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Recommendations based on Flashmanby George MacDonald Fraser
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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)
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 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)
Sharpe's Trafalgar
by Bernard Cornwell
Richard Sharpe, a British soldier, fights in the Battle of Trafalgar against the French and Spanish fleets.
The year is 1805. Richard Sharpe is set to sail to England from India aboard the East Indiaman Calliope to join the 95th Rifles. He is swindled after purchasing supplies for the voyage. After finding ... (Wikipedia)
Sharpe's Tiger
by Bernard Cornwell
A young British officer fights against the forces of the Indian ruler Tippoo Sultan during the 1799 siege of Seringapatam.
Richard Sharpe is a private in the 33rd Regiment of Foot in the British army. The British invade Mysore and advance on the Tippoo Sultan 's capital city of Seringapatam . Sharpe is contemplating ... (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 Quiet American
by Graham Greene
A journalist's exploration of a conflict between a French colonial regime and Vietnamese nationalists.
Thomas Fowler is a British journalist in his fifties who has covered the French war in Vietnam for more than two years. He meets a young American idealist named Alden Pyle, a CIA agent working ... (Wikipedia)
The Three Musketeers
by Alexandre Dumas
An adventurous tale of friendship, courage, and battle in 17th century France.
In 1625 France, d'Artagnan leaves his family in Gascony and travels to Paris to join the Musketeers of the Guard . At a house in Meung-sur-Loire , an older man derides d'Artagnan's horse. Insulted, ... (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)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
by Hunter S. Thompson
A wild and hallucinatory journey through the seedy underbelly of Las Vegas.
The basic synopsis revolves around journalist Raoul Duke ( Hunter S. Thompson ) and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo ( Oscar Zeta Acosta ), as they arrive in Las Vegas in 1971 to report on the Mint 400 ... (Wikipedia)
The Sun Also Rises
by Ernest Hemingway
A group of expatriates in 1920s Europe, struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of WWI.
On the surface, the novel is a love story between the protagonist Jake Barnes—a man whose war wound has made him unable to have sex—and the promiscuous divorcée usually identified as Lady Brett ... (Wikipedia)
The Surgeon's Mate
by Patrick O'Brian
A tale of adventure and romance set during the Napoleonic Wars.
Sailing into Halifax, the victorious HMS Shannon contends with her losses in officers and crew, with particular concern for Captain Broke, who lies unconscious from head wounds. The American Captain ... (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)
The Lost World
by Arthur Conan Doyle
An expedition to a remote region of South America, filled with prehistoric creatures and danger.
Edward Malone, a young reporter for the Daily Gazette , asks his editor for a dangerous assignment to impress the woman he loves, Gladys, who wishes for a great man capable of brave deeds and ... (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)
The Leopard
by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Epic story of a Sicilian nobleman's struggle to preserve his family and their way of life in a rapidly changing world.
Most of the novel is set during the time of the, Risorgimento, , specifically during the period when Giuseppe Garibaldi , the hero of Italian unification, swept through Sicily with his forces, known ... (Wikipedia)
A Confederacy of Dunces
by John Kennedy Toole
A satirical tale of an eccentric slacker's misadventures in New Orleans.
Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found, here, "A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles ... (Goodreads)
The Code of the Woosters
by P.G. Wodehouse
A series of comic misadventures of a bumbling British gentleman in search of a silver cow creamer.
Jeeves wants to go with Bertie on a round-the-world cruise but Bertie is not interested. Bertie's Aunt Dahlia sends Bertie to go to a particular antique shop and sneer at a silver eighteenth-century ... (Wikipedia)
Cat's Cradle
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
A satirical exploration of human folly, exposing the dangers of unchecked science and technology.
Told with deadpan humour and bitter irony, Kurt Vonnegut's cult tale of global destruction preys on our deepest fears of witnessing Armageddon and, worse still, surviving it ... Dr Felix Hoenikker, ... (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)
War and Peace
by Leo Tolstoy
Epic tale of war, peace, and love, focusing on the lives of five aristocratic families.
The novel begins in July 1805 in Saint Petersburg , at a soirée given by Anna Pavlovna Scherer—the maid of honour and confidante to the dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna . Many of the main characters ... (Wikipedia)
A Canticle for Leibowitz
by Walter M. Miller Jr.
A post-apocalyptic tale of a world struggling to rebuild after a devastating nuclear war.
After 20th century civilization was destroyed by a global nuclear war , known as the "Flame Deluge", there was a violent backlash against the culture of advanced knowledge and technology that had led ... (Wikipedia)
Bones of the Hills
by Conn Iggulden
Epic tale of war and friendship set against the backdrop of ancient Mongolian civilization.
Genghis Khan, risen from outcast to ruler has united battling tribes, but faces troubles. Emissaries are tortured and killed. Trade route efforts are violently rebuffed. The Mongolian army is ... (Goodreads)
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)
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)
Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
An aging knight's adventures and misadventures, filled with chivalry, honor, and satire.
Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in ... (Goodreads)
Neuromancer
by William Gibson
A hacker's journey through a dystopian cyberpunk world, searching for a way to survive.
Henry Dorsett Case is a low-level hustler in the dystopian underworld of Chiba City , Japan. Once a talented computer hacker , Case was caught stealing from his employer. As punishment for his theft, ... (Wikipedia)
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories
by Robert Louis Stevenson
A collection of dark and mysterious tales exploring duality and morality.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , by Robert Louis Stevenson , is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the ... (Barnes & Noble)
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)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
by Arthur Conan Doyle
A detective's collection of cases, full of intrigue and suspense.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the series of short stories that made the fortunes of the Strand magazine, in which they were first published, and won immense popularity for Sherlock Holmes and ... (Goodreads)
