Historical Fiction

[John Blaze]

I don't know about you guys, but some of the best reading, to me, is in this genre. Most of my favorite books are this type. Here's a few of my favorites, in that order.

1 & 2.) a set, and my two favorite books ever, probably.
"Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance" by Herman Wouk.

I would recommend those two to anyone, even if you don't care about history.

3. "Aztec" by Gary Jennings. he has a couple of them on this genre, and Aztec itself has a couple of pretty good sequels.

4. "The Journeyer" also by Gary Jennings. The story of Marco Polo.

5. "Gettysburg" by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen

Maybe you guys can tell me about some other historical fiction out there, I'd love to expand my library.

[OchrisO]

Stephen R. Lawhead writes some good historical fiction.

Patrick: Son of Ireland is pretty good.

He writes a lot of stuff that is historical fiction in that it is based on mth stuff, but has his own imagining. He has one called Hood that is about Robin Hood that I really want to read, and some really good stuff based on King Arthur called The Pendragon Cycle.

You can read about his books at his website: http://www.stephenlawhead.com/

[Rjeso]

Judith Tarr's works are almost all historical fiction, but they often have a touch of fantasy thrown in to boot. Her most famous work is The Hound and the Falcon trilogy, comprised of The Isle of Glass, The Golden Horn, and The Hounds of God. The series is set during the Crusades, and is dealing mostly with religion versus nature in the central character, a Catholic monk who is also a member of the fair folk and therefore evil according to his own faith. It's one of my favorite series ever, really.

[John Blaze]

Stephen R. Lawhead writes some good historical fiction.

Patrick: Son of Ireland is pretty good.

He writes a lot of stuff that is historical fiction in that it is based on mth stuff, but has his own imagining. He has one called Hood that is about Robin Hood that I really want to read, and some really good stuff based on King Arthur called The Pendragon Cycle.

You can read about his books at his website: http://www.stephenlawhead.com/

Sounds like my kind of stuff. A book about Robin Hood sounds good, i'll have to pick it up or ebay it. thanks Chris.

[John Blaze]

Judith Tarr's works are almost all historical fiction, but they often have a touch of fantasy thrown in to boot. Her most famous work is The Hound and the Falcon trilogy, comprised of The Isle of Glass, The Golden Horn, and The Hounds of God. The series is set during the Crusades, and is dealing mostly with religion versus nature in the central character, a Catholic monk who is also a member of the fair folk and therefore evil according to his own faith. It's one of my favorite series ever, really.

:O i must find this book, and destroy it as heresy!

jk! i'd love to read this. I also enjoy some good fantasy on occasion, my favorite being The Dragonriders of Pern series.

[Rjeso]

Haha, Pern! High five. I used to read those all the time.

I gotta find those again. It's been years.

[fernandito]

300!!!


Although it's a graphic novel, it's still very well written (and illustrated).

[John Blaze]

300!!!


Although it's a graphic novel, it's still very well written (and illustrated).

:scared: how can I have forgotten Gates of Fire?? It is the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, as historically accurate as possible. It is still a great story, and one of my favorites. Steven Pressfield is the author, ask for it by name!

Seriously, every one of you should read this book, it is awesome.

[Matt]

It sounds great. I can't wait till 300 comes out on DVD

[John Blaze]

I already have it on dvd..... :)

it's the best quality bootleg I've ever had, it's like a real dvd.

[Rjeso]

It sounds great. I can't wait till 300 comes out on DVD

Amen to that. I saw it in the IMAX theater - absolutely amazing.

[fernandito]

I'm not big on buying bootleg dvd's, however I do burn original dvd's quite frequently. However, I need to have 300 on original, this director deserves my money for coming up with this visual masterpiece.

[Matt]

I'm not sure I have the technical expertise to download movies :lol:

Not to mention, I already have a file at the federal government going on me.

[fernandito]

Not to mention, I already have a file at the federal government going on me.

Do you work for British intelligence? And if so, do you prefere your drinks shaken and not stirred? :dance:

No but seriously, what did you do to piss off the government?

[Matt]

I was just playing but I have had a very mis spent youth.

We have a joke on the phone that every time you talk about drugs or partying, the NSA picks up the line. :lol:

TBH--I really hope I don't

[John Blaze]

I'm not big on buying bootleg dvd's, however I do burn original dvd's quite frequently. However, I need to have 300 on original, this director deserves my money for coming up with this visual masterpiece.


I don't usually do bootlegs either, but it's a testament of my love for this movie that I had to have it right away. I will buy it again when it comes out though, just to get the deleted scenes and bonus features.

