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| Mass market paperback, 315 pages Published 1981 (originally 1945) Acquired June 2008 Read January 2019 |
by C. S. Forester
1812
(Yes, that is exactly what it says on the title page of my 1981 Pinnacle Books edition.)
This is the first book in my reread of the Hornblower series that is not, in fact a reread. Unfortunately, it is clearly the worst of the Hornblower novels, confirming my suspicion that Forester made a mistake at the end of Flying Colours when he gave Hornblower everything he ever wanted: recognition, wealth, and love. Hornblower with recognition, wealth, and love is just not Hornblower, even if he does yearn to go to sea. Commodore Hornblower is the worst installment in the entire series. Unlike in the first three books, where Hornblower is cleverly making the best out of a bad situation, in this book, he commands a squadron and respect. His situation is actually quite nice! You could do a book about how commanding a squadron brings new challenges, but Forester doesn't; Hornblower seems to settle in quickly, without a problem.
Which is really symptomatic of the whole book. It never feels like anything's at stake. In Beat to Quarters, Forester made you feel like this one ship-to-ship battle was of the utmost importance. In Commodore Hornblower, we're constantly told that the war in the Baltic, and thus the whole war with Napoleon, depends on what Hornblower does. But one never really feels that anything significant depends on Hornblower cruising around lobbing bombs from safety and discovering hors d'oeuvres.
It is interesting to note how Forester pulls back from some of the elements of Flying Colours that were intended to wrap things up. In that book, Bush is promoted to captain, but we're told he'll work in a naval yard on account of his wooden leg. Here, he assumes command of an active-duty ship because, well, what's a Hornblower novel without Bush?
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