It looks like I have read Hornblower in the wrong order by following the sequence of events instead of the sequence of publishing. This seems to have influenced my perception partially by emphasizing the growing-up aspect. However I was not completely deluded, as Antti-Juhani at least confirms that "the Hornblower stories are not character-intensive."
FWIW I also do read and enjoy stuff with not-so-deep characterisation (there is couple of Star Wars books, for example...) but this was not what I was loooking for at the time.
O'Brian's novels were published in written in historical order, and imho the first one (Master and Commander) is the correct starting point, and if you do not like this one, there is little hope that starting with a different one might have produced a different impression.
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