My 2 cents goes to O'Brian as well I find him much more in tune with the reality of the Navy than Hornblower. Drinkwater is also pretty good even to him being run down by a steam paddleship when the war was over.

A warning, there is shortly an O'Brian film going to be released. Although called "Master and Commander" it is actually based on "Desolation Island" The part of tall, bluff, blonde, west-countryman Aubrey is to be taken by.....

Short dark antipodean Russel Crowe????????