4 ms·

I don't mind the naval terminology, it's interesting. But I think Hornblower is deeper than those guys. And... all of literature? I mean, Karamazov?

by dash2 3y ago

kirrent 3y ago
I don't want to critique personal taste, because it's ultimately preference and who am I to judge yours? On the other hand, one of O'Brian's strengths is his wonderful characters along with his beautiful prose. Even to the point that later books, like The Thirteen Gun Salute to The Commodore (a 5 book stretch) have an awfully boring and uncompelling series of plots and I still liked them anyway. I do like Hornblower. I've read all the books more than once, I bought the ITV show, and I even hunted down the Gregory Peck adaptation. To me Hornblower was a deeper character than I might have any right to expect in a historical adventure series, but his repetitive self-loathing in the face of his genius (genuinely a compelling choice) grates after so many books and so many successes and he begins to feel like a caricature of himself. Like the grandparent, Aubrey and Maturin are my favourite characters in anything I've read. Everyone will tell you how they and their relationship is wonderfully depicted, but it could also have something to do with how many books there are and how often I've re-read them. At this point they're old friends so it'd be disloyal of me not to love them as much as I do.
dghlsakjg 3y ago
I didn’t think it was necessary to put a disclaimer: they are my favorite characters in all of the literature that I personally have read. I can’t speak to my preferences about the millions of books I haven’t read, Karazamov sadly being one of them. I certainly hope that there are literary characters out there that I would like as much, or more, but I haven't met them yet, and so, continue searching. I haven’t read Hornblower since I was a teenager, so some it might have gone over my head back then. My read on it was that it was more of an adventure story than anything. With the Master and Commander series I often find that the parts where they aren't at sea are the most interesting (The Fortune of War, The Surgeons Mate, Treason's Harbour are three of the books with particularly interesting periods on land). I am also biased since the subtle humor in the books is something I find particularly funny.

I don't mind the naval terminology, it's interesting. But I think Hornblower is deeper than those guys. And... all of literature? I mean, Karamazov?

by dash2 3y ago

I don't mind the naval terminology, it's interesting. But I think Hornblower is deeper than those guys. And... all of literature? I mean, Karamazov?

kirrent 3y ago

I don't want to critique personal taste, because it's ultimately preference and who am I to judge yours? On the other hand, one of O'Brian's strengths is his wonderful characters along with his beautiful prose. Even to the point that later books, like The Thirteen Gun Salute to The Commodore (a 5 book stretch) have an awfully boring and uncompelling series of plots and I still liked them anyway. I do like Hornblower. I've read all the books more than once, I bought the ITV show, and I even hunted down the Gregory Peck adaptation. To me Hornblower was a deeper character than I might have any right to expect in a historical adventure series, but his repetitive self-loathing in the face of his genius (genuinely a compelling choice) grates after so many books and so many successes and he begins to feel like a caricature of himself. Like the grandparent, Aubrey and Maturin are my favourite characters in anything I've read. Everyone will tell you how they and their relationship is wonderfully depicted, but it could also have something to do with how many books there are and how often I've re-read them. At this point they're old friends so it'd be disloyal of me not to love them as much as I do.

dghlsakjg 3y ago

I didn’t think it was necessary to put a disclaimer: they are my favorite characters in all of the literature that I personally have read. I can’t speak to my preferences about the millions of books I haven’t read, Karazamov sadly being one of them. I certainly hope that there are literary characters out there that I would like as much, or more, but I haven't met them yet, and so, continue searching. I haven’t read Hornblower since I was a teenager, so some it might have gone over my head back then. My read on it was that it was more of an adventure story than anything. With the Master and Commander series I often find that the parts where they aren't at sea are the most interesting (The Fortune of War, The Surgeons Mate, Treason's Harbour are three of the books with particularly interesting periods on land). I am also biased since the subtle humor in the books is something I find particularly funny.