majesty's ships and vessels in the West Indies. Pirates and slave traders make up his main adversaries, with occasional troubles by revolutionaries. As usual Hornblower's rapier wit and brilliant strategy saves the day. There is plenty to like in Lord Hornblower, bravery and wit overcoming long odds at sea, adventures in politics and the splendor of the court. The saga continues.
Rating:
Summary: Hornblower's conclusion
Review: C.S Forester receives high praise for his writing style, complex Hornblower character, and stirring action scenes from the age of fighting sail. This is one of the shorter complete series by a major British author (although none of the American ones have reached 11 books). The series is uneven, the original wartime trilogy of complete and continuous novels undoubtedly the best part while the other books (the ones with "Hornblower" in their titles) include several (like this one) consisting of short stories, or containing extended land episodes, and one that is seriously unfinished ("Crisis"). Despite being written in a completely different order, it is fascinating to see how Forester was able to consistently develop Hornblower appropriately across the series. Here HH reflects on his career and values, and actually obtains some determined confidence in his final actions, although now largely confined to command of some rather pipsqueak boats in a post-war and ostensibly peaceful Caribbean. The writing is always excellent and the puzzles HH faces are always diabolically difficult, not least those of the heart.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 Howling Hurricanes for Horatio Hornblower!
Review: C.S. Forester was at his best when he stuck to the short story or novella sizes. Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies is a series of several short stories set during a 3 year period when HH is assigned command of the Royal Navy in the West Indies. What could go wrong in the West Indies at that time one wonders? After all, the Napoleonic and 1812 Wars were over. Britannia ruled the waves. What could go wrong? Well, lots could go wrong and does for HH in this charming collection of exciting short stories.Horatio Hornblower, now in his mid-40s with a wife and son in England, has to police the entire Caribbean for slavers and pirates with limited resources now that the world is at peace. Furthermore, he can't upset the sensibilities of the Americans who are laying down the Monroe Doctrine or the Spanish who have Simon Bolivar on their doorstep. Furthermore, the spectre of Bonaparte, defeated but still defiant in his St. Helena exile, still hangs over HH's head. In each of the short stories HH faces an apparently insoluble problem that he must solve in his usual self-doubting manner. By creating a group of short stories that covers the length of his assignment in the West Indies CSF managed to provide a more complete summation of HH's experiences than if he had tried to write the book as a novel. There is plenty of action in the novel although it's not as bloody as earlier efforts or anywhere near as bloody as Kent's efforts. HH has to think his way through problems not hack and slash his way through. It's also good as an HH reader to see that our hero has become a happier man after 25 years of war and sorrow. In Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies we have our hero enjoying himself as he does what he does best and as only he can do it.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the Hornblower series.
Review: I am very sad to be at the end of the Hornblower series. There were a wonderful group of novels. The last one is the best. The writing was the best, it got much more into the characters, it had at sea adventure, a little intrigue and a surprise turn or two. If only there were more novels in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Really, really disappointing
Review: I can hardly describe how atrocious I think this book is. When an author tries to make his hero seem intelligent simply by writing all the other characters as dullards, it can only be called lazy writing. The plots of most of the stories are obvious. The surprise endings come as no surprise,. The multiple threats to Hornblower's career never appear as anything more than plot contrivances. And by the way, when Hornblower gave his solemn word of honor to the French General, he WAS lying. The fact that his lie later turned into the truth in no way obviates the fact it was a breach of his honor. The fact no one knew he was lying should have made no difference, he knew he lied. I also didn't care for the character of Hornblower seeming to endlessly classify almost everyone he meets as slow, dull, pompous, or just plain stupid. I suppose it is just meant to highlight Hornblower's brilliance. But to me it just made Admiral Hornblower to be an egomaniac that he seems to have devolved to in in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Hornblower Connects with James Burke
Review: If you've read the other 10 in the Hornblower series, you're going to read this one, however it's less of the character we've come to love and rather more of a person walking the reader through the early events of the Industrial Revolution. I would recommend you to read, or see James Burke's Connection series (the first one)to understand some of the cultural history this book walks you through. As far as the character himself... the ending story is less believable.
Rating:
Summary: Peace has come but it is far from peaceful...
Review: In this tenth book of the Hornblower series we find Admiral Horatio Hornblower struggling to impose order in the aftermath of the wars. Stationed in the West Indies he has to take on pirates, revolutionaries, a hurricane and deal with Frenchmen who don't plan to give up JUST yet! Will Hornblower be able to keep the peace as while as his honor?
Rating:
Summary: Peace has come but it is far from peaceful...
Review: In this tenth book of the Hornblower series we find Admiral Horatio Hornblower struggling to impose order in the aftermath of the wars. Stationed in the West Indies he has to take on pirates, revolutionaries, a hurricane and deal with Frenchmen who don't plan to give up JUST yet! Will Hornblower be able to keep the peace as while as his honor?
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book, But a Low Point in the Series
Review: Like the first novel in the series, 'Mr. Midshipman Hornblower,' 'Admrial Hornblower in the West Indies,' is a collection of short stories rather than a single novel. And, like 'Mr. Midshipman,' it is one of the lower points in the series. 'Admiral Hornblower,' is the only Hornblower novel to take place during peacetime and so the action, where it is, seems a little forced. Lacking is the adventure of Hornblower braving the odds to meet an impossible objective. Instead, many of the stories focus on much more trivial aspects of Her Majesty's Navy. Of course this is still a Hornblower book by the master, C. S. Forester, and he doesn't leave the reader competely high and dry. The first story, by far the best, deals with Hornblower's attempt to intercept a French vessel bound for St. Helena. Hornblower must use all his cunning to stop the would-be liberators of Napoleon Bonoparte from his island prison. Also there are a some moving moments as Hornblower takes the time to relect on his brilliant career and years of service. A must read for fans of the series but certainly not Forester's best.
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