(Part 2) Best historical fantasy books according to redditors
We found 547 Reddit comments discussing the best historical fantasy books. We ranked the 157 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
English version Amazon links(keep in mind that the anime covers books 1,2,3 and 5):
Orson Scott Card. (He writes fantasy, too: check out Enchantment.)
Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis is about time travel researchers from the future operating in WWII England during the Blitz.
The Soldier of the Mist series by Gene Wolfe is about an ancient Roman soldier. A head injury gives him the ability to see gods and supernatural creatures, but deprives him of his memory.
The Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver) by Neal Stephenson is a heavily researched historical science fiction set during the 16th and 17th centuries. It involves at least a couple of fantastic elements, though fantasy isn't a constant theme. Lots of historical figures have cameos.
I'm currently reading Valley of Embers by Steven Kelliher. It's a recently released self-published novel that strikes me as a combination of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Princess Mononoke.
Division of the Marked by March McCarron has a detailed magic system with character-specific powers, but also includes elements of romance that I don't typically see in magic system heavy fiction.
If you're in the mood for science fantasy, I'd recommend Without Bloodshed by Matthew Graybosch (/u/asuraemulator). Excellent characters, science, magic, and some heavy metal.
Ja die neue Übersetzung von Wolfgang Krege ist wirklich nicht besonders gelungen. Ich habs tatsächlich mal angefangen zu lesen, weil ich mir selbst ein Bild machen wollte. Nuja, ich weiß nicht, was Klett-Cotta da in den 90ern geritten hat, aber es war eher ein Griff daneben. Es gibt mittlerweile aber wieder die Original-Übersetzung von Margaret Carroux, als rote gebundene Ausgabe mit Flammen auf dem Umschlag und als grüne broschierte Ausgabe hier
Die Carroux-Übersetzung kann man übrigens auch noch mal lesen, wenn man das englische Original schon gelesen hat, weil es eine ziemlich tolle Übersetzung ist und einige Begriffe anders gewählt wurden, weil Tolkien gemerkt hat, dass es im Deutschen deutlich mehr Wortvariationen gibt (z.B. Auenland statt Shire, Kankra statt Shelob).
Bjorix The Brave: A Tale of Ancient Mercia : https://www.amazon.com/Bjorix-Brave-Tale-Ancient-Mercia/dp/1543089860/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
I, Martha Adams : https://www.amazon.com/Martha-Adams-Pauline-Glen-Winslow/dp/0671655698/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=I%2C+Martha+Adams&qid=1563233908&s=books&sr=1-1
Check out Tinker and its sequel(s). The protagonist is a genius inventor type chick and lives in near futuristic world that's been thrown into contact with a parallel earth where magic and elves are the order of the day. She deals with magic in a scientific manner. Space travel is even touched on a bit at some point, but not in a galaxy-spanning manner...
Slight spoiler, but what I enjoyed most about the book is she's transformed into an immortal elf.
Dr. Taylor Marshall is writing a fantasy/historical fiction series that gets good reviews:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q09BFH2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
I heavily recommend RAW's "Historical Illuminatus! Chronicles" as well. I love Illuminatus! but I have to admit that his writing style improved greatly by the time he started on the Historical Illuminatus! Chronicles. Basically they are a historical fiction that takes place in the 1700's and touches on a lot of the ideas that Dan Brown and other authors would make more popular years later. However, I prefer RAW's attitude towards the material as he allows certain revelations and discoveries to take place while still effectively maintaining a sense of ambiguity and mystery around the bigger picture.
The three books of the series that he managed to finish before he died are The Earth Will Shake, The Widow's Son and Nature's God. Also, there is a quite good audiobook of The Earth Will Shake that can be bought here.
How closely did you look at Amazon.ca?
The Last Wish
Sword of Destiny
Blood of Elves
Time of Contempt
Baptism of Fire
The Tower of the Swallow
The Lady of the Lake
Tinker by Wen Spencer. Genius, runs a junkyard, races hoverbikes, works magic, Elves, Pittsburgh, etc. She's awesome.
Torin Kerr from the Valor series and Vicki Nelson from the Blood series by Tanya Huff are great female leads. Torin is a scifi series and Vicki is early urban fantasy.
Either the Kate Daniels series or Edge series by Ilona Andrews ... great female and male characters. Lots of depth and variety, very well-written.
Lily Yu and Cynna Weaver in the Lupi series by Eileen Wilks.
