Mr Midshipman Hornblower

I greatly enjoyed the ITV series, so was hoping for a bit more depth by reading the books. I was a little disappointed that the characters seem less developed and somewhat flatter on the page than on the screen. The book lacks a defining story arc, instead offering largely self-contained episodic chapters. Although certain characters do appear several times, I felt little emotional attachment to them, though I suspect that might have been a deliberate interpretation of Hornblower's character. The stories themselves are engaging, though, especially if you're not familiar with the TV series. I suspect the other books may contain further military strategy that may prove this book to be a worthy introduction of the character. On its own merit, though, I'd say this book's screen adaptation was, unusually, an improvement over the original.