Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

Hi Guys,
I was just wondering whether there are such books available. This month's group reading The Road to Jerusalem made me think about it, because from what I read by Czech authors, the setting must have been very similar (there was lots of cultural exchange between Slavs and Northmen), only the Christian influence was Orthodox rather than Catholic. Thanks a lot in advance!

I am fairly sure, from memory, that one of the Robert Low books from his Oathsworn series http://www.goodreads.com/series/42311... has Slavs in it, but I can't remember which one.

Not sure if I have seen a book that details the Slavic tribes though. This could be a tough one.

Actually come to think of it, there is the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz. His novels may include the Slavs.

by C.P. Lesley, who is often checking in here, is about 16th century Russia. Would that be close enough to count?

Varanger is about the Swedish Vikings (Varangians) who conquered Russia in the 9th century. It largely takes place in Russia among the Slavic tribes there.

Enchantment and Rusalka are supposedly set among the early Slavs, but those are very clearly historical fantasy (and not too accurate, if fun to read).

If you're looking for something more contemporary with/similar to the Crusaders, though, that is effectively post-tribal in most of the Slavic lands. You'd need to look for novels set in medieval Bulgaria, Serbia, Poland, Russia, or the Czech lands. I'm having a hard time thinking of anything except The Siege, which is 16th-century Albania and hence not Slavic. Or Rakóssy, also 16th-century: Magyars against Turks.

Your best bet might be Until the Sun Falls, which is about the Mongol conquest of Russia in 1237-40. Lots of Slavs there, and lots of fighting, although the conquest is mostly from the Mongol point of view.

And if you do decide to read The Golden Lynx, I'll be delighted, of course. It's a coming-of-age tale about a (very tomboyish) descendant of Genghis Khan. The history is spot on, because I've spent 35 years studying the subject, and even my most intense colleagues have failed to find any significant errors. But if you're looking for war books, it may have too much romance and teenage angst for your tastes.

Eileen, thanks for the recommendation!

Russka: The Novel of Russia -- the earliest chapters, or as many historical periods you'd like to cover.

Terri wrote: "I am fairly sure, from memory, that one of the Robert Low books from his Oathsworn series http://www.goodreads.com/series/42311... has Slavs in it, but I can't remember which one.

Not sure ..."

Thanks for the suggestions, Terri! Interesting, Oathsworn is already on my to-read list. Yet one more reason to get started :). If I remember correctly, Slavs were also portrayed in Byzantium .

Eileen & C.P.:
Thanks a lot for the great suggestions! Adding these on my to-read list. I suspect there has to be a great deal of literature in Russian that is unfortunately not translated... Although, if I can judge by the Czech literature, it is likely to be quite nationalistic.
In any case, these suggestions are more than I expected.

Michal wrote: "Terri wrote: "I am fairly sure, from memory, that one of the Robert Low books from his Oathsworn series http://www.goodreads.com/series/42311... has Slavs in it, but I can't remember which o..."

I don't recall Slavs being a big part of by Stephen Lawhead; it was more Irish monks. Slavs were the focus of by Michael Ennis, particularly the story of Harold Hardrada. But the Lawhead book was much, much better than the Ennis book.

C.P. wrote: "Varanger is about the Swedish Vikings (Varangians) who conquered Russia in the 9th century. It largely takes place in Russia among the Slavic tribes there.

Enchantment and Rusalka are supposedly s..."

Anytime!

Michal wrote: "Eileen & C.P.:
Thanks a lot for the great suggestions! Adding these on my to-read list. I suspect there has to be a great deal of literature in Russian that is unfortunately not translated... Altho..."

You're welcome. Yes, there is some good stuff in Russian, from what I hear (reading novels in Russian is not, ahem, my preferred form of relaxation). I wish someone would translate Alexei Ivanov's Serdtse Parmy, ili Cherdyn´—kniaginia gor (The Heart of Perm, or Cherdyn, Princess of the Mountains), which is set in western Siberia in the 15th century or so as the Russians are starting to move in. But so far, no takers.

That reminds me, though, if you are not set on Slavs but are interested in the general area, you may want to look for Dmitry Chen's The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas, just translated into English. It's a historical thriller set along the Silk Road in 739 A.D. Bryn, I'm looking at you! ;-)

@ C.P. I'm listening! Sogdian merchant as a hero: that's rare, and interesting.

From the sounds of it I wish they'd translate that Siberian princess novel too.

