Got any recommendations on book purchases?

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Anyone got any recommendations on book purchases? I'm mainly looking for fantasy novels, or literature taking place in the medieval times or the antiquity (Latin Rome/Greece). Subjects concerning the Crusades and especially Saladin or St. Behrnhard is greatly welcome.

I would also love to get some suggestions on young American/English hopes on the literature scene.

 

Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever

George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire

Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy

Plenty of others, but those should keep you occupied for a while.

 

Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire is an excellent fictional account of the 300-Spartan stand at Thermopylae.

Aside from those already mentioned, Hobb's Farseer trilogy is definitely worth a read if you haven't yet.

 

Please keep 'em coming! I'm going buy via amazon, so I'm going to buy a fair amounts of books (7-10) to make it worth the effort

 

For historical fiction, another author you may want to check out is Valerio Massimo Manfredi. I've only read "Spartan" but it was very good imo.

Also, if you haven't yet, pick up everything by Neil Gaiman.

Neverwhere, Stardust, Coraline and American Gods are his only novels right now. The rest are all graphic novels.

 

Historical fiction about Sparta? Just my thing! I love Sparta. I might check it out.

 

Harry Turtledove's "World at War" series. It's a fictionalized, fantasized retelling of WWII. Gripping. Book 6 (and last) should be out in paperback soon.

 

@olimikrig. If you don't mind a little religion and a lot of Celts in your reading, I'd recommend any of Stephen R. Lawhead's historical fiction. "Byzantium" and "Patrick" are personal favorites. His "Celtic Crusades" trilogy I'd be a bit more wary of. "The Iron Lance" was alright, but "The Black Rood" lost my interest - I haven't even thought about reading the third one, "Mystic Rose" or whatever the hell it's called. Strong Religious overtones in Lawhead's work.

Another odd pick that I found at a used book store is "Raptor," by Gary Jennings. It's VERY wild - a historical fiction novel from the point of view of a young (Visi?)Goth after the split of the Roman Empire. Warning, however. If you're a bit of a prude, I'd stay away - there is some STRONG sexual content here that is not for the prudish in any way, shape, or form. Good book, though. Cool story, intriguing narrator, interesting secondary characters, twisting plot, all that good stuff.

Heh... what a combination. Almost apalling!

 

By the way, a great historical fiction full of bravery, battle and honour, narrated from a truly epic perspective is Ogiem i Mieczem - With Fire and Sword - from Henryk Sienkiewicz. He won a noble prize for Quo Vadis.
It is about the Khmelnitsky-lead Cossack revolt against the Polish szlachta who opressed them. The books is not 100% Historically correct, and it is a bit biased, but it is a great reading regardless.

 

For historical fiction, take a look at _Gates of Fire_ by Stephen Pressfield, as already mentioned. Not only is it a great read, but it is loaded with historical renderings of life in ancient Sparta.

Also, take a look, if you have not already, at _The First Man in Rome_ by Colleen McClough. It is considerably longer than _Gates of Fire_, (there are also two additional volumes) but it is just as well researched.

Another one is _The Bull from the Sea_ by Mary Renault. It's fairly old, but still a classic.

 

@Chandos

Do you seriously recommend Colleen MClough's Caesar series? Because I've seen them around but shied away from them, but if you recommend them I may pick them up.

Also, Pressfield's other novels were a BIG disppointment. Gates of Fire was the 1st I read and it was amazing. His other stuff seemed like crap after that..

 

Yes, they are actually very good, especially the first one. But they are not quite as good, as say, Clavell's _Shogun_. And they certainly don't have the emotional power of _Gates of Fire_. It's hard to feel for any of her main characters the same way in which one does in "Gates" or Shogun.

 

You might try "I, Claudius", by Robert Graves. History as it ought to have been written, as the limping, stuttering Claudius makes his way through the intrigues and assassinations of Imperial Rome.

 

Yeah, I loved Shogun even more than Gates..

Have you ever heard of Alfred Duggan? He writes historical fiction too, I just saw a coupole of his books "The King with a Conscience" and "The Little Emperors" and I just wanted to ask if anybody had already read his stuff

 

Shogun was a great book. I also liked Tai-Pan as well. But I'm not familiar at all with Duggan.

 

What about "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco?

 

I have Name, and haven't been able to "get into" it past the first 50 pages so far. I'll probably give it another shot after the liveship and tawny man trilogies.

 

Ash, A Secret History probably fits the bill, a good book too.

 

If you like good historical fiction, read Suetonius.

/me hides from Suetonius fans

I would say read Gibbon and Runciman but if you prefer novels... it's not like I can come up with anything that I know for sure is available in English. However, most of the ancient historians have a nice and easy to read style, something like a novel (Herodotus, Livy, Plinius, Tacite... for starters). If you're more into mediaeval France, perhaps a couple of Druon's books then?

A bit more on the historical fantasy side, heed Falstaff's advice and read Lawhead. A lot. Dave Duncan won't be a bad choice, nor will be David Gemmel. Poul Anderson is somewhat more oldschool and great to read, as well. George R. R. Martin, Michael Moorcock and Glen Cook are the first names to come to my mind when drifting further away from history to fantasy.

The "Dune" cycle by Frank Herbert won't fit in any of these categories but I'm getting a feeling you might be interested.

I'll update this post or write again when I come up with more names. Perhaps on Monday.

 

Guy Gavriel Kay crosses neatly between mediaeval Europe and fantasy. The Lions of Al-Rassan is good.