[Cutter]

I've always been a fan of anything by Allan W. Eckert.

These stories to me, are America's mythology. Tecumseh, Daniel Boone, et cetera. Even though it's history, it's unfathomable to me to grasp that this stuff actually happened, especially what happened in my home state Ohio, it feels like it's mythology, even though it's the truth. Anyway, the historical Native Americans and the New Americans who were forever expanding west for a new country, are equal in respect and fascination to read. I just love this stuff!

[John Blaze]

He has some good books, I read Blue Jacket, and it was very good. I also like reading the books on native Generals. Have you ever reas James Alexander Thom? He has a book named Panther In The Sky, about the life of Tecumseh, which is awesomely written. I've also read stories on Sitting Bull and Geronimo.

[Fall of Gilead]

The Alienist by Caleb Carr is a pretty good book. Kind of Sherlock Holmes-ish.

[Rjeso]

Matthew Pearl's The Dante Club is a fun read. It stars legendary literary figures during their translation of The Divine Comedy, and is about murders that take place in Boston that reflect some of the circles of Hell as described by Dante.

[fernandito]

I don't usually do bootlegs either, but it's a testament of my love for this movie that I had to have it right away. I will buy it again when it comes out though, just to get the deleted scenes and bonus features.

Good man, JB. :thumbsup:

[John Blaze]

Ok, you guys have given me some fuel for my reading list. Today I started my reread of Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield. Again, i recommend it to everyone!

[Squatchie]

Three words: Guy Gavriel Kay.

He's Canadian, and very talented. Though, of course, that goes without saying. :P Years back he helped Christopher Tolkein edit The Silmarillion before it was published.

Tigana -- Italy
A Song For Arbonne -- Medieval France
The Lions of Al-Rassan -- Spain (probably my favourite book, and soon to be made into a movie)
The Sarantine Mosaic (a duology made up of Sailing To Sarantium and Lord Of Emperors) -- 6th-century Byzantium
The Last Light Of The Sun -- Viking, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic cultures (also going to be a movie)

Some of the specific eras elude me (obviously) but they're all great.

He also did a trilogy (they're his first published works, actually) that was high-fantasy rather than historical, though they do draw from myth and magic from several different cultures -- including that of King Arthur. They're my all-time favourite books. The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road, together comprising The Fionavar Tapestry.

www.brightweavings.com

[John Blaze]

Great Squatchie! thanks!

The Lions Of Al-Rassan, I'll get those soon.

[fernandito]

Hey JB, I just ordered Gates of Fire from Amazon. :cool:

[John Blaze]

I'm 100% sure you will enjoy it, my friend. Just keep in mind that you can't really compare it to the 300. Gates of Fire is as closely based on actual historical events as possible. It is an AWESOME book, i'll take my oath on that, but if you expect it to be the same, you may be dissapointed.

[Steve]

Read McCarthy's Blood Meridian. It's a haunting look at the scalp trade in the 1840s.

[John Blaze]

it goes on the list.

thanks steve

[nyy3723a]

Speaks the Nightbird by McCammon was a great read - a little slow at first, but once it got its claws in me, it wouldn't let go. The sequal to it is coming out later this year.

I'm thrilled to have McCammon back writing and publishing again!

[sarajean]

bumping due to the recent conversation in the what are you currently reading thread.

[Bev Vincent]

The Terror and Drood by Dan Simmons (along with his earlier The Crook Factory) are great historical novels.

[Heather19]

The Terror and Drood by Dan Simmons (along with his earlier The Crook Factory) are great historical novels.

What's The Crook Factory about, I've never heard of it?

[Bev Vincent]

It's about Hemingway during the years when he lived in Cuba. In Simmons' world, at least, he was looking for spies.

[Heather19]

Interesting. I might check it out.

[Ruthful]

http://www.inkcobooks.com/apps/webstore/products/show/137349

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/I-Claudius/Robert-Graves/e/9780679724773

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/robert-graves/claudius-god.htm

[John Blaze]

I don't know if they count as Historical Fiction, matter of fact, i don't think they do, but they touch on alot of history, and it's purported to be fact, so I'll discuss them here.

The first time I heard of Dan Brown was when all the fuss was made about The DaVinci Code.

As a total hater of everything that's popular that i didn't like before it was popular, i decided I wouldn't read it.

Recently I found both Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code for 25 cents a piece at a secondhand store, and bought them. They sat in a plastic bag in my closet for 2 weeks before I ran out of things to read.

