Rating: 
Summary: Ships, bravery, and men of the sea.
Review: Lieutenant Hornblower is sent to the West Indies with Lieutenant Bush and the HMS Renown. They are involved in a sticky business with the Spanish who are allied with the French and revel slaves to stir things up. After taking Spanish prize vessels a gang of prisoners takes over the Renown and Hornblower is forced to capture it back. Hornblower's wit, bravery, and leadership saves the day. In the end the captain is killed and Hornblower is the hero. Returning to England he marries Maria, probably his only mistake but in life who are we to judge. One of the best part of the whole Hornblower series is the accuracy and detail with which the life aboard vessels is depicted. You can almost feel the deck pitch.
Rating:
Summary: 1st Rate Book
Review: Lieutenant Hornblower, 2nd in the series, was a super great read. It is full of action; from a crazy ship captain to a land assualt on a fortified fort. Throughout the story, Hornblower again, and again, rises up to meet the challenges that confront him. Without spoiling the book for readers that haven't read it yet, this was one super good book. To give you an idea of how enjoyable this book was; After reading only part of this book, I went ahead and ordered the rest of the books in the series; that is how much I enjoyed this book! I enjoyed the 1st book in the series, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. I became addicted to this book! You will not be disappointed in reading this one! I can't wait to read the next one; Hornblower and the Hotspur.
Rating:
Summary: 1st Rate Book
Review: Lieutenant Hornblower, 2nd in the series, was a super great read. It is full of action; from a crazy ship captain to a land assualt on a fortified fort. Throughout the story, Hornblower again, and again, rises up to meet the challenges that confront him. Without spoiling the book for readers that haven't read it yet, this was one super good book. To give you an idea of how enjoyable this book was; After reading only part of this book, I went ahead and ordered the rest of the books in the series; that is how much I enjoyed this book! I enjoyed the 1st book in the series, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. I became addicted to this book! You will not be disappointed in reading this one! I can't wait to read the next one; Hornblower and the Hotspur.
Rating:
Summary: Wooden Ships and Iron Men!
Review: No greater recommendation can be made than to note that the intrepid and honorable Horatio Hornblower is given as one of the great influences in the life of that other most-famous fictional Captain, one James Tiberius Kirk.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Renowned Officer in Naval Fiction
Review: Surely, Horatio Hornblower is the most gallant of all in historical fiction. Throughout all the Hornblower novels, C.S Forester introduce us the naval career of Hornblower. Despite Hornblower's sad family background, he endures the hardship of life in the Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, when he starts off as a Midshipman. Through the years, he gains reputation- the "Terror of the Mediterranean". In Lieutenant Hornblower, he suffers under the command of the crazy Captain Sawyer. Although he is the Junior Lieutenant, he saves the ship from the batteries of Samana, by coming up with his ingenious ideas. Near the end, they are in danger of declared guilty of mutiny.
Rating:
Summary: A place to go when the web is down
Review: The Hornblower series.... you won't come back until you finish them all, no matter what the web does.
Rating: 
Summary: good dynamic characters amid turbuluent times
Review: The second book in the Hornblower series the action and the tension in the book made living on a ship of the line more exciting than in reality. Usually serving on a boat, you'd expect to do tedious duties with nothing else except endless ocean across the horizon to look at in the distance. Couple that with the unpleasantness of living conditions aboard a ship of that age with no running water, toilets, or knowledge about contemporary hygiene as well as being commanded by a strict and almost tyrannical command structure and its no wonder that the Royal Navy had to recruit their seamen by force through press gangs.
The book's plot tells the story from the perspective of Lieutenant William Bush who had just been assigned to the ship Renown. It is here that he meets Hornblower and go on their crew's secret assignment only known by a suspiciously psychotic captain who thinks that the other officers are planning against him. There is a sense of tension between the captain and his officers as well as injustices that the captain inflicts upon his subordinates. There is also a first lieutenant on board, Buckland, that has served that position for a long time and through his personality the reader will soon realize why he will always be a first lieutenant. Forester has a good vision of putting characters together and making them interact in interesting situations. In reading this book you get to see the personalities of these characters take shape and it is these personalities that direct the plot. About two-thirds of the book was interesting but the last third fizzled and didn't have action at all. Considering that the book is part of a series, the last third was setting up the premise for the next book. But if you read this book on its own you would be disappointed with the ending as the climax of the story happened about a hundred pages before the ending. I consider myself a fan of Forester and I still like the book. Nevertheless, for a casual reader this probably wouldn't be as interesting.
Rating:
Summary: good dynamic characters amid turbuluent times
Review: The second book in the Hornblower series the action and the tension in the book made living on a ship of the line more exciting than in reality. Usually serving on a boat, you'd expect to do tedious duties with nothing else except endless ocean across the horizon to look at in the distance. Couple that with the unpleasantness of living conditions aboard a ship of that age with no running water, toilets, or knowledge about contemporary hygiene as well as being commanded by a strict and almost tyrannical command structure and its no wonder that the Royal Navy had to recruit their seamen by force through press gangs.
The book's plot tells the story from the perspective of Lieutenant William Bush who had just been assigned to the ship Renown. It is here that he meets Hornblower and go on their crew's secret assignment only known by a suspiciously psychotic captain who thinks that the other officers are planning against him. There is a sense of tension between the captain and his officers as well as injustices that the captain inflicts upon his subordinates. There is also a first lieutenant on board, Buckland, that has served that position for a long time and through his personality the reader will soon realize why he will always be a first lieutenant. Forester has a good vision of putting characters together and making them interact in interesting situations. In reading this book you get to see the personalities of these characters take shape and it is these personalities that direct the plot. About two-thirds of the book was interesting but the last third fizzled and didn't have action at all. Considering that the book is part of a series, the last third was setting up the premise for the next book. But if you read this book on its own you would be disappointed with the ending as the climax of the story happened about a hundred pages before the ending. I consider myself a fan of Forester and I still like the book. Nevertheless, for a casual reader this probably wouldn't be as interesting.
Rating:
Summary: The Dons don't stand a chance!
Review: The second installment of the Hornblower series builds on the title character in a different way than the first book, "Mr. Midshipman Hornblower." Instead of experiencing events through Horatio, we instead view his character through the eyes of Lieutenant Bush. And, instead of a collection of short adventures, the reader is submerged into an interesting series of connected events that further define the way Hornblower composes himself in the heat of battle.It is very rare that one comes across a sequel that is better than the first. Instead of building one character, you build two, and you build the one through the other. Aside from the wonderful array of descriptive adventures, Forester weaves new character relationships that are sure to drive further plot lines. This is a wonderful book, and is sure to keep the reader hooked on the series.
Rating:
Summary: The Dons don't stand a chance!
Review: The second installment of the Hornblower series builds on the title character in a different way than the first book, "Mr. Midshipman Hornblower." Instead of experiencing events through Horatio, we instead view his character through the eyes of Lieutenant Bush. And, instead of a collection of short adventures, the reader is submerged into an interesting series of connected events that further define the way Hornblower composes himself in the heat of battle. It is very rare that one comes across a sequel that is better than the first. Instead of building one character, you build two, and you build the one through the other. Aside from the wonderful array of descriptive adventures, Forester weaves new character relationships that are sure to drive further plot lines. This is a wonderful book, and is sure to keep the reader hooked on the series.
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