Good historical fiction? - Page 4

elemenoP · 11-12-2012, 11:23 AM

Corkobo, have you read and do you like Mary Renault? She writes about the time/place you seem to favor. Sadly I don't think they are available in ebook.

eP

Corkobo · 11-12-2012, 12:09 PM

elemenoP,

I have read only one book, "The Last of the Wine".

I liked it a lot even though the tone and the "spirit" of the story are a bit more sad, more melancholy than what I usually enjoy (I don't know the right words to express this, I guess I would call her book thoughtful and pensive).
Then again, the main events of the time the book is set in are not conducive to heroic optimism.

Thank you for reminding me of this, I will look for her other other books now.

Quexos · 11-12-2012, 06:26 PM

I'd recommend Raptor by Gary Jennings and The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco.
Can't think of others just now but when I do I'll post

Quote:

Originally Posted by some call me tim

Does anyone have recommendations for good historical fiction?

hard-boiled pat · 11-12-2012, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by some call me tim

Does anyone have recommendations for good historical fiction? I don't have a whole lot of exposure to the genre, but I'd like to try some more. I've read a lot of Bernard Cornwell's stuff, and enjoyed most of it. I really liked his Warlord Chronicles, which admittedly is a mixture of fantasy and history. I also enjoyed the Saxon Stories, but his writing has gotten rather stale on me. It all seems a bit formulaic now--he fleshes out the era in his books well, but it's like each book is the same story with the same characters, just in a different time period.

I've also read a little bit of Patrick O'Brien, which in the long run I enjoyed, but had to will myself forward in a lot of the places in the few books I read.

Any recommendations? I'm not affixed to any particular time period, I just like the feeling of history coming alive and being immersed in the story.

joe r lansdale has some pretty good depression era books from east texas area... try edge of dark water, the bottoms and all the earth thrown to the sky

drofgnal · 11-13-2012, 05:45 AM

I'm currently reading Sharon Kay Penman's 'When Christ and the Saints Slept'. Follows the tumultuous times of life in England after Henry I with Stephen and Maude fighting over the throne. A pretty good read. There are more in the series after this one that I'll be exploring.

HarryT · 11-13-2012, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drofgnal

I'm currently reading Sharon Kay Penman's 'When Christ and the Saints Slept'. Follows the tumultuous times of life in England after Henry I with Stephen and Maude fighting over the throne. A pretty good read. There are more in the series after this one that I'll be exploring.

This is the same time period that Ellis Peters's "Brother Cadfael" mysteries are set in, which are also well worth reading. Unfortunately they don't appear to be legally available as eBooks.

Gazella · 11-13-2012, 08:37 AM

http://www.gileskristian.com/books/raven-blood-eye/

Apache · 11-13-2012, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gazella20

http://www.gileskristian.com/books/raven-blood-eye/

Thank you. I am getting this.

Apache

Gazella · 11-13-2012, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apache

Thank you. I am getting this.

Apache

You're welcome!
It's a Viking adventure trilogy. I have Blood Eye (first book in the Raven trilogy) in paperback which I've read about a year ago. It's more of a historical action adventure series. I really enjoyed it. The books starts off slow but don't be discouraged by that when you start reading, because the story gets really good after a couple of chapters. It contains explicit violence but despite that a real page turner.

I'll be getting Sons of Thunder (book two) soon

BenG · 11-13-2012, 10:49 AM

Irving Stone wrote several biographical novels like Lust for Life, about Vincent van Gogh, and The Agony and the Ecstasy, about Michelangelo. Hopefully ebook versions will be published.

ametzler · 11-17-2012, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVnook

I'll echo the recommendation for Dorothy Dunnett. I've enjoyed her Lymond Chronicles so much that I'm reading the series for the third time.

Thanks for this recommendation (to both of you). I have recently finished the first installment and liked it very much (after I got into it). The complexity of the story reminded me of Dumas a little bit. The tone is completely different, there are some really funny scenes in there, too.

drofgnal · 11-17-2012, 07:38 AM

Another good historical fiction series I've read is Noah Gordon's The Physician. Follows up with Shaman. I haven't read the third in the series yet, but the first two were very good.

bloodlover · 11-21-2012, 02:55 AM

Nobody mentioned Henryk Sienkiewicz with The Trilogy.

HarryT · 11-21-2012, 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bloodlover

Nobody mentioned Henryk Sienkiewicz

I suspect that nobody else can spell his name

.

David Munch · 11-21-2012, 04:06 AM

Another vote for Ken Follett. Pillars of the Earth is one of my all time favorite books, although the sequel World Without End didn't do as much for me.

Currently reading and enjoying very much, his Fall of Giants, which tells about the life prior and during world war one. Plenty of historical talk while still being a fictional story. I believe he had 8 historians to check out facts on the book before it was released - I for one am learning tons about the WWI time period which I almost didn't know anything about before!

11-13-2012, 10:49 AM	#55
BenG Wizard Posts: 3,210 Karma: 42078797 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: The Triad Device: Paperwhite	Irving Stone wrote several biographical novels like Lust for Life, about Vincent van Gogh, and The Agony and the Ecstasy, about Michelangelo. Hopefully ebook versions will be published. __________________ Ben The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

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11-12-2012, 11:23 AM	#46
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,452 Karma: 2833424 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Sony 650	Corkobo, have you read and do you like Mary Renault? She writes about the time/place you seem to favor. Sadly I don't think they are available in ebook. eP

11-12-2012, 12:09 PM	#47
Corkobo Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 1053398 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Scotland Device: Kobo Glo, Nook Touch	elemenoP, I have read only one book, "The Last of the Wine". I liked it a lot even though the tone and the "spirit" of the story are a bit more sad, more melancholy than what I usually enjoy (I don't know the right words to express this, I guess I would call her book thoughtful and pensive). Then again, the main events of the time the book is set in are not conducive to heroic optimism. Thank you for reminding me of this, I will look for her other other books now.

11-13-2012, 05:45 AM	#50
drofgnal Addict Posts: 363 Karma: 1121214 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle2/iphone/ipad	I'm currently reading Sharon Kay Penman's 'When Christ and the Saints Slept'. Follows the tumultuous times of life in England after Henry I with Stephen and Maude fighting over the throne. A pretty good read. There are more in the series after this one that I'll be exploring.

11-13-2012, 08:37 AM	#52
Gazella Diavazophile Posts: 496 Karma: 1316230 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	http://www.gileskristian.com/books/raven-blood-eye/

11-17-2012, 07:38 AM	#57
drofgnal Addict Posts: 363 Karma: 1121214 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle2/iphone/ipad	Another good historical fiction series I've read is Noah Gordon's The Physician. Follows up with Shaman. I haven't read the third in the series yet, but the first two were very good.

11-21-2012, 02:55 AM	#58
bloodlover Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 494308 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Kindle Touch	Nobody mentioned Henryk Sienkiewicz with The Trilogy.

11-21-2012, 04:06 AM	#60
David Munch Scholar Posts: 686 Karma: 3101550 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Denmark Device: iPad 2	Another vote for Ken Follett. Pillars of the Earth is one of my all time favorite books, although the sequel World Without End didn't do as much for me. Currently reading and enjoying very much, his Fall of Giants, which tells about the life prior and during world war one. Plenty of historical talk while still being a fictional story. I believe he had 8 historians to check out facts on the book before it was released - I for one am learning tons about the WWI time period which I almost didn't know anything about before!


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