I have to say I read Angels and Demons in one night, and The DaVinci Code the next. Not the best books ever, but definitely very well written and compelling. It seems to me that Dan Brown fancies himself
M. Knight Shaymalan of the writing world, with the twists he always throws in, but other than that they were quite entertaining.

I recommend that if, like me, you have shunned these books because of popularity, you get over yourself and read them. They're worth a look.

[sarajean]

i completely disagree. one of the things i despise about dan brown (and james patterson for that matter) is that they write as if they believe me to be stupid, and that i need every single thing spelled out for me. i feel like i'm being talked down to while i'm reading, and i don't need that from books. i get it enough in real life.

[Chap]

JB, I don't remember if it was you I mentioned this to before, but here goes:

Conn Iggulden's books about Caesar. The series is called "Emperor". 4 books so far, great stuff.
Also Wilbur Smith's books about Taita. (River God, The Seventh Scroll, Warlock and The Quest)

[John Blaze]

thanks chap.what are the Taita books about?

also, someone mentioned a bunch of books about primitive peoples, and now I can't find it, something about people of the sea or something?

[sarajean]

look in the gude to dutch hill.

it's under "people of the..." (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?t=590)

[Chap]

hard to describe what the Taita books are about.
It takes place in ancient Egypt :)
if you google Wilbur Smith and read about his "Egyptian series", you'll see. Taita is the main character in 3 of the 4 books. He's... special.

[John Blaze]

speaking of special, Gary Jennings wrote a book named Raptor about a hermaphrodite raised in a convent who goes out to find his fortune and becomes a Minister of War to the Ostrogoth king, pretty good read. ending kinda sucks tho, but you could say that about all his books. Except Spangle, that was good.

[fernandito]

Hey JB, I really enjoyed Gates of Fire. Twas awesome :cool:

[Darkthoughts]

I don't read alot of historical fiction, but I love James Clavell. Shogun is an amazing read and the books that follow on from it, Gai Jin, Tai Pan are entertaining, if not the best writing around.
His WW2 story King Rat is a complete knock out though, that's highly recommended.

[cozener]

You can bet that if I'm not reading science fiction I'm reading historical fiction. Since I live in the here and now stories set in it tend to bore me.

Actually, I should amend that...if it takes place within the last few hundred years I probably won't pick it up. We're talking Renaissance and back.

[John Blaze]

Hey JB, I really enjoyed Gates of Fire. Twas awesome :cool:
Glad to hear it, i still read it about once a month.

Xeo rocks.

[John Blaze]

I don't read alot of historical fiction, but I love James Clavell. Shogun is an amazing read and the books that follow on from it, Gai Jin, Tai Pan are entertaining, if not the best writing around.
His WW2 story King Rat is a complete knock out though, that's highly recommended.
goes on the list.

[Lily-sai]

JB, I don't remember if it was you I mentioned this to before, but here goes:

Conn Iggulden's books about Caesar. The series is called "Emperor". 4 books so far, great stuff.
Also Wilbur Smith's books about Taita. (River God, The Seventh Scroll, Warlock and The Quest)

Chap, I LOVE Taita! What a character. The first book is my absolute favorite, I must have read it at least ten times. The other books.. I don't know, they somehow lack the magic the first one had. Perhaps I should give them a try again.

I'll mention The Egyptian again.
Quoting Wiki:


The Egyptian is the first, and the most successful, of Waltari's great historical novels. It is set in a fascinating period of Egyptian history, mostly during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten of the 18th Dynasty, whom some have claimed to be the first monotheistic ruler in the world.

The hero of the novel is not Akhenaten, however, but the fictional character Sinuhe, the royal physician, who tells the story in exile after Akhenaten's fall and death. Apart from incidents in Egypt, the novel charts Sinuhe's travels in then-Egyptian dominated Syria (Levant), Mitanni, Babylon, Minoan Crete, and among the Hittites.

I love, love this book. Full of sadness, but so well written. I've also heard the translation is quite good (Waltari, the writer, was a Finn). Read it. Read it! *hypnotizing voice*

[Chap]

JB, I don't remember if it was you I mentioned this to before, but here goes:

Conn Iggulden's books about Caesar. The series is called "Emperor". 4 books so far, great stuff.
Also Wilbur Smith's books about Taita. (River God, The Seventh Scroll, Warlock and The Quest)

Chap, I LOVE Taita! What a character. The first book is my absolute favorite, I must have read it at least ten times. The other books.. I don't know, they somehow lack the magic the first one had. Perhaps I should give them a try again.


