SOURCE: Mason, M. S. “‘Horatio’ Storms the Seas Again.” Christian Science Monitor (6 April 2001): 18.

In the following review, Mason offers a positive assessment of the second series of television adaptations of the Hornblower stories.

Horatio Hornblower is back in another ripping, high-seas yarn. It is a delight to see that the sequel to the original television miniseries (first aired on A&E in April of 1999) is richer, more complex, and more exciting than the first. It is just as delightful to note how young Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd (pronounced “Yowan Griffith”) has grown into the role, offering us a refined, manly, and experienced hero of the high seas.

The films are based on the books of C. S. Forester, a series that many young boys of another generation looked forward to with glee. The books follow the adventures of a talented, daring young man as he moves up through...