Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

For anyone who is interested in fiction with a Viking flare these are my favourite two series'.



Prow Beast has been toted as the final of the series by the author.
But I don't think this Robert Low series is for Viking beginners.
If you haven't read much in the way of Viking themes, an excellent kicking off point would be the fab Bernard Cornwell Saxon series which has the Saxons pitched against the Vikings in many a thrilling shield wall. :)



This Cornwell series is my favourite series of all time.

Is Death of Kings the final in the series or do you think more volumes will be forthcoming?

I'd say more for sure. At least I hope more. But, they will have to wind up sooner or later. Uhtred (the main character) has to die sometime. There's only so much he can fit into one lifetime surely. :)

I forgot to mention yesterday the Tim Severin Viking series too.
Now, whilst I do own this series, I haven't actually read this series. I bought the first two books in his Corsair series when I bought the Viking series,( many years ago before I had joined a library).
I read the first in that Corsair series and the writing was woeful. I couldn't even finish it.
It was a huge waste of money and I am glad I have joined a library now.
My issue has been...ever since reading and disliking that book from his Corsair series, I have been daunted by the prospect of starting the Viking series.
But I do intend on getting to it. :( Maybe next year.

Cool bookcovers though. :) It was the covers that sucked me in.

Terri wrote: "I forgot to mention yesterday the Tim Severin Viking series too.
Now, whilst I do own this series, I haven't actually read this series. I bought the first two books in his Corsair series when I bou..."

Not the most inspiring user reviews of those Tim Severin novels, although 2nd and 3rd in the series received better average rating ... most likely because people who disliked the first didn't bother with the rest >8)

While looking around, I also noticed the Raven series by Giles Kristian:



ib.

I haven't tried them yet. The covers do seduce me a little and I will definitely read the first one in the future.
I think I read an excerpt of Raven a while back and didn't like the writing....although sometimes excerpts, out of context, don't give the right impression of a book. :)

1/3 of the way through The Burning Land now...love it! Uhtred really is my all time favourite character.

Awesome ... I will have to crack that series one day, when it's completed >8)

ib.

I'm reading Death of Kings and its great. Not on a par with Cornwell's Agincourt but still a great read.

I am 25 pages into Death of Kings and I am finding it a little dry. Not as quirky and colourful as the former books. It's a different style than what I am used to from the Saxon Series. It is nearly his King Arthur books in its writing style.

I read on Cornwell's site that he plans to take Uhtred into the fourth decade of the new millennium, so we have a few more to go.

That is good news, Cb....... The fourth decade of the new millenium. phew. There must still be a lot to come...

Terri wrote: "That is good news, Cb......:) . The fourth decade of the new millenium. phew."

The first new millennium, not this new millennium.

Oh, gotcha. Clear as mud. ;)

Wouldnt that make uhtred about 150 years old, or have i got my milleniums wrong?1

I think we both have our milleniums wrong. lol :)

I am thinking the fourth decade of 'this' new millenium means 2040????? I think???? I don't know if I'll still be into the series by then.....that would be a lot of Uhtred. I might be bored with him if he's still doing the same old same old. Carving up Danes with Serpent Breath and Wasp Sting for the next 28 years. :)

Oh do excuse my brain hiccup there. i have other things on my mind and I wasn't focused.

Initially I thought Cb meant Cornwell would be writing the series until 2040 and I was like...huh?..what the hey??

I was on a completely different tangent to you all. I thought Cb was telling us how much longer Cornwell would be delivering Uhtred books. *blush*
But I see now that Cb meant Uhtred hisself would be around into the first millenium.

Obviously, now that my brain has had numerous hours to digest the information, I am on the ball.

Ah, sharp as a tack I am, I am. ;)

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I may have gotten it wrong, but I think Cornwell said his plans were to take Uhtred to 1040, which would make Uhtred around eighty years old.

That's okay, Cb. :)
The news was good, just confused me for a second. lol.
I hope Uhtred keeps going for more than one more book, but if he doesn't, then the book after Death of Kings better be one helluva book. :)

Terri wrote: "For anyone who is interested in fiction with a Viking flare these are my favourite two series'.

..."

I'll be sure to check Low's novels! I just frigging love the Uthred -series!

Hey Terri,

You have inspired me to go back to Cornwell's Saxon series and I found book 3 at the library and started it again. Maybe I'll make it through book 4 too!!

Bellhuey wrote: "I'll be sure to check Low's novels! I just frigging love the Uthred -series! .."

I frickin' love the Uhtred series too. :D lol
The Oathsworn series (Robert Low) is the next best thing...but in saying that, I haven't read that Raven series that ib mentioned. I read the first page the other day (via the Amazon 'look inside feature') and it read very well.

Hey Dawn! Awesome. hahaha. Glad my fanaticism inspired you. :)

The 4th book, Swordsong, I didn't actually like much, but my good friend, who's on GR, just read it and she gave it 5 stars. So there is no telling what you will make of it.

Good luck with Lords of The North!!!! Keep me posted!

Cb wrote: "I read on Cornwell's site that he plans to take Uhtred into the fourth decade of the new millennium, so we have a few more to go."

Really, I thought it was planned as a seven book series?

Terri wrote: "I am 25 pages into Death of Kings and I am finding it a little dry. Not as quirky and colourful as the former books. It's a different style than what I am used to from the Saxon Series. It is nearl..."

Hope it picks up for you. I quite enjoyed it, but then I seem to enjoy Derfel more than you!

Lee wrote: "but then I seem to enjoy Derfel more than you! ..."