Oh I couldn't agree more, Lily! The first book is pure brilliance. :D The others are good, but not like that.
My least favourite would probably be the last one.

[obscurejude]

Read McCarthy's Blood Meridian. It's a haunting look at the scalp trade in the 1840s.

I came in here to post about that actually. Its one of the best books I've ever read hands down as well as one of the most despairing. I think its one of the most astute things ever written about American Exceptionalism. Very few things within the past few years have affected me as much as Blood Meridian. People tend to hate McCarthy or love him and I'm definitely the latter in all respects. Several times I had to put this book down for a few minutes and just weep. You can call me a pussy JB, but I couldn't care less.

[John Blaze]

Read McCarthy's Blood Meridian. It's a haunting look at the scalp trade in the 1840s.

I came in here to post about that actually. Its one of the best books I've ever read hands down as well as one of the most despairing. I think its one of the most astute things ever written about American Exceptionalism. Very few things within the past few years have affected me as much as Blood Meridian. People tend to hate McCarthy or love him and I'm definitely the latter in all respects. Several times I had to put this book down for a few minutes and just weep. You can call me a pussy JB, but I couldn't care less.

why would I do that? I cried during Marley and Me.

And I already have that book on my to buy list, but since you recommend it so highly I'll push it to the front of the list.

thanks.


look in the gude to dutch hill.

it's under "people of the..." (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?t=590)Hey thanks, I hadn't noticed you added the link. :couple:


Hey JB, I really enjoyed Gates of Fire. Twas awesome :cool:
And I can't believe I kept forgetting you told me already. I won't forget again feevs, thanks.


I don't read alot of historical fiction, but I love James Clavell. Shogun is an amazing read and the books that follow on from it, Gai Jin, Tai Pan are entertaining, if not the best writing around.
His WW2 story King Rat is a complete knock out though, that's highly recommended.

Is King Rat a stand alone book, or do I read the other 3 first?>

[obscurejude]

I'll be interested to read your thoughts on it Bruno. Its a very discussion provoking book in the right hands.

[Empath of the White]

I've got the first book in the Brethren of the Coast series--The Guardship by James Nelson sitting on my bookshelf. Its a good book; Nelson's use of the time period's dialect is something I really enjoyed. I can't say how the rest of the book is, since at some random point it just jumped back on my bookshelf and is still there waiting for me.><

The pirate angle is what attracted me; the Pirates movie trilogy is my favorite, but of course they're fantasy. I was interested in a realistic look at the buccaneers.

[John Blaze]

I actually have a problem with authors using age specific dialect. If they want to use arcane phrasing, that's period correct, that's fine. But I don' want to read Canterbury Tales all over again, and don't much care for occitan.

Plain english, or spanish, is fine for me. :)

[obscurejude]

Large sections of Blood Meridian are in Spanish. McCarthy is fluent and thinks all Americans are idiots if they aren't.

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

My favorite book from this genre has been Ride the Wind by Lucia St. Clair Robson. It is the story of Cynthia Ann Parker. I have a friend from highschool (B. Parker) who is a decendant of Quanah Parker. He recommended the book to me, and it was very good. JB, I saw that you had read books on Sitting Bull and a couple of other Indian legends. If you enjoy books about Native Americans, don't let this one pass you up.

[John Blaze]

I've read abou Quanah before, definitely an interesting person. If you like biographies of native americans, read Panther In The Sky, it's definitely the best I've ever read, and it's the story of Tecumseh, from his point of view. Fictional, of course, but historically accurate.

[DoctorDodge]

JB, I don't remember if it was you I mentioned this to before, but here goes:

Conn Iggulden's books about Caesar. The series is called "Emperor". 4 books so far, great stuff.
Also Wilbur Smith's books about Taita. (River God, The Seventh Scroll, Warlock and The Quest)

I'm currently on the 1st Emperor book myself Chap, and it really is great stuff!

True, my new interest in ancient rome is partly because i've been playing Rome: Total War a lot, but also because ancient rome is pretty much my favourite period of history to read about anyway, whether fact or fiction: epic wars, a republic which became an empire, a civilisation with an underbelly of many vices including prostitution, all of that is great stuff for storytelling, I reckon.

Anyone know any other great Roman fiction that I should watch out for?

[educatedlady]

This isn't completely historical fiction but I quite enjoyed it. Fun summer reading anyway.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (http://www.physickbook.com/) by Katherine Howe

It is part Salem witch trials part 1990s college life. The historical parts were my favorite.

