The Hornblower Series - C.S. Forester

I read about half of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels a few years ago, and was completely addicted to his tales of adventure on the high seas. The novels are amazing in their detailed description of life on a King's ship at the turn of the 19th century. They follow the two main characters through naval battles, political intrigue, domestic challenges, and international espionage.

Jack Aubrey is an up and coming British Royal Navy officer in the time of the Napoleonic wars. Stephen Maturin is his ship's surgeon, and sometime spy. Aubrey is a character who viewed the world in black and white. The needs and traditions of the service are always foremost in his mind. For Maturin, the world is a much more complex place. The Maturin character in particular gives these novels a depth that allow the O'Brian novels to exist as something more than great stories.

C.S. Forester's novels were the inspiration for the O'Brian works, so I had to give them a shot. I started on Christmas Eve, and have read 6 books so far. The only reason I'm writing this entry, and not reading the next one is that the bookstore is closed right now!

Forester's Hornblower novels lack the depth of the O'Brian books, but stand as truly great stories. The O'Brian works are very enjoyable reads, but the later novels suffer from too much exposition on the tedium of life ashore. This may appeal to some, but I eventually lost interest in the series. No such problems with Hornblower. Horatio Hornblower is like Jack Aubrey without the boring home life! So far, every book is packed with action. If you enjoy historical fiction, these books will not disappoint.

Still in the queue:

• Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point
• Nick Hornby's Housekeeping vs. The Dirt
• David Liss' A Conspiracy of Paper
• Carl Hiaasen's Sick Puppy
• Bob Dylan's Chronicles Volume One
• Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities