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Hornblower Saga: Chronological Order #8-11 omnibus
Admiral Hornblower: Flying Colours / The Commodore / Lord Hornblower / Hornblower in the West Indies
Step into C.S. Forester's classic seafaring tales about Horatio Hornblower from the author of The Good Shepherd, now a major-motion picture starring Tom Hanks'A joyous creation, a perfection in words. Young Hornblower is, simply, one of the most complete creations of character in fiction' Conn Iggulden, The IndependentJoin Horatio Hornblower and as he sets sail on a world of adventure, fighting against the ruthless Napoleonic France, taking command in the West Indies, and leading his squadron through the vicious seas.Hornblower shows his relentless courage time and time again in the face of battle, tackling times of trouble with his signature strength, resourcefulness, and with his squadron by his side.This omnibus edition · Flying Colours · The Commodore · Lord Hornblower· Hornblower in the West Indies
1117 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1966
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283 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Forester
236 books977 followersCecil Scott Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith, an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of adventure and military crusades. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, about naval warfare during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen (1935; filmed in 1951 by John Huston). His novels A Ship of the Line and Flying Colours were jointly awarded the 1938 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 22, 2021
loved it!!!!
September 12, 2024
A mixed bag. 4/5
The final four books in the Hornblower series: Flying Colours, The Commodore, Lord Hornblower and Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies.
A mixed bag. The first two books – Flying Colours and The Commodore – are brilliant and I would go so far as to say that The Commodore is the best Hornblower book. Excellent plot and interesting sub-plots, great action and intrigue, great accuracy and attention to detail, excellent tactical and strategic aspects and solid leadership lessons. Pretty much what you’d expect from Hornblower but now taken up a notch as he commands several ships rather than just one.
The final two books are still interesting but not as great and are the weakest two books in the Hornblower canon. The initial plot of Lord Hornblower is quite unengaging but becomes quite interesting after a while. However, Forester doesn’t seem to know when to end the book and it goes on well past its optimal end point.
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies feels subdued and doesn’t make for the high I was hoping the series would end on.
Individual book ratings:
• Flying Colours: 5/5
• The Commodore: 5
• Lord Hornblower: 4
• Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies: 3.5
The final four books in the Hornblower series: Flying Colours, The Commodore, Lord Hornblower and Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies.
A mixed bag. The first two books – Flying Colours and The Commodore – are brilliant and I would go so far as to say that The Commodore is the best Hornblower book. Excellent plot and interesting sub-plots, great action and intrigue, great accuracy and attention to detail, excellent tactical and strategic aspects and solid leadership lessons. Pretty much what you’d expect from Hornblower but now taken up a notch as he commands several ships rather than just one.
The final two books are still interesting but not as great and are the weakest two books in the Hornblower canon. The initial plot of Lord Hornblower is quite unengaging but becomes quite interesting after a while. However, Forester doesn’t seem to know when to end the book and it goes on well past its optimal end point.
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies feels subdued and doesn’t make for the high I was hoping the series would end on.
Individual book ratings:
• Flying Colours: 5/5
• The Commodore: 5
• Lord Hornblower: 4
• Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies: 3.5
August 29, 2021
Hornblower is too much
2.5 out of 5 stars.
Hornblower is perfect in every way that matters.
He is smart. Brave. Honest. ALWAYS makes the right decisions. Women love him. Men want to be like him. The unwashed masses adore him.
His only faults are that he is too hard on himself (boohoo), he doesn’t understand music (as if anyone cares) and that’s it really…
This particular collection was much worse than the previous books. Everything came too easy for him. He singlehandedly defeats the terrible tyrant Napoleon. (The British propaganda was a bit too much. It was much more believable when the young Hornblower wa fighting against bully shipmates, poverty, bureaucracy, the elements).
I should mention the love plot. It was fun in the first books when he was in a loveless, unsuitable marriage with a nagging mother in law (I am terrible). He is now married to a countess and loved by a score of other women. (Yawn)
The only saving grace of the books and the character is: his ideas + execution (I am a sucker for a plot that comes together nicely at the end) and the nautical setting.
2.5 out of 5 stars.
Hornblower is perfect in every way that matters.
He is smart. Brave. Honest. ALWAYS makes the right decisions. Women love him. Men want to be like him. The unwashed masses adore him.
His only faults are that he is too hard on himself (boohoo), he doesn’t understand music (as if anyone cares) and that’s it really…
This particular collection was much worse than the previous books. Everything came too easy for him. He singlehandedly defeats the terrible tyrant Napoleon. (The British propaganda was a bit too much. It was much more believable when the young Hornblower wa fighting against bully shipmates, poverty, bureaucracy, the elements).
I should mention the love plot. It was fun in the first books when he was in a loveless, unsuitable marriage with a nagging mother in law (I am terrible). He is now married to a countess and loved by a score of other women. (Yawn)
The only saving grace of the books and the character is: his ideas + execution (I am a sucker for a plot that comes together nicely at the end) and the nautical setting.
December 24, 2018
Four classic Hornblower tales from the latter part of his career. Bit of an odd selection, with only The Commodore being what you might call a typical Hornblower novel. Hornblower in the West Indies is particularly weak, being a collection of largely unconnected short stories. A bit of a sad end to the Hornblower saga, considering its general sheer magnificence.
February 16, 2019
Marvellous. I have loved the entire Hornblower series.
Loved the plots and detail of 18th century sailing. Struggle to like Hornblower for his obsession with appearances and his deliberate belittling of his subordinates. But the latter view I suppose is a consequence of living in the 21st rather than the 18th century. LP
Loved the plots and detail of 18th century sailing. Struggle to like Hornblower for his obsession with appearances and his deliberate belittling of his subordinates. But the latter view I suppose is a consequence of living in the 21st rather than the 18th century. LP
April 18, 2024
That's it. I'm done with Hornblower. The stories are mostly fine, but he is such a crashing humourless bore. He doesn't drink, he doesn't care about food, he's riddled with guilt and self-loathing, and he's horrible to his officers and men. No more sailing with this dullard - I'm back off to the Pacific with Jack and Stephen.
April 25, 2021
Gripping , Full of detail ,Enjoyable Drama unlimited ,Enjoy,Enjoy,Enjoy .
I Like Naval history despite this being stories of imagination linked to some factual events I was transported to the places and times so enjoyable.
I Like Naval history despite this being stories of imagination linked to some factual events I was transported to the places and times so enjoyable.
January 10, 2024
loose ends
The last book in the series was a collection of stories and lacked the cohesion of most of the other Hornblower books. It was good to find an answer to most of the unanswered questions in the earlier novels. Except for one…
The last book in the series was a collection of stories and lacked the cohesion of most of the other Hornblower books. It was good to find an answer to most of the unanswered questions in the earlier novels. Except for one…
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September 5, 2025Looks like this may be in a similar style as Shogun - entertaining but with a perfect main character who's a guy admired by all the guys and loved by the women.
The main reason why I didn't give this more of a chance is that it's not the beginning of the story.
The main reason why I didn't give this more of a chance is that it's not the beginning of the story.
August 12, 2018
Another solid read, well worth your time.
October 5, 2018
Good reads, with an ever twisting tale
October 13, 2018
A good read
A good read had not read hornblower for 40 years and really enjoyed catching up with his story. Next please
A good read had not read hornblower for 40 years and really enjoyed catching up with his story. Next please
February 16, 2020
One of the best series I've ever read. A masterpiece!
December 23, 2020
Good read, Forester could certainly tell a tale.
April 2, 2021
Great to read all the stories together. Lots of great detail but possibly not as good as the earlier books in the series.
October 22, 2021
Wonderful adventure stories. A delight from start to finish.
May 13, 2022
Great intersection with Napoleon's invasion of Russia.
January 30, 2024
just what the doctor ordered
Read Hornblower again -the first time in 50 years - as enjoyable now as then.
And here is five words.
Read Hornblower again -the first time in 50 years - as enjoyable now as then.
And here is five words.
May 31, 2012
First of all, I would want to know who edited this edition. There's missing letters, or even words, and in some cases just plain wrong words every 40 pages or so.
I'm also wondering why people chose to put Flying Colours at the beginning of this volume instead of at the end of a volume featuring The Happy Return and A Ship of the Line, considering these three volumes form the core trilogy of Hornblower's adventures. But then, they thought perhaps, that the mean cliffhanger at the end of Ship of the Line would ensure that people bought the next anthology too. Well, it worked in my case. Flying Colours alone is worth reading on. I loved reading about Hornblower completely out of his own element, as he has to work out his journey overland. And it's definitely something to see a naval fiction novel series temporarily turning into 3 Men in a boat (no dog).
I didn't like The Commodore quite as well, but that doesn't mean much. It may be missing the unique setting of Flying Colours, but then there's nothing wrong with the simply delivering more of the action the readers actually expect from a Hornblower novel: Our hero showing off all his cunning at exciting sea battles, stealthy ruses and running circles round the enemy. It's a joy. Not only do we get even more insight into Hornblower's relationship with Bush, but karma finally manages to bite our hero's behind for sleeping around too much. ;)
Lord Hornblower is a real blow to the guts. It starts innocently enough, but then leads the reader from the frail, first attempt at peace through Hornblower's darkest hours -- by far -- until Napoleon's ultimate defeat at Waterloo. The author doesn't shy from showing that war spares no one, and Hornblower is once again confronted with terrible, personal loss.
Hornblower in the West Indies is, much like Mr Midshipman Hornblower, a collection of short stories of varying quality. I guess I liked the first two and the last story best, while the bit with pirates appeared a bit strange and the story about the revolution in Venezuela fizzled out in an anticlimatic fashion.
I'm also wondering why people chose to put Flying Colours at the beginning of this volume instead of at the end of a volume featuring The Happy Return and A Ship of the Line, considering these three volumes form the core trilogy of Hornblower's adventures. But then, they thought perhaps, that the mean cliffhanger at the end of Ship of the Line would ensure that people bought the next anthology too. Well, it worked in my case. Flying Colours alone is worth reading on. I loved reading about Hornblower completely out of his own element, as he has to work out his journey overland. And it's definitely something to see a naval fiction novel series temporarily turning into 3 Men in a boat (no dog).
I didn't like The Commodore quite as well, but that doesn't mean much. It may be missing the unique setting of Flying Colours, but then there's nothing wrong with the simply delivering more of the action the readers actually expect from a Hornblower novel: Our hero showing off all his cunning at exciting sea battles, stealthy ruses and running circles round the enemy. It's a joy. Not only do we get even more insight into Hornblower's relationship with Bush, but karma finally manages to bite our hero's behind for sleeping around too much. ;)
Lord Hornblower is a real blow to the guts. It starts innocently enough, but then leads the reader from the frail, first attempt at peace through Hornblower's darkest hours -- by far -- until Napoleon's ultimate defeat at Waterloo. The author doesn't shy from showing that war spares no one, and Hornblower is once again confronted with terrible, personal loss.
Hornblower in the West Indies is, much like Mr Midshipman Hornblower, a collection of short stories of varying quality. I guess I liked the first two and the last story best, while the bit with pirates appeared a bit strange and the story about the revolution in Venezuela fizzled out in an anticlimatic fashion.
February 4, 2013
I've come late to the Hornblower series but am finding the stories just right for sandwiching between some compelling non-fiction or blood-curdling thrillers. I had no idea of the depth of the main character and am finding that to be one of the most interesting aspects of C.S. Forester's work.
Having brothers. these books were always around the house but I had put them down as swashbuckling adventures for the other sex. Which they are, but with a refinement and insight that give them appeal to anyone.
My suggestion: Don't let these rot on the bookshelves of adolescence but pull them out and ENJOY.
