Kit
This is the second Hornblower book chronologically and the seventh in publication order, and it’s a fun read. It is the only book written from a point of view other than Hornblower’s, and if you’re familiar with the characters it’s interesting to see him from Bush’s point of view (and to take a break from some of Hornblower’s neuroses), and if you’re not, this choice still works in a “Nick in the Great Gatsby” kind of way.
Especially since the relationship between Bush and Hornblower is at the heart of this volume, and it was great to watch that develop. There’s a lot of tension in the first quarter with Captain Sawyer, and Forrester is a good enough writer to make the quieter parts near the end tense, too, and the middle has a lot of action, but it’s the growing friendship between the title and viewpoint characters that kept me invested.
(I will note that the way Maria is written towards the end is very “written by a man in the 1950s” and Bush’s PoV does not help, so that may be something to be aware of.)
This is a book I remember enjoying when I was younger and it was fun to revisit.
This is the second Hornblower book chronologically and the seventh in publication order, and it’s a fun read. It is the only book written from a point of view other than Hornblower’s, and if you’re familiar with the characters it’s interesting to see him from Bush’s point of view (and to take a break from some of Hornblower’s neuroses), and if you’re not, this choice still works in a “Nick in the Great Gatsby” kind of way.
Especially since the relationship between Bush and Hornblower is at the heart of this volume, and it was great to watch that develop. There’s a lot of tension in the first quarter with Captain Sawyer, and Forrester is a good enough writer to make the quieter parts near the end tense, too, and the middle has a lot of action, but it’s the growing friendship between the title and viewpoint characters that kept me invested.
(I will note that the way Maria is written towards the end is very “written by a man in the 1950s” and Bush’s PoV does not help, so that may be something to be aware of.)
This is a book I remember enjoying when I was younger and it was fun to revisit.