Read Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. He mostly writes fantasy set in historical times, but full of elements of slavic mythology.

He is well known by The Witcher saga, in which a very famous video game is inspired.

He does have a more realistic series known as the "Trylogia husycka", based on the Hussite Wars. I read a Spanish translation of the first book, Narrenturm .

This one is also tagged as historical/fantasy, but I didn't see much magical elements, at least in the first book. But there's much to picture about Bohemia and Silesia in the time of the Hussite Wars (1420s).

Good luck finding a translation though. There's still no Spanish version of #3. I could find no English one on Amazon, only German and Polish. Too bad, the first book was awesome.

You can find more English translations of The Witcher Saga though.

By the way, I'm also a sucker for this theme. I wish there were more English or Spanish speaking authors with a love of HF set in medieval Eastern Europe. Specially if there's anything about the Ottoman wars in the Balkans and Hungary.

If anyone has come across with this subject please share. I have The Religion , based on the Siege of Malta. But I crave for Slavs and Magyars.

Diego wrote: "By the way, I'm also a sucker for this theme. I wish there were more English or Spanish speaking authors with a love of HF set in medieval Eastern Europe. Specially if there's anything about the O..."

How about this one:

Eclipse of the Crescent Moon by Géza Gárdonyi. It's called
Egri Csillagok in Hungarian and it's about the Siege of Eger in the 1500s.

Jane wrote: "Diego wrote: "By the way, I'm also a sucker for this theme. I wish there were more English or Spanish speaking authors with a love of HF set in medieval Eastern Europe. Specially if there's anythi..."

Thank you, Jane.

Mark wrote: "Jane wrote: "Diego wrote: "By the way, I'm also a sucker for this theme. I wish there were more English or Spanish speaking authors with a love of HF set in medieval Eastern Europe. Specially if t..."

This is an easy read. It's not florid in the least.

Diego wrote: "Read Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. He mostly writes fantasy set in historical times, but full of elements of slavic mythology.

He is well known by The Witcher saga, in which a very famous vide..."
Thanks for the suggestions, I remember I tried his books in Czech and it was a bit vulgar for my taste. However, my taste changed a bit so I think I will give him a try!

mixal wrote: "Thanks for the suggestions, I remember I tried his books in Czech and it was a bit vulgar for my taste. However, my taste changed a bit so I think I will give him a try! "

Oh, cool,then you'll probably won't have any trouble finding a Czech translation of the Hussite Trilogy. These books were recommended to me by a Polish guy living in the Czech Rep. But I can only speak for Narrenturm, that's the only one I've read so far. Though I order a copy of
Boży bojownicy after I replied this post the other day =P. It will take a while though, since it has to be shipped from Spain to the U.S. and then to my country. :(

Terri wrote: "Actually come to think of it, there is the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz. His novels may include the Slavs."

He has a series of books actually called the Polish Trilogy. They were recommended to me but haven't read them yet.
1) With Fire and Sword
2) The Deluge
3) Fire in the Steppe

If you haven't come across this page, here you can browse lists of HF books by era and region.

http://www.historicalnovels.info/

Unfortunately there's no specific list or sub-list for Slavic countries. There's a brief description for each book though, so maybe by reading each one of them we could find something.

That's a pretty good site but it takes a fair amount of effort to find something you want on it.

Yup, but that's the fun part of it! I love browsing for books. Maybe you'll never find what you were originally looking for, but you start taking notes of some other titles here and there that get your attention. I only come for recommendations when I give up.

And HF books about Slavs is a hard one, I've been looking for them myself. I could add another book I read: James Michener's Poland: A Novel

Most novels I found are set in post Renaissance to early modern periods, but I think that the OP is aiming at medieval times. I don't know if any of the Conn Iggulden books about the Mongol Conquerors cover the Invasion of the Rus', I haven't get a hold of that series yet.

Of course, I'm talking about stuff written in English. I'm sure each country has it's own share of HF by local authors.

Just thought of Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol: 1800's Cossacks in Ukraine.

Jane wrote: "Just thought of Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol: 1800's Cossacks in Ukraine."

Wasn't there also a Yul Bryner movie - Taras Bulba?

Yes, based on this book. I don't know what liberties they took with it, though.

Diego wrote: "If you haven't come across this page, here you can browse lists of HF books by era and region.

http://www.historicalnovels.info/

Thank you for this site ref.! First time checking it out and I'm over the moon!