Midshipman's Hope
An obvious homage to both C.S. Forestor’s Hornblower and to things like Heinlein’s “Space Cadet”. Leaving a cold father, 17 year old Nicholas Seafort joins a navy space ship as a (surprise!) midshipman who (also surprise!) is thrust into a command role long before he his ready but comes through triumphant in the end. Cheap and trashy with all the usual hackneyed tropes but it still made me stand straighter with my chest out and stomach in! I’ve read this before, I loved it then, and love it now and can see myself reading it again! It is a wonderful comfort read in which the good guys are how you want to be and the bad guys get their justly deserved downfall. The writing is undemanding but rolls along at a good pace and the title really summarises the whole plot and tells you everything you need to know. Great!