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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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Still enjoyable

This seemed to be written in a different style. Here Hornblower is more a supporting role as he flits in and out of scenes commanded by others and our knowledge of him comes from the observations of others. Still a good story though, packed with detail and interesting facts.

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Very much enjoyed

Books I have read many years ago brought to life by a great reading.
My life is very busy and listening to these books whilst on my walks with my dog mean that I am enjoying them all over again.

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Excellent delivery of the story.

Well paced and read with a feel for the narrative's action and emotional elements. I look forward to hearing more of this reader and Hornblower's adventures.

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great story. great reading

really good captivating story. Great vocal performances and accents. It draws you in completely.

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Better than I remembered

I enjoyed these as a boy and remembered them as swashbuckling, but hearing them again they are very well written, amusing, with three dimensional characters.

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Marvellous stuff

In slight contrast to the first book (Mr Midshipman Hornblower) where each chapter (broadly) deals with a different 'adventure', this book largely follows a single story from start through to end.

Again the characterisations are excellent - especially the wretchedly paranoid Captain Sawyer of The Renown. The book is told in large part from the perspective of Bush, another lieutenant on The Renown, superior to Hornblower.

I will avoid spoilers, but the plot is gripping from start to finish - made even more enthralling by the sad state Hornblower and his friend Bush find themselves in towards the end of the book.

Forrester lays the ground for future stories very effectively - so much so that the next in the series is already cued up on my 'listen' list :-)

The narration is outstanding - a first rate narrator makes such a huge difference to the enjoyment of the book.

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Great story, superbly read

Christian Rodska turns a good read into a brilliant listen! The story thunders along, all the characters are well portrayed and their voices clearly delineated. It couldn’t be done better!

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Great story brilliantly narrated

Loved these books for many years and it’s great revisit them again in this exciting format

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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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A More Comprehensive Story

I enjoyed this one more than the first as it seemed less hurreied and contained more descriptive detail than the first.

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