Hornblower and the "Atropos"

By: C.S. Forester

Narrated by: Patrick Macnee

In the wake of a humbling incident aboard a canal boat in the Cotswolds, young Captain Horatio Hornblower arrives in London to take command of the Atropos, a 22-gun sloop barely large enough to require a captain. Her first assignment under Hornblower's command is as flagship for the funeral procession of Lord Nelson. But soon the Atropos is part of the Mediterranean Fleet's harassment of Napoleon, recovering treasure that lies deep in Turkish waters and boldly challenging a Spanish frigate several times her size. At the center of each adventure is Hornblower, Forrester's most inspired creation, whose blend of cautious preparation and spirited executive dazzles friend and foe alike.Copyright ©1962 C.S. Forester; Copyright ©1999 NewStar Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Hornblower was never in better form." (San Francisco Chronicle)
"Vivid...intense and exciting." (New York Times Book Review)

Unabridged?

Great book, I only wish it was the unabridged version.

I have always loved this novel. I thoroughly enjoy Patrick McNee's voice in reading these books.

I would like to download these recording in MP3 format so that I may load them on my MP3 player. I so dislike using up my cellphone battery to listen to audiobooks.

Gripping story

Loved the story and the performance! Full of adventure, heart, excitement. A very captivating tale.

Salvage Ops

This book is a series of Hornblower adventures. The junior captain saves Nelson's funeral procession, recovers treasure from Turkish waters and captures a Spanish ship of the line. I particularly enjoyed the salvage operation...use of Ceylonese divers, probably without artificial air--wow! None of the familiar characters, except Maria and the kids are part of this book--perhaps showing our hero's growing independence. I read this book while riding San Diego's Hornblower Cruises looking for whales--avast, thar she blows! The staff was clueless about the literary origination of their company name.

A bit too cartoonish.

I would have preferred this without all the musical interludes between chapters. Also the narration bordered on cartoonish in a lot of ways. Christian Rodska has to be my favorite Hornblower narrator. I wish this was available with him.