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Recommendations based on Desolation Islandby Patrick O'Brian
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The Mauritius Command
by Patrick O'Brian
Captain Jack Aubrey leads the Royal Navy in a battle against the French in the Indian Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars.
Jack Aubrey and Sophia Williams are married and the parents of twin girls. They live at Ashgrove Cottage on his half-pay, not enough to support fellow navy men in the household. Sophia's mother has ... (Wikipedia)
The Fortune of War
by Patrick O'Brian
During the War of 1812, Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin are captured and imprisoned in America. They must escape and make their way back to England.
HMS Leopard sails from Desolation Island to Port Jackson where she drops off her few prisoners. Captain Bligh is already handled, so she proceeds to the Dutch East Indies station and Admiral Drury at ... (Wikipedia)
Treason's Harbour
by Patrick O'Brian
Adventure tale of a daring British naval officer and his mission to thwart a French spy.
The Surprises wait at Malta while their ship is slowly repaired after their successful mission on the Ionian coast. Aubrey and Maturin meet Mrs Laura Fielding at music parties she holds. She is ... (Wikipedia)
Sharpe's Rifles
by Bernard Cornwell
A tale of heroism and courage in the Napoleonic Wars, as one man rises to become a legendary soldier.
Sharpe's battalion, acting as rearguard to the British Army in its retreat to Corunna , are cut down by a squadron of French regular cavalry. Sharpe takes up Captain Murray's heavy cavalry sword ... (Wikipedia)
Wolf Hall
by Hilary Mantel
A historical fiction about the rise of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII.
England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry ... (Goodreads)
Beat to Quarters
by C.S. Forester
Naval officer's daring mission to track down a powerful enemy warship.
In June 1808, Hornblower is in command of the 36-gun frigate HMS Lydia , with orders to sail to the Pacific coast of Nicaragua (near modern Choluteca, Choluteca ) and supply a local landowner, Don ... (Wikipedia)
Lonesome Dove
by Larry McMurtry
Epic tale of two former Texas Rangers on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana.
It is the late 1870s. , Captain Woodrow F. Call and Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae, two famous retired Texas Rangers , run the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium in the small Texas border ... (Wikipedia)
The Name of the Rose
by Umberto Eco
A Franciscan friar investigates a series of murders in a medieval monastery, uncovering a sinister plot.
In 1327, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk , a Benedictine novice travelling under his protection, arrive at a Benedictine monastery in Northern Italy to attend a theological ... (Wikipedia)
The Hunt for Red October
by Tom Clancy
A thrilling adventure of a submarine captain's race against the clock in a thrilling game of cat and mouse.
During the Cold War ,(the story must be set in 1982, according to the days assigned to the dates in the novel, e.g. Dec. 17 was a Friday only in 1982,1976 and 1971 ) Marko Ramius, a Soviet Navy ... (Wikipedia)
Flashman
by George MacDonald Fraser
A cowardly British soldier's misadventures as he navigates the volatile world of 19th century imperial politics.
Coward, scoundrel, lover and cheat, but there is no better man to go into the jungle with. Join Flashman in his adventures as he survives fearful ordeals and outlandish perils across the four corners ... (Goodreads)
The Big Sleep
by Raymond Chandler
Private eye investigates a complex case involving a wealthy family and blackmail.
Private investigator Philip Marlowe is called to the home of the wealthy and elderly General Sternwood, in the month of October. He wants Marlowe to deal with an attempt by a bookseller named Arthur ... (Wikipedia)
Oryx and Crake
by Margaret Atwood
An exploration of a post-apocalyptic world, and the power of human nature.
The novel focuses on a post-apocalyptic character called "Snowman", living near a group of primitive human-like creatures whom he calls Crakers . Flashbacks reveal that Snowman was once a boy named ... (Wikipedia)
Gates of Fire
by Steven Pressfield
Epic tale of ancient Spartan warriors on a mission of heroism and sacrifice.
The novel is narrated by Xeones, a perioikos and one of only three Greek survivors of the Battle of Thermopylae . His story is dictated to King Xerxes and transcribed by his court historian , ... (Wikipedia)
The Lions of Al-Rassan
by Guy Gavriel Kay
Epic tale of a legendary kingdom, facing the onslaught of an unstoppable force.