Any of Patricia Briggs's books - Mercy Thompson, Alpha & Omega, her fantasy novels ... all great female leads.
So many great female leads, I can give a ton more if you want them.
Nothing is a bigger turn off for me than an author who hasn't done his/her research.
I like alternate history, SF and fantasy both, and part of the attraction, a hallmark of the genre, is historical accuracy. When I encounter sloppy/inaccurate history, it breaks the suspension of disbelief and frankly, pisses me off. It most likely makes me abandon the book.
There's really no substitute for doing the research. You should take it for granted that readers attracted to your premise will have a better than average understanding of history.
Your premise sounds a bit like that of Gene Wolfe's Soldier of the Mist. I'd encourage you to read some of that as an example of how to do it. With Wolfe, it's obvious you're in the hands of a master, and you relax and let him do his thing.
If this violates any rules, let me know and I'll delete! :)
A Gift Freely Given
The second is the the works and now my sister (equally late in her 30s and equally as childfree) is working on her own book with no babies!
This book is free today on Amazon.
From what I understand, the manga is only nearing the end of the anime at the moment. It is not very far at all. I have not read it myself to confirm though.
The novels are all around better. I actually like reading anime/manga related light novels and have read tons of them. I can say Spice and Wolf is definitely among the better ones in terms of quality. I bought the official Yen Press books. They're translated very well, and they even translate the author's at the end which is nice. You can usually find them on Amazon anywhere between $6 and $11. Amazon's prices fluctuate seemingly randomly and I have no idea why.
If you watched the entire anime, you would have seen novels 1-3, 5, and 2/3 of book 7. To continue the story, you'd want to buy 4, 6, then 8-11 (if you go for the Yen Press official English release). The fan translation has done the whole series though, so if you can't get enough, maybe you'd want to just read it that way. I've read stuff from that group and they do a good job most of the time with all their series. Sometimes the text is a bit weird and occasionally the flow is choppy, but for a free service they do a very good job. I haven't read their Spice and Wolf one, but you could probably ask the other guy who commented.
I would recommend reading just one of the light novels first though before buying or downloading several. Some people just don't like reading or dislike the style of light novels. I personally like them, but they don't have much literary depth which may not appeal to people used to reading higher quality literature. The classification pretty much sums it all up - it's just a LIGHT novel.
Anyways, I'd recommend buying book 4. Support the series, get a nice physical paperback, and see if you like it. If you do, get the rest via Yen Press or fan translation.
Here's an Amazon link to the 4th book
If you have any questions feel free to ask. I've read all Yen Press releases 1-10.
>I'm not even loocking for german translations since they usually suck.
Stop buying Tokyopop shit. Egmont Manga and Planet Manga translations are usually excellent in my opinion. Also, you said "our" amazon only has two volumes of Spice and Wolf. That's not true. Number 1, Number 2, Number 3 I also ordered Index via Amazon. I never needed to use Book Depository.
A couple of books that I enjoyed:
Felix Gilman - The Half-Made World
http://www.amazon.com/Half-Made-World-Felix-Gilman/dp/0765325535/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422115061&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Half-Made+World&pebp=1422115068901&peasin=765325535
The lost city of Z
http://www.amazon.com/Lost-City-Deadly-Obsession-Amazon/dp/1400078458/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422115097&sr=1-1&keywords=lost+city+of+z
Jeff Long - The Descent
http://www.amazon.com/Descent-Jeff-Long/dp/051513175X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422115133&sr=1-3&keywords=the+decent
Edit: I would also check out Mark Hodder's Burton & Swinburne series. Book 3 Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon is what I was thinking of.
I enjoyed The Unhandsome Prince, but I thought Heroics for Beginners was better. Both good though.
Here's a parody where the hero screws up everything: http://www.amazon.com/Heroics-Beginners-John-Moore/dp/0441011934/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381171094&sr=1-6&keywords=john+moore
It's not even vaguely dark though.
nice design, far better than the german generic covers: here
James Calbraith really surprised me with his Year of the Dragon series. The series features a western dragon rider getting separated from his mount and stranded in the isolated nation Yomato (Japan). Without his dragon his access to magic is much diminished. There is more but I don't want to start giving spoilers.
The first book is free on Kindle and is called The Shadow of Black Wings.
There is a 4 book collected volume for the first half of the series called The Year of the Dragon Series, Books 1-4: The Crimson Robe. The Chrysanthemum Seal (book 5) is also available.
