Swashbuckling /anti/hero

Siegbald · 10-05-2016, 09:27 AM

Dear All,

I'd like to read medieval/fantasy swashbuclinkg books with the classic "ladies loving,master-of-the-rapier-but-also-prefer-stay-away-of-real-fights, escaping through the tavern window after a hot night"-type of (anti)hero. You know, the guy with a thin mustasche, who keeps escaping from angry husbands/lovers/soldiers, etc; while having some drinking and sword fun, gets all the ladies (and steals their necklace as a last touch of a fun night).

Preferably set in a medieval or a "Three Musketeers" set of environment. Nothing dark or epic fantasy, just light hearted easy adventures with good humour.

A bit like Jack Sparrow, Locke Lamore, Harry Flashman, Casanova, Jalan Kendeth and the three (four) musketeers to give a general idea of my ideal protagonist(s).

Any recommendations highly appreciated in advance, thank you!

HarryT · 10-05-2016, 09:38 AM

Historical fiction rather than fantasy, but one absolutely classic series in the theme you describe is the "Flashman" series by George MacDonald Fraser, which follows the rise through the military ranks of Flashman (from "Tom Brown's Schooldays") despite his being an adject coward, womaniser, and con-man. Extremely well-written and funny. Well worth a read. There's an omnibus edition of all 12 books in the series which goes on deeply-discounted sale every so often.

issybird · 10-05-2016, 10:03 AM

Harry, the OP mentioned Flashman.

How about The Mark of Zorro? It was originally published as a pulp serial under the title, The Curse of Capistrano.

HarryT · 10-05-2016, 10:25 AM

Sorry, the spelling mistake threw me

DrNefario · 10-05-2016, 12:13 PM

Pierre Pevel's The Cardinal's Blades series is kind of a fantasy take on the Musketeers, with a large cast of semi-rogues.

ApK · 10-05-2016, 02:02 PM

And be sure to watch the movie "The Princess Bride."
One of the rare cases where, IMHO, the movie is far better than the book.

rkomar · 10-05-2016, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

And be sure to watch the movie "The Princess Bride."
One of the rare cases where, IMHO, the movie is far better than the book.

I agree about the movie being great, but wasn't the protagonist the epitome of heroism, rather than anti-heroism?

ApK · 10-05-2016, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkomar

I agree about the movie being great, but wasn't the protagonist the epitome of heroism, rather than anti-heroism?

Well,

Spoiler:

....

Siegbald · 10-06-2016, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Pierre Pevel's The Cardinal's Blades series is kind of a fantasy take on the Musketeers, with a large cast of semi-rogues.

That sounds interesting, I will look after it.
It's never easy to rip off Dumas (well)

Siegbald · 10-06-2016, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Harry, the OP mentioned Flashman.

How about The Mark of Zorro? It was originally published as a pulp serial under the title, The Curse of Capistrano.

I actually never thought about Zorro books, but you might be right...the recent movies were actually fun (I watched the series ~20 years ago when I was a child), I will check some reviews for the book, thanks

Siegbald · 10-06-2016, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sorry, the spelling mistake threw me

Yup, Flashy enthusiastic here ;D

Siegbald · 10-06-2016, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

And be sure to watch the movie "The Princess Bride."
One of the rare cases where, IMHO, the movie is far better than the book.

I saw it when I was a child, can't really remember tho...
How about the book version? I've read in different forums that people love it, but isn't it childish/girlish/etc?
If not then it's on my list.

ApK · 10-06-2016, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Siegbald

I saw it when I was a child, can't really remember tho...
How about the book version? I've read in different forums that people love it, but isn't it childish/girlish/etc?
If not then it's on my list.

No, the book isn't childish or girlish. It's been almost 30 years since I read it, but I remember coming away with this thought:
In the book, the narrator talks about how his father read him "The Princess Bride" as a kid, and later he realized his father had skipped around and only read him "the good parts," skipping all the stuff about politics, economics, dry commentary, etc.
The movie is like "the good parts" version, and the father was a wise man to skip the rest :-)

DiapDealer · 10-06-2016, 09:12 AM

I loved the book. Even reading it long after I first saw the movie.

hildea · 10-06-2016, 03:22 PM

In some of these, the swashbuckler gets the gentlemen instead, but they are all swashbucking and heroic and/or antiheroic. I loved Lies of Locke Lamora, will keep an eye out for the other recommendations here.

Steven Brust: "Jhereg" and the rest of the series (about a mafia boss in a fantasy world. Favourite quote (from memory): "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between his shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style.")
Also his "Phoenix guards" and "Five hundred years after", it's Three musketeers set in the same world.
(This world has quite a lot of magic, the rest are closer to our world.)

Megan Whalen Turner: "The Thief" and the rest of the series. The first one is the least flashy, but all are very, very good. Fantasy/alternate history in a ancient Greece-like culture, but ~renaissance tech.

Zen Cho: "Sorcerer to the Crown".
"Prunella had once thought life in London would be all flirting and balls and dresses, hitting attentive suitors on the shoulder with a fan, and breakfasting late upon bowls of chocolate. She sighed now for her naïveté. Little had she known life in London was in fact all hexes and murder and thaumaturgical politics, and she would always be rising early for some reason or other!"