Like most of Kay's novels, this contains a large amount of political intrigue and religious strife. At the opening of the novel, the peninsula of Al-Rassan (formerly known as Esperaña when under ... (Wikipedia)
Lieutenant Hornblower
by C.S. Forester
An adventurous naval officer navigates the dangerous high seas of the Napoleonic Wars.
William Bush , who becomes Hornblower's faithful companion and best friend, is introduced boarding HMS, Renown, as the third lieutenant . Hornblower is the fifth and most junior lieutenant. It is ... (Wikipedia)
Cloud Atlas
by David Mitchell
A dynamic narrative spanning centuries, exploring the interconnectedness of humanity.
The book consists of six nested stories; each is read or observed by a main character of the next, thus they progress in time through the central sixth story. The first five stories are each ... (Wikipedia)
The Maltese Falcon
by Dashiell Hammett
Detective Sam Spade must solve a mysterious case involving a precious artifact and a deadly trio of criminals.
‘Sam’ Spade is a private detective in San Francisco , in partnership with Miles Archer. The beautiful "Miss Wonderley" hires them to follow Floyd Thursby, who has run off with her sister. Archer ... (Wikipedia)
I, Claudius
by Robert Graves
An epic tale of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, told through the eyes of a dynasty's forgotten leader.
Into the 'autobiography' of Clau-Clau-Claudius, the pitiful stammerer who was destined to become Emperor in spite of himself, Graves packs the everlasting intrigues, the depravity, the bloody purges ... (Goodreads)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
by Haruki Murakami
A surreal journey of self-discovery, exploring the inner and outer worlds.
The first part, "The Thieving Magpie", begins with the narrator, Toru Okada, a low-key and unemployed lawyer's assistant, being tasked by his wife, Kumiko, to find their missing cat. Kumiko suggests ... (Wikipedia)
Throne of Jade
by Naomi Novik
A daring sea captain and a magical dragon embark on an epic voyage to save a royal family.
When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo–an unhatched dragon’s egg–Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named ... (Goodreads)
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
by C.S. Forester
Follow the adventures of Horatio Hornblower, a young midshipman in the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.
This novel is episodic, with named chapters (that begin with Hornblower) that often focus on a self-contained incident. In this story, a gawky and seasick Hornblower comes aboard his first ship. He ... (Wikipedia)
The Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara
A gripping story of the Battle of Gettysburg, told through the eyes of the soldiers on both sides.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , one of the major characters, remembers reciting to his father a speech from, Hamlet, : "What a piece of work is man...in action how like an angel!" Sgt. Buster Kilrain ... (Wikipedia)
Foundation
by Isaac Asimov
Exploring the possibilities of a galactic empire in a future driven by science and technology.
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future – to a dark age ... (Goodreads)
Downbelow Station
by C.J. Cherryh
Space Station managers struggle to keep the station in operation while facing hostile aliens, political turmoil, and personal conflict.
Space is explored not by short-sighted governments, but by the Earth Company, a private corporation which becomes enormously wealthy and powerful as a result. Nine star systems are found to lack ... (Wikipedia)
A Wizard of Earthsea
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A young wizard embarks on a quest to master his own magical powers and battle a mysterious force of evil.
Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth. Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon ... (Goodreads)
The Pickwick Papers
by Charles Dickens
Witty comedy of misadventures of a group of travelers in 19th century England.
Few first novels have created as much popular excitement as The Pickwick Papers –-a comic masterpiece that catapulted its 24-year-old author to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the ... (Goodreads)
Shantaram
by Gregory David Roberts
An Australian convict escapes to India and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
In 1978, Roberts was sentenced to a 19-year imprisonment in Australia after being convicted of a series of armed robberies of building society branches, credit unions , and shops. In July 1980, he ... (Wikipedia)
The Winds of War
by Herman Wouk
The story of a family caught in the middle of World War II and their struggles to survive.
Like no other masterpiece of historical fiction, Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II is the great novel of America's Greatest Generation. , Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of ... (Barnes & Noble)
World Without End
by Ken Follett
Epic tale of love and war, tracing the lives of two families over centuries.
The novel begins in the fictional city of Kingsbridge, England in the year 1327 . Four children - Merthin, Caris, Gwenda, and Merthin's brother Ralph - head into the woods on All Hallows Day . ... (Wikipedia)
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
A soldier's harrowing experience of the horrors of war.
The book tells the story of Paul Bäumer, who belongs to a group of German soldiers on the Western Front during World War I . The patriotic speeches of his teacher Kantorek had led the whole class to ... (Wikipedia)
