Roman Historical Fiction

[Primus Pilus]

Btw, I don't begrudge anyone for liking what they like. This topic is here for discussion. I certainly don't mean to say its crazy to like an author, simply because I don't. The more options we have as readers, the better, and I welcome all styles, whether I read it or not.

 

Forgot you asked about other writers, Paolo. There are some other good ones....

 

Maybe check out our fiction book area of our book section. Fiction Books

 

I really like several. Some are up and coming, and books by newer authors usually get better as they get past their first one (sometimes)

 

In no particular order:

I, Claudius by Robert Graves has probably inspired countless historical fiction writers. Though McCullough has a similar style that you seem to find dry, Paolo, so I'm not sure if you'd like him or not.

 

Gillian Bradshaw. She is an excellent writer and often over-looked for her contribution to historical fiction. I loved Island of Ghosts.

 

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield, though Greek and not Roman, is one of the greatest historical fiction novels of all time (in my opinion)

 

Michael Curtis Ford is also well regarded, but he has had a couple duds, so probably check out "The Ten Thousand" (also another Greek era book) to see if you like his style.

 

Simon Scarrow's entire 'Eagle' series is excellent and widely read, and shouldn't be missed for fans of the Roman Legions.

 

Wallace Breem has a similar following to Scarrow.

 

If you like mysteries, Steven Saylor seems to be the most liked, though I personally have never read him. Hmm, sounds like a plan.

 

Some other up and comers are:

William Altimari with 'Legion'

Patrick Larkin with 'Tribune'

One who seems to be little known is Rafael Scott with 'Lion's Brood'. I did a full review of his book here and look forward to more.

[Primus Pilus]

Sorry I keep rambling, but I almost forgot to mention Michael Grant. Yes, he recently passed, and its a shame but he lived a long and apparantly influential life. His books, of which there are many, have been a great source of both information and inspiration to me. He is one of the first historians to make history main stream and accessable to the average reader. He still gives all the insight and facts that you need, but writes it such a way as not to seem like some history can be, a text book or encyclopedia.

[longbow]

hi there,i only read historical fiction im afraid,manda scott is a good one to read her boudica series(2 up to now)dreaming the bull and dreaming the eagle are excellent.

[Primus Pilus]

Thanks, thats a new one on me

[longbow]

in ad 60,breaca,war leader of the eceni and hailed as boudica,bringer of victory.led the native celtic tribes in a final bloody revolt against the occupying armies of rome.it was the culmination of nearly twenty years of resistance against an occupying force that sought to crush a vibrant,complex civilization and replace it with laws,taxes and slavery of the roman empire. dreaming the bull begins in AD47 as boudica and her warriors continue their hard fought resistance against the roman legions occupying Britannia. set against her is Julius Valerius,an officer in the Auxillary cavalry,whose increasing brutality in the service of his emperor and his god can never shield him from the ghosts of his past. this is a heart stopping story of war and of peace:of love,passion and betrayal:of druids and warring gods,where each life is sacred and each death even more so;and where boudica and the man who calls himself julius valerius learn the terrible distances they must travel to fulfil their own destinies. i enjoyed these books the third one is out in november i think.

[paolo]

primuspilus :

 

i understand that he took historical 'liberties' and the exact ones would only be important if he

1) didn't admit to doing so (which he does) or

2) if it took away from the feel of the general time period he was representing.

i know that they were not born close enough to have been 'pals' but that's the beauty of fiction, combining them for a 'what if' or 'ideal' as a fun way to portray two characters who would perhaps have made an interesting friendship/relationship.

 

more what i was asking, were there details which took away from that general time period. i have seen mentioned in some of the other amazon reviews that there were no corn crops at that time, or the author used unlikely wording for expressions. these would be things that would be harmful to the accurate general image, more so than the mixing of almost contemporary figures if they lived in similar enough times and settings. that caesar was not raised on a country estate would be valid if one feels that would change his personality too much. but the fact that there were indeed such estates at that time, would make it an acceptable choice otherwise. similiarly this would apply for other deviations from known facts.

 

since i am just a beginner at all this, the deviations did not jump out at me and distract me from enjoying the story.

