[BigBadMick]

Hi guys!

I was just wondering if any of you are interested in history as well as fantasy. From what I've read in online transcriptions of interviews Robert Jordan has given, he supposed to be a big history buff and I guess this comes across in the sophistication of his various countries/societies in the world of The Wheel of Time. One of the questions he had been asked in an interview has been "If you could live in any time/society, where/when would you live?" and his answer was that he'd like to live in the time of the Renaissance. (Not sure if I spelt that correctly!)

Reading this sort of thing has sparked an interest in history in me, so now I might read a few books about the Renaissance just to see what all the fuss is about.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone's had an interest in history sparked off by reading fantasy or whether your knowledge of history has enhanced your enjoyment/understanding of the fantasy novels you're reading?

BigBadMick

[Mithfânion]

Yes, I'm definitly very interested in certain periods of history. I'm primarily interested in 14th to 19the century material, the history of the colonisation of the American West, the Indian Wars, the Hundred years war between England and France, the Wars of the Roses, the Aztecs. Having said that, I also enjoy Edward Gibbon's vast " Decline and fall of the Roman Empire"

The sense of myth and awe, combined with an elaborate history is what I'm looking for in Fantasy.

[This message has been edited by Mithfânion (edited April 05, 2002).]

[kassimir funk]

Ditto

Although I steer more towards ancient Rome(500bc - 500ad). I never cease to be amazed at what those people managed to accomplish... it's really incredible. Militarily, culturely, and technolicaly they were just bad asses!

Ancient Greece I like a lot as well, Gimme Peloponesian wars anyday. I would recommend to anyone to read in depth about how Sparta was during the ancient times. They were a really interesting group of people. Much cooler than their artsy fartsy neighbors, the Athenians. Athenians SUCK! Sorry had to get that out of my system.

I also enjoy the ancient Minoans(3000bc) were really cool as well. They had palaces with running water. Ask me and I'll tell ya a story about how they were the people of Atlantis. (Gather round kids... grandpa's gonna tell us a story http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

Anyhow, yeah, I LOVE history. I've been wanting to read a lot more about the Persian cultures in the period between 500ad up to around the third crusade.

OH...almost forgot... Byzantium was awesome as well. I would like to nominate Belisaurius as greatest general of all time. Alexander the great was good too, but he loses on account of all his tactics were really his dad's.

Wow I'm a DORK. Any other ancient history buffs out there?

[This message has been edited by kassimir funk (edited April 05, 2002).]

[Thom]

After I read Gemmell's, Lion of Macedon and the Dark Prince. I read a lot on ancient Macedonia and Alexander the Great. Gemmell's story was really good but it was not historicly accurate, so it made me want to know more about ancient Macedonia.

[Mithfânion]

Kassimir, I seem to recall that Robert Graves, the author of I Claudius, wrote a book about Bellisarius, you may find that of interest, it is called "Count Bellisarius" (sp.)

[ezchaos]

I think I got into fantasy first. My interest in history (espicially military history) came a few years after when I took a trip to Gettysburg.

I find that both interests do compliment each other.

[BoxingGriffin]

I've always been interested in History, although I've never read much about it other than the required reading for my Humanities classes in college. ( And I of course forgot most of it!)
I'm particularly interested in Native North America and the history of the many religions, cultures, and people that were here before me.
I wish someone would come up with a fantasy book that used some native american elements. Many of the religious beliefs and the way of life would translate very well to the fantasy medium, IMO.
If any of you have read a book such as this please let me know about it!

[Loque]

yeah, i love history with a passion, im gonna go and do it at uni if i can only decide on what exact area to study as i love it all, i guess i'll probably end up looking at ancient rome/greece or the history of britain as these are two periods which particularly interest me.

[fortytwo]

BoxingGriffin

I think Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series
might contain those elements you mentioned.

[Thom]

I really like history, every ancient greek or roman author i can get my hands on, i read. I like Thucydides and Xenophon. I really like ancient mythology too (it's a passsion).