Ahira's Hangar

Does anyone else here like to read historical novels? Stories perhaps very tightly or more loosely based on real people and places and which try to give you a feel for a place and time in history?
Books like Robert Graves's wonderful I, Claudius,which tells of the the Roman Emporer, Tracy Chevalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring, which tells the tale of a fictional housemaid in the home of the real Dutch painter Vermeer, or Phillipa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl which tells the story of the two rival sisters, one of whom was Henry 8's mistress, the other his ambitious and doomed second queen...the author plays around with the facts a bit, but gives you a good taste of the decadence and treachery of Henry's court...

Some of my favorite works of historical fiction come from the pens of a father and son, Michael and Jeff Shaara. They have written several novels about different periods in American history, with several POV characters -- like George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire...
Michael Shaara came first with The Killer Angels, a telling of the battle of Gettysburgh, which won a Pulitzer.
His Jeff followed with the other two books of the Civil War Trilogy -- Gods and Generals telling the leadup to Gettysburg and The Last Full Measure, which tells of the war from Gettsburgh to its conclusion. Gone for Soldiers, a novel of the Mexican-American War seems to me to be a prologue to the Civil War Trilogy, as it features many of the same POV characters, as young officers in training.
Jeff Shaara has also written a duology about the American Revolution, Rise to Rebellion and The Glorious Cause.
The Shaara books seem to be very well researched and well written to me.
I just finished reading The Glorious Cause and his POV characters include Cornwallis, George Washington, Nathaniel Greene, Lafayette, Benjamin Franklin, Nathaniel Hale, and others who took their places in the history of that time. Good stuff. Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

As I may have said on the History books thread I liked alot of Bruce Catton's civil war stuff-which fit into this category better than it does that. Also some of Jon Jakes stuff--especially North and South. Mary Renault's greek and roman books are very well written, such as The King Must Die. I've heard that one of my fav Sci-Fi writters, William Fortchen (The Ice Prophet cycle), has embarked on a new career of writting military history-like books... *****
Before, you are wise; after, you are wise. In between you are otherwise.
Fravashi saying (from the formularies of Osho the Fool) <i>Edited by: danlo60 at: 11/26/03 1:51 pm
</i>

I've been reading a bit of O'Brien's Master and Commander every day for awhile now, and am finding it to be a good read. The characters are interesting, and the battle descriptions make me very glad I was not in the Royal Navy in the Napoleanic Age! ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i></i>

I also liked the Horatio Hornblower books when I was a teen as all of the Melville stuff including Billy Budd and Typee. I'll have to google for this author, but another great seafaring book is Two Years Before the Mast... *****
Before, you are wise; after, you are wise. In between you are otherwise.
Fravashi saying (from the formularies of Osho the Fool) <i></i>

I am now reading the secons book in the Master and Commander series, Post Captain, and am enjoying it every bit as much as the first. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i></i>

Only historical novel I've read recently is The Ten Thousand by Micael Curtis Ford, a recounting of Xenophon's famous march. It had a few good scenes - some interesting descriptions of Spartan battle tactics - but mostly it was pretty dull. Next time I'll try some Pressfield. ------------------
Audentes fortuna iuvat!<i></i>

Slowly working my way through book three of O'Brian's Master and Commander books, HMS Surprise. Still very pleased by the author and the series. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i></i>

My mother used to just read this type of stuff all the time. I and know I read the Horatio Hornblower stuff when I was younger, and a couple of Kenneth Roberts ones, and a book that was about the middle late Tudor period in England from the POV of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, good stuff actually. taraswizard
Allan Rosewarne N9SQT/WDX6HQV
Chicago area
W/T forever, always
Plan C - http://planc.bravepages.com/main.html<i></i>

Reading a very good book on Highdrake's recommendation. Gates of Fire by Pressfield. It tells the story of the famous suicide stand by the Spartans against the Persians in the wars between those nations. It is very well written, and gives lots of interesting stories about the training the Spartans received... ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i></i>

Kind of simultaneously reading Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian (which apparently relates to some actual events in the Old West) and As Above, So Below, a novel about the real-life painter Peter Bruegel, by cyberpunk author Rudy Rucker. ******************

To seek the sacred river Alph, to walk the caves of ice ...<i></i>

Just started on The Talisman, Sir Walter Scott's tale about the Crusades. Pretty good so far. ******************

To seek the sacred river Alph, to walk the caves of ice ...<i></i>

Have moved on to the fifth book in O'Brian's Napoleanic War naval series featuring Capt. Aubrey and Dr. Maturin. This one is called Desolation Island and will be about a mission Aubrey undergoes to Austrailia. It looks like he will be taking a ship of convicts, including a beautiful American lady spy there with him. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i>Edited by: Duchess of Malfi at: 8/21/05 9:58 am
</i>

Have moved on to the sixth book of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, The Fortunes of War. Due to a series of nautical misfortunes, which began in the fifth book, Capt. Aubrey is now a prisoner of war in Boston. He is being suspected of being a spy, which, of course, he is not. Maturin, who is the spy, is free and trying to get the horribly wounded and sick Aubrey freed in a prisoner exchange. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i></i>

I am now nearly done with the eighth book in O'Brian's series, having read the seventh book The Surgeon's Mate yesterday. The seventh book is a sort of transition book, where Aubrey and Maturin travel a lot, from Boston to Canada, to Britain, France, Denmark, back to France, etc. In the eighth book, The Ionian Mission we find our two heroes back in the Mediterranean Sea, where we first met them. They are on a ship of the line, helping to blockade the French fleet in Toulon harbor. Blockade duty is boring and unpleasant...and it is a difficult transition for Aubrey from being a dashing and brave frigate captain with a small ship and crew and acting on his own (he's usually his own boss on missions -- he has his orders to follow, but other than that he's on his own) to being the captain of a huge ship of the line which is part of a large group of ships and under the command of an admiral.

Here is a cool website about O'Brian's books (though it is still undergoing construction):
www.hmssurprise.org/Resources/char_index/ ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i>Edited by: Duchess of Malfi at: 8/31/05 10:15 am
</i>

I was tempted to read a couple more O'Brian books, but decided on a complete change of pace. So I have started reading a little trilogy of historical novels by Amanda Cockrell. You can find her website at:
amandacockrell.com/

The series is called Horse Catchers Trilogy. The individual books are called:
When the Horses Came
Children of the Horse
The Rain Child

I picked them up because of the glowing recommendation by Ursula K. LeGuin, and because the cover of the second book is perhaps the most beautiful book cover I have ever seen!

The story reads like a myth or legend of how horses first came to the Native Americans. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i></i>