50 Book Challenge #40: Master & Commander

After an abortive attempt to finish The House of Mirth, I turned to lighter pursuits. Master & Commander reminded me of the Horatio Hornblower novels, a series set in the same period that I greatly enjoyed as escapist historical fiction. O'Brian is much heavier on the ship-talk and has a lighter hand with the psychology of his characters, but I couldn't help but think I'd seen most of this before, only with a more likable chap as the protagonist. I won't be reading more of the series.