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I've just finished re-reading CS Forster's Captain Hornblower series. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any other naval fiction (historical, contemporary or sci-fi) of the kind that follows an individual's story through the ranks? I'm aware of Patrick O'Briend's Jack Aubrey series, although I find his writing much more cumbersome than Forster's. Also, if anyone can recommend me anything of that nature from France or Germany, I'd be particularly interested in seeing a different perspective (it doesn't have to have been translated).

Edit: Weber's Mary Sue need not apply

Douglas Reeman (writing as Alexander Kent) wrote an excellent series about a chap named Bolitho. I love them as much as I love the others, they're certainly as good as the hornblowers.
Reeman's WW2 writing is also very very good, though I don't think there is a series quite like Hornblower or Bolitho. Every book is a different ship, a different crew, but it's much the same style.
Sci-fi... You might like Elizabeth Moon. The Serrano legacy is good, and Vatta's war despite being about traders is very good, and has more space warfare...

barnest2 wrote:Douglas Reeman (writing as Alexander Kent) wrote an excellent series about a chap named Bolitho. I love them as much as I love the others, they're certainly as good as the hornblowers.
Reeman's WW2 writing is also very very good, though I don't think there is a series quite like Hornblower or Bolitho. Every book is a different ship, a different crew, but it's much the same style.
Sci-fi... You might like Elizabeth Moon. The Serrano legacy is good, and Vatta's war despite being about traders is very good, and has more space warfare...

Thanks, I'd read a few of Reeman's WW2 books, but I hadn't heard of the Bolitho ones, so I will give those a try. Serrano Legacy is good I agree, but again I haven't read Vatta's war so I will give that a try. Thanks again.

Oddly, enough I just got done ordering a couple of these. There's the bothilo series as mentioned. Which I'm reading the first omnibus of.

There's also the Ramage novels by Dudley Pope, who knew Forrester and was encouraged by him to start writing his own series. I read the first novel of it yesterday in one go and found it very enjoyable. There's even a couple of shout outs to Hornblower. Who Pope's character Ramage served with on Superb. So there's a joke that Hornblower had to teach him math and despaired at Ramage's whist skills.

I'm actually finding both of these less dense and easier to read than the first couple Aubrey-Maturin novels, which I found hard going and prefer the movie version of.

purhaps Aubrey they are based like Drake's RCN series on the same memiors that Forrester used as the inspiration for Hornblower...