[MonteGss]

3. "Aztec" by Gary Jennings. he has a couple of them on this genre, and Aztec itself has a couple of pretty good sequels.


I've had this one for a long time but have not picked it up yet. I inherited it when my parents moved away. You really liked it, huh?

[Munchausen]

Three names come to mind.
Ken Follett: Pillars of the Earth and its sequel World Without End revolve around a medieval village in England. The interaction of the peasantry, nobililty, clergy and rising merchantile classes is analysed in this novelization. Good characters and drama. Ken's WWII stuff is enjoyable too. I particularly liked The Jackdaws and Hornet Flight.

Harry Turtledove: master of alternative history. Start with Guns of the South and if that's not your cup of tea, then proceed no further. Otherwise you would enjoy his larger works that start with the premise that the CSA was able to achieve its autonomy and history works from there.

Jack Whyte: I'm still waiting for the third book of his Templar trilogy. The first two were excellent. They echo some of Dan Brown's conspiracies while still holding to a very well researched history. He also has his take on the Authurian Mythos. I've read Uther and liked it.

[Devorah]

The Master's of Rome series is excellent. I can't enjoy the book when I'm constantly thinking "that's wrong". This series is different. She clearly did her research. It is wonderfully written and brings to life such people as Marious, Sulla, Cicero, Caesar and so many more.

[John Blaze]

3. "Aztec" by Gary Jennings. he has a couple of them on this genre, and Aztec itself has a couple of pretty good sequels.


I've had this one for a long time but have not picked it up yet. I inherited it when my parents moved away. You really liked it, huh?

Read it, and any other Jennings you can get your hands on.

[Cort]

The Viking series by Tim Severin is pretty good. It covers some Norse,Irish and Saxon history and is quite nicely written, nothing too deep but an enjoyable series of books all the same. :clap:

[John Blaze]

that sounds very interesting. I'll put it on my list.

[Mordred Deschain]

I'll have to come back, there's a bunch of books I've read when I was dealing with fact and fiction and my struggle with religion and history. I have a lot of books dealing with the Roman Empire, before during and after Julius Caesar. Tons of Greek and Norse mytho books. Thor is my god! A few Arthur books. Books on Celtic history and Mythos. I'll have to find them so I can list them.

[John Blaze]

Arthur Books? i think Chris T posted some about him and Robin Hood I have on my list. When I'm done with my Malazan Book of the Fallen series I'm reading those next.

[Erin]

I've talked before about wanting to check out one of Margaret George's historical fiction books, but now I'm ready to start on one. I'm looking around on Amazon and can't decide which to read first between the Henry VIII, Cleopatra, Helen of Troy or Mary Magdalene books. All of them sound great to me. Any recommendations from anyone who may have read any of them?

[Erin]

why would I do that? I cried during Marley and Me.



Sorry for the double post, but I had to comment on this....I don't think i've ever been as torn up by a book as I was by Marley and Me. I was inconsolable after reading that book, it had such an emotional impact on me. I love my dog like a child.

[Emily]

I've never even noticed this thread before. Gates of Fire is one of my favorites, JB, it's funny that we've never talked about it before.

Someone mentioned this above, but The Camulod Chronicles (they're called something else not in the U.S., I think) by Jack Whyte are really enjoyable. The character Publius Varrus in the first few of those books is one of my all time favorite literary characters.

[Bethany]

Wow. How I have missed this? I love historical fiction, so much that I even prefer historical romances :wtf:

JB got me hooked on Wouk, Winds of War and War and Remembrance are easily some of my favorites. Sheesh, I don't even know where to begin.

Centennial by Michener

North and South by John Jakes

The Woodsman and The Captives by Donald K. Wright~~Set during the America Revolution

Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo

The Grass Crown by Collen McCullough~actually the second book in a whole series about the last days of the Roman Empire. I haven't read any of the others but this one is very good.

These come to mind quickly. I'll have to think of some more. My stepdad is a voracious reader and always had books about WWII or the Civil War handy and I read whatever he was at the time.

[mystima]

My favorite book from this genre has been Ride the Wind by Lucia St. Clair Robson. It is the story of Cynthia Ann Parker. I have a friend from highschool (B. Parker) who is a decendant of Quanah Parker. He recommended the book to me, and it was very good. JB, I saw that you had read books on Sitting Bull and a couple of other Indian legends. If you enjoy books about Native Americans, don't let this one pass you up.

This may sound weird but my 3 sisters and 1 brother are also descendants of Quanah Parker. we have different fathers. Their father is also a descendant. And yes that is a good book. I read it while my mother was looking up our family history when I was younger.