Sea stories book series in reading order

by Douglas Reeman / Alexander Kent

by Julian Stockwin

by David Donachie

by Patrick O’Brian

by David Poyer

by L.A. Meyer

by John Flanagan

by Justin Somper

Nautical historical fiction is Julian Stockwin's subject: seafaring life, naval history, and sailors of Britain and France. His 30 catalogued books span 2001 to 2024 and are dominated by Thomas Kydd, a sequence opening with Kydd (2001), Artemis (2002) and Mutiny (2003). Two standalone novels sit outside it, The Silk Tree and The Powder of Death, alongside non-fiction. Stockwin, an MBE born at Basingstoke in 1944, writes books of a median 352 pages.

Captain Richard Woodman (1944-2024) was an English merchant navy officer, novelist and naval historian who served mainly with Trinity House and retired in 1997 after a 37-year career at sea to write full time. Nathaniel Drinkwater carries the Napoleonic naval fiction, opening with An Eye of the Fleet (1981) and running through A King's Cutter (1982), A Brig of War (1983), The Bomb Vessel (1985) and Baltic Mission (1986). William Kite, Kit Faulkner, James Dunbar and Sword of the State follow, with A History of the British Merchant Navy and Keepers of the Sea on the nonfiction side. The catalogue holds 74 books through 2023, at a median 250 pages.

David Donachie (1944 to 21 December 2023) was a British author of nautical historical novels, who also wrote as Tom Connery, Jack Ludlow and, from 2019, Jack Cole. The Privateersman Mysteries and John Pearce are series, and Harry Ludlow is a character named in the subjects. The catalogue lists 43 books from The Devil's Own Luck (1993) to If I'd Known You in a Better Time (2024), with Markham of the Marines, Nelson and Emma, Contraband Shore and SAS Boat Troop among the other series. Privateering, naval history and France appear in the subjects.

John Flanagan

37 books• 6 series

John Flanagan writes fantasy adventure for readers in grades 6 to 8. The Ruins of Gorlan (2004) opens Ranger's Apprentice, which extends into The Royal Ranger and The Early Years; the Brotherband Chronicles are a second series, and seafaring life and pirates sit in the subject tags. Thirty-eight titles are catalogued through Ambush at Sorato (2024). Apprentices, heroes, courage and friendship recur across the books.

Naval historical fiction is Dewey Lambdin's genre, following the Royal Navy officer Alan Lewrie through sea stories set in British waters and the Caribbean. The King's Coat (1989) opens the sequence, followed by The French Admiral, The King's Commission, The King's Privateer, The Gun Ketch, H.M.S. Cockerel and A King's Commander. Twenty-seven titles make up the catalogue, which ends with Much Ado about Lewrie in 2019.

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, a ship's captain and a ship's physician, carry Patrick O'Brian's sea novels from Master and Commander (1969). The catalogue holds 41 books reaching back to Caesar (1930), with standalone novels, short stories and non-fiction beside the Aubrey/Maturin run. Naval history and sea adventure supply the material, and the 1990s were the densest decade.

David Poyer, born 1949, is an American author and a retired naval officer. Dan Lenson is a series, and subjects include the United States Navy, officers, sea stories, war and military thrillers and terrorists. Tiller Galloway, Hemlock County and Civil War at Sea are other series. The 51 catalogued books run from White Continent (1980) to Writing Your Memoir In The Age Of AI (2026). The Med (1988), Hatteras Blue (1989) and The Gulf (1990) are among the earlier titles.

Joseph Conrad

41 books

Joseph Conrad (1857–1924), born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, was a Polish-British novelist and story writer, regarded as one of the greatest writers in English. Conrad spoke English fluently only from his twenties, and always with a strong accent, yet became a prose stylist who carried a non-English sensibility into English literature. Many of the novels and stories use nautical settings and turn on crises of human individuality in a world Conrad saw as indifferent, inscrutable and amoral. Almayer's Folly (1895), Lord Jim (1900), Heart of Darkness (1902) and Typhoon (1902) sit among 41 catalogued titles.