Ellen Kushner: "Swordspoint" and "The Priviledge of the Sword".
"Let the fairy tale begin on a winter’s morning, then, with one drop of blood new-fallen on the ivory snow: a drop as bright as a clear-cut ruby, red as the single spot of claret on the lace cuff. And it therefore follows that evil lurks behind each broken window, scheming malice and enchantment; while behind the latched shutters the good are sleeping their just sleeps at this early hour in Riverside."

Madeleine E.Robins: "Point of Honour" and the rest of the series.
"It is a truth universially acknowledged that a Fallen Woman of good family must, soon or late, decend to whoredom."
(Our protagonist, who became a fallen woman by running away with her brother's fencing master, has instead descended to becoming a private eye/duelist for hire.)

10-05-2016, 09:27 AM	#1
Siegbald Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2016 Device: Koobe	Swashbuckling /anti/hero Dear All, I'd like to read medieval/fantasy swashbuclinkg books with the classic "ladies loving,master-of-the-rapier-but-also-prefer-stay-away-of-real-fights, escaping through the tavern window after a hot night"-type of (anti)hero. You know, the guy with a thin mustasche, who keeps escaping from angry husbands/lovers/soldiers, etc; while having some drinking and sword fun, gets all the ladies (and steals their necklace as a last touch of a fun night). Preferably set in a medieval or a "Three Musketeers" set of environment. Nothing dark or epic fantasy, just light hearted easy adventures with good humour. A bit like Jack Sparrow, Locke Lamore, Harry Flashman, Casanova, Jalan Kendeth and the three (four) musketeers to give a general idea of my ideal protagonist(s). Any recommendations highly appreciated in advance, thank you! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Siegbald; 10-06-2016 at 04:38 AM.

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10-05-2016, 09:38 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Historical fiction rather than fantasy, but one absolutely classic series in the theme you describe is the "Flashman" series by George MacDonald Fraser, which follows the rise through the military ranks of Flashman (from "Tom Brown's Schooldays") despite his being an adject coward, womaniser, and con-man. Extremely well-written and funny. Well worth a read. There's an omnibus edition of all 12 books in the series which goes on deeply-discounted sale every so often.

10-05-2016, 10:03 AM	#3
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,295 Karma: 234636059 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	Harry, the OP mentioned Flashman. How about The Mark of Zorro? It was originally published as a pulp serial under the title, The Curse of Capistrano.

10-05-2016, 10:25 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Sorry, the spelling mistake threw me

10-05-2016, 12:13 PM	#5
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,203 Karma: 12029046 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	Pierre Pevel's The Cardinal's Blades series is kind of a fantasy take on the Musketeers, with a large cast of semi-rogues.

10-05-2016, 02:02 PM	#6
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,389 Karma: 68329346 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	And be sure to watch the movie "The Princess Bride." One of the rare cases where, IMHO, the movie is far better than the book.

10-06-2016, 09:12 AM	#14
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,572 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I loved the book. Even reading it long after I first saw the movie.

10-06-2016, 03:22 PM	#15
hildea Wizard Posts: 1,315 Karma: 67561852 Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Norway Device: PocketBook Touch Lux (had Onyx Boox Poke 3 and BeBook Neo earlier)	In some of these, the swashbuckler gets the gentlemen instead, but they are all swashbucking and heroic and/or antiheroic. I loved Lies of Locke Lamora, will keep an eye out for the other recommendations here. Steven Brust: "Jhereg" and the rest of the series (about a mafia boss in a fantasy world. Favourite quote (from memory): "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between his shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style.") Also his "Phoenix guards" and "Five hundred years after", it's Three musketeers set in the same world. (This world has quite a lot of magic, the rest are closer to our world.) Megan Whalen Turner: "The Thief" and the rest of the series. The first one is the least flashy, but all are very, very good. Fantasy/alternate history in a ancient Greece-like culture, but ~renaissance tech. Zen Cho: "Sorcerer to the Crown". "Prunella had once thought life in London would be all flirting and balls and dresses, hitting attentive suitors on the shoulder with a fan, and breakfasting late upon bowls of chocolate. She sighed now for her naïveté. Little had she known life in London was in fact all hexes and murder and thaumaturgical politics, and she would always be rising early for some reason or other!" Ellen Kushner: "Swordspoint" and "The Priviledge of the Sword". "Let the fairy tale begin on a winter’s morning, then, with one drop of blood new-fallen on the ivory snow: a drop as bright as a clear-cut ruby, red as the single spot of claret on the lace cuff. And it therefore follows that evil lurks behind each broken window, scheming malice and enchantment; while behind the latched shutters the good are sleeping their just sleeps at this early hour in Riverside." Madeleine E.Robins: "Point of Honour" and the rest of the series. "It is a truth universially acknowledged that a Fallen Woman of good family must, soon or late, decend to whoredom." (Our protagonist, who became a fallen woman by running away with her brother's fencing master, has instead descended to becoming a private eye/duelist for hire.)

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