Your favorite book/book series?

[SckizoBoy]

I can agree with what you say about the portrayal of the Roman military. But I can forgive him there, Pressfield is significantly better at writing battle scenes and describing the military. It's pretty difficult to do properly, in an accurate, informative yet exciting manner. I'm aspiring to become a fantasy/historical-fantasy author myself, and the fight scenes are some of the hardest things to put to paper. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to properly describe an entire battle with many individual fronts and all kinds of unit tactics going on.

That's the thing... you can cater to military historians (e.g. me) but you kind of alienate everyone else. For example, most authors of fiction don't know the difference between tactics and strategy, and so use the words interchangeably. The problem with trying to portray battlefield tactics and campaign strategy (and even more difficult, operational command), is that it's terribly dry, and most readers don't care much for it because it appears excessively text-book-ey, if you get my meaning. There needs to be risk, emotion, flash of inspiration associated with it. And in wars, it's only about the battles, rarely about anything else. Now, Kingdom of Heaven was a good example wherein the narrative explicitly showed the shortcomings of the Crusader army in its ability to supply itself with water. Yet the viewer doesn't care for such a statement except 'what are they doing trundling along thirsty'... *shrug*

My approach to it is consequential (i.e. horrors of battle, emotional impact and the trauma that it can provoke).

I wasn't aware he had other historical fiction, though it could be his other historical fiction work is from times I'm not interesting in. I'm pretty shoehorned in when it comes to history. I'm only truly interested in periods encompassing the bronze age through to around the early middle ages (the Battle of Hastings is where I see my cut-off point). So that could be why.

Well, his other hist-fic is set in the States (one's CivWar, the other's pre-Rev, I think...). Anyway, I'm rather strange, insomuch that while I like studying most history, the ones I zone in on are mid-Republic Rome and Europe 1700-1871... or thereabouts... -_-

I read your review of that, seems quite bad indeed. I do remember reading about one author who has a series of Roman Legion books, and he was widely panned as well. History seems to be a very hard thing to write about, especially since there are many passionate knowledgeable people of history who can jump on any inaccuracy. That's what is happening galore on forums about the upcoming Rome Total War game.

Well, with R:TW, it's interactive, so you tell the story and you tell it how you like. Granted, some anachronisms will be inevitable, but the gameplay is the experience, not the setting. But when it's told to you, you need the realism for the story to educate you. Hence, it's all about the setting.

Not sure if you feel differently...

 

[Milanezi]

I really enjoyed Clive Barker's Coldheart Canyon, it felt extremely glamorous albeit dirty and and sexually cheap, it hit just the spot for the book's horror/fantasy mood. It's about a Hollywood actor who's not very good with acting, but looks handsome enough to be adored, however he is getting old, and his movies aren't as big anymore, the answer? Plastic surgery, only nobody is supposed to know so he and his bandaged face goes to a mansion at "coldheart" canyon in order to rest; only the house is filled with old spirits such as that of its first owner Katja Lupo, a depraved Romanian actress of the old days who installed a very strange room with very strange properties at the very underground of the mansion. Fantastic book.
I currently started the Dark Tower series (wonderful), Starbuck series (Cornwell) and some random Forgotten Realms...

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Well, with R:TW, it's interactive, so you tell the story and you tell it how you like. Granted, some anachronisms will be inevitable, but the gameplay is the experience, not the setting. But when it's told to you, you need the realism for the story to educate you. Hence, it's all about the setting.

Not sure if you feel differently...

No, I feel more or less the same, except I aim more for authenticity, rather than full-on accuracy. As long as it feels right, then I'm okay with it, which is why I did ultimately like Pride of Carthage. While there were historical inaccuracies, some of them vast, it still felt authentic and researched. It is a fictional narrative after all, rather than a historical document or biography. There is much room for artistic liberty and change to fit the author, in my opinion at least. Most historical fiction authors would, I assume, be the first to tell you NOT to treat their work as education or information, much like what the director of 300 said.

However, I guess that can falter when the subject is real events including real people. The historical fiction I intend to write all involve fictional characters taking part in fictional events, just in a historically authentic setting. I guess the context is relevant here.

