August 27, 2000 note: This was originally posted in July 1999, while waiting for Ashes of Victory (which might not had been named at that time).

From the amount of chatter I see on 'alt.books.david-weber', it appears that too much of the audience doesn't have anything better to do. To solve this problem (at least until Weber finishes the next Harrington title), I have a suggestion: look for other books to read (probably in used bookstores).

First on the list is, of course, C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series. Of special interest would be Flying Colors/Flying Colours. Perhaps also of interest would be his Captain from Connecticut (while not Hornblower, this is set in 1814 and features a US Navy captain and a duel). October 13, 2001 Note: And I have seen trade paperback editions of both Hornblower and Captain from Connecticut in bookstores recently.

Another series that I liked that was set in the same period was Dudley Pope's Ramage series (he wrote 18 before health problems forced him to stop writing). Ramage was a active user of surprise and deception as a force multiplier. Many of the stunts that he and his merry band (i.e., "Jacko" and his buddies) did compare well with some of the scams pulled by Admiral Naismith and the Dendarii (this included a number of rescue missions). A scam that was not an rescue mission, Ramage's Signal, might be of interest (especially when compared with chapter forty-six of Echoes of Honor).

There are people who like Alexander Kent's Bolitho series; I gave up on them after 9 books. Bolitho's case of "Captain Kirk disease" and his anti-Americanism was merely an irratant. The killer was my ever growing suspicion that Kent didn't have a good grasp on historical detail.

I can't speak for any other series set in that time period (e.g., the Aubrey and Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian). August 27, 2000 note: David Drake has written 2 SF novels that were inspired by this series, With the Lightnings & Lt. Leary Commanding. I suspect that there were be more titles. July 20, 2003 note: The 3rd title, The Far Side of The Stars will be out in October 2003. Nov 25, 2005 Note: The 4th title, The Way to Glory came out in May 2005. A 5th title, Some Golden Harbor will be published in 2006.

One SF story that might be of interest (but lots of luck finding it, one paperback printing about 30 years ago), is C. C. McApps's The Prisoners of the Sky, a story of iron men and canvas blimps. The setting is a world of plateaus with few metal ores that had been colonized (presumably by slowboat) several centuries before. The various plateaus (IIRC, each are several thousand square miles in area) are separate nations. The transportation (either for trade or war) is done using blimps with human-powered propulsion. The book starts with one of those nations in a desparate situation (it had just lost the big battle in a war) and a junior officer being sent out in one old blimp to see what trouble he can cause. He caused LOTS of trouble (including not only raiding a POW camp and releasing the prisoners but also capturing a bunch of war blimps).

Any other suggestions?