Here's a book that's £2.71, Steampunk book for £0.71.
molecules
The Year of the Dragon, steampunk fantasy in revolutionary Japan. First four volumes are discounted by 90% this week - $0.99. On Wednesday, I'll be releasing pre-orders for the final book in the series, the Last Dragon King.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CKEY974
i really like the single volume editions better for reading, but i believe an edition with 3 or more is, like you said, a nice gimmick to have. as for the foreign editions i dont know much, as i only know of my own german edition, which contains all books and appendices in one volume.
If you read ebooks Amazon has the three books as one [Chronicles of MasterLi and Number Ten Ox] (http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Master-Li-Number-Ten-ebook/dp/B005ISOYLK/ref=la_B000AQ4SNE_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412962732&sr=1-4)
I don't see the 1st book alone except as a paperback.
Ok, here's the thing... he has fiction and essays. Both are equally mind blowing but in different ways. The essays are easier to read, I think.
Fiction series:
Illuminatus Trilogy
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0440539811/therobertantonwi
Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0440500702/therobertantonwi
Historical Illuminatus Trilogy (I think these are the easiest to read of the novels):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561841625/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561841633/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/Natures-God-Historical-Illuminatus-Chronicles/dp/1561841641/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236806921&sr=1-15
Essays:
Everything else. I'd start with the book that I linked to here "Illuminati Papers" then "Right Where You Are Sitting Now" and Cosmic Trigger 1, 2 and 3.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1579510027/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0914171453/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561840033/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561840114/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561841129/therobertantonwi
Cosmic Trigger 3 is subtitled "My Life After Death", it was written after it was rumored that he died...
Unfortunately he did pass away in 2007.
Hiding from the world, a kingdom lost forever in time and space finds itself on the brink of a despotic future and their rulers have summoned Bjorix The Brave from the depths of his Mercian forest. To avert the unthinkable Bjorix must complete the perilous and unpredictable journey, all while evading dangers both natural and supernatural, as well as the treachery of assassins and the hazards of an eons-dead world. To survive against all odds the warrior must put his faith in mind, body and sword in Bjorix The Ghost: A Tale of Ancient Cymru.
Seax and gladius collide in Bjorix The Ghost: A Tale of Ancient Cymru
A sequel to "Bjorix The Brave: A Tale of Ancient Mercia"
https://www.amazon.com/Bjorix-Ghost-Tale-Ancient-Cymru/dp/1976519888/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2/147-9759622-7298431?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1976519888&pd_rd_r=76ed92f4-84e3-475a-b640-61513b324090&pd_rd_w=mVgIH&pd_rd_wg=OcnnK&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=H1KGEVFYJKAQZVN8X6G7&psc=1&refRID=H1KGEVFYJKAQZVN8X6G7
Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
amazon.com.au
amazon.in
amazon.com.mx
amazon.de
amazon.it
amazon.es
amazon.com.br
amazon.nl
amazon.co.jp
amazon.fr
Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.
If you're looking for a novel, check out the new YA historical fiction novel about St. George by Taylor Marshall, Sword and Serpent. My nephew loved it. It's primarily about Jurian/Georgius (who will become St. George) as a teenager, but there are appearances by other saints like Nicholas, Blaise, and Christopher, who all lived in the same time period. They're not cardboard cutouts, either! Hope that helps!
http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Serpent-Taylor-Marshall-ebook/dp/B00Q09BFH2/
Could this be Orson Scott Card's Enchantment? I don't think so, but I'm not coming up with much.
This cover is quite close to your description, and a change of government does happen in the story:
https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Devices-steampunk-adventure-Magnificent-ebook/dp/B0053CYXS0#navbar
Die Zwerge, Die Elfen, and Complete Chronicles of Conan.
The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman takes place in an American frontier where what hasn’t been mapped doesn’t exist. The frontier line is in flux, fought over by the rival factions of The Line (soul-crushing industry) and The Gun (individual lawlessness).
Oh, and there are magical weapons controlled by Demons.
Not exactly what you asked for, but worth mentioning. The line marking the frontier itself plays a strong role.
You just might enjoy Die Zwerge by Markus Heitz. The English translation is titled The Dwarves.
You can get an ebook that contains all three for $10: http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Master-Li-Number-Ten-ebook/dp/B005ISOYLK. It's well worth it!