 

maybe historical authors would do well to take note of those readers of historical fiction who despite these points in defense of "artists' license", would bow to the demand for attention to detailed accuracy or simply refrain from using specific historical characters and invent their own. i want to make clear not even these two options include bestselling enigmas like dan brown who obviously has a better agent than editor. his literary faux paux are too many to count. <- this is not a result of anything you have said, it just rattles my cage how glaringly stupid his book is and how many people gush over it.

 

paolo

[paolo]

primuspilus :

 

thank you for your list of book recommends. oddly enough, in the past few years i had bought a few of michael grant's books, but only referred to the "a guide to the ancient world: a dictionary of classical place names". then a few days ago, i finally started to read one of the others "the founders of the western world" and decided to google around and see what i could find on him. lo and behold, i landed here. *smiles* i am sad to find out that he has passed away. it's kind of bizarre that it happened so close to when i decided to read one. no doubt some horoscope/karma person would have a fun time in their speculations.

 

reading non-fiction takes up most of my brain supply, but i have taken note of your fiction recommends and will have to sample. (i also see now, that i didn't specify whether i was referring to non-fiction or fiction, and indeed we were discussing fiction, so that would be the obvious guess)

 

if robert graves is similar in style to mccullough, i will take ur advice and hold off on that.

 

that you single out steven pressfield, intrigues me. any specific reasons ?

 

i am even newer to greek history, but i am finding it intriguing. i have read edith hamilton's "greek way" while i learned a lot from her book, i found her writing style irritating. is it because her vernacular is dated ? her general message, was inspiring to me. is she the originator of those or just popularizing them ?

 

thank you for the link to your book review. (i toss in a customer review every once in a while at amland)

 

i can't say i am a mystery fan, the idea of guessing a mystery about a fiction seems peculiar to me, because the author could do anything. what also baffles me, is murder mysteries are supposedly the preference of librarians. i can't imagine piciking up a mystery with so many tempting options surrounding me. that's like choosing a bowl of strawberries instead of the chocolate ganache cake off the dessert tray. <-i have actually witnessed this phenomena.

 

paolo

[longbow]

Valerio massimo manfredi,The last legion. This is a good book,about the boy ceaserRomulus Augustus. He has allso wrote novels about Alexander and a spartan one. :pimp:

[Spurius]

I'd like to add a mystery to the list, a book that I enjoyed:

 

Search the Seven Hills or originally The Quirinal Hill Affair , by Barbara Hambly, 1984.

 

This story is full of the wonderful texture of Rome during early Christianity. Hambly researches thuroughly and writes well.

[Iulius]

Collen Mculough has some great books out there as does Lindsey Davis and Wallace Breem. eagles in the snow is one of my favorite books. Those germans just kept on comin'

[longbow]

Bernard Cornwell writes good fiction,hes wrote novels on the Roman invasion the wellington campign against napoleon the american civil war and my favorite the 100 years war. Crecy,what a fight.

[paolo]

primuspilus,

 

I finally took one of your recommendations and am 3/4's through "The Ten Thousand" by Michael Curtis Ford. This is really good writing ! I can't believe the negative comments he got at Amland. I will have to put in a good word for him when I am finished. I haven't done a review there in awhile.

 

It's so hard from me to break away from my 'non-fiction' to read fiction. So now I am reading both. But I think I am learning a lot from this fiction too. I really enjoy how he fleshes out the characters and brings the reader right in the middle of everything. His ruminations and sense of humour are well incorporated diversions.

[paolo]

primuspilus,

 

I also tried "I, Claudius" and you are right, it didn't appeal. I couldn't feel the characters. They seemed too flat and distant. I put it down pretty quickly.

[Primus Pilus]

Excellent Paolo, glad we could recommend something that interested you. I was pretty confidant you wouldn't like I, Claudius though

 

If you truly like the 'Ten Thousand", trust me, you will love 'Gates of Fire' by Stephen Pressfield. Ford has been accused of copying Pressfield's style by fans of Pressfield, but I think its only an issue because they have written about similar time periods and topics. Its been some time since I've read Gates of Fire, so I think I'll have ot dig into it over the holidays

[paolo]

i finished the book, actually i got skimming on it. now i know why i was starting to stall around (and have time to return here). he still had some great writing, but got a bit bogged down in the pace. i didn't fully understand the deal with tissarphernes at the end.

 

how about ford's "the last king" is that a good one ?

 

i will get ahold of "gates of fire" too.