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BlueSpot

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60. Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series

Reply to justaprogressive (Original post)

Fri Jan 23, 2026, 12:01 AM

9 hrs ago

I've read many series, and many that I thoroughly enjoyed but this is my absolute favorite.

Nautical, historical. Probably based on real-life Thomas Lord Cochrane. A ship's captain from England (and an intelligence officer and naturalist who works as the ship's surgeon) during the Napoleonic period. Wooden ships and Iron Men as it were. Full of humor, intrigue and history. 21 books in all, IIRC.

If you saw the movie "Master and Commander, the Far side of the World" with Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany (2003), know that it was based on two of the novels in the series. If you haven't seen it, you probably should. While cramming two books into one movie means they leave stuff out, it is a decent example of what you will find in the series.

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