The Commodore

Missing last chapter

Christian Rodska does a fine job speaking this book but the last chapter is missing.

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

Stiry decent, narration superb

Christian Rodska narrates all the Hornblower books he's done brilliantly. This story is pretty good, although the section where Hornblower is in France seemed a bit stretched out. One reviewer says the last chapter is missing. Certainly the book ends very abruptly.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Ripping Yarns, all of them!

Narrated superbly, you can just about hear the wind in the rigging. It is well worth listening to them in chronological order - start at the very beginning, with Mr Midshipman Hornblower. You won't regret it - I find the series totally addictive.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Missing Last Chapter, as already noted by another

I love all of the Hornblower books, and this one had an accomplished performance. However, as noted by reviewer Kathryn below, the last chapter is missing. After I saw Kathryn's comment, I confirmed it by checking the printed book in the library. I don't understand why Audible doesn't correct or explain this. It's still worth listening to, but find a printed copy and spend an extra 5 minutes to finish the story.

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

A Great Sea Story

Christian Rodska does an outstanding job narrating this series. This is book 9 in the series. Hornblower is now a Commodore and sent off in command of the Baltic fleet. All the other books have taken place in the mediterranean so this is a nice change of place. Napoleon has taken, Denmark, Norway, German. During the story he attack Sweden and Russia as well as Latvia. The battle is the book is the battle of Riga. This book is so different with the Swedish, and Finish (taken by Russia) politics and the scenes from St Petersburg and Hornblower meeting the Czar. C.S. Forester writes a great story and provides a great deal of history with his story. If you love the Napoleon era sea story you will enjoy this story.

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

The last chapter is NOT missing!

Any additional comments?

Don't believe the other reviewers who talk about the last chapter being missing. I bought this audiobook in March 2015 and all the chapters are present. The last words in both the audiobook and the printed edition is at the end of chapter XXIII: "What the devil was Brown doing, staring at him like this?" Perhaps the last chapter was missing in a previous edition of this audiobook. If so, the problem has since been corrected. I almost didn't buy the book based on their comments.

6 of 8 people found this review helpful

missing ending

Any additional comments?

There was a problem with this book or the download. There was at least one chapter missing.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Permission to Come Aboard

We used this book on a long routine road trip and it made the miles pass faster. The voice and accent of the narrator was enjoyable. The writing is interesting and has many surprises in the use of words. The inner thoughts of the Commodore as he navigates through a new rank and new battles holds interest.
This audio book had the ability to make me laugh out loud in places. It was interesting in its insights into battle plans and use of the ship's weapons.
The writing isn't gory and bloody like lots of adventure sagas. It employs action with an easy sense of being there.
This is a very enjoyable audio book in every respect.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Much better

Christian Rodska is leaps and bounds better than that other narrator, and C.S. Forester's earlier works are much more robust than his prequels. I decided to read in chronological order instead of publication order and I'm doubting if I made the right choice.

Action on the seas

This installment of the saga shows our hero turning from the dull life of a country squire and back into the fight against Napoleon, this time in the far reaches of the Baltic, and there isn't a dull moment. With an increase in rank he finds himself adjusting to the pomp his new title bestows, something new to this man inclined to action rather than appearance, and still he gets in the thick of battle dep enough to have done himself a bad turn by the very end. His hallmark navel ingenuity comes through on more than one occasion, along with the glimpses into his humane and decent spirit in the manner we have come to cherish. The renegade Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz puts in an appearance working for the imperial Russian army, as does the Tsar, briefly, along with a number of well-drawn junior officers and military enlistees. Forester manages to spring a number of surprises for us along the way to keep things interesting and ends the whole thing on quite a cliffhanger. The audio book narration by Christian Rodska adds something to the tale though a couple of the accents were a little tough to make out the first time. This is the kind of adventure story that makes the hours fly especially if one is fond of the details of the way square-rigged warships worked.