The first Hornblower novel I read. I loved the series: action, romance, etc. I read a few others too. ( )

What I liked about the book:

The character of hornblower: is quite interesting as adventure heroes go. I found myself reflecting from time to time on his extreme and sometimes bipolar characteristics.

Naval manuevers: to the extent a land lubber like me could appreciate this sort of thing I found his descriptions of naval manuevers and Hornblowers ingenuity to be very engaging, page-turny sort of stuff. I recently read "The Perfect Storm" and some of the maritime concepts seemed to carry over (which I guess is a good thing given that previous book is roughly nonfiction).

What I thought could have been improved:

I would have appreciated a glossary of naval terms and explanations of certain maritime assumptions, as a lot of stuff is taken for granted. I tended to dip into wikipedia a bit as I read which certainly enhanced my enjoyment of the material.

Overall: Slow sea battles are made gripping by the well executed writing. ( )

Justo después de casarse, Hornblower se hace de nuevo a la mar para intervenir en el bloqueo de la costa francesa y recabar información de los movimientos de la flota napoleónica. Además, tiene la orden no escrita de no hacer nada para evitar un conflicto con Francia que desemboque en una guerra declarada. El Canal de la Mancha es un escenario de lo más apropiado para que Hornblower muestre su pericia como marino, sobre todo en las maniobras nocturnas, pero además tiene ocasión de hacer gala de su talento militar y de sus innatas dotes para intervenir en misiones secretas. Una novela que combina a la perfección las escenas bélicas con una apasionante trama de espionaje militar.

A compelling voyage on the Hotspur with Captain Hornblower at your side, what fun! ( )

This entry in the series teeters on three stars entirely due to the agonies of Hornblower's mésalliance. Any mention of Maria brought the energy and momentum of the story to a crashing halt, not least because it is impossible to either respect or pity Hornblower when confronted with his behavior and attitude toward her. I'm sincerely hoping there is much, much less of his domestic drama in the following books...or that Maria does the sensible thing and leaves him for a doting swain bound for America. ( )