Books like 'Under False Colours'
Readers who enjoyed Under False Colours by Richard Woodman also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical action / adventure military, war & conflict historical-fiction nautical war military scoundrel classics
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Manöver um Feuerland (The Far Side of the World) by Patrick O'Brian
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsCaptain Jack Aubrey sets sail for Cape Horn, determined to intercept an American frigate before it can wreak havoc on the British whaling trade. As always, he is accompanied by intelligence operative Stephen Maturin, and as always, Aubrey has no idea of what his companion is up to...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Letter of Marque by Patrick O'Brian]()
The Letter of Marque by Patrick O'Brian
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsCaptain Jack Aubrey, a brilliant and experienced officer, has been struck off the list of post-captains for a crime he did not commit. His old friend Stephen Maturin, usually cast as a ship's surgeon to mask his discreet activities on behalf of British Intelligence, has bought for Aubrey his former ship the Surprise to command as a privateer, more politely termed a letter of marque...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brian]()
Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brian
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPatrick O'Brian's masterpiece, the Aubrey-Maturin series, follows the friendship between Captain Aubrey, R.N., and Dr. Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against a thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. The series consists of 20 complete and one unfinished novel, the first published in 1970 and the last finished novel in 1999... -
![The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels (5 Volumes) by Patrick O'Brian]()
The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels (5 Volumes) by Patrick O'Brian
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsPatrick O’Brian’s twenty-one-volume Aubrey/Maturin series has delighted generations of devoted fans, inspired a blockbuster film, and sold millions of copies in twenty-four languages. These five omnibus volumes, beautifully produced and boxed, contain 7,000 pages of what has often been described as a single, continuous narrative... -
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![Treason's Harbour by Patrick O'Brian, Simon Vance]()
Treason's Harbour by Patrick O'Brian, Simon Vance
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsAll Patrick O'Brian's strengths are on parade in this novel of action and intrigue, set partly in Malta, partly in the treacherous, pirate-infested waters of the Red Sea. While Captain Aubrey worries about repairs to his ship, Stephen Maturin assumes the center stage for the dockyards and salons of Malta are alive with Napoleon's agents, and the admiralty's intelligence network is compromised... -
![See You at the Bar by David Black]()
See You at the Bar by David Black
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Mediterranean, early 1940s. Lieutenant Harry Gilmour, captain of the S-Class submarine HMS Scourge, has been tasked with patrolling the Mediterranean and supporting operations for the Allied forces. Someone, however, is on his tail: Captain Charles ‘the Bonny Boy’ Bonalleck VC, who cannot forget Lt Gilmour calling him out on his conduct during an operation early in the war... -
![The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian, Simon Vance]()
The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian, Simon Vance
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsJack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, veterans now of many battles, return in this novel to the seas where they first sailed as shipmates. But a sudden turn of events takes them off on a hazardous mission to the Greek isles, where they are soon involved in fierce and thrilling action... -
![The Truelove by Patrick O'Brian]()
The Truelove by Patrick O'Brian
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsA British whaler has been captured by an ambitious chief in the sandwich islands at French instigation, and Captain Aubrey, R. N., Is dispatched with the Surprise to restore order. But stowed away in the cable-tier is an escaped female convict. To the officers, Clarissa Harvill is an object of awkward courtliness and dangerous jealousies...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Marathon by Christian Cameron]()
Marathon by Christian Cameron
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Battle of Marathon in 490 BC was one of history's great turning points - the first time the Greeks managed to defeat the Persians in a pitched battle, it enabled the rise of classical Greek civilization. As John Stuart Mill famously put it, 'The Battle of Marathon, even as an event in British history, is more important than the Battle of Hastings...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military nautical war action-adventure adult ancient-civilization audiobook -
![Gone to Sea in a Bucket by David Black]()
Gone to Sea in a Bucket by David Black
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLike all young men of a certain age, Harry Gilmour had his own notion of how a naval battle should be. This wasn’t it.Norway, 1940: Sub Lieutenant Harry Gilmour’s first encounter with battleship action is not the adventure he had hoped for. Faced with a thankless task and ill equipped to handle it, Gilmour’s inexperience leads to a damning allegation. His future hangs in the balance...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Salamis by Christian Cameron]()
Salamis by Christian Cameron
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsArimnestos of Plataea has already lived through several lifetimes' worth of adventure, from being a rich man's slave in Ephesus to winning glory at the battle of Marathon against the might of the Persian Empire. But the gods - and the Persians - aren't finished with him yet...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military nautical war action-adventure ancient-civilization audiobook book -
![Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O'Brian]()
Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O'Brian
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsNapoleon has been defeated at Waterloo, and the ensuing peace brings with it both the desertion of nearly half of Captain Aubrey's crew and the sudden dimming of Aubrey's career prospects in a peacetime navy...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Gefährliche See vor Kap Hoorn by Patrick O'Brian]()
Gefährliche See vor Kap Hoorn by Patrick O'Brian
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsIn this installment of O'Brian's maritime epic, Captain Aubrey and the crew of the Surprise are pursuing an American privateer through the Great South Sea. As is his custom, O'Brian grabs your attention with the first, beautifully memorable sentence: "A purple ocean, vast under the sky and devoid of all visible life apart from two minute ships racing across its immensity... -
![Back to Battle by Max Hennessy, John Harris]()
Back to Battle by Max Hennessy, John Harris
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe crescendo of war; a crushing blow; a path to redemption... Peacetime political maneuverings are threatening Kelly Maguire’s ambitions for captain’s rank. But the outbreak of war, and the need for those who are willing to risk everything, changes all that...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
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![Blood Wings by Phil Ward]()
Blood Wings by Phil Ward
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTrilogy set with Raiding Forces framework.n this sequel to Dead Eagles, U.S. Major John Randal, commander of Strategic Raiding Forces, returns in Blood Wings, the first book in a trilogy within the Raiding Forces Series about the Abyssinian Campaign. Major Randal parachutes into the middle of Italian East Africa with orders to raise a guerrilla army. Everything that can go wrong does...Categorized as:
military war historical-fiction thriller fiction young-adult historical action-adventure -
![War And Peace, Volume 3 by Leo Tolstoy]()
War And Peace, Volume 3 by Leo Tolstoy
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible... -
![The Hundred Days by Patrick O'Brian]()
The Hundred Days by Patrick O'Brian
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsNapoleon, escaped from Elba, pursues his enemies across Europe like a vengeful phoenix. If he can corner the British and Prussians before their Russian and Austrian allies arrive, his genius will lead the French armies to triumph at Waterloo. In the Balkans, preparing a thrust northwards into Central Europe to block the Russians and Austrians, a horde of Muslim mercenaries is gathering... -
![Flying Colours by C.S. Forester]()
Flying Colours by C.S. Forester
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsForced to surrender his ship, the Sutherland, after a long and bloody battle, Captain Horatio Hornblower now bides his time as a prisoner in a French fortress...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![The Iceman by P.T. Deutermann]()
The Iceman by P.T. Deutermann
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Iceman is an action-packed World War II military thriller featuring a daring United States Navy submarine commander during the Pacific war in 1942-43.In 1942, off the port city of St. Nazaire in occupied France, a United States Navy S-class submarine assigned to the Royal Navy lurks just outside the borders of the minefield protecting a German U-boat base...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Final Harbor: Volume 1 by Harry Homewood]()
Final Harbor: Volume 1 by Harry Homewood
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA DEADLY GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK She was a monster, sleek and gleaming, designed to strike without warning like the dreaded shark. She was the USS Mako, as fearless and bold as any submarine that ever prowled the blue Pacific. Her mission: seek out and destroy the hitherto invincible ships of the Japanese Imperial Navy — and revenge the earlier defeats of a long and dirty war...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Sharpe's Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell]()
Sharpe's Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsJune 1815: The Duke of Wellington, the Prince of Orange, and Napoleon will meet on the battlefield...and decide the fate of EuropeWith the emperor Napoleon at its head, and enormous French army is marching toward Brussels. The British and their allies are also converging on Brussels - in preparation for a grand society ball...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Rome's Lost Son by Robert Fabbri]()
Rome's Lost Son by Robert Fabbri
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe sixth installment in Robert Fabbri's epic Vespasian seriesRome, AD 51: Vespasian brings Rome's greatest enemy before the Emperor. After eight years of resistance, the British warrior Caratacus has been caught. But even Vespasian's victory cannot remove the newly-made consul from Roman politics: Agrippina, Emperor Claudius's wife, pardons Caratacus... -
![Harm's Way by James Bassett]()
Harm's Way by James Bassett
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsRockwell Terry is a career naval captain who has served since WWI. Now is the dawn of another world war as his ship patrols outside Pearl Harbor. He leads a sheltered life, goes nowhere and sees no one. With the outbreak of the war, his past begins to emerge... -
![Command by Antony Melville-Ross]()
Command by Antony Melville-Ross
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrozen fingers, broken bones, shattered hearts… the situation could not get worse. Or so Lieutenant Peter Harding thought. The Trigger has just left UK shores and is on its way to northern Norway when the relentless storm hits. Harding’s crew are barely surviving the Artic conditions which face them...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
