Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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What Are You Reading Right Now? ( Hwæt béon ðu bocrædung?)
You'd think they'd have prioritised it ages aho, seeing as they do have this emphasis now on bookcovers...thanks to Amazon as Ace mentions. And aside from groups, you can use add book/author in private messages and in discussions under reviews.A cool cover in a post or msg will catch the eye, just the name of the book does nothing. You can't link on it, it doesn't grab your attention etc
Hmmm. Something to investigate! In the meantime, I'll stick with the web version also...
Finished Passionate Minds by David Bodanis. A touching account of the intellectual sparkle and passion between Voltaire and French scientist Emilie du Chatelet, and their impact on the French Enlightenment. 4 stars.My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Judgment at Appomattox - excellent! I gave it 5 stars. A really good look at the last 2-3 weeks of the Army of Northern Virginia and Marse Robert. I'll type up my more complete thoughts when I get the time.I also read Ben Macintyre's NF book on the Kim Philby affiar
It's about probably the biggist fiasco in MI6 history, how did a KGB/NKVD agent got so high in British intelligence. At one point Philby was actually in charge of British counter intelligence. Another very good read
Currently reading Dan Jones's new book on the Templers
Finished
Gave it 3 stars, I enjoyed the previous two more. I decided to read this series chronologically, but I feel I'm still missing something to finally understand Sharpe's character. Probably I should have read them in publication order instead? Well, I still have Trafalgar in my shelf, I'll read that as the next in the series and then jump on to Sharpe's Eagle and continue by publication year, maybe the character will feel better developed this way?Moving on with Wilbur Smith's
The Triumph of the Sun
I haven’t been reading much of anything lately :( I need to get back to some HF while I have the house to myself this weekend. Think I’m going to start
by C.J. Sansom
Really good book - I do enjoy Sansom's mysteries.I finished Dan Jones' The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors
Really look at their military history -both good and bad, their growth as the bankers of Europe and their fall. solid 4 star rating for me. I'll type up my more complete thoughts when I get the chance.
Currently reading something I saw on BookTV a earlier this month - the story of the 1964 Alaskan earth quake. I actually remember seeing the news reports of this on TV ( I guess I'm really starting to date myself :))
https://www.c-span.org/video/?432319-...
The Great Quake: How the Biggest Earthquake in North America Changed Our Understanding of the Planet
Allie wrote: "I haven’t been reading much of anything lately :( I need to get back to some HF while I have the house to myself this weekend. Think I’m going to start
by [author:C...."We really enjoyed this series. Have only one left to read. Hope you enjoy as much as we did!!
I do it for you if you want? :-) App doesn't have add book/author.You can always bookmark the website and go straight to it. The app doesn't have all the features.
The Green Count
I am waiting for the cheapie paperback version to come out next year.
I'm halfway through Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas, and have to applaud Laura Sook Duncombe for attempting to write such a book when there are so many contradicting stories out there about female pirates, and considerably less sources out there. But I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would.I've also got The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century waiting on my shelf to be picked up next, and I am very much looking forward to getting in that one.
Half-way through 'A Swarming of Bees', 7th C (according to a review!) Whitby, which is a place I know well. I chose it because it says 'bees' and a I'm a beekeeper :) and because I'm binge reading medieval HF now I'm not scared it will mess with my writing head. A couple of good bee moments :) Were people really as simple as this? Lots of people die of plague without me caring (which might be a good thing!) The murder seems to be solved so I'm not sure what happens for the rest of the book but it's good for me to delve into Saxon culture. I like the on-the-spot reaction to calendar change. A Swarming of Bees
Megan wrote: "... I've also got The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century waiting on my shelf to be picked up next, and I am very much looking forward to getting in that one..."I thoroughly enjoyed it - you are in for a treat :) (I hope) I also really liked his other two in the series
Finished People of the Whale
by Linda Hogan--a lovely novel about a family from the A’atsika Nation on the Pacific Coast. Hogan blends Native American mythology and folklore with daily life. One of the main characters enlists in the military and is shipped off to Vietnam. He returns to his village many years later, a fractured human being. The novel addresses the themes of wholeness, reintegration, and the interconnectedness of all life. I gave it 5 stars and highly recommend it.
My review on goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Malacima wrote: "I'm finishing this trilogyThe Reckoning"
I love Sharon Kay Penman's Welsh Princes trilogy.
I'm on a Scotish Wars of Independence kick. Just read Renegade by Robyn Young followed by The Lion Wakes by Robert Low and now working on The Forest Laird: A Tale of William Wallace by Jack Whyte.Three trilogies on the same topic but very different styles.
I just finished
by Mel Starr. Very good series with an excellent Glossary in the front of each book
I'm reading Golden Hill
by Francis Spufford. The setting is mid-eighteenth century Manhattan. It is written in the style of 18thC novels. I'm loving it so far.
