Fiction in Roman/Byzantine Empires

[Wilbur]

On 8/8/2016 at 1:48 PM, Leofric said:

Harry Turtledove has a couple of series set in Videssos, a fantasy Byzantium analog.   Much of the plots and intrigue are based on the history between Constantinople and its neighbors (Persia and others) as well as internal conflicts.

The Videssos Cycle was a lot of fun when the first three or four books came out, like nothing else I had read up to that point.

• The Videssos cycle: One of Julius Caesar's legions is transported to a world with magic.
  • The Misplaced Legion (1987)
  • An Emperor for the Legion (1987)
  • The Legion of Videssos (1987)
  • Swords of the Legion (1987)
• The Tale of Krispos series
  • Krispos Rising (1991)
  • Krispos of Videssos (1991)
  • Krispos the Emperor (1994)
• The Time of Troubles series
  • The Stolen Throne (1995)
  • Hammer and Anvil (1996)
  • The Thousand Cities (1997)
  • Videssos Besieged (1998)
• The Bridge of the Separator (2005)

One of the reasons it is so good, and in my mind, so superior to anything else Turtledove has written is because his doctoral degree was in Byzantine history.  It was so impressive to me that I obtained a copy of his translation of The Chronicle of Theophanes, Harry Turtledove editor and translator, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982, through inter-library loan from some university in the midwest back in the 90s. It is his translation of an important Byzantine historical text that he completed after his PhD studies, and it is depressing as hell.

Writing as H.N. Turteltaub, my favorite work of his is the Hellenic Traders series, which is historical fiction about two cousins, traveling merchants in the 4th-century BC Mediterranean.

• Over the Wine Dark Sea (2001)
• The Gryphon's Skull (2002)
• The Sacred Land (2003)
• Owls to Athens (2004)

[wolverine]

On 8/9/2016 at 0:11 AM, ithanos said:

An oldie but a goodie; Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem.

I was going to second this one.

 

The Druid King by Norman Spinrad is a pretty good book about Vercingetorix, a barbarian who fought the Roman's around the time Caesar was in Gaul I think.  It's been a while.

 

Byzantium by Lawhead is pretty terrible IMO.  Could have been a fun adventure but is really pretty ridiculous.

[Jo498]

Vercingetorix was the most famous leader/warlord of the Gauls who gave Caesar a hard time in the Gallic War at least for a while but finally lost. Most Europeans will know the name from the Asterix comic books, one of which is about the lost shield of Vercingetorix. And all those names ending in -ix are very probably inspired by his name, too.

[SeanF]

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 11:08 PM, Wilbur said:

The Videssos Cycle was a lot of fun when the first three or four books came out, like nothing else I had read up to that point.

• The Videssos cycle: One of Julius Caesar's legions is transported to a world with magic.
  • The Misplaced Legion (1987)
  • An Emperor for the Legion (1987)
  • The Legion of Videssos (1987)
  • Swords of the Legion (1987)
• The Tale of Krispos series
  • Krispos Rising (1991)
  • Krispos of Videssos (1991)
  • Krispos the Emperor (1994)
• The Time of Troubles series
  • The Stolen Throne (1995)
  • Hammer and Anvil (1996)
  • The Thousand Cities (1997)
  • Videssos Besieged (1998)
• The Bridge of the Separator (2005)

One of the reasons it is so good, and in my mind, so superior to anything else Turtledove has written is because his doctoral degree was in Byzantine history.  It was so impressive to me that I obtained a copy of his translation of The Chronicle of Theophanes, Harry Turtledove editor and translator, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982, through inter-library loan from some university in the midwest back in the 90s. It is his translation of an important Byzantine historical text that he completed after his PhD studies, and it is depressing as hell.

Writing as H.N. Turteltaub, my favorite work of his is the Hellenic Traders series, which is historical fiction about two cousins, traveling merchants in the 4th-century BC Mediterranean.

• Over the Wine Dark Sea (2001)
• The Gryphon's Skull (2002)
• The Sacred Land (2003)
• Owls to Athens (2004)

Again, thanks.  Turtledove is an extraordinarily prolific writer.

[maarsen]

There is always the old standby The Satyricon by Petronius Arbiter. (100AD) approx.

[Zorral]

Roman Britain: Island of Ghosts and Dark North by Gillian Bradshaw; also her Render Unto Caesar.  Anya Seton also located several of her historical novels in Roman Britain.  Henry Treece's The Dark Island -- the coming of the Romans to England.  Mika Waltari's The Roman set in the first century and era of Christian persecutions.

For Byzantium, Gore Vidal's Julian is still terrific.

The Historical Fiction Society Journal has pages and pages of listing for Rome and Byzantium.

Here's the home page for their website, which can be searched by century, subject, etc.

 

[Chaircat Meow]

Wow, I didn't know there a Julian the novel. Might check that out.

[The Marquis de Leech]

On 14/08/2016 at 7:57 AM, Zorral said:

Mika Waltari's The Roman set in the first century and era of Christian persecutions.

Waltari's The Roman is actually the second half of a duology (its predecessor is The Secret of the Kingdom). It's the story of a Roman nobleman's interaction and eventual conversion to Christianity - a bit dull for someone not fascinated by questions of faith.

[Antonius Pius]

Currently reading Alan Smale's Clash of Eagles. I'm about 100 pages in, and liking it al lot. 

[sologdin]

regarding the eastern romans, procopius' secret history has sufficient fictive content to qualify; the 'secret' content proceeds with plenty of anti-establishment grousing, kinda trumpian, to be honest.  at the other end of the byzantine timeline, psellus' chronographia also contains some fictions, though his difficulties are more in the omissions--no great schism, no manzikert, and so on.