Clive Cussler

104 books• 9 series

Clive Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. Cussler founded and chaired the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), which has located more than 60 shipwreck sites. Cussler's thrillers, many of them featuring Dirk Pitt, reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than 20 times. The catalogue lists 105 books under Cussler's name, beginning with The Mediterranean Caper (1973), with The Serpent's Eye due in 2027. Robin Burcell shares credit on 6 of them, Jack Du Brul on 5 and Grant Blackwood on 3. Series include Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files, Oregon Files and Sea Hunters.

Jules Verne

93 books• 8 series

The Voyages Extraordinaires account for much of Jules Verne's catalogue of 93 books, translated from the French and running from The Pearl of Lima (1853) onward. Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), The Adventures of Captain Hatteras (1864) and From the Earth to the Moon (1865) belong to the early stretch, with the Captain Nemo, Children of Captain Grant and Steam House books alongside. Imaginary voyages, sea stories and early science fiction supply the material.

Barbara Delinsky, born Barbara Ruth Greenberg on August 9, 1945, is an American romance novelist with 19 New York Times bestsellers. Delinsky has also used the pen names Bonnie Drake and Billie Douglass, and 1982 titles such as A Time to Love are listed under Douglass. The catalogue counts 96 books from 1981 to Tender Loving Care (2024), starting with Surrender by Moonlight and Passionate Touch. Series include Crosslyn Rise, Blake Sisters and Victoria Lesser, and mothers and daughters recur in the subjects.

Born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Stephanie Laurens is an Australian romance novelist and a winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. The catalogue counts 105 books between Tangled Reins (1992) and Who Killed The Earl Of Moran? (2026). Cynster Next Generation, Bastion Club, Black Cobra Quartet, Casebook of Barnaby Adair and Legend of Nimway Hall are among the series, and subject tags name the Cynster family. Subjects also include historical Regency romance, England and the nobility.

Military and technological thrillers make up Larry Bond's work - submarines, intelligence officers and terrorism. Battles of the Third World War (1987) opens the catalogue, and Red Phoenix (1989), Vortex (1991) and Cauldron (1993) follow. Jerry Mitchell heads one series; Larry Bond's First Team and Red Dragon Rising head others. Twenty-five titles are catalogued, the last of them Arctic Gambit in 2018.

James Fenimore Cooper

34 books• 2 series

James Fenimore Cooper wrote frontier and sea fiction in the early American republic. The Leatherstocking Tales follow Natty Bumppo, with The Pioneers (1823), The Prairie (1824) and The Last of the Mohicans (1826) among them; The Pilot (1824) and The Red Rover (1827) belong to the sea stories. Thirty-four titles are catalogued, Indians of North America and pioneer life recur as subjects, and the 1840s were the busiest decade.

L. Ron Hubbard

110 books• 5 series

L. Ron Hubbard (Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, March 13, 1911 to January 24, 1986) was an American writer and the founder of Scientology. The early career produced a large body of pulp science fiction and fantasy. The catalogue holds 110 books, starting in 1934 with Sea Fangs, Dead Men Kill, Hurtling Wings and Twenty Fathoms Down. Series include Mission Earth, Slaves of Sleep and collections of western and science fiction short stories. Hubbard wrote Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950, a book described as pseudoscientific, created Scientology in 1952 and led the Church of Scientology until 1986. Subjects include air pilots, sea stories, westerns and crime.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole is one of the series by Kathryn Lasky, an American children's writer born June 24, 1944, who writes for adults as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann. Lasky's children's work also includes Dear America and The Royal Diaries books, Wolves of the Beyond, Sugaring Time and The Night Journey, and honours include a Newbery Honor, the National Jewish Book Award and the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature. The catalogue holds 159 books from I Have Four Names for My Grandfather (1976) to Sacred Light (2026), including Tugboats Never Sleep (1977), The Weaver's Gift (1980) and Beyond the Divide (1983). Horses Of The Dawn, Bears Of The Ice and Camp Princess are further series, and subjects name owls, wolves, diaries and Jews.

Hammond Innes, full name Ralph Hammond Innes, was a British novelist born on 15 July 1913 who died on 10 June 1998. Innes wrote more than 30 novels, plus books for children and travel writing. Catalogue subjects include thrillers, espionage, sea stories, adventure and the Second World War. Early titles listed are Air Disaster and The Doppelganger (both 1937), Sabotage Broadcast (1938) and The Trojan Horse (1940).

Seth Hunter is the pen name of Paul Bryers, a British film director, screenwriter and novelist born in Liverpool in 1955. Under the Hunter name he writes naval historical fiction: Nathan Peake, a Royal Navy officer, carries all 9 catalogued books, from The Time of Terror (2008) to The Force of Fate (2024). Sea stories, naval history and espionage fill the subject tags.

Alexander McCall Smith

165 books• 25 series

Sir Alexander McCall Smith, born 24 August 1948, is a Scottish legal scholar and novelist who created The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Born and raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), McCall Smith was Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and worked on medical law and bioethics committees. English-language sales passed 40 million by 2010, with translations into 46 languages. The catalogue lists 165 books from White Hippo (1980) to 2026, including 44 Scotland Street, Isabel Dalhousie, Detective Varg and children's titles.

Wilbur Smith was a British-South African novelist born in Northern Rhodesia. Smith's historical fiction covers four centuries of international involvement in Southern Africa. The catalogue lists 66 books, from When the Lion Feeds (1964) to Flashpoint (2026). Series include Courtney, Jack Courtney, Ancient Egypt, Hector Cross and Prey Zone. Recurring character listings include the Courtney family, Ballantyne and Hector Cross. David Churchill and Tom Harper each share the credit on 1 book. Subjects include Africa, Egypt, revenge, espionage and terrorism.

Jack London

156 books• 2 series

Jack London (January 12, 1876 to November 22, 1916), born John Griffith Chaney, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. London helped pioneer commercial fiction and the American magazine, and became one of the first American writers to win international celebrity and a large fortune from writing. A member of the radical San Francisco literary group "The Crowd", London campaigned for animal welfare, workers' rights and socialism. Those causes shaped The Iron Heel, a dystopian novel, and The People of the Abyss, a non-fiction exposé, as well as War of the Classes and Before Adam. The catalogue lists 156 titles from The Wisdom Of The Trail (1899), including The Son of the Wolf (1900) and Children of the Frost (1902).

Alistair MacLean

42 books• 5 series

Alistair MacLean (21 April 1922 to 2 February 1987) was a Scottish novelist of thrillers and adventure stories. MacLean's books have sold an estimated 150 million copies, placing MacLean among the best-selling fiction authors of all time. Service in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Royalist during the Second World War supplied the basis for the debut novel, H.M.S. Ulysses (1955). Many of the novels were filmed, above all The Guns of Navarone and Ice Station Zebra. Catalogued titles include South by Java Head (1958), Night Without End (1960) and Fear is the Key (1961). The author page also lists the Alistair MacLean's UNACO series and Lawrence of Arabia (1962).

Submarine warfare and espionage define Rick Campbell's thrillers. Campbell's 17 catalogued books cover the Trident Deception series of naval and technological thrillers and the Nexus House series, taking in sea stories, military conflict and covert operations. The run opens with The Trident Deception (2014) and continues through Empire Rising (2015), Ice Station Nautilus (2016), Treason (2019) and The Bin Laden Plot (2024). The Outer Realm arrived in 2026 and The Gideon Vortex is scheduled for 2027.

C.S. Forester

53 books• 6 series

C. S. Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith (1899-1966), an English novelist known for tales of naval warfare. The Horatio Hornblower novels, twelve in all, follow a Royal Navy officer through the Napoleonic Wars; two of them, A Ship of the Line and Flying Colours, shared the 1938 James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Forester also wrote The African Queen and The Good Shepherd, both later filmed, and worked for the British Ministry of Information after moving to the United States during the Second World War. The catalogue holds 53 books dated 1924 to 2020, spanning novels, non-fiction, plays, short stories and children's writing.