from your Japanese reader
anonymous
November 17 2009, 15:43:53 UTC
I'm still dwelling on your stories... actually sometimes find it's difficult to leave this site for I'm so fascinated with your writing.
Obviously some of your other stories are more skillful than this piece but I found this is the sweetest one, cannot help loving it. As one of Bush-in both of book and drama- fans I feel deep sympathy with what you have attempted in creating this story which somehow healed my kind of aching- how can I describe in English?-, kind of sad feeling about the relationship of Hornblower and Bush in Forester's books. In Once Burned your explanation of dynamic between the two characters is convincing & sweet, and still the bitter ending is marvelous.
By the way your writings sometimes remind me of Alexander Kent's Bolitho novels... Do you read them?
Re: from your Japanese readeridler_1814November 17 2009, 20:59:14 UTC
I suppose I wrote this one because, like you, I wanted there to be a reason for Hornblower's often cruel treatment of Bush--and for Bush's quiet acceptance of it
( ... )
Re: from your Japanese reader
anonymous
November 18 2009, 14:56:46 UTC
Then maybe the lieutenant whom Bush remembered with the phrase "Lady Luck" could be Thomas Herrick? I privately amused myself to imagine so. I have never pictured such crossover world even in my mind but if I can it would be fun... Bush and Herrick are my favorite, most beloved officers among many RN fictions. Your early Hornblower-Bolitho crossover stories must have been agreeable to my tastes though you call them dreadful -by your high standard, I guess.
Thanks anyway for your quick reply comment, even in a short message your choice of words sounds nice to me. I have never expected myself to be hooked on someone's "fanfictions" so much but this is a comfortable surprise.
Re: from your Japanese readeridler_1814November 18 2009, 19:06:11 UTC
Katriona,
Was it Herrick? Absolutely. I had wondered if someday someone might recognize him. You'll also find him referred to in Run Aground, near the end of chapter 16, not by name but as captain of Impulsive and as "a damn fine man by all accounts". Obviously he's one of my very favorites too: you might call him 'Bush with an attitude'!
If you're feeling brave, I am willing to share those early stories with you privately. You can find an email address for me in my Live Journal profile, which you may use if you're comfortable sharing your address with me.
And wow....thank you again. I'm quite surprised and touched to discover a reader enjoying these so much!
Coming here off a recent rec in following_sea and I was just really impressed. I'm new to AoS, and yet I was perfectly able to follow all the sea action, and visualize in my mind what was happening, and get nervous and excited about it really, just like it was a film I'd watched.
I haven't read a lot of gen, but this was just lovely. So much emotion and passion, and pain, without there having to be more than the memory of friendship that made life bearable, and the thing that goes on after. Poor Bush, poor Horatio!
Oh, thank you! I'm delighted to hear that the sea action made some sense. I did the best I could with my reference books and by drawing a lot of little scratchy diagrams--though I fear I'd send a real sailor into hysterical fits of laughter!
In your comment you actually hit upon one of the very reasons I like gen so much: the emotions are no less real, but I'm compelled to keep them subtle and unspoken. There is also no outlet for their....*ahem*...direct expression. I have to try to reveal them in the small gestures, the few words, the level of trust.
Also here from nodbear's rec. You've made a brilliant job of tying up series and book canon, which I know from experience is not at all easy. I particularly love the way that the characters could belong to book canon or series canon depending on which way you look at them. And all written with your inimitable style. Wonderful!
Btw couldn't agree more about what you said about revealing characters through small gestures, and spare words. This is certainly the way I see Hornblower's character developing post (series) Kingston.
Oh, thank you! I really tried to make some kind of relatively believable transition to a more book-canon Hornblower because I simply couldn't envision Bush stepping seamlessly into Archie's shoes and continuing to maintain that level of comfortable informality. It would have necessitated a complete re-working of Bush's character for the subsequent films, and I really didn't think they'd meddle with canon that drastically.
Though Bush had to be re-worked a bit for the films after all, for in them we saw him objectively and not through Hornblower's judgmental eye. Still, for this piece, my mental image hovers somewhere between the series and book versions--so I guess I'm not precisely sure how I see them either!
I read and loved the books many eons ago, then saw and liked the first few TV shows before moving overseas and out of touch - but now I've belatedly discovered the fandom and I am in love with it. This felt so like a "real" naval battle novel to me - the action was gripping and easy to follow - and the characters were heartbreaking. Archie's hair-ribbon moved me to tears. Thank you for balancing book and TV!
Like you, I first fell in love with the books--more years ago than I care to admit. The BBC series was a dream come true and reawakened my love for the genre.
I really miss this fandom, and I'm excited to see that it seems to be showing a little life again! Welcome!
Comments 13
Obviously some of your other stories are more skillful than this piece but I found this is the sweetest one, cannot help loving it. As one of Bush-in both of book and drama- fans I feel deep sympathy with what you have attempted in creating this story which somehow healed my kind of aching- how can I describe in English?-, kind of sad feeling about the relationship of Hornblower and Bush in Forester's books. In Once Burned your explanation of dynamic between the two characters is convincing & sweet, and still the bitter ending is marvelous.
By the way your writings sometimes remind me of Alexander Kent's Bolitho novels... Do you read them?
from Katriona
Yokohama,Japan
Reply
Reply
Thanks anyway for your quick reply comment, even in a short message your choice of words sounds nice to me. I have never expected myself to be hooked on someone's "fanfictions" so much but this is a comfortable surprise.
Katriona
Reply
Was it Herrick? Absolutely. I had wondered if someday someone might recognize him. You'll also find him referred to in Run Aground, near the end of chapter 16, not by name but as captain of Impulsive and as "a damn fine man by all accounts". Obviously he's one of my very favorites too: you might call him 'Bush with an attitude'!
If you're feeling brave, I am willing to share those early stories with you privately. You can find an email address for me in my Live Journal profile, which you may use if you're comfortable sharing your address with me.
And wow....thank you again. I'm quite surprised and touched to discover a reader enjoying these so much!
Reply
I haven't read a lot of gen, but this was just lovely. So much emotion and passion, and pain, without there having to be more than the memory of friendship that made life bearable, and the thing that goes on after. Poor Bush, poor Horatio!
Reply
In your comment you actually hit upon one of the very reasons I like gen so much: the emotions are no less real, but I'm compelled to keep them subtle and unspoken. There is also no outlet for their....*ahem*...direct expression. I have to try to reveal them in the small gestures, the few words, the level of trust.
Reply
Dave
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Reply
Btw couldn't agree more about what you said about revealing characters through small gestures, and spare words. This is certainly the way I see Hornblower's character developing post (series) Kingston.
Reply
Though Bush had to be re-worked a bit for the films after all, for in them we saw him objectively and not through Hornblower's judgmental eye. Still, for this piece, my mental image hovers somewhere between the series and book versions--so I guess I'm not precisely sure how I see them either!
Reply
Reply
Like you, I first fell in love with the books--more years ago than I care to admit. The BBC series was a dream come true and reawakened my love for the genre.
I really miss this fandom, and I'm excited to see that it seems to be showing a little life again! Welcome!
Reply
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