I'm reading Eric Flint's latest assiti shards novel - not HF at all, but it does have some history included in the plot :)
In this one he takes a modern cruise ship and places it in 321BC just after the death of Alexander the Great.
If anyone is interested I finally typed up my thoughts on Ben Kane's
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
also posted in the Ben Kane and Roman Threads
FINALLY started October’s monthly reading!
I'm about 200 pages into the new edition of Alexandre Dumas' The Red Sphinx: A Sequel to the Three Musketeers, and really enjoying it.
Just working my way through the Conn Iggulden "Emperor" series. Onto Book 4 at the moment and enjoying every word so far - brilliant series.Emperor: The Field of Swords
Conn Iggulden
I am currently being mesmerized by a modern retelling of the Iliad.A Song of War: A Novel of Troy is a novel in seven parts, written by seven different authors. It is a format with which I am unfamiliar. It tells the entire story of the Trojan War (beyond the Iliad) in a very modern way. I'm more than halfway through and I'm amazed at how beautifully and seamlessly the diverse authors have put the story together from varying viewpoints. I am deeply devoted to the Iliad itself. After almost 3000 years people are still reading it and recreating it. This novel manages to bring new life to the characters while allowing them to remain in the ancient world.
I am reading
by Steven Saylor. He is my favorite Ancient Rome historical mystery author. Love the character of Gordianus. Well done and researched books. I have read all of them.
For anyone interested, I typed up my thoughts on another recent read - the fifth novel in Ralph Peters's Civil War series
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For me this was a 5 star read - Peters covers the roughly the last 2 1/2 weeks of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
also posted on the American Civil War Thread
I finished Golden Hill by Francis Spufford. A delightful book--one of the best I've read.From my 5-star review on goodreads:
A wonderful combination of adventure, mystery, humor, historical authenticity, and social commentary flavored with scintillating dialogue, well-developed characters, and a charming hero, all of which are deliciously wrapped in a package of well-written 18th century diction.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
(also posted on the Modern Age thread)
I finished Gordon Doherty's
Fun read - set in late 4th century during the reign of Valens - a little later than I am used to in my Roman reading :) It is the story of a raw recruit in the XI Claudia and a expedition to the Crimea. It is full of treachery, good battle scenes and one of the first fights between the Romans and the Huns - solid 4 stars
Going to see Dan Brown tonight at the Portsmouth Music Hall. Looking forward to it!!
May wrote: "Going to see Dan Brown tonight at the Portsmouth Music Hall. Looking forward to it!!"Robert wrote: "Origins. Dan Brown."
In have this one ready to read soon. How exciting May, you must debrief us afterwards. Did you take your copy for signature?
Yes, each ticket included a signed book!! He is a truly engaging speaker with a quick wit and ready humor. I do love the “Writers On A New England Stage” series at our beloved Music Hall sponsored by NHPR. Cannot wait to start the book!
I have been reading Helen of Troy for quite a while. I like it, but don't seem to be able to read a lot of it at one sitting. Maybe because I know this is not going to end well, for anyone?--I recently finished India Black. Historical mystery which I really enjoyed.--I have owned a copy of The Brothers of Gwynedd forever. Bought it a library sale. So, whether I finish "Helen" soon or not, I plan on starting "Sunrise in the West" soon. Not sure how well my copy will hold up (ex-library, used paperback) but glad for the nudge to read it.
I read the first one in this series
and saw the British film. Both well-done!
Just finished The Great Walk of China: Travels on Foot from Shanghai to Tibet - a humbling and inspirational read - 5 stars. My review:-https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Patricia wrote: "David wrote: "I am currently reading The Kingmaking."I enjoyed that series."
I just finished
and am bout to begin Book 2 in the series. I'm enjoying it so far.
I just finished
by Victoria Thompson, although not ancient history. Set in late 1800s New York City. good cultural overview of the times.
I just finished Independent People by the 1955 Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, Halldór Laxness.It's an amazing novel about an Icelandic sheep farmer at the turn of the 20th century. But it is about so much more than that. It's about life and aspirations and the sacrifices a person is willing to make to achieve his dream. It is beautifully written, long, but well worth it.
My review on goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've started A Column of Fire by Ken Follett
Still reading Post Captain by Patrick O'Brian but its slow going and starting to sound like a Jane Austen novel. Let's get back on the ships!!!!
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors (other topics)A Court of Betrayal (other topics)
Imperium (other topics)
The Handfasted Wife (other topics)
The Swan-Daughter (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Robert Harris (other topics)Carol McGrath (other topics)
Carol McGrath (other topics)
Carol McGrath (other topics)
Ken Follett (other topics)
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Since Amazon bought them out, their focus has been in making money via book sales, Hence the feed pages for what your friends and following people/authors are reading and reviewing is full of big pictures of the book covers and description.
They have a new priority for their change request register and the Groups features is very low on that list.