As always, Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is: “Top Ten Books With X Setting”“ I don’t know if “ancient world” is the correct term for my list but I hope you get my point :)
I have rated all of these books (4-)5 stars.
1.The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden
“Men respect the silent; they despise the garrulous. – Marius”
― Conn Iggulden, The Gates of Rome
This book (and Emperor series) deserves to be called ‘the ultimate Rome story’. It’s absolutely spectacular, best historical fiction there is.
2. Wolf of the Plains (or Genghis: Birth of an Empire) by Conn Iggulden
“Courage cannot be left like bones in a bag. It must be brought out and shown the light again and again, growing stronger each time. If you think it will keep for the times you need it, you are wrong. It is like any other part of your strength. If you ignore it, the bag will be empty when you need it most.”
― Conn Iggulden, Genghis: Birth of an Empire
What can I say. I absolutely adore Iggulden’s books.
3. Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin
“Without war there are no heroes.”
“What harm would that be?”
“Oh, Lavinia, what a woman’s question that is.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin, Lavinia
4. Ramses: The Son of the Light
‘Ramses: The Son of Light’ is the first volume of the bestselling five-part fictional biography that recounts the thrilling story of Ramses, the legendary king who ruled Egypt for more than 60 years.
5. The Egyptian by Mika Waltari
“I, SINUHE, the son of Senmut and of his wife Kipa, write this. I do not write it to the glory
of the gods in the land of Kem, for I am weary of gods, nor to the glory of the Pharaohs, for I am weary of their deeds. I write neither from fear nor from any hope of the future but for myself alone. During my life I have seen, known, and lost too much to be the prey of vain dread; and, as for the hope of immortality, I am as weary of that as I am of gods and kings. For my own sake only I write this; and herein I differ from all other writers, past and to come.”-The Egyptian, Mika Waltari
6. Roman Blood by Steven Saylor
Murder mysteries set in ancient Rome… what better?
7. Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer
“We sail across dominions barely seen, washed by the swells of time. We plow through fields of magnetism. Past and future come together on thunderheads and our dead hearts live with lightning in the wounds of the Gods.” -Ancient Evenings, Norman Mailer
8. Nefer the Silent by Christian Jacq
To be honest, all his books are fantastic too.
9. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
“The difference in the brains of men and women was imposed by nature, and only cemented by culture.” ― Jean M. Auel, The Clan of the Cave Bear
10. Odyssey by Homer
“Ah how shameless – the way these mortals blame the gods. From us alone they say come all their miseries yes but they themselves with their own reckless ways compound their pains beyond their proper share.”
― Homer, The Odyssey
Oh, I think they’re ancient enough, and some great classics there!
Having recently read ‘Emperor’, I was thinking of reading one of his Wars of the Roses books, but I might read ‘Wolf of the Plains’ instead – one of my areas of special interest.
Wolf of the Plains is very similar to Emperor! Personally, I learned a lot when I read these two series. That’s important to me with books. I tried to read Wars of the Roses at some point but somehow I couldn’t even finish reading Stormbird.
Oh, I think they’re ancient enough, and some great classics there!
Having recently read ‘Emperor’, I was thinking of reading one of his Wars of the Roses books, but I might read ‘Wolf of the Plains’ instead – one of my areas of special interest.
Wolf of the Plains is very similar to Emperor! Personally, I learned a lot when I read these two series. That’s important to me with books. I tried to read Wars of the Roses at some point but somehow I couldn’t even finish reading Stormbird.
Love this theme and your choices!
Historical fiction is great! :)
Rome, Egypt and