H. M. S. Surprise vs The Great Shadow: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Napoleonic wars, History, Fiction

Cover of H. M. S. Surprise

H. M. S. Surprise Patrick O'Brian · 1973 ★★★★☆ 4.4 414 pages · ≈ 7 h 40 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of The Great Shadow

The Great Shadow Arthur Conan Doyle · 1892 ★★★★☆ 3.8 134 pages · ≈ 2 h 29 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

The verdict

Readers rate H. M. S. Surprise higher: 4.4 vs 3.8 from 223 votes.
The Great Shadow is the quicker read — about 2 hours vs 7 for H. M. S. Surprise.
H. M. S. Surprise is the easier read (Moderate), The Great Shadow more demanding (Challenging).

Side by side