 

[SckizoBoy]

No, I feel more or less the same, except I aim more for authenticity, rather than full-on accuracy. As long as it feels right, then I'm okay with it, which is why I did ultimately like Pride of Carthage. While there were historical inaccuracies, some of them vast, it still felt authentic and researched. It is a fictional narrative after all, rather than a historical document or biography. There is much room for artistic liberty and change to fit the author, in my opinion at least. Most historical fiction authors would, I assume, be the first to tell you NOT to treat their work as education or information, much like what the director of 300 said.

Well... it would end up in that old argument of historical fiction: when does it stop becoming dramatic licence, and when does it start becoming disrespecting history?

I guess you have a point there in that the feel of the story and the setting should be there from the off and that should be as real as possible, but I find that with certain periods, such as the Second Punic War, details are sketchy or debated a lot of the time, to the extent that even if the author makes a distinct and overt effort to make it as 'true to history' as possible, there is still a hideous amount of leeway that can be exploited. Of course, the further back you go, the easier it is to do this. It's a reason why fictionalising real (& famous) people from, say, the Second World War, is generally viewed with contempt, since the modern historian has literally shit-loads of materials to go from to the extent that fiction authors have to tow a very fine line.

Now, with Hannibal, a few biographies were written of him... and unfortunately, the good ones are all lost and Cornelius Nepos' one is possibly the least researched of the lot. Thus, we know next to sweet diddly-fuck all about him as a man. Because he is largely a blank slate, I suppose we can do a lot with him. My problem is the concept of 'informed conjecture', whereby one uses what he knows of what he did and what little we know (or think) he said, to form a picture of his personality. Doing that well is generally rare since authors don't really go out of their way to analyse historic dynamics... *shrug*

However, I guess that can falter when the subject is real events including real people. The historical fiction I intend to write all involve fictional characters taking part in fictional events, just in a historically authentic setting. I guess the context is relevant here.

Quite so... I can't seem to think of ideas for fictional people doing their fictional things with a historic backdrop without them directly interfering, since it kinda messes with (un)due credit. Ah well... we each have our ways & preferences, I guess... -_-

 

[Church185]

The Dark Tower series, but then again I've always been a Stephen King junkie. *shrugs*

 

[Bug MuIdoon]

Too true. It's impossible for me to choose one book. I generally get through 100-150ish books a year, so picking just one would be very difficult.

Some of mine would be:
Kerouac's - The Road
Bukowski - Post Office
all of vladimir mayakovsky's books have a special place in my heart
And, though I'm not a huge fantasy fan, Terry Pratchett is a genious

 

[Ghaleon640]

I grew up loving the 'His Dark Materials' books, starting with the golden compass. I've re-read it multiple times, (ok, maybe once or twice, but for someone who doesn't read as often as me, though I love reading, its a big deal) and I'm going to re-read it again one day. Too bad the movie didn't do better, I thought it was pretty solid, though maybe it just captured my nostalgia. Would have liked if they kept the original ending, but I can see why they did what they did.

 

[FoolKiller]

I love Brave New World... which also influences one of my favourite guilty pleasure movies: Demolition Man

 

[Bug MuIdoon]

I grew up loving the 'His Dark Materials' books, starting with the golden compass. I've re-read it multiple times, (ok, maybe once or twice, but for someone who doesn't read as often as me, though I love reading, its a big deal) and I'm going to re-read it again one day. Too bad the movie didn't do better, I thought it was pretty solid, though maybe it just captured my nostalgia. Would have liked if they kept the original ending, but I can see why they did what they did.

Yeah, they are great books! I have to agree fully with the movie, they should have kept the ending for sure it's something that makes the book such a good read.

 

[Xarathox]

My favourite series would be Robert E. Howard's Conan saga.

Same for me. Apart from Tolkien, Howard's Conan books are about the only series I've read all the way through.

As for favorite book, I'm probably going to catch some flak for it but... Intensity by Dean Koontz. He's written several others I really like, but this one in particular just captivates me right from very first chapter.

 

[Johnny Impact]

Harry Dresden
Miles Vorkosigan
Ice and Fire
Kingkiller
Discworld
Vlad Taltos
Amber
Lord of the Rings
Conan
Liaden

 

[Psykoma]

My fav series atm (partly because I just re-discovered it and I'm so happy about that ) is the Avatar Series.
The original trilogy was great, but with the last two books and the intrigue of actual gods, oh god so much fun