Hornblower and the Crisis

By: C. S. Forester

Narrated by: Christian Rodska

Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible:

In this, the final Horatio Hornblower adventure, C.S. Forester throws his hero into one of the most challenging missions yet.

Upon discovering highly confidential papers dispatched by Bonaparte, Hornblower sets off to enlighten the Admiralty about his game-changing, new findings. Troubled after having been informed of Pierre-Charles Villeneuve's escape into Spain, they welcome Horatio's news and send him off on a high-priority assignment that they believe will lead to England's victory over Napoleon.

His first and only espionage mission, Hornblower lights the powder trail which will eventually lead to the battle of Trafalgar and with a myriad of unexpected twists and suspenseful turns, Hornblower and the Crisis becomes one of Forester's greatest works.

Hugely celebrated for his Napoleonic naval warfare series, and later for the publication of The African Queen, C. S. Forester came to writing much later than expected. Having originally studied medicine at Guy's Hospital, Forester first developed a love of story-telling after being inspired by his travels with the Royal Navy.

Stricken with arteriosclerosis whilst voyaging to the Bering Sea, C.S. Forester was crippled in his later life. Sadly, he passed away before completing this final instalment, but his plans for Hornblower and he Crisis were clearly set out within his detailed notes. These can be found at the end of the audiobook and serve to offer further insight into the mind of this incredible author.

Narrator Biography

Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970's series Follyfoot.

From the The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator.

He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.

©1967 C.S. Forester (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Fast paced, Excellent story and very well read

The Reader- Christian Rodska is the star of this book. Very well read with great pace and excitement. This is probably a favourite so far (reading in chronological order of Hornblowers career). Very believable story with neat twists that tie this story to the real history of the day. Forester does a fantastic job of keeping this work of fiction in tune with historic events. So much so it is easy to believe (almost understand) how the fictional Hornblower influenced the histroy of the RN and the battle of Trafalger.

I didn't realise how short this title was

and three unconnected stories - this was disappointing. the main story is unfinished (due to Forrester's death).

My favorite so far~

If you could sum up Hornblower and the Crisis in three words, what would they be?

It is a work of ingenuity, teamwork and triumph!

What did you like best about this story?

Hornblower back from the courts martial finds himself aboard a water hoy as a transport back to Whitehall along with First Leftenant Bush and the new captain of Hornblower's "late" ship. When the French attack the water hoy, men from different stations and all walks of life band together and fight the French. Their ability to rub along well under fire and carry the day is very uplifting!

What does Christian Rodska bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

C.S. Forester is wonderful at character development. Christian Rodska takes that a step further and brings these people to life.

If you could rename Hornblower and the Crisis, what would you call it?

Hornblower and the Emperor's Signature

Any additional comments?

"Hornblower and the Crisis" delves into the intricacies of all that might have happened behind the scenes during the Napoleonic wars.

Exciting, but over priced.

Christian Rodska beautifully narrates another Hornblower, but as the story is incomplete (due to Forester's death) and only running about three hours long, $11.50 feels a bit over priced. Adding a short story about Hornblower as a signal Lieutenant on the Renown hardly takes away the sting. Worth it for a die hard Hornblower fan.

Not complete, but a must-read!

This book is a "must read" for the C.F.Forester enthusiast... so i had to read it. Yes, it does end abruptly (because the author dyed before finishing), but the end of the plot is explained from Foresters notes, so one still gets the story, and even some surprises from Hornblowers life at the age of 70.
This book was written as a very late book 4, long after the many books to follow were written. For me it’s interesting to read Foresters ideas of what happened in Hornblowers life at this time.
One can easily skip this book to understand and enjoy the Hornblower series, but for the "serious collector" this is a book to read.

Captivating. great writing.

Where does Hornblower and the Crisis rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

a little less than some of this C.S. Forester series but it fills in some of Hornblower's life as an English Sailor.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Great Book

My only gripe with this book is that it could have used a second introduction into the short stories. I was thoroughly confused at first and had no idea what happened. A simple introduction would have been appreciated. Aside from that it was another wonderful tale expertly read by Rodska. I really enjoy his readings of Hornblower.

Unfinished story plus 2 short stories

To begin, let me clarify that the main part of this book is an unfinished story as the author died while writing it. I wasn't sure what to expect but this story reads like a regular Hornblower book until it suddenly stops, and the narrator explains that the author died before it was finished and then the narrator says that that the author's notes give us an idea how it was supposed to end, and the narrator gives us an extremely brief - maybe 30 seconds - synopsis of how the story was supposed to play out. Two short stories are included, one of which takes place when Hornblower is a very young junior officer and the other when he was old and the Admiral of the Fleet. Readers should also understand that while this book is the 4th book in terms of event chronology, it is actually (obviously) the last Hornblower book that Forester wrote. In the unfinished story, Hornblower is caught in an unexpected and desperate sea battle while a passenger on a civilian British ship along with a group of navy officers and men who had been rescued from a navy ship that had sunk. In the battle, Hornblower and the English were the victors but they had to abandon the French ship due to French sailors below deck who were about to swarm the English. In his escape he found French papers which he took to the British admiralty. The admiralty and Hornblower then hatched a plan to forge documents to draw out the French fleet from their Spanish port that eventually led to the Battle of Trafalgar. Forester died when Hornblower was still meeting with the admiralty, so that is as far as the story got. In the first short story, young Hornblower was in charge of hanging an Irish mutineer and rebel and then sleuthed down some information about him. In the second short story, the aged Hornblower encounters one of Napoleon Bonaparte's descendants. This book is difficulty to rate since it is unfinished due to the author's death. The stories are great for what they are, but do understand what this is, so be prepared to be somewhat left hanging.

Worth it.

Wish it could have been finished. I like how they more or less said how it would have ended. Short stories at the end were nice but it would be better if they were placed in chronological order with the series.

Incomplete

This is an incomplete Hornblower book. I was disappointed I did not know this.

This story starts out as expected but abruptly ends in the middle. I understand that CS Forester died before it was completed. There is a brief, partial completion of the open plot points based on notes that Forester left. The transition from completed text to summary didn’t adequately prepare me and I found it unsatisfying.

There are also two short stories, one when Hornblower is young sailor, the second when he is retired. Interesting enough but unrelated to the main text.