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Lieutenant Hornblower cover art

Lieutenant Hornblower

By: C. S. Forester
Narrated by: Christian Rodska
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Summary

Exclusively from Audible:

Having now paid his dues as midshipman, Horatio Hornblower returns as a newly promoted Lieutenant, in the second instalment of C.S. Forester's beloved naval series.

In this new adventure, Hornblower is overjoyed to discover his next task is to serve aboard the mighty HMS Renown. After witnessing some unsettling scenes however, he soon finds himself struggling to serve under the captain, James Sawyer, whose unsound mind leads him to treat his crew with extreme suspicion and contempt.

As talk of mutiny is abound, the tension rises and Hornblower is forced to make impossible decisions in an effort to unite the crew and avert further disaster by defeating the Spanish.

Introducing a much-desired element of romance to the series, Horatio encounters the beautiful and seductive Maria, who sends him on an altogether different but equally enticing escapade.

Hailed by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Sir Winston Churchill for being 'admirable and vastly entertaining,' C.S. Forester became a hugely influential 20th Century author.

Born in Cairo, raised in London and buried in California, the metropolitan writer experienced huge success with his Horatio Hornblower series as well as with his later works, The African Queen and The Good Shepherd.

His literary genius is perfectly encapsulated within this endlessly entertaining narrative, and his heroic protagonist draws us in to another titillating journey through the Napoleonic wars.

Narrator Biography

Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970's series Follyfoot.

From the The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator.

He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.

©1952 Cassette Productions (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Lieutenant Hornblower

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Loved this!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I enjoyed this book SO much. It's well-written, beautifully performed, and just immersed me in another world. I had to ration myself, otherwise I would have listened to the whole book at one sitting!

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6 people found this helpful

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History Revisited!

Discovering that this series is available on Audible has been a sheer joy so far. The stories seems just as fresh and entertaining as they did when I read them decades ago. Of course part of this is down to the excellent Christian Rodska who I swear has salt water running through his veins, he is simply the best when it comes to narrating historical naval fiction.

I can see a few credits being spent on Mr Hornblower's adventures!

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4 people found this helpful

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excellently read.

Not my favourite in the series, but a good read leading to the excellence ahead, and made so by the narrator.

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3 people found this helpful

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Hornblower Hots Up

I had not been entirely convinced by the first book in the Hornblower series - just didn't engage with the principle character. Also, for me, the technical details of the naval life rather leave me cold. That's purely a matter of personal preference of course. However, in this second installment, the action and interest hots up a fair bit. It is also interesting to see Hornblower from a different perspective, which Forrester achieves by writing the story entirely from the point of view of one of his fellw officers. In common with the first book it is proficiently and engagingly narrated.

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2 people found this helpful

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Brilliant Book!!!

Absolutely love this book, not to do any spoilers but the part of the book concerning a particular captain of a particular ship hornblower was serving on has always made me a tad uncomfy as it's supposed to do I suppose. A large amount of the book isn't about incredible heroic deed and what not but more to do with cool thinking under the worst of conditions as it's was undoubtedly in that time. ofcourse that's only my opinion but still great book and can't wait to start the next one!

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Escapism at its finest!

Hornblower and Bush make excellent protagonists with both human short comings and admirable traits which serve to make them endearing and realistic. The plot is well thought out and compliments the rich characters. The book contains action and adventure as well as the detail which history and naval enthusiasts will love. Perfect for a long drive or while in the office, to take your mind from the regular day to day. Simply plug in and soar above the waves of the warm Caribbean sea with the brave men of HMS Renown

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Good!

Certainly an improvement on previous book, has a better plot that is more involved in the history.

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1 person found this helpful

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Happy reunion

I read all the Hornblower books years ago and am now thoroughly enjoying them again via Christian Rodska’s excellent narration.

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A great listen ....

Thoroughly enjoyable escapades with Lieutenant Hornblower, expertly narrated by Christian Rodska. While I knew of the Hornblower books, I have only recently started to listen to them, and wish I had done so sooner.

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A good old swash buckle

Brilliant performance with convincing ascents. Made the characters come to life. All in all a good tale well told.

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