Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

I don't know how many books are out there that have a setting in the Persian Wars, however I saw this one in the store today by Christian Cameron. I had a flick through it and couldn't make a decision about what I thought of it. I know that his Tyrant series was classed as YA by some and on the cusp of YA and adult by others, and it didn't much interest me for those reasons.
And despite adult themes I couldn't work out if this is more YA than adult too. It felt like YA as I read it. Not badly written, just shaved down...but maybe that was partly to do with this being the first in the series and the characters are kids.

Killer of Men


Tyrant

I have Cameron's books in hard-cover, believe it or not!

There is a little bit of a cross-over with the Alexander the Great thread, since Alexander's exploits ultimately involve a clash with the Persians.

ib.

I didn't realise when I posted that there was a book two in this Christian Cameron series. The Long War Series.
Such a cool cover.

Book Two

Marathon: Freedom or Death

Another for this thread. I know we have a lot of Gore Vidal readers in the group. :)


Creation

For anyone thinking they might want to read Christian Cameron's Killer of Men .
It is in the running to be one of our July 2012 group reads.
Check out the groups polls page (click on the word 'poll' over there, >>>, in the group menu) to vote until June 14.

Book about the Battle of Thermopylae Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield

Guess we should have thought to put in that book here, we've mentioned it enough in the latest group read thread. :)

Ha. Der. Yeah. I think because it is mentioned elsewhere a lot...somewhere...I don't know where now...that I didn't think to put that puppy in here. Alex caught us. We're imperfect. :( It's true.

Spartan by Valerio Massimo Manfredi looks quite good. The story takes place after the Battle of Thermopylae and follows the story of a true son of Sparta and his crippled brother.

I always see books from Manfredi around, but they never seem to rate consistently well, especially in his own country. I'll try on one day to see for myself though.
I also noticed they are never very big books. Short like Paul Doherty's books.

I might check out that Steven Pressfield one.

Thanks for the tips.

I see the new book in Christian Cameron's Long War Series was out last month.

Poseidon's Spear

I am liking that cover..but that may be because I have a thing for blue covers.. :/

Dawn wrote: "Spartan by Valerio Massimo Manfredi looks quite good. The story takes place after the Battle of Thermopylae and follows the story of a true son of Sparta and his crippled brother."

I read this one and really enjoyed it Dawn. You don't need to give every fibre of your being to concentrate on it so you don't miss anything, which means it is a more relaxed read than his Alexander series. I read the first one of that series a few years ago and also enjoyed that, but it demanded greater concentration to say on top of everything that was happening. I have tried one or two others of his that weren't as good, but it may have actually been the tranlation, and I didn't finish them.

Good to know. I don't think I even added that one to my TBR but I do like the Spartans so I might try it sometime in the far future. :)

Terri wrote: "I see the new book in Christian Cameron's Long War Series was out last month.
Poseidon's Spear ..."

I am currently reading this book. I think previous two in the series are better.

Different tone to the new one, Alex? Or just a better story in the first two?

The tone is similar to the second book and it is better than in the first one -"Killer of men".
So far I read about 60% of the book, it is slower, less action, mostly travels.

Alex,
I see you gave it 3 stars. A strong 3 stars?

It is strong 3 stars. Christian Cameron did a lot of research for the book. Overall the books is well written and was interesting.

Thanks Alex. I am sure those that read the first book were unsure of whether to go on with the series, will appreciate the feedback.

Jane posted this comment in the What Are You Reading Now thread. It is such good feedback on the author Manfredi, that I felt it should be captured forever by also posting it into the era threads. In the What Are You Reading Now thread, it will be eventually lost and people often wonder about Manfredi's books.

Thanks for taking the time to give feedback on this book, Jane.

Jane wrote:

I got an early start a few days ago and read this month's loser(The Lost Army was in a recent group read poll. A few thoughts...
Premise of Xenophon's mistress narrating the events of the Anabasis sounded promising. Very childishly written, except some descriptive parts here and there. I disliked the narrator's use of nicknames. I liked the descriptions of when the army was in Armenia/Kurdistan in the mountains amid the snowstorms. The narrator made it seem SHE influenced the events; any time there was a plot or treachery, SHE discovered it. SHE saved the day on many occasions. I disliked her; she seemed too full of herself. No wonder Xenophon finally dumped her and didn't mention her in his diary!!! :)
I did like Xenophon telling her some Greek mythology.
The ending seemed hurried and improbable; it seemed like the author was rushing to finish the book to make a deadline.
The book was nothing special.
Ford's The Ten Thousand was a much better fictional treatment--or Xenophon's Anabasis, the true account of what happened. I consider Manfredi's Spartan a much superior book, if you want to read Manfredi.
The Ten Thousand A Novel of Ancient Greece
The Persian Expedition
Spartan
The Lost Army
I gave Lost Army 2 Stars.

I posted this in the Sparta thread AND the Tv and Movies thread...now I am posting here. I'm posting it everywhere!! :D
Woohooo! Can't wait to see it. Got to wait until next year though. :(

300: Rise of an empire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqy21...

I've been reading the Tyrant series since last summer. I'd had the first book since it was published in 2008, but not got around to reading it. Finally, the din of friends and colleagues telling me how good Cameron was got me to pick it up. Well. To say that Tyrant was good is the understatement of the year. It has become one of my top ten historical fiction reads of all time. The second book was nearly as good - still outstanding - but the third dipped a little in quality. Just a little, mind: the book is still streets better than most other hist. fiction, and besides, who can keep up 9.5/10 writing, which is what I would rate the first novel. I know I can't!
Really champing at the bit to read book four, and then to start on the Long War series.

So, if you like you some Greek hist. fiction, give Cameron a go!

Thanks for the feedback on that Tyrant series, Ben.

I could not get into his Long Wars due to the narration style, but I have not totally written off trying

I think Tyrant is the one I have on my TBR as well. Might have to try it out sooner now. :)

I put it in the Group Read polls some months back. Can't remember now what beat it. I think it was beaten convincingly though. I think it has an uninspiring brown cover.

Oh right, it was in the polls. It was.......Attila that beat it, by 11 votes. I agree on the cover but it does have an interesting summary.

I have also heard that it doesn't use the same frustratingly disorienting narration style that is in the Long Wars.

Hmmmm, better and better!

Another book I have on a shelf waiting to be cracked open. When will it end? ;-)

Never.......you'll be 100 and on your death bed trying to finish a couple more books before you go. :D

Haha. Indeed! People lined up to say goodbye and I'm making them wait because I'm "at the good part".

lol. Welll...is there any better way to be go than that??? :D

Thanks, Ben, for the rec on Tyrant. One of many I haven't gotten to, but good to know I really must.

Hi guys, anyone interested in the Greco-Persian wars might want to give Luck Bringer a go. It's set in Ancient Athens, in the run up to The Battle of Marathon, arguably the single most important event in history. The author is a historian and archaeologist, this comes across in the rich context his story provides, introducing several notable figures in Ancient Greek politics, theatre and philosophy.

Sounds interesting, Louis.

that does sound good i will def pick that one up,iv read most of these books on this thread alwasy looking for more thanks louis

No problem john.

i should say that I feel I've been a bit generous with my rating - he is a historian by trade and not an author, at times this shows in his writing style. However the story and the amount of historical fact that bolster the plot make the sometimes unpoetic prose forgivable.

That's a good bit of fair feedback on the book, Louis. Thanks for letting folks know your opinion on it.

A book from a debut author which has been getting very good reviews to date, The Last King of Lydia Another giveaway, the third this week...... a mighty lump of elephant S***e I must have walked in..... :D

I loved The Last King of Lydia by Tim Leach. Great read and very fine use of history that doesn't overburden a good story.

Currently reading Last King of Said Lydia & upon doing a little research came across this site (below) which looks quite good for folk interested in their ancient histories. Not quite sure where to put it on the forum... so here goes....?

http://www.ancient.eu/lydia/

Black Sparta: short stories on different aspects of ancient Sparta. One story: ...'Nuts in May' is set in aftermath of Greco-Persian war.

Andy wrote: "Currently reading Last King of Said Lydia & upon doing a little research came across this site (below) which looks quite good for folk interested in their ancient histories. Not quite sure where to..."

I've used this website before. It seems like a good source of info on the ancient world. They take submissions from the public but curate them before posting. Some excellent photos along with their articles.

Just finished reading https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Very good book.

hi everybody just joined the group. My name is Robin. I've always been interested in the classical era. I've read some of Cameron's books, overall I'd rate them as very good. I found it harder to get into the Long War series than the Tyrant series.

Hi Robin. Welcome. :)

Thanks Margaret, looking forward to the group recommendations and discussions.

Welcome Robin and other new members.

Hi Robin & welcome. Have to say i quite liked the Long War opening book & we'll be readign the second soon, havent tried the Tyrant series though