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![The Lion at Sea by Max Hennessy]()
The Lion at Sea by Max Hennessy
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMidshipman Kelly Maguire has always had a love affair with the sea. And when war clouds gather over Europe, Maguire is put to the test along with the marine might of the Royal Navy. From the Hellish battles of Gallipoli to the barbarous action at Antwerp, Maguire begins to learn the lessons a sailor must face. Glory and danger abound in this sizzling saga of adventure, blood and guts... -
![Ship of the Line by C.S. Forester]()
Ship of the Line by C.S. Forester
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsHornblower leads his first ship of the line into enemy waters in this installment of C. S. Forester's beloved adventure series, called "exciting, realistic, packed with grand naval action" by the New Yorker. May 1810, seventeen years deep into the Napoleonic Wars...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![The Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower: A Biography of C. S. Forester's Famous Naval Hero by C. Northcote Parkinson]()
The Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower: A Biography of C. S. Forester's Famous Naval Hero by C. Northcote Parkinson
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsMany know of Horatio Hornblower's exploits during the Napoleonic Wars through the novels of C.S. Forester, but how many know the true Hornblower—the man who rose from Midshipman to Admiral of the British Fleet? Using Hornblower family papers discovered in the 1970s, C. Northcote Parkinson has set the record straight in this authoritative biography... -
![Das Boot by Lothar-Günther Buchheim]()
Das Boot by Lothar-Günther Buchheim
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt is autumn, 1941, and a German U-boat commander and his crew set out on yet another hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic. Over the coming weeks they must brave the stormy waters of the Atlantic in their mission to seek out and destroy British supply ships. But the tide is beginning to turn against the Germans in the war for the North Atlantic...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Final Storm by Jeff Shaara]()
The Final Storm by Jeff Shaara
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Final Storm opens a new front in Jeff Shaara’s gripping chronicle of World War II as soldiers, sailors, and marines sacrifice all for one final push toward decisive victory in the fierce maelstrom of the Pacific theater. As the war in Europe winds down in the wake of the Normandy invasion, the United States has turned its vast military resources toward an all-out effort against the Japanese...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Tom Swan and the Last Spartans: Part Four by Christian Cameron]()
Tom Swan and the Last Spartans: Part Four by Christian Cameron
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsThe latest instalment of the Tom Swan adventures - the fast-paced serialised novel set in the turbulent Europe of the fifteenth century... -
![Tom Swan and the Last Spartans: Part Five by Christian Cameron]()
Tom Swan and the Last Spartans: Part Five by Christian Cameron
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsThe latest instalment of the Tom Swan adventures - the fast-paced serialised novel set in the turbulent Europe of the fifteenth century.Available exclusively in eBook... -
![Somewhere in the South Pacific by John J. Gobbell]()
Somewhere in the South Pacific by John J. Gobbell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsInspired by the true story of John F. Kennedy's daring naval mission at the height of World War II, this historical thriller brings the unanswered question of the past to life with fast-paced action and vivid detail... -
![Tom Swan and the Head of St. George Part Six: Chios by Christian Cameron]()
Tom Swan and the Head of St. George Part Six: Chios by Christian Cameron
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsA young Englishman, Tom Swan, finds himself in the midst of the Turkish siege of one of the riches islands in the Genoese Empire. Swan's biggest problem is that he hates the Genoese a good deal more than he hates the Turks. Despite which, he has to catch the spy, steal the ring, kill the traitor, and if possible rescue the princess. Or maybe just bed her.All duty, of course... -
![The Captain's Nephew by Philip K. Allan]()
The Captain's Nephew by Philip K. Allan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter a century of war, revolutions, and Imperial conquests, 1790s Europe is still embroiled in a battle for control of the sea and colonies. Tall ships navigate familiar and foreign waters, and ambitious young men without rank or status seek their futures in Naval commands. First Lieutenant Alexander Clay of the frigate Agrius is self-made, clever, and ready for the new age... -
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![The King's Marauder by Dewey Lambdin]()
The King's Marauder by Dewey Lambdin
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe year 1807 starts out badly for Captain Alan Lewrie, Royal Navy. His frigate HMS Reliant has a new captain, he’s living at his father’s estate at Anglesgreen, among spiteful neighbors and family, and he’s recovering from a wound suffered in the South Atlantic. At last, there’s a bright spot... -
![Ghosts of Bungo Suido by P.T. Deutermann]()
Ghosts of Bungo Suido by P.T. Deutermann
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA thrilling WWII adventure set in a submarine in the Pacific, by the Boyd Award-winning author of Pacific Glory In late 1944, America's naval forces face what seems an insurmountable threat from Japan: immense Yamato-class battleships, which dwarf every other ship at sea. Built in secrecy, these ships seem invincible, and lay waste to any challengers...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Sharpe's Company by Bernard Cornwell]()
Sharpe's Company by Bernard Cornwell
