What are your five most-read and/or re-read fantasy or historical fiction novels on your bookshelf? Which novels do you find yourself reading over and over again, or would read over and over again? Normally, I don’t tend to read the same novels twice, with a few exceptions of course. Here’s my list, in no particular order (no big surprise if you follow my blog regularly or have already looked at my bookshelf):
- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
- The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell
- Timeline by Michael Crichton (this novel could also be considered sci-fi)
- A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
- The Grail Quest Series by Bernard Cornwell
1. The wheel of time by Robert Jordan
2. the Welsh trilogy by Sharon Kay Penman (the one that starts with Here be Dragons)
3. A song of fire and ice by George Martin
4. The Eleonor of Aquitane trilgy by Sharon Kay Penman (the one that starts with When Christ and his Saints Slept)
5. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
As I’ve only just discovered Bernard Cornwell, I’ve only read his novels once. I guess he would be high up this list if you asked the same question a year from now 🙂 You can see we have quite some overlap in our tastes. Follow my link to see my profile and catalog on Librarything.
Hmm, my previous comment has the wrong link attached to my name and no way to edit it. Click on my name on this comment for the correct LT link.
Yvette, all good choices. I still need to read Sharon Kay Penman. I keep hearing her name pop up when medieval historical fiction is mentioned. Thanks for coming over from LibraryThing. Nice to see you again.
Also, Yvette, meant to ask which Cornwell novel(s) you have read thus far?
This is a good one. Here are mine, in no particular order
1. The Journeyer, by Gary Jennings
2. The Eyes of the Dragon, by Stephen King
3. The River God (Egyptian series), by Wilbur Smith
4. Ironfire, by David Ball
5. Lord of the Rings…. yes, it’s cliche, I know that, but it’s cliche for a reason!
Ben, I almost included Lord of the Rings on my list too. No shame in that. It’s a great book. I’ve never read it through twice, but I have read certain passages more than once.
I’ve read Triumph of the Sun by Wilbur Smith, and it was pretty good. I’m familiar with Jennings (Aztec series, right?), but not David Ball. Thanks for the list!
So far, I’ve read Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon stories, the grail quest and the archer’s trilogy (don’t know the official name). The rest of his books are on my wishlist.
If you haven’t read Sharon Kay Penman you really should! She’s an amazing storyteller. Another favorite of mine by her is ‘the sunne in splendour’. I think George Martin’s “a song of fire and ice” was at least partially inspired on the historical events described in the book as there are quite a few parallels.
Surprisingly to me, mine seem to be mainly historical chick lit:
1. The Sun In Splendor (Sharon Kay Penman)
2. Crown in Candlelight (Rosemary Hawley Jarman)
3. Rose Without A Thorn, (Jean Plaidy)
4. Innocent Traitor (Alison Weir)
5. Within the Fetterlock (Brian Wainwright)
(The last doesn’t qualify as chick lit)
I have only just begun to read historical fiction extensively in the last two years or so, so I am sure my list will change over time.
I recall trying to read “the Sunne in splendour” but being discouraged by, umm, a lack of action. I think I put it down without getting too far, however. Perhaps I should give it a try.
I love these lists. I’ll have to give Within the Fetterlock a read.
Yvette, the Grail Quest and the Archer’s Tale are one in the same. The Archer’s Tale is the first book in that series. I’m working on finishing the Saxon Stories myself, and then I want to read his Arthurian series.
What is Sunne in Splendour about? I know A Song of Ice and Fire is based in part on the Wars of the Roses, House York vs. House Lancaster (hence House Stark and House Lannister in George R.R. Martin’s series).
Judy, these are some new authors for me. I’m only familiar with Jean Plaidy and Sharon Kay Penman. Within the Fetterlock does look interesting. What genre have you normally read in the past?
Ben, remind me what Ironfire by David Ball is about? I think you mentioned that one to me once before.
Ironfire is about the crusades and how they affected the tiny island of Malta. See the amazon link here –
http://www.amazon.com/Ironfire-Novel-Knights-Battle-Crusades/dp/B0007LQ4NE/ref=ed_oe_h_bargain
Cool, thanks.
I haven’t thought about it but I guess.I have read many 19th Century English novels – George Eliot, Dickens, Trollope,etc. Also contemporary mysteries, and English poetry. Was a Jane Austen freak for awhile. But I enjoy the historical fiction genre, it seems to have me hooked, at least for the the forseeable future.