NOTE: I only review books that I can assign a 4 or 5 star to. I do this because I am also an author and I know how hard writers work to make their products enjoyable for readers. I don't want to discourage anyone who's had the fortitude and patience to write a book, nor do I want to praise them when I don't deem their book worthy.
Having brothers. these books were always around the house but I had put them down as swashbuckling adventures for the other sex. Which they are, but with a refinement and insight that give them appeal to anyone.
My suggestion: Don't let these rot on the bookshelves of adolescence but pull them out and ENJOY.
NOTE: I only review books that I can assign a 4 or 5 star to. I do this because I am also an author and I know how hard writers work to make their products enjoyable for readers. I don't want to discourage anyone who's had the fortitude and patience to write a book, nor do I want to praise them when I don't deem their book worthy.
September 3, 2016
The role of a Captain, Commodore and Admiral are necessarily more involved and complicated. In this book we see more of Hornblower trying to manage other and his inevitable annoyance when things aren't done quite as he would wish. There is also some interesting humanity displayed viz the cruelty of some punishments in the Navy; Hornblower clear does not like floggings and hangings, but some of the commanders under him clearly think differently.
On book sees him off Russia in the Baltic Sea, at the point when Napoleon takes war to Russia, where Hornblower essentially initiates the war.
In the last book he is C-in-C of the West indies station and the book is more focussed on relationships with others than on the sea-going side of things. It is interesting to note that even though a flag-officer he still gets directly involved in operations (or does this merely make better fiction).
A very good series which I really enjoyed.
On book sees him off Russia in the Baltic Sea, at the point when Napoleon takes war to Russia, where Hornblower essentially initiates the war.
In the last book he is C-in-C of the West indies station and the book is more focussed on relationships with others than on the sea-going side of things. It is interesting to note that even though a flag-officer he still gets directly involved in operations (or does this merely make better fiction).
A very good series which I really enjoyed.
August 31, 2016
Daring exploits during the Napoleonic Wars and their aftermath reward Horatio Hornblower with honours. As ever, Horatio contrives to be at the right place at the right time to influence world events. His bold, strategic approach brings recognition and many admirers but success is often at personal cost to those whom Horatio holds dear. Dramas in his personal life lead eventually to a measure of happiness and contentment.
July 24, 2011
The final four Hornblower novels in this collection, comprising:
Flying Colours
The Commodore
Lord Hornblower
Hornblower in the West Indies
Nice way to round out the whole series (itself consisting of 3 multi-novel books: "The Young Hornblower", "Captain Hornblower, R.N", and now this)
Flying Colours
The Commodore
Lord Hornblower
Hornblower in the West Indies
Nice way to round out the whole series (itself consisting of 3 multi-novel books: "The Young Hornblower", "Captain Hornblower, R.N", and now this)
June 6, 2022
Read 'Flying Colours'; The Commodore; Lord Hornblower; Hornblower in the West Indies.
The Commodore comes to a very abrupt and unsatisfactory ending - or this kindle edition does at any rate. Though, reading further, LordHornblower also finishes pretty abruptly.
The Commodore comes to a very abrupt and unsatisfactory ending - or this kindle edition does at any rate. Though, reading further, LordHornblower also finishes pretty abruptly.
February 19, 2011
The fourth and final story in the Admiral Hornblower omnibus. Bliss. Most excellent - it's a series of connected but easy to stand-alone short stories.
January 15, 2012
Actually read Admiral Hormblower in the West Indies Twice. Had to add this other book because Goodreads does not handle re-reads or duplicates
May 14, 2013
A good collection of naval books that feature the inestimable Horatio Hornblower getting into (and out of) scrapes--it's a bit wooden, but it's a rollicking good yarn!
January 26, 2016
I really how the scope of the series changes as Hornblower progresses up the ranks. Also, I love the essential conflicted nature of Hornblower himself. This series is excellent.
December 11, 2013
Awesome
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November 7, 2018Loved all of these books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews