/lit/ - Literature

Good night anons. Probably my favorite historical novel is "The Bridge on the Drina" by Ivo Andrić. It is extremely descriptive and has practically no dialogue, but that is exactly what I like. Right now I'm reading something totally different, "Solaris", by Stanisław Lem. As for Spanish historical novels, about the Reconquista, I fear that there is little written, even in Spanish. On the contrary, if you like the history of our country, take a look at "Captain Alatriste." Or anything by Arturo Pérez Reverte, he is the only good writer we have in Spain currently

>>22633465
Read picrel recently and it's very good. Tongue in cheek in a lot of ways, but still a great piece of historical fiction. Refreshing to read an account by a genuinely villainous rogue who is imperious and callous even in a fairly brutally colonial setting.

>>22633465
I guess it goes without saying but Salammbô almost terminated the genre.

>>22633465
>Please, read my historical shit, I don't want to be known for just Sherlock Holmes

May I introduce all you fine retards to G.A. Henty?

>>22633465
My favourite has to be Creation by Gore Vidal. It's about a Persian diplomat who visits India and meets the Buddha, then goes to China and meets Confucius, and finally ends up in Athens with Socrates. Basically a fun "what if" novel about one of the most influential generations in human history. Despite the subject matter, it mostly focuses on court politics of the time, without too much philosophy. Of course Vidal wrote a lot of fantastic historical fiction, but that is my famous. Robert Graves Claudius series is a close second.

>>22633566
Not historical fiction.

>>22633620
F.T. Marinetti's Mafarka did it better desu

>>22633566
Came here to post this. I need to read more of them.

>>22633465
I enjoy medieval settings, the Eastern Roman Empire in particular. Umberto Eco's Baudolino was very enjoyable, as was Mika Waltari's Johannes Angelos. I've been meaning to start reading Wallenstein by Alfred Döblin since I've been looking for novels about the Holy Roman Empire, although that's set during the Thirty Years' War, not medieval times.

>>22633668
I have only read Kalki by Gore Vidal. The book reminds me, curiously, of Apocalypse Now

>>22633668
How is it not historical fiction? What is it then?

>>22633566
This is not historical fiction

>>22633859
>>22633843
What's the definition of historical fiction?

>>22633465
Cold Mountain is great. Did you get to the "ashes of roses" chapter yet? That chapter in particular sticks out in my memory.

>>22633888
Not yet. To be honest I stared reading it quite recently, but I will look forward to that chapter.

>>22635127
To add to this. Some times ago I read Gods & Generals. It was an alright book, but it made me long for a perspective of a regular soldier. Enough said that Chamberlain's chapters were my favorite and he doesn't get a lot of them.

>>22633542
Lem, oh yeah. I have recently read his The Invincible, really great book. But that's science fiction so I'm saying that only on the side. The Bridge on the Drina and Captain Alatriste sound interesting. For sure I will have to check the out someday. I'm getting Three Musketeers kind of vibe from Captain Alatriste. Am I right?

>>22633465
Mary Renault's novels are quite good, if you like ancient historical fiction.

Gravity's Rainbow

Reading Baudolino and I’m starting to get the Zizek bit where he says Eco’s books all start great, but crap out. Before I chalked it up to him not understanding the style, that Eco can write a great plot when he wants to, it’s just what he wants to do is talk about his field of expertise in depth, and that can put people off if they’re looking for wow a detective novel set in the Middle Ages wow so remote and exotic! But Baudolino, while it still has a lot to offer, with a great depiction of a siege, of a man split between his biological family and his adoptive father, the prose description of the Constantinople burning at the start overwhelms anything that comes later, a lot of which is switching between info dumps and something like half a novel, seriously some of Eco’s thinnest material. Baudolino’s father mourns his wife’s death by saying she knew where everything went in the house, and the ensemble cast of quirky monks is too large to flesh out properly, to the point where they just sort of poke their head in every now and then to remind you of their existence, very one-note. Eco’s medievalism is on display but never really gets as fine and autistic as his other books. It made me overall think of the start to each of his books I’ve read, and I came away with the conclusion that the man absolutely can write an opener, but in their energy and mystery end up feeling like they belong to other books, and it’s not that I read for the plot, or that I can’t appreciate a good info dump, the rest of the books are good, but the start of Numero Zero and Foucalt’s Pendulum seriously outweigh a lot of the rest of the experience, though Pendulum makes up for it in the end. This might be why Name of the Rose is his most popular: it feels like it actually builds to something, instead of starting strong before settling into the Eco groove

Cadfael series is great for comfy medieval and mystery. Some are better than others but no bad books.

I have been thinking about picking up Sinuhe the Egyptian by Mika Waltari. Anyone read it? What are other notable books set in ancient Egypt?

>>22633465