A lot more than me. :) lol Derfel put me to sleep.
But all is not lost with Death of Kings yet. Still good...just..um..not as catching.

Terri wrote: "Lee wrote: "but then I seem to enjoy Derfel more than you! ..."

A lot more than me. :) lol Derfel put me to sleep.
But all is not lost with Death of Kings yet. Still good...just..um..not as catching."

To be fair, I did think it was a bit slower paced than the others, but wondered if my mind was playing tricks on me - you had the advantage(?) of reading them back to back.

Well, The Burning Land back to back with Death of Kings. Yeah, that was an advantage.
The Burning Land was an absolute winner for me. It just really floated my boat.

I am between page 60 and 100 somewhere and Death of Kings has greatly improved. :) There's a scene, in a cave, with a shrivelled old naked lady and some mushroom juice......;) Fun.

Terri wrote: "Well, The Burning Land back to back with Death of Kings. Yeah, that was an advantage.
The Burning Land was an absolute winner for me. It just really floated my boat.

I am between page 60 and 100 ..."

Glad to hear it's picking up for you.

Finished and thought it was great.
Now I just have to wait for to come in at the library. Hopefully very soon.

Whoa. Super fast. I am guessing that you had already read some when you added it to your updates yesterday. LOL.
I try to do my 100 pages a day when on a tight reading schedule, but I don't always succeed. I wish I was a faster reader.

I picked it up on Wednesday after work and finished it late last night. Wasn't expecting to read it that fast myself but there was nothing interesting on TV. It helps that I have no one depending on me for anything too, if I want to read from 5pm to midnight, I can.

I have to admit. It is not hard to read straight through one of those books. I did it recently with book 5The Burning Land. Couldn't put it down.

If anyone can find it, this is not a bad read.
I read it ages ago and thought it was quite good.
p.s which has reminded me to put it on my 'read' shelves.
Bloodfeud: Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England

One for the road: The Soul Thief. A pair of Irish twins, a boy and a girl, are seperated when the girl is taken by Vikings and her twin brother comes looking for her. Holland writes well and doesn't go for some of the more gratuitous methods of keeping a reader's attention although she doesn't ignore the realities of the day either.

Sounds interesting, Craig. :)

Again, she writes well, and she does a good job giving substance to the sister in an age when women were often little more than chattel. Or so they're often described.

Speaking of Vikings, and sorry to veer off topic, but I went to see a Viking heavy metal band last night called Turisas. They were fantastic! I was the oldest person at it though by about 15 years. Its probably time I grew up.

Adulthood and maturity are over rated Tim. Besides, Albert Einstein said that the greatest men have the heart of a child.

Tim wrote: "Speaking of Vikings, and sorry to veer off topic, but I went to see a Viking heavy metal band last night called Turisas. They were fantastic! I was the oldest person at it though by about 15 years...."

It doesn't matter how old you are, Tim. Viking metal is for everyone. Afterall, it is the type of metal that needs to be appreciated live, you had no choice. :)

Sometimes you just have to get your Viking on, Tim.

Did the band look something like this?

The techno Viking. I wonder if he made any money from that.

Terri wrote: "For anyone who is interested in fiction with a Viking flare these are my favourite two series'.

..."I'm not sure I'd agree about Oathsworn not being for beginners. I'm prejudiced though.

I think it is by far the best fiction that's ever been written about Vikings so maybe you can't go by me. :)

I'd agree about it being the best Viking series by far. Technically the Cornwell series is about Saxons fighting Danes, so I daren't call that a Viking series really. :)
. Robert Low's series is about Vikings in all their brutal glory.

I haven't read a lot of other Viking series'.
Haven't got much to go on, but I love the series for sure. Was sad to see it end.

This may have already been posted, but The Long Ships. Fictional narrative of Orm the Red: a Viking of vikings, warrior, jarl, and hypochondriac. Written in the style of the sagas, but thankfully without all those complicated geneologies.

I don't remember seeing it mentioned yet.
I tried to track The Long Ships down last year. Library doesn't have it and I tried a lot of secondhand bookstores.
I may have to buy it eventually.

I did buy it and it wasn't a purchase I regreted. But everyone is different.

Terri wrote: "I'd agree about it being the best Viking series by far. Technically the Cornwell series is about Saxons fighting Danes, so I daren't call that a Viking series really. :)
. Robert Low's series is a..."Cornwell is fantastic. But you're right that it isn't technically about the Vikings. I haven't really read a lot of Viking fiction, so I suppose saying Low's is the best doesn't say much but it really is a great series. (Oops. Sorry for the hyperbole)

I have read a novel called "Odin-Son: The Berserk Saga" which is so-so, not bad but not great. "The Long Ships" is very good, but I thought it would have been better if he hadn't tried to get so much into one novel and had done a series as Low did. It was really too episodic to suit my tastes and the editing left a lot to be desired.

H. Rider Haggard wrote a novel called "Eric Brighteyes" that I've actually heard VERY good things about, but it's long out of print. One of these day's I'll see if I can find a reasonably priced copy. There is another one I've heard of called by E. R. Eddison called "Styrbiorn the Strong" that is supposed to be good.

Haggard isn't an author I'd normally recommend but I've heard that the Viking one really is worth finding.

Edit: Sorry for the lack of links. One day I'll figure out how to do them here. ;-)

J.R. wrote: "It was really too episodic to suit my tastes and the editing left a lot to be desired. ..."

Errg, I hate bad editing.

I can tell you how to do add the links if you'd like? :)

Click add book/author at the top of your message box when you post.

Then put in the book name...or the author name which is sometimes better when trying to find obscure books....and make your selection. press 'add'.