Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

I wasn't quite sure what to name this thread. I wanted to find a thread or create a thread to add the book of the same name, Men of Iron.

However, the intention of the thread is KNIGHTS, but to name the thread Knights seemed lame so hopefully the 'Men of Iron' title can fulfil multiple uses. Such as The Tourney, Jousting, Chivalry, Full Body Armour etc etc..

I know that Chivalry and Knights and all that jazz go into the Late Middle Ages...unfortunately the thread couldn't span both the, High and Late folders.

Of the same name as the thread is this book.
Men of Iron. Which was a real favourite of mine a few decades back.

Here it is for free if you can't find it in your library or you're curious about how it reads.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1557

It is set in the 14th century I think. Which doesn't slot into this folder, but as mentioned in the first post on this thread, the emergence of Tourneys and shining Knights spans High and Late Middle ages.

And I am going to throw it all to the wind and mention this one too.
The Champion by Elizabeth Chadwick.



Now, I have read a few Chadwick books in my day. Back before I realised that most of her stuff is so love story driven.

I read two of her books and liked them, before I discovered her romance type books and then went off her. AFTER I had bought a bunch of her books mind you. :( I still have a couple unread ones in my bookcase.
The Champion was one of those two good ones.

I think this book appeals to men and women. Men and women who don't do hardcore love stories (that'd be me).

I guess what I am saying, is that The Champion has some balls. ;)

Going through the books Goodreads Recommends to me, I espied Ivanhoe. It has been a long time since I have read this classic.
I might try for a reread this year sometime. I own it, so it is handy.

Ivanhoe

Not only Ivanhoe - you could throw in The White Company and Black Arrow. However, must admit that White Company I found pretty unreadable. The language was so archaic. I have it on Kindle, and will try to go back to it when I have time, but won't be for a while. Which is a shame because I was looking forward to it.

I remember speaking with Lee and Chris (from this group) about Conan Doyle's books such as The White Company. I hadn't read them.

I had not heard of Robert Louis Stephenson's The Black Arrow however. I shall add that one to my tbr and may give it a read some day.

You should add lion heart by saran peman to your list

Do you mean Lionheart? I don't often read female authors, but I know many others who appreciate Penman.

Yes my typing on the iPad is less than perfect. In general women aren't as graphic in their battles but I think Lionheart will fill the bill if you want characterization of Richard and his crusade, including the destruction of places like Acre and other hit and run medieval skirmishes. Also you might enjoy Mary Gentle's series of the Books of Ash, which is a sci fi historical blend set in the 100 year war times in Burgundy with the main protagonist a Joan of Arc kind of figure

Hi Carol,
I can understand your iPad spelling issues. I use a tablet, although not an iPad, sometimes on Goodreads and it is not as easy to manouvre on Goodreads with it as it is with the laptop.
I turn the autocorrect off on my tablet too as I have seen some hysterical autocorrects done by people using iPads.

You are right. Men get those fighting and battle scenes done better than wome/n authors.
The butch elements of books are usually not as appealing to me when it is a female authored book. And I am not much for love stories. I prefer books without. :-)

The majority of female authors write female character driven books and I prefer male characters. Also, too many emotions going on. I don't need feelings and emotional drama in my reads. Lol. But hey, I don't knock female authors. They write very good books, it's just that they don't really cater to my tastes.

Hi Terri
In general I agree with you re male and female authors but in the particular case of Lionheart you would probably be pleasantly surprised if you enjoy descriptive battles. Richard II was a knight through and through so there is very little romance in this book although his relationship with his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine does come into the plot as she was a dominant figure in his life.
As I also mentioned the other books although sci fi do battles and intrigue like the 100 year war quite effectivelyA Secret History
Carthage AscendantWild Machines

Another book you might want to look into is When Christ and His
Saints Slept. Anyhow I am glad I got up the courage to write something here as I have been following this group and the one on medieval mysteries for a while, and I am an affectionado of these genres.

Hi, Carol

We're glad you decided to speak up. The more the merrier (and the bigger the TBR lists). :)

The Book of Ash series by Mary Gentle looks like it fits more into our historical fantasy. It is a alternate history set in the 15th century from what I can see. I am intrigued by the character of Ash though so I will keep a lookout for the first book to try it out.

And I am definitely gonna find When Christ and His Saints Slept, I love that era and it will be nice to have more context for Brother Cadfael.

I am glad you decided to speak up too, Carol. More the merrier and we're all a friendly bunch. :)

When Christ and His Saints Slept was my first Penman. An excellent read - and she's a lovely lady, too!

She is a good writer and I have read the majority of her works and am never disappointed.

The White Company


Not able to read this??? Oh, my! I admit, there are parts that I skip - I do that with any book where I'm in danger of bogging down - and I took a mild dislike to the 'hero' Alleyne, who seemed a bit of a sissy.

But not like Samkin Aylward the Master Archer - !
Or Sir Nigel Loring?

Or that fabulous scene at the beginning where the monks are kicking out Hordle John the brawny red-headed novice because he held one of the holiest (and smarmiest) novices over the pescatorium as a lesson? And they had to haul the Abbot - an elderly branch of the de Lacy family (IIRC) when he wanted to come to fisticuffs with Hordle John? Aack!

(Conan Doyle did write in a stylized fashion, but this is a great book.)

Ye gods. Men of Iron can't be sissies. Goodness no.

@Diana: I've defended The White Company (and Sir Nigel) elsewhere, but it's great to see that you have ben too! Yay!

Not sure what date they are saying this Knight was buried. The lid of his coffin is a thing of beauty.

'Medieval Knight' unearthed in Edinburgh Carpark Dig
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland...

For those who like themselves some Knight action.


The Ill-Made Knight

Not sure if that looks like my kind of book but I still want to give Christian Cameron a try sometime.

It is mine. :-) I am looking forward to trying it. The first Christian Cameron since my failed outing with Killer of Men that interests me enough to give him another try,

I think I have Tyrant on my TBR to give a try.

So I really want to write stuff in the future that the folks on this thread would enjoy--what are your go-to best titles and old standbys for this topic? Even though he doesn't ever use the word "knight," that I remember, I re-read Bernard Cornwell's Warlord trilogy every couple of years when I want a strong dose of knightly adventure. What are your books of choice for that?

Hi James,
Please check out the Author's Posting Guidelines. We do not allow authors to use our members as a research tool. We are a group for readers.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I should have put this series here ages ago. Reading book two in it now.
Really, if a reader wants to read novels on knights, I think this might be the best series for them.

Agreed. I read all three in the series in December of 2017. Wonderful authenticity and detail. First rate writing. A fourth in the series is upcoming Sword of Justice. I can’t wait...

Oooohh. I didn't know about the fourth. I'm still waiting for the paperback release of Green Count. The hardcover is not in my budget.

This is where Kindles are a good thing lol. Although I generally agree about preferring “dead tree” books, when I really want to read something new and it’s not in the budget? I cave (*insert walk of shame here*)

And libraries when I’m feeling well enough to get out...or electronic “overdrive” library kindle books...w/Book Depository for U.K. only titles (dead tree).

I’m pretty good w/my sticking to book budget, but absolutely not good with waiting to read what I want to read....creativity counts...:-)

I wouldn't wait for Uhtred. He's probably the only one I'll pay the bigger bucks for. :-)

You had to buy William Gold series from TBD in hard copy didn't you? That's one you wouldn't be able to buy in ebook in US?

Nope, it’s available in the US, I’m pretty sure? Kindle anyway. The Green Count I got in HB for Xmas from my kids. I think he’s fairly popular here (Canadian?). He should be. Great stuff...

Interesting. I never put him in a group read poll because I didn't think our US members could get the Gold series without buying hard copy from UK.

I spoke too soon. The hard copies are available through Amazon USA, and prices are decent, but they’re not US publications. Interesting that the Kindle pubs are getting through. Maybe because Canadian published? No idea. In any case, my kids had no trouble getting me The Green Count for Christmas and had no idea it wasn’t US...;-)

This is good news. William Gold may have to pop up soon in a Poll.

I must admit, in book two, The Long Sword, I have started crushing on ol' William. Had no interest in book one. Book two he is more...experienced with life. ;-)

I'm jealous you guys have read Green Count ahead of me. Feel behind.

Looks like a Feb 8 Pb pub date in the US - not too long now :-) I also agree with Robert. Favoring 2 just slightly ahead of 3. Both top rate, however.

Hope you get a chance to try it, Jayne.

I imagine he has fixed it by now, but when book 1, The Ill-Made Knight first came out it was badly edited. Errors aplenty.
I'm thinking he fixed it all in his next print. The errors were mentioned a few times on the books review page by me and someone else so I'm hoping he saw it.

Man, I got to read books 2 and 3 of the series. I throroughly enjoyed book 1.

I'm still getting my William Gold on. So slow to read this book. Sometimes he just gets a bit 'waffley' with his period details. It is all well written, but I think some of it isn't needed to make the story any better than it already is.

I have the small paperback and it is over 400 pages and small writing. Gee the harcover and large paperback must have been big books. No wonder they were pricey.
The Long Sword

Edit: I just checked, they were the same size as this small paperback. must then have had small print in them too!

Adding this one to the thread. Hawkwood by Jack Ludlow. I'll try to fit it in during March (2018..for those that come to this thread in the future...:-)..) as I have already read the book that is winning the March Group Read Poll, Ill-Made Knight by Christian Cameron.

I am starting Hawkwood tonight. Reading it this month because it was the loser in our March Poll and I have read the winner.

Hawkwood

I like medieval novel very much. Tell me if this one is good to start buying it to read.

Hi eduardo,
I will let you know.

Hawkwood is dry. Very dry. Writing isn't awful, it is just blunt and lacking in colour.

I think I'll pass on that for now - I have all I can handle on dry reads right now. I'm reading David M. Glantz's look at the Red Army in the early stages of WWII



Personally I find the era and information he presents fascinating, Col Glantz puts a whole lot of detail in his books but is writing style is DRY!

Dry military history can be mentally draining.

I finally finished Christian Cameron's



Good read, but I don't think I liked as much as the first one. In this novel Sir Gold is fighting with Hawkwood in Italy, volunteers to join the Hospitallers and go on crusade and it ends the Crusaders capturing and then wihdrawing from Alexandria,

Great battle sequences and a solid 4 star read.

I have just bought the one that follows, The Long Sword. The Green Count.

Happy, you out there?
Good luck with Green Count, happy. Folks here are saying that it is slower going than the first two books.

I'm hoping to disagree with them!! lol. Because I can't wait to read it. Might be a few months before I can fit it in though.

Yep - so far is an almost direct follow on to The Long Sword- I'm only about 50 pages in and Sir William is on his way to the Holy City, Jerusalem