The classics are always good to read. I’m a Hemingway fan myself. Love his character interactions, dialogue, and simple descriptive language.
Ah ok, I mixed up the Arthurian trilogy with the Grail quest (easy mistake to make). I meant to say I read the Arthurian series, the saxon chronicles and the grail quest.
The Sunne in Splendour is about the War of the Roses. I didn’t know that George Martin’s series was inspired on these events but I read the Sunne after the Martin books and found so many similarities I felt it must be. Nice to read that I got that right. I never noticed it being slow but I prefer books where characters are well developed, even if it takes a couple of pages to develop them!
I also love Jane Austen, but as she didn’t fall into your categories I didn’t put her books on the list.
BTW, topics like these are very bad for me. Since the books I like are rarely available at the library, I have to buy them to read them (I live in the Netherlands so the library’s collection of English books is mostly limited to books children have to read in high school). I’m one of those people who re-reads books, so I tend to keep all the books I like. My shelves are already packed and now you’ve given me more books to buy!
I should probably go back and re-read some of those classics from high school, like Jane Austen and others. I would probably appreciate them more now. How is life in the Netherlands?
It’s fine, it’s really starting to look like Spring 🙂
I forgot to mention in my previous post, another writer I’ve just discovered is Conn Iggulden. I’ve read his Rome series and just bought his Ghenghis Khan series. I think his writing style is very similar to Bernard Cornwell (who also blurbs for Iggulden so he must like his books too).
Mine would have to be:
1. Lord of the Rings
2. Gormenghast
3. Three Musketeers – one of the best adventure stories ever written – a real page-turner
4. Patrick O’Brien’s books
5. The Name of the Rose – the best combination of historical realism and story-telling I have read.
Yvette, I’ve been meaning to read Conn Iggulden. Maybe I’ll get around to reading his stuff this year. I’ve had him on my list for the past several years. I hear he is a good author, like you said, similar to Cornwell. Looking forward to reading him.
Mark, the only one I’m not familiar with is Gormenghast. What is that about? Good choice on The Name of the Rose. I have that listed in My Bookshelf section. I read it a couple of years ago. I should probably review it here on my site.
1) Parke Godwin’s “Sherwood” and “Robin and the King.” Hands down, the best Robin Hood novels I’ve found.
2) Bernard Cornwell’s books could practically fill such a list by themselves. I have read four of his series (Grail Quest, Saxons, Arthur, Sharpe) in their entirety and would read them all again. The Grail Quest series is my top pick of these. I have “Agincourt” on my nightstand and assume it will rival the Grail Quest books.
3) Andre Norton’s “Shadow Hawk”, published in 1960 and set in ancient Egypt. I first read this more than 20 years ago and have read it many times since. Great story.
4) Robin McKinley’s “Outlaws of Sherwood.” A nice variation on my all-time favorite legend.
5) Stephen Lawhead’s “Hood.” As you may be able to tell, I’m a sucker for a Robin Hood tale. I was a bit disappointed in it when I first read it a couple years ago but my opinion was improved a recent second reading in preparation for reading “Scarlet.”
Honorable mention:
1) Robert Low’s “The Whale Road” and “The Wolf Sea.”
2) Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth” and “World Without End”
3) Parke Godwin’s “Firelord.” Similar in theme to Cornwell’s Arthur books but not as good.
4) Julian Rathbone’s “The Last English King”
5) Karen Maitland’s “Company of Liars”
In the fantasy category:
1) Sara Douglass’s “Crucible” series. Historical fantasy based on the events of the 14th century (plague, famine, war, heresies, and other fun stuff). But instead of characterizing this period from a modern or strictly historical point of view, the author adopts the perspective of the world as medieval people understood it, a world where demons and angels walked among men and where every event was as a result of either the hand of God or of the Devil. Pretty amazing.
2) GRRM’s “Song of Ice and Fire” series.
3) Pretty much any of Raymond Feist’s Midkemia books.
Bbailey, all good suggestions. The only two historical fiction novels I wasn’t familiar with were Shadow Hawk and Outlaws of Sherwood. I love the history of Ancient Egypt, so I’ll look into Shadow Hawk. What’s the story about?
I’ve also featured several of these on my site under the “Medieval Historical Fiction Novel of the Week” post, though I admit I haven’t read them all. I really hear good things about The Whale Road by Robert Low.
As far as the fantasy list, I haven’t heard of the Crucible series, and it sounds like something I’d enjoy very much. Thanks! Also, If forgot about Raymond Feist.