I've been reading through a series of nautical historical fiction military thrillers--think Patrick O'Brian meets Tom Clancy.

The Dawlish Chronicles, written by Antoine Vasser

You have read many books about the age of fighting sailing ships, whether by O'Brian or Forester or others. I've enjoyed historical fiction of other eras such as Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series, or his Saxon chronicles of Uhtred.
Likewise many historical novels of the Civil War.
But this is the first series I've read that focuses on the important period of early steamships, from ironclads to dreadnoughts.

There are I think 9 books in the series; the hero is Nicholas Dawlish, who starts out as a young officer in the Royal Navy and proceeds through the books being sent to dangerous, unusual, and secret assignments by a mysterious Admiral Topcliffe--think of him as the Admiralty's M.
The time period covered is 1860's to the 1880's. So Britain was not involved in a major war during this Victorian era, but it doesn't mean it didn't have interests to protect and rivals to challenge.
From secondment in the Ottoman navy to an assignment to sink a pioneering early submarine being built for Irish rebels; from Denmark to the Mediterranean, from New York to Paraguay, from Korea to the Sudan--the world hot spots of the late 1800's.

In the process of reading about Dawlish's adventures--and they are told with verve and edge-of-your-seat tension--we learn about the evolution of steamships as they replace sail, and about the accompanying progress in naval and military arms. From the Gatling gun to the Armstrong and Krups ships' armament, from the submarine to riverine steam paddleboats, their function and use are described in riveting (pun intended in the case of the steamships) detail.

As a fan of military history, historically accurate and lovingly detailed descriptions of now-obsolete technology that was then "bleeding-edge", the Dawlish Chronicles was a terrific series.

Now there are two books that have to do with the adventures of Dawlish's too-good-to-be-true wife Florence back at home while Nicholas is off at sea. I'm most of the way through one of them, and I would say that I personally don't find them as riveting as the stories of heroic battles and victories snatched from the jaws of death.

One can read the books as separate stories, but one definitely gets the most out of reading them from the beginning. On Kindle they are about $4 each, and I think there are 7 books that are about Nicholas' adventures.

Highly recommended.

Underboss by Peter Maas.

One of the best books I've ever read.... but then it is about one of my few heroes... the latter 3rd of the book is about the history of the people who came and settled western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee:

2034 by Adm. James Stavridis and Elliott Ackerman. It's a novel that imagines a war that goes nuclear with China. Well worth your time.

Just finished John Grishams "The Guardians" after reading "The Onion Field" by Wambaugh. Both very enjoyable reads. I am now reading the Hollywood series by Wambaugh.

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Originally posted by bryan11:

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Originally posted by vinnybass:
I just finished reading Kurt Schlichter's People's Republic and Indian Country, back to back. I'd like to find more like them.

I just finished Kurt Schlichter's People's Republic and now plan to read Indian Country next week.

His next one, "The Split" is coming in June.

Right now I'm reading the latest Gray Man, Relentless.

I just reread 1984. I'd forgotten how depressing it is.

Graham Hancock's new book Magicians of the Gods

Finished the Tier One series (so far), and I'm currently reading two.

Understanding The Times: A Survey of Competing Worldviews. Fascinating read. Compares Christianity to Secular Humanism, Marxism, New Age, Postmodernism, and Islam. It's actually book 2 in a trilogy; I started with this one. There's gold even in the first chapter of this book.

The River of Doubt. Covers an ill-fated expedition made by Teddy Roosevelt in Brazil after he lost the presidential election of 1912. Really well-written, and I will definitely read more by the author.

Malazan Book of the Fallen series.

The only line of Star Wars books I follow. Thrawn Acendency: Greater Good by Timothy Zahn.

Alone at Dawn.

 
I just finished David Baldacci's A Gambling Man, second in the Aloysius Archer series. Coming up is Michael Connelly's The Law of Innocence, the sixth Lincoln Lawyer novel.
 
In between, I've been reading Joseph Finder's novels, in sequence, starting with The Moscow Club, published in 1991. I'm up to Paranoia, published in 2004. Finder's novels are very good, action-espionage-adventure works.
 
Reading older works like Finder's (as well as Connelly's and Baldacci's early stuff), you often reach a "huh" moment, when they mention something like communications over older technology, as smart phones had not yet been invented at that time, and real fax machines were still the norm.

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Originally posted by henryaz:
 
I just finished David Baldacci's A Gambling Man, second in the Aloysius Archer series.

Reading Gambling Man now.

I just finished Killing The Mob a few weeks ago. I wish I had more time to sit and read a book.

"This is how they tell me the world ends". Nonfiction. It's an A to Z, history to present of the cyber war we are already in. Anybody who understands it seems to feel we're in for a pretty rough ride.

Buddy Levy. Read his excellent River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana's Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon. Now reading: Conquistador: Hernán Cortés, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs.

I just finished The Splendid and The Vile by Erik Larson. Just started Into the Fire by Dakota Meyer.

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Originally posted by Orguss:
The Swarm by Orson Scott Card. The first book on the Second Formic War and a continuation of the trilogy on the First Formic War.

Big EG fan, need to pick up some of these outside the core 8 (Ender/Shadow), books.

Currently reading the Jackie Stewart autobiography Winning is not Enough
Next up is Faster by Neal Bascomb

The Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907 by Charles Musser

The Man Who Made the Movies: W.K.L. Dickson by Paul Spehr

Lone Star Navy Texas: The Fight for the Gulf of Mexico, and the Shaping of the American West by J.W. Jordan