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David McK (3576 KP) rated The Commodore in Books

Apr 27, 2020

The Commodore

CS Forester | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Fourth published but chronologically the ninth of CS Forester's Hornblower series of novels, this is the one that is set mainly in and around the Baltic, starting with Hornblower's investiture as Lord of the Manor alongside his second wife, lady Barbara (nee) Wellesley - yes, of that Wellesley name - and with his sole surviving toddler son from his first marriage.

Finding shore life stifling, dull and tedious, Hornblower is (secretly) relieved when he receives a summons from the Admiralty, and is sent off to the Baltic to shore up Britain's interests and (hopefully) stop further French incursion into Sweden and Russia.

As such, this is thus set before Napoleon's disastrous (for the French!) Russian campaign, with the starts of that campaign occurring in the latter pars of this novel: a novel which takes in court intrigue (even meeting the Russian Tsar), sea battles, unusual sailing vessels (the bomb ketches) and land battles before its denouement - a denouement that will see Hornblower return back to Blighty before his next mission.

Kudos

Emma (519 KP) rated Pet Sematary in Books

Feb 23, 2020

Pet Sematary

Stephen King | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror

8.4

(53 Ratings)

Book Rating

I've wanted to read this book for years, and searched for it in charity shops with no luck. Finally I got a chance to buy a batch of Stephen King books from a lady I knew and this was in them.
I enjoyed the book, and yet again with Stephen King his descriptive use really elevates the sense of suspense youfeel when you're reading his stories. However i did find it a chore to carry on with this one. I'm not sure if it was because I expected too much from it.
When you really cool the book down the excitement and suspense only happens in the last three chaptersif that. And by the time i got to that point i was a bit bored of it. When he finally does get you to that point in the book, it is so rushed you finish it with a kind of 'is that it?!' Feeling.
All in all a good Stephen King book, but I think I maybe hyped it up too much for myself before I read it and therefore was slightly disappointed.