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Post by deuce on Jul 29, 2018 1:14:30 GMT -5
I just read a good novel set at the end of the Roman Republic (see below) and I decided we could use a thread devoted to fiction situated in the "Classical" period, which covers a span of over 900 years. Regarding the parameters, I go with REH, meaning from the rise of Cyrus the Great--and the first glimmerings of the Classical period in Greece--to the fall of Rome at the hands of Alaric's Visigoths. One can quibble, but I care not. I also don't really count stories set in the Americas or East Asia during that period--unless it's something like Duggan's Winter Quarters. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empireen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Greeceen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_(410)As far as novels I recommend, de Camp's The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate is a good place to start. Set during the reign of Xerxes I, it's a continent-spanning adventure with plenty of action. One of Spraguey's better attempts at writing his own version of Conan. It is also the first book in what could be called LSdC's "Hellenistic Pentalogy", with occasional cross-references and easter eggs in the subsequent novels. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragon_of_the_Ishtar_Gate I highly recommend Scott Oden's Memnon. While not as talked about as his excellent first novel, Men of Bronze, I find I like it slightly better. In fact, I consider it easily one of the best historical novels of the last decade or so. It is set during the rise of Alexander the Great. It possesses Oden's usual explosive action and great characterization. www.amazon.com/Memnon-Scott-Oden/dp/1932815392 Finally, the novel I referred to earlier is Conn Iggulden's The Blood of the Gods, which chronicles the rise of Octavian to the Roman throne. I'll admit that I wasn't sure about this one. Octavian often gets slagged as being just a cold-blooded, reptilian bastard--I think Steve Tompkins once referred to Octavian as an "android"--but Iggulden makes him interesting and relateable, backing it all up with data from primary sources. I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Iggulden's a good writer. www.amazon.com/Blood-Gods-Novel-Rome-Emperor/dp/0385343086 |
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Post by thedarkman on Jul 29, 2018 12:49:07 GMT -5
I’m currently reading Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem. I generally don’t read much fiction about the Roman Empire, but I hear good things about this one from various online friends whose opinions I respect, like Morgan Holmes. I’m liking it thus far. I also just picked up Cyrus The Great by Harold Lamb; that should prove interesting and informative as well. I generally like Lamb’s historical non-fiction.
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Post by erikg on Jul 30, 2018 12:17:29 GMT -5
I have just discovered the Warrior of Rome series by Harry Sidebottom — six volumes thus far — set c.260AD. Granted, the later Roman Empire is my field of interest, but these books surpassed all my expectations. Not since Alfred Duggan has anyone conveyed the actual feel of the period so well. Well worth reading...
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Post by finarvyn on Jul 30, 2018 17:05:11 GMT -5
As far as novels I recommend, de Camp's The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate is a good place to start. Set during the reign of Xerxes I, it's a continent-spanning adventure with plenty of action. One of Spraguey's better attempts at writing his own version of Conan. It is also the first book in what could be called LSdC's "Hellenistic Pentalogy", with occasional cross-references and easter eggs in the subsequent novels. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragon_of_the_Ishtar_GateHaven't read this, but I gotta say that the blurb "author of Conan the Barbarian" really kills me. I know that both DeCamp and Carter added some stuff to the Conan series, but "author" … ?  |
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Post by almuric on Jul 31, 2018 11:12:53 GMT -5
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Post by deuce on Jul 31, 2018 11:13:37 GMT -5
As far as novels I recommend, de Camp's The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate is a good place to start. Set during the reign of Xerxes I, it's a continent-spanning adventure with plenty of action. One of Spraguey's better attempts at writing his own version of Conan. It is also the first book in what could be called LSdC's "Hellenistic Pentalogy", with occasional cross-references and easter eggs in the subsequent novels. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragon_of_the_Ishtar_GateHaven't read this, but I gotta say that the blurb "author of Conan the Barbarian" really kills me. I know that both DeCamp and Carter added some stuff to the Conan series, but "author" … ? It didn't say "creator". The blurb refers to this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian_(1982_novel)Back on topic, for a YA novel, Rosemary Sutcliff's The Eagle of the Ninth is pretty cool. On the grim side, with some fairly Howardian touches regarding the "Pictish" Caledonians: www.amazon.com/Eagle-Ninth-Rosemary-Sutcliff/dp/B0069XC8WK |
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Post by deuce on Jul 31, 2018 11:22:11 GMT -5
Thanks for the heads up! I'd barely heard of Ford, but the reviews seem to indicate that he's a solid writer. |
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Post by trescuinge on Aug 1, 2018 20:42:11 GMT -5
‘Gates of Fire’, Steven Pressfield’s novel about Thermopylae blew me away.
My sister lent me the book and I literally could not put it down. I got out of bed at 2 AM and read for three hours in the middle of the night.
stevenpressfield.com/books/gates-of-fire/
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Post by ollonois on Aug 2, 2018 9:17:44 GMT -5
What about Conn Iggulden's trilogy on Julius Caesar?
I read Eagle of the empire (first in a series) by Simon Scarrow, but it had more of a buddy movie than of historical fiction
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Post by scottoden on Aug 2, 2018 11:52:39 GMT -5
Christian Cameron's Killer of Men series or his Tyrant series; Ruth Kozak's Shadow of the Lion duology (about the successors to Alexander the Great); Pressfield's Gates of Fire, Tides of War, and his Alexander books. Gore Vidal's Julian; Mary Renault's work, with my personal favorites being The Praise Singer and The Mask of Apollo.
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Post by scottoden on Aug 16, 2018 10:37:56 GMT -5
Since Deuce mentioned it up-thread . . . MEMNON has been re-released in e-book format by Crossroad Press!  Link: mybook.to/memnonAgainst history’s greatest conqueror, one man will stand alone ... “An eloquent and captivating historical thriller.” – Publisher's Weekly
When Alexander of Macedon crossed the Hellespont in the spring of 334 BC, he came ravenous for Glory, desperate for the immortality that was his birthright. At the Granicus River, he smashed an army devised by the formidable satraps of Asia Minor. Even so, Alexander’s road to conquest was not clear. For among the myriads of the enemy stood the one man Alexander feared: a mercenary, a seasoned commander on both land and sea who knew the secret to defeating the Macedonians – Memnon of Rhodes. But Memnon was no common mercenary. In his youth, he had led a revolution and suffered exile as his punishment; a sailor, a soldier, a merchant, and a mediator, he had tasted tragedy as well as triumph. To his fellow Greeks he was a traitor, but to the Great King of Persia Memnon was the only man he could trust to stave off the destruction of his empire. For Memnon of Rhodes fought for something deeper than Glory or gold. He fought for loyalty, for honor, for duty; he fought for the love of Barsine, grand-daughter of kings and a woman of remarkable beauty and grace. Most of all, he fought for the promise of peace. Praised for its “vivid conjecture, deft plotting, and graceful prose” ( Publisher’s Weekly), MEMNON is the epic story of one man – a man nearly forgotten by history – whose duty to his family outweighed that of his heritage; a tale of love and loss, set against the sweeping panorama of war. |
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Post by deuce on Aug 17, 2018 10:58:57 GMT -5
Since Deuce mentioned it up-thread . . . MEMNON has been re-released in e-book format by Crossroad Press! Link: mybook.to/memnonAgainst history’s greatest conqueror, one man will stand alone ... “An eloquent and captivating historical thriller.” – Publisher's Weekly
When Alexander of Macedon crossed the Hellespont in the spring of 334 BC, he came ravenous for Glory, desperate for the immortality that was his birthright. At the Granicus River, he smashed an army devised by the formidable satraps of Asia Minor. Even so, Alexander’s road to conquest was not clear. For among the myriads of the enemy stood the one man Alexander feared: a mercenary, a seasoned commander on both land and sea who knew the secret to defeating the Macedonians – Memnon of Rhodes. But Memnon was no common mercenary. In his youth, he had led a revolution and suffered exile as his punishment; a sailor, a soldier, a merchant, and a mediator, he had tasted tragedy as well as triumph. To his fellow Greeks he was a traitor, but to the Great King of Persia Memnon was the only man he could trust to stave off the destruction of his empire. For Memnon of Rhodes fought for something deeper than Glory or gold. He fought for loyalty, for honor, for duty; he fought for the love of Barsine, grand-daughter of kings and a woman of remarkable beauty and grace. Most of all, he fought for the promise of peace. Praised for its “vivid conjecture, deft plotting, and graceful prose” ( Publisher’s Weekly), MEMNON is the epic story of one man – a man nearly forgotten by history – whose duty to his family outweighed that of his heritage; a tale of love and loss, set against the sweeping panorama of war. That's great news! An excellent novel. Lots of bloody action set during a very wild period of history. |
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Post by deuce on Aug 27, 2018 10:59:10 GMT -5
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Post by deuce on Aug 31, 2018 23:55:29 GMT -5
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Post by thedarkman on Sept 1, 2018 23:22:24 GMT -5
This is an excellent book, one my favorites. I actually have two copies of it at the moment. On the lookout for his pirate adventure, Captain Cutlass, supposedly another great swashbuckling adventure. |
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