Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
General Discussions
>
Myth, Legend and Mythology (eg King Arthur)
Second question: well I am biased. Wollongong is in New South Wales and I am in Queensland, so I have to say Queensland.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkuvCp...
I can understand that. One of my favorite characters from the first two books becomes a nemesis in the last one. And the part with Merlin and his ceremony was a bit disturbing.
Terri wrote: "Second question: well I am biased. Wollongong is in New South Wales and I am in Queensland, so I have to say Queensland.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkuvCp..."
After the video, I'm sold - Queensland it is! If I showed this to my family they'd be pressuring me to book tickets tomorrow!
Hahaha! I hadn't even shown you Noosa yet and you already sld. That was easy. :D
Ah but if you miss Wollongong, Joseph, you'll miss out on a beautiful secret!
Liza wrote: "Ah but if you miss Wollongong, Joseph, you'll miss out on a beautiful secret!"I know this has very little to do with King Arthur, but is it true there is a street in Melbourne named after the band AC/DC?
Well that can't be the secret Liza is talking about because Wollongong is in New South Wales. Just south if Sydney.ACDC Lane is in Melbourne, Victoria.
Try again. :-) (I don't know what the secret is either)
Terri wrote: "Well that can't be the secret Liza is talking about because Wollongong is in New South Wales. Just south if Sydney.ACDC Lane is in Melbourne, Victoria.
Try again. :-) (I don't know what the sec..."
No big secret, really, Terri! Just that it's such a lovely place, off the main tourist track.
Is this also the place to discuss medieval takes on king Arthur? I need a place to let you all know how happy I am to have found a modern translation of (parts of) the Dutch king Arthur compilation: 
Loads of original and lesser known stories, some of them unique, as they do not exist in other languages. I've always wanted to read them, and only recently stumbled upon a very good modern translation. What makes me most happy is that almost all stories figure Gawain prominently. I've got a soft spot for the guy :)
There's also an English verse translation available, which is also a great read:
Though I don't think that English translation includes the story of Moriaen, the first known sympathetic portrayal of a black person in European fiction (Moriaen is the hero of the story, a black knight in search of his father, who's the brother of Percival).
Anybody interested in King Arthur and Merlin legends/myths, please feel welcome to join in the group read of M.K. Hume's Merlin series book, Prophecy: Clash of Kings (known as Battle of Kings in the US)Even if you aren't going to read the book, or have read it before, you are still welcome to join in the discussion.
Discussion thread
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Hi everyone,
We have just published a book called Arthur Britannicus which is currently on free promotion - I thought you might be interested in it
Arthur Britannicus
We have just published a book called Arthur Britannicus which is currently on free promotion - I thought you might be interested in it
Arthur Britannicus
Hi EndeavourIf the promotion is an ebook it can only be promoted in this thread: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
If the promotion is a paper book it can only be promoted in this thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Please see our rules regarding authors and author promotion by interested parties (from your post here and the thread you created elsewhere in the group that I had to remove, I don't think you read them before posting):
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/9...
Hi Terri,
Sorry about that. I will post it in the ebook thread.
Thanks
Sorry about that. I will post it in the ebook thread.
Thanks
I am looking forward to reading Sword at Sunset (Rediscovered Classics)by Rosemary Sutcliff, claimed by fans to be the best book on Arthur.
Make sure you add a link, Christine. :-) Sword at Sunset
If you don't know how, there are instructions here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
OOPS, will do, thank you for the'how to' link. :)
You're welcome. :) Basically the rule is add a link to a book (or the author ..whichever you prefer) if the book or author has not been mentioned in the last 4 posts.
That way others who come along can quickly click on the link to see which book you mean.
It also helps because if the book or author hasn't been mentioned before it appears in the 'Books Mentioned in this topic' and the 'Authors mentioned in this topic' sections. Which are over there on the right hand side of your screen. over there >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That way people wanting to find books mentioned in the thread can click on those and there is a list for them to trawl through. :)
Hope all that makes sense.
A couple of other classic Arthur books: Mary Stewart
The Crystal Cave
The Hollow Hills
The Last Enchantment
Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Mists of Avalon
Richard wrote: "A couple of other classic Arthur books: Mary Stewart
The Mists of Avalon ..."
Now that really is a classic, and influential in many ways too. I listen to a podcast on the internet from the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (I'm not a druid but the arthurian lectures it includes and the music is just great) and a high number of people who take part in it mention reading The Mists of Avalon as the first step they took on their path to druidry.
You know, we talk about some books so much I assume they are in threads and then find out we've totally missed them. Like the Mary Stewart series. I know we've chatted about it but go figure...we totally missed putting it in this thread. :)Good thing Richard noticed.
