Lieutenant Hornblower

By: C.S. Forester

Narrated by: Patrick Macnee

The second act of the Hornblower saga is a gripping, rip-roaring tale of turmoil and triumph on the high seas. With new responsibilities thrust upon him, a young Lieutenant Hornblower is now fully in command of a ship for the first time. Faced with the challenges of near-mutiny, bloody hand-to-hand combat, deck-splintering sea battles, and the violence and horrors of life aboard the fighting ships in Napoleonic Wars, Hornblower must find a way to endure and overcome, as only a hero of his stature can.

©1989 Wendell Minor; 1979, 1980 by Dorothy E. Forester; 1951, 1952 by C.S. Forester (P)1999 NewStar Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is quite a story, one of the best in the apparently limitless Hornblower series, and a pleasure...from beginning to end." (The New York Times)
"I recommend Forester to every literate I know." (Ernest Hemingway)

An Excellent Series

The Hornblower series were introduced to me by my dad. Since then I have read every book in the series. Once I was able to lay my hands on one of the books in the series in my high school and spent every library minute reading the book (they did not allow us to check out books of our choice at this school) till I was finished. I now own several in the series and have over the years picked up the nicer editions from good second hand book stores. I have yet to listen to them on tape or on audible. Now that I have discovered them on Audible i plan to get them for my dad who has now unfortunately gone blind (if i can only find a way to have him use this technology).
If you havent read them yet, i strongly recommend that you give them a try. But, they will grow on you and start and make it hard to stop! The wonderful writing and the descriptions of naval battles and life at the sea in the days of yore make this a most unforgettable series.

Fight On

#2 in the Hornblower saga. This one is told from the viewpoint of Bush, a senior LT, and Horatio's best buddy. It's action on the high seas in the 1790s for King and country. Good, fun, action. The reading seems a bit overacted and in particular, the female characters don't really have any depth. Bush seems pretty unimaginative and not worthy of future promotion. In the action against the "Dons", we see Hornblower at his best. I shall press on next month to #3

Lieutenant Hornblower

I was first introduced to Hornblower books while in grade school, I am now 51 years old and listing to this most excelent adaptation has made me wish to read the whole series again. The narration is excellent and it is a grand story. I would recomend this book to anyone who loves adventure books sea stories.

Terrible recording

The tinnyness of the recording is painful. But the performance is great. Could use a remastering.

Disappointing narration

Great story, but I felt that the characters were only partially developed and I blame that on the narrator, Patrick Macnee. After listening to the entire Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian as read by Simon Vance, I guess I became spoiled. Vance was wonderful. Macnee doesn't seem to connect to the characters. He is more interested, in my opinion, in hearing his own voice than in conveying a realistic conversation. I would like to listen to more of the Hornblower series, but only if I can find someone other than Macnee as a narrator.