Book review: Lieutenant Hornblower by C. S. Forester

The twenty-ninth book I read in 2016 was the second book in the Hornblower series by C. S. Forester, Lieutenant Hornblower.  In contrast to the first book in the series, which was a collection of shorter episodes, Lieutenant Hornblower is a true novel; also in contrast, rather than seeing things from Hornblower's perspective, the point-of-view character is Lieutenant Bush, a new arrival to the H.M.S. Renown, on which Hornblower is serving.  His narrative took me aback at first: Who is this Bush guy, and why are we spending so much time on him instead of Hornblower?  The note about the author at the end of the book, however, informed me that in the first Hornblower book written "introduced the now legendary characters Hornblower, Bush, and Lady Barbara," so clearly Bush is Maturin to Hornblower's Aubrey and will feature largely in the remainder of the series.  As such, I can imagine the excitement of reading about when Bush first met Hornblower in contemporary fans of the series, if I can't share it.

Hornblower and Bush are both junior lieutenants on an ill-fated voyage.  When the captain is incapacitated, it opens the door for less senior officers to direct the course of the ship and claim either glory and a chance at promotion or ignominy and disgrace.  Just when it seems everything's going to come up roses for Hornblower, a final ironic twist of fate intervenes, at least long enough for Hornblower to apply his native ingenuity and will to a very different problem.

Novel-length Hornblower is immensely satisfying, as is seeing Lieutenant Bush come around from his initial skepticism to full-blown Hornblower approval.  There is only a single nagging question left unanswered, despite being asked on multiple occasions.  Will the truth ever out?