On Britbox....... very good TVTwo series are worth every minute of reading.
1) “Space opera”—Sci-fi version of soap opera/warfare, but that trite description doesn’t do the series justice. The Honor Harrington series by David Weber. Futuristic star kingdoms battle for control and freedom amidst never-to-be-adequately-dammed political and human manipulations. From wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorverse :
“The Honorverse is a military science fiction book series, its two subseries, two prequel series, and anthologies created by David Weber and published by Baen Books. They are centered on the space navy career of the principal protagonist Honor Harrington. The books have made The New York Times Best Seller list.”
The main characters, Honor Harrington, a wonderful female officer which the series takes from midshipman up to captain and beyond, and her companion Nimitz (aka “Stinker”), a telepathic/empathic alien “Treecat” resembling a large earth cat but with 6 limbs and a penchant for celery (nearly-intoxicating to treecats and which produces noxious farts), are unbelievably enjoyable and memorable. Truth, honor, duty, sacrifice—all key themes. And the prequels and spin-off series are all excellent. And if you like the writing style, you’ll like other David Weber series (too many to describe).
2) Historical warfare, focusing on the view from the common soldier and the affected populace. The Richard Sharpe peninsular war series, by Bernard Cornwell (Europe, Napoleonic+, ca. 1800). From wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpe_(novel_series) :
“Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of British soldier Richard Sharpe. The stories formed the basis for an ITV television series featuring Sean Bean in the title role.
“Cornwell’s series is composed of many novels and several short stories, and charts Sharpe’s progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars, though the novels were published in non-chronological order. He begins in Sharpe’s Tiger as a private in the 33rd Regiment of Foot who is continually promoted, finally rising to lieutenant colonel in Sharpe’s Waterloo. His military career ends with the final defeat of Napoleon, but he has more adventures as a civilian.”
Excellent depiction of duty and honor, and of the horrors of humankind and war, and wonderful recurring main characters, especially Sharpe. The battles and campaigns are well researched by the author, who usually personally visited the battle sites and some of the cities to better understand them.
On Britbox....... very good TV“The Richard Sharpe peninsular war series, by Bernard Cornwell”
Cornwell’s Nathaniel Starbuck series is excellent, especially his takes on McClellan and Stonewall Jackson. His descriptions of combat are also well done. Too bad he didn’t finish the series.