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsTo stem the Napoleonic tide, Sharpe must capture a fortress—where his wife and infant daughter are trapped—while protecting himself from a fellow officer determined to destroy him... -
![Enemy in Sight by Alexander Kent, Douglas Reeman]()
Enemy in Sight by Alexander Kent, Douglas Reeman
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAboard the Hyperion, Richard Bolitho sets sail with an untrained crew for blockade duty off France. Unfortunately, his superior, Commodore Mathias Pelham-Martin, is an incompetent egotist whose petty hostilities jeopardize the operation of an entire fleet... -
![Sharpe's Ransom by Bernard Cornwell]()
Sharpe's Ransom by Bernard Cornwell
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShort Story Originally written for the The Daily Mail newspaper in 1995 and also published as one of two short stories in Sharpe's Christmas.'Sharpe's Ransom', is set in France, after the wars, when old enemies take Sharpe's woman and child hostage... -
![Collapse Depth by Todd Tucker, Graham Halstead]()
Collapse Depth by Todd Tucker, Graham Halstead
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLieutenant Danny Jabo is a young officer onboard the USS Alabama, a Trident submarine. When a mad man tries to stop the ship's vital mission, it's up to Danny and the rest of the heroic crew to stop him... -
![Sharpe's Rifles by Bernard Cornwell, Frederick Davidson]()
Sharpe's Rifles by Bernard Cornwell, Frederick Davidson
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWhen Sharpe rises from the ranks to take command, he finds himself with an unexpected ally in the war against Napoleon.It's 1809, and the powerful French juggernaut is sweeping across Spain. Lieutenant Richard Sharpe is newly in command of the demoralized, distrustful men of the Ninety-fifth Rifles...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![To Glory We Steer by Alexander Kent]()
To Glory We Steer by Alexander Kent
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAlexander Kent is the pseudonym of Douglas Reeman, a contemporary British writer. Reeman joined the British Navy at 16 and served on destroyers and small crafts during World War II, eventually rising to lieutenant. He later worked as a London detective and has served as a script advisor for television and film. He travels extensively, scouting locations for his books... -
![Sloop of War by Alexander Kent, Douglas Reeman]()
Sloop of War by Alexander Kent, Douglas Reeman
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe year is 1778, the ship is the 18-gun HMS Sparrow, England's finest sloop of war, and the Captain is Richard Bolitho, sailing his command into the fury of battle... -
![Sharpe's Regiment by Bernard Cornwell]()
Sharpe's Regiment by Bernard Cornwell
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsSharpe returns to England and discovers an illegal recruiting ring that sells soldiers like cattle to other divisions. The ringleaders know Sharpe is on their trail, and they try to kill him at every turn... -
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![The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat]()
The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA powerful novel of the North Atlantic in World War II, this is the story of the British ships Compass Rose and Saltash and of their desparate cat-and-mouse game with Nazi U-boats. First published to great acclaim in 1951, The Cruel Sea remains a classic novel of endurance and daring...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Run Silent Run Deep by Edward L. Beach]()
Run Silent Run Deep by Edward L. Beach
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCommander Edward Richardson and his exec, Jim Bledsoe, are bound together by wartime duty, divided by jealousy, pride and love for one beautiful woman. Their home is the USS Walrus, part of the "silent service" engaged in a crucial drive to destroy the Japanese navy in the dark days of WW II...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military nautical war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Sharpe's Siege by Bernard Cornwell, William Gaminara]()
Sharpe's Siege by Bernard Cornwell, William Gaminara
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAn adventure novel set in Napoleonic France, where Richard Sharpe finds himself leading a small force of riflemen in support of an ambitious and inept naval Captain's schemes. From the author of SHARPE'S BATTLE and BATTLE FLAG... -
![Tom Swan and the Head of St George Part Three: Constantinople by Christian Cameron]()
Tom Swan and the Head of St George Part Three: Constantinople by Christian Cameron
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings1450s France. A young Englishman, Tom Swan, is kneeling in the dirt, waiting to be killed by the French who've taken him captive. He's not a professional soldier. He's really a merchant and a scholar looking for remnants of Ancient Greece and Rome - temples, graves, pottery, fabulous animals, unicorn horns... -
![The Three Generals by Martin Tessmer]()
The Three Generals by Martin Tessmer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings210 BCE. The Roman Republic battles the empire of Carthage for control of the Mediterranean. Mago, Gisgo, and Hasdrubal hold Iberia and its riches firmly within their grip, preparing to send Hannibal the Great enough resources to destroy Rome forever...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military war fiction thriller historical young-adult action-adventure -
![Rome by Christian Cameron]()
Rome by Christian Cameron
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsA young Englishman, Tom Swan, is badly wounded in a desperate sea fight. When he wakes in a hospital, he's in one of the last towns in Greece holding out against the Turks. And there aren't any women to be found. Rich men vie to hire him, and they all seem to want the same thing-a fabulous jewel made for Alexander the Great.He's not a professional soldier...
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