Naval fiction is a subgenre of military fiction focused on a ship and its crew. It’s split between the Age of Sail and modern era, with different characteristics. Historical information and character development are emphasized in the Age of Sail, while modern era novels focus on military conflicts and weaponry. Popular authors include CS Forester and Patrick O’Brian for the Age of Sail, and Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, and James Cobb for the modern era.
Naval fiction can be considered a subgenre of military fiction. Naval stories are usually focused on a particular ship in a nation’s navy, with its captain or crew members being the main characters. The plots of these novels typically involve the actions of the crew aboard a ship as they participate in real historical or fictional battles. The crew often prevails against overwhelming odds due to the ingenuity of the ship’s captain. Most naval fiction is split between two time periods: the so-called Age of Sail from the 1500s to the mid-1800s, and the modern era, which includes later ships powered by steam, oil, or nuclear power.
Naval fiction set in the age of sail chronicles life on a wooden naval vessel powered by sails. The authors often provide detailed accounts of what life was like aboard these ships, describing everything from bouts of scurvy to the types of weapons the ships carried. Historical information about ships is often so detailed that some literary critics consider the ships to be extra characters in the books. Such a common storyline includes the ship being damaged while away from home and the crew having to repair the ship with primitive tools before the crew can take part in the final battle of the novel. Most naval novels of the age of sail are based on ships of European nations that had established a global naval presence in the 18th century, including Great Britain and Spain.
Due to the technologies of the modern era, naval fiction set in this period has different characteristics from that set in the age of sail. The books focus more on military conflicts and weaponry and less on character development. These novels are often filled with technical details about the main characters’ ship and the ships of the enemy nation they are in conflict with. Because both sides are often on equal footing when it comes to technology, battles in modern-era naval fiction are often decided by the ingenuity of the captain and crew. Modern era storylines often contain a more global setting due to the range of ships, and geopolitics usually play a part in the story arc. They also include a wider variety of ships, including aircraft carriers and submarines.
Author CS Forester is considered one of the pioneers of naval fiction due to his novels centered on the character of Horatio Hornblower and his adventures in the 18th century British Royal Navy. Patrick O’Brian’s novels in the Aubrey/Maturin series are another example of books from the age of sail. These two authors are often considered the most popular storytellers of the genre. Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts and James Cobb are examples of authors who sometimes write naval novels set in the modern era.
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