• Hornblower and the "Atropos"

  • By: C.S. Forester
  • Narrated by: Patrick Macnee
  • Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (116 ratings)

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Hornblower and the "Atropos"  By  cover art

Hornblower and the "Atropos"

By: C.S. Forester
Narrated by: Patrick Macnee
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Publisher's summary

In the wake of a humbling incident aboard a canal boat in the Cotswolds, young Captain Horatio Hornblower arrives in London to take command of the Atropos, a 22-gun sloop barely large enough to require a captain. Her first assignment under Hornblower's command is as flagship for the funeral procession of Lord Nelson. But soon the Atropos is part of the Mediterranean Fleet's harassment of Napoleon, recovering treasure that lies deep in Turkish waters and boldly challenging a Spanish frigate several times her size. At the center of each adventure is Hornblower, Forrester's most inspired creation, whose blend of cautious preparation and spirited executive dazzles friend and foe alike.
Copyright ©1962 C.S. Forester; Copyright ©1999 NewStar Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Hornblower was never in better form." (San Francisco Chronicle)
"Vivid...intense and exciting." (New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about Hornblower and the "Atropos"

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Unabridged?

Great book, I only wish it was the unabridged version.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Poor narration; not Forester's best story

This is an abridged version, but frankly I'm glad it is because I found the narrator so annoying I wanted it to be over. Patrick Manee narrates in a ridiculously lugubrious manner. He reads painfully slowly, and constantly goes into a strange singsong mode, elongating the vowels to a ridiculous extent when reading dialogue. It's OK, perhaps, when rendering the speech of a rustic bargeman at the beginning; but it's quite inappropriate when Hornblower is supposed to be snapping orders in a crisis. Christian Rodska, who narrates many of the other Hornblower novels is consistently superb, and his performances shine even brighter compared to this rendering.
I found the story disappointing also. Even though it's abridged, uninteresting scenes seem to be drawn out: e.g. the opening journey down canal and river to London. It's not a patch on Lieutenant Hornblower or Mr Midshipman Hornblower.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

terrible narrator, weak story, unnecessary music

terrible narrator, weak story, music unnecessary, fast and away the worst of the Hornblower stories

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I have always loved this novel. I thoroughly enjoy Patrick McNee's voice in reading these books.

I would like to download these recording in MP3 format so that I may load them on my MP3 player. I so dislike using up my cellphone battery to listen to audiobooks.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fills holes in the Hornblower Saga

Interesting detail of life in England in 1805 and about the funeral of Horatio Nelson. Narration was satisfactory. Christian Rodska is the best narrator of the Hornblower series. MacNee is second best.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping story

Loved the story and the performance! Full of adventure, heart, excitement. A very captivating tale.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Thank G. that's over

While the story is good, the listener has to endure another excrutiating performance by Patrick Macnee which truley distracts from the tale. This, in addition to the maudlin music, makes it difficult to rate this favorably. I am anxious to purge Macnee from my ears and get back to Christian Rodska's excellent narration.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A bit too cartoonish.

I would have preferred this without all the musical interludes between chapters. Also the narration bordered on cartoonish in a lot of ways. Christian Rodska has to be my favorite Hornblower narrator. I wish this was available with him.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Salvage Ops

This book is a series of Hornblower adventures. The junior captain saves Nelson's funeral procession, recovers treasure from Turkish waters and captures a Spanish ship of the line. I particularly enjoyed the salvage operation...use of Ceylonese divers, probably without artificial air--wow! None of the familiar characters, except Maria and the kids are part of this book--perhaps showing our hero's growing independence. I read this book while riding San Diego's Hornblower Cruises looking for whales--avast, thar she blows! The staff was clueless about the literary origination of their company name.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Book!!!

I really love the Hornblower series! It's been one of my favorite series to read. My dad recommended it to me when I was a little boy finally got around to reading it and wondered why I hadn't read it by now :-)

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