Sagas of the Royal Navy

Two of my favorite authors, C.S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian, each wrote a series of historic novels set in the British Navy during the Napoleonic wars.

My fondness for Forester can be explained by the jacket blurb on Hornblower and the Hotspur: "In storm, in flame, in blood, and in love, the plot unfolds." To be accurate, there's not a lot of mushy stuff going on in books by either author - their hearts lie in the storm, flame, and blood.

The New York Times reviewer described O'Brian's books as "The best historical novels ever written." To which I add that he could write complex sentences with semi-colons without a reader even noticing. That's a feat.