Mary Stewart's books ruined all other arthurian tales for me, I compare them all to hers, and still love hers the best.I'd like to mention Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Firebrand, the story of Troy told from Kassandra's point of view. Sorry I can't link from my android.
Diana L. Paxson wrote a whole series of novels based on legends, including The White Raven (Tristan and Isolde), The Wolf and the Raven (trilogy on Brunhild and Siegfried), and The Serpent's Tooth (Cordelia, of Lear fame). She also has an Arthurian series.Every single one of her books that I have read takes about 100 pages to get going. Just bear with it. They are worth the wait.
Bryn, The Lord of the Horses: Vol. 3 in the Wodan Trilogy includes a credible portrayal of Attila. Note that the real title is The Lord of Horses, whatever GR thinks.
Michele wrote: "Mary Stewart's books ruined all other arthurian tales for me, I compare them all to hers, and still love hers the best.I'd like to mention Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Firebrand, the story of Troy..."
I had heard of that MZB. Sounds kinda interesting.
Michele wrote: "Mary Stewart's books ruined all other arthurian tales for me, I compare them all to hers, and still love hers the best.I'd like to mention Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Firebrand, the story of Troy..."
Firebrand is one of my all time favourite books.
Terri wrote: "Michele wrote: "Mary Stewart's books ruined all other arthurian tales for me, I compare them all to hers, and still love hers the best.I'd like to mention Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Firebrand, t..."
It's fantasy to a degree, though, Terri. With the gods taking an active part in the story, as they do in Homer. Might not be to your taste.
I read fantasy. (Not this year though). I just like my fantasy to be straight out fantasy, not a fantasy pretending to be hist fic.
Terri wrote: "I read fantasy. (Not this year though). I just like my fantasy to be straight out fantasy, not a fantasy pretending to be hist fic."Firebrand is something of a blending of both. I actually consider it MZB's best work. The historical research is good, and the book has a Homeric feel to it.
Margaret wrote: "Terri wrote: "I read fantasy. (Not this year though). I just like my fantasy to be straight out fantasy, not a fantasy pretending to be hist fic."Firebrand is something of a blending of both. I ..."
Now you're making me want to read it! I love a "Homeric" feel and good historical research and given the attitude of the people at the time, gods entering into things just seems part of the historical parcel in some ways.
Judith wrote: "Margaret wrote: "Terri wrote: "I read fantasy. (Not this year though). I just like my fantasy to be straight out fantasy, not a fantasy pretending to be hist fic."Firebrand is something of a blen..."
I'm not sure on just how available it is. It is available for Kindle. Otherwise you'll have to track down a second hand copy from somewhere.
The mass market is discontinued in Canada, but not the trade paperback. Perhaps this is true in the US too?
The public library is a wonderful thing, especially for older books. They'll get it eventually if I ask nicely!
Judith wrote: "The public library is a wonderful thing, especially for older books. They'll get it eventually if I ask nicely!"Good to hear. :)
No Robin Hood? I love Angus Donald's series based on Robin Hood.Outlaw
Holy Warrior
King's Man
Warlord
Grail Knight
I thought these books were great. The first one starts a little slow, but from there on out it was tough to put down. If you like Cornwell, I think you need to give this series a try.
We haven't added the Angus Donald series here as we don't consider it mythology (though as an entity he's well suited for it) as the first of that series was one of our November group reads. The discussion for that book and any successive books for that series can be foundhttp://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Darcy, Someone mentioned Robin Hood as someone who fit this thread. I think it was on page 1. Interesting that Outlaw was a group read. I'll check it out.
Robin Hood, generally speaking fits in this thread fabulously. I just wanted to let you know that there is a thread about that particular series, and the reason why any discussion about it is missing on this thread. :)
For those interested in Norse mythology a new book is coming out next month that seems to have some promise The Gospel of Loki
That looks the business.
Darcy wrote: "For those interested in Norse mythology a new book is coming out next month that seems to have some promise The Gospel of Loki"By Joanne Harris? Chocolat,Five Quarters of the Orange, Blackberry Wine? When she writes her "usual" books she's a little too sugary for me. And, the blurb says "epic fantasy". I'll wait for an Amazon excerpt.
That's the author. I'm not sure how she'll handle this mythological stuff. I mean, Loki isn't food after all *giggles*
I have never read any of her books....and I did avoid watching the movie because it is *gag* romance!! :]Does she know how to write though? Proper?
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
Lancelot (other topics)Circe (other topics)
The Song of Achilles (other topics)
Excalibur (other topics)
The Song of Achilles (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Giles Kristian (other topics)Madeline Miller (other topics)
Helen Hollick (other topics)
Sharon Kay Penman (other topics)
Henry Treece (other topics)
More...
Terri - which one in the series was the one you liked the least? (My guess is that it was Enemy of God.) And, if I ever get back to Australia, should I visit Queensland or Wollongong :)