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the gunner

I recommend this to ex-Marines who can read. Book 3 in the Hornblower Saga

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2014

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Hornblower and the Hotspur
This is the third book in the Hornblower Saga following Lieutenant Hornblower This book opens with Hornblower getting married to Maria. Hornblower may be able to face canon fire without fear, but he is just incapable of facing a crying woman who wants to marry him.
An irony here is that while the British are being "pressed" into service as seamen, Hornblower is being "pressed" into marriage.
Hornblower is given command of the sloop Hotspur
He is tasked with the mission of reconning (going on a reconnaissance mission) France's primary naval station in Brest. Brest is still an important naval base for France even today according to my information.
Hornblower shows a remarkable talent for ferreting out information from the French without his sources even knowing that they have been used by a master spy or Hornblower's men figuring out how he learned certain information.
Hornblower distinguishes himself in action once again but runs into trouble with the god, Neptune. The winter weather turns ugly.
I highly recommend this book and the entire series to fans of David Weber's Honor Harrington series the first of which is On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington) , naval adventure fans and ex-Navy people (a Marine who can read, might, also enjoy it.

Gunner March, 2014

P.S. Hey, I'm ex-army. We love to harass the jar-heads! During Viet Nam we were reluctant to let them play with the claymore mines, A claymore mine is a directional mine that has TOWARDS ENEMY in raised letters on one side. That doesn't work if you can't read English!
Later

The next book is Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)

PTA45

On the rise

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2020

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Hornblower shows us his quality as master and commander of a small ship that distinguishes itself in a series of adventures against Napoleon's imperial navy. We learn why his Commander in Chief sees fit to grant Hornblower a promotion, with the possibility of future exploits at higher levels of command. There's more to come for this fine young officer.

zorba

Five Stars, Of course

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2015

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One of life's true joys is sitting back and reading a Horatio Hornblower book. This wonderful character -- on one hand a naval genius and on the other, an instrospective, incredibly human leader -- commands a small warship charged with keeping Napoleon's fleet penned-up in the French harbor of Brest, preventing any possibility of a naval attack on England. Forester is amazing in his knowledge of the sailing ships and naval crews of that era. While we marvel at Hornblower's audacity and skill when confronting the enemy, we are reminded that Forester is the one who creates the scenarios and is to be saluted for their originality and execution, if not their genius. And it's not all war at sea: In this book Hornblower gets married and suffers the heartache of separation experienced by most sailors who spend long months at sea, away from their loved ones. I've read nearly all of the Hornblower books and have not been disappointed by any of them.

Tetsu

Another fine Hornblower Saga!

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2016

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I have been a Hornblower follower for decades. This was a late development in the saga and covers the period when Hornblower was reappointed as a commander and given a sloop of war to command both before and after the Treaty of Amiens. It covers many activities, blockade, raids ashore, bad weather and technical developments of the Royal Navy at the start of the 19th Century. It also adds the distraction, so called, of Hornblower now being married and having to worry about his domestic as well as professional lives. In all, it is an excellent writing and should be in the library of everyone who is interested in the Hornblower Saga.

Strydr

A lifelong companion

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2012

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When I was in elementary school, Idiscovered one of the Hornblower books serialized in a magazine. I believe it was The Saturday Evening Post that became the object of contention between my father and I. Since I usually got home before he did, the latest installment usually fell to me first. It was all moot since I'd usually finished reading it by the time he got home. The local library had copies of the original novel, so I was able to get a large dose of Hornblower at a very early age and have loved the franchise ever since.
The characters are skillfully drawn and well rounded. The plots and subplots mesh well and the action is realistically presented. The dialogue is quaintly flavored but not stilted.
All in all, the series of which this book is a part is the gold standard of "Age of Sail" writing. I've read voraciously in the genre and found others who approach but none that surpass Forester's Hornblower.

solanco

The One Star Rating is for Amazon

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2020

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This was ordered in error. All I wanted was the Kindle ebook. NOT Audible no no no.

Still Amazon delivered it to my (speakerless) Kindle.

No way to return or get credit for that I can find.

Rhino

The Bolitho series by Kent is better

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2015

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The Bolitho series by Kent is better, in my opinion. I immediately found an error in one of the battle maneuvers in this book (when the enemy is dead behind you, you don't load and run out the starboard guns and then turn to port. Bringing your unloaded guns to bear!).

With either of these books you will want to get a copy of "A Sea of Words" which is essentially an illustrated dictionary of all the nautical terms and other details about that period in history. The Bolitho books don't stop to explain what a "fid" is or that a "spotted dick" is a particular dish with raisins in it.

Avid Reader.

He has done it again!

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2020

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This book is worth its weight. The hero, Commander Hornblower, has covered himself with glory again. Not bad for the writer, it might be added. A fine story with a fine proponent.

Top reviews from other countries

Mr. Roger P. Walker

Gripping yarns - if you can read them.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2020

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I bought this compilation because I was missing one book. Sadly the publishing is poor as the paper is so thin that the reverse text shows through and makes the small print very difficult to read.
The words though are classic Hornblower - gripping yarns.

Alan C

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2020

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Griping story well-told, impression of total accuracy of life in the Royal Navy in the Nelson age.

Can’t wait to read the follow-on

Scouselad

The saga continues

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 1, 2018

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Forester has the ability to take you along with Hornblower, living his life with him. On to the next chapter

Dr Bob

Great read!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2018

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Loved it! Great read and kept the interest right the way through. Ready for the next book straight away. Some good twists in the story that are unexpected and work really well

Happy guy.

Very readable.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2020

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Great adventures.

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