There is one by the author of "Musashi" that is called "Taiko". Very long historical epic.
There is one by the author of "Musashi" that is called "Taiko". Very long historical epic.
Though it's mostly gripping - very different than Shogun for sure, but quite entertaining all in all; I read Taiko some years ago though I have not read Musashi yet (have a copy of that too)Originally Posted by Mithfânion
Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt is amazing.
You can' cant go wrong with Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels. His other series are pretty good as well.
I also like some of Wilbur Smith's books. the Courtney and Ballentyne Books were a good read. they cover the some of the colonial history of Africa quite well. From the founding of the Dutch settlement at Cape Town to the first mining near Jo'burg. Also some of them are quite good nautical novels.
While not China it is Japan it is called The Blade of the Courtesan by Keiichiro Ryu
Blurb-
This Naoki Prize-nominated historical thriller marked the auspicious debut of late-blooming author Keichiro Ryu, who in five years made a name for himself as a master of period novels. In The Blade of the Courtesans, a young samurai by the name of Seichiro Matsunaga, trained in swordfighting by non other than the legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto, finds himself in Yoshiwara (the pleasure quarters of old Tokyo), per Miyamoto's dying wishes. In Yoshiwara, Seichiro finds himself defending its denizens against what may be spies from the Yagyu Clan, including one young woman named Oshabu, whose story runs deeper than still water suggests.
I love Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" novels, she does a good job at getting inside the heads of the various historical figures of the late Republic, from Gaius Marius to Octavian, showing them as human beings.
I read one of these a couple of years ago and it was great. I forget the title but it was the one that focused on Sulla's dictatorship. McCullough is just so good at characterization.
I've had Bernard Cornwell's 'other' series, the Arthurian trilogy, recommended regularly. Thought I'd read the first but now I don't think I have, so I'm going to try and rectify that at some point. First one is The Winter King.
Along the CS Forester route, I've also had recommended the Master and Commander series of books by Patrick O'Brian recommended. I've seen the Russell Crowe movie, but have been told the books are much better. Can be read in any order but perhaps best to start with is Master and Commander. Far Side of the World on which the film was based, was a later book in the series, of which there are about twenty, I believe.
My Dad always used to recommend Alexander Kent.
Mark
Mark
I've read them all and found them so good that I almost wish that she would keep going. She really gets into the detail of the period and how the Roman Republic worked. Since she stopped with the death of Antony and Cleopatra I suppose the best way to segueway into the early Imperial period is to read the two books I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. They were written well before McCullough's masterful series but cover the Imperial family rulers Augustus, Tiberious, Gaius (known to us as Caligula), and of course Claudius (along with their extended families) who narrates the tale. Perhaps a little more poetic license (for example was Livia reallythat ruthless?) than McCullough but still very vivid and well written.
I'm going to have to try this series by McCullough. I'm almost done with my reread / ADWD read of Martin's series and need something new. The fantasy books I've been sampling in between haven't inspired me to continue the series'.
I've also heard very good things about Nigel Tranter.
The Grass Crown.
Not China and no Napoleon, but The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell is well worth reading. He's better known for Cloud Atlas.
Autumns isn't mind-blowing like Cloud Atlas, and there's an element of romance, but it's a fine read. It's about Dutch traders trying to get a foothold in Japan, early 1800's. There's action, adventure, intrigue. Good stuff.
I'll have to give that one a try. Sounds a bit like James Clavell's Shogun which was also quite good.
I read Caesar by Allan Massie a couple of weeks ago and liked it a lot. It's told in the first person from the POV of Decimus Junius Brutus, one of Caesar's top generals and closest confidants. It mainly covers the period from Caesar defeating Pompey to shortly after his assassination with flashbacks to other historically important events. This book reminded me of some of Mika Waltari's great novels in that I could just get lost in the time period through the first person narration.
A great series that starts pre-civil war is The Chesapeake Command, the first in a series of four novels featuring navel battles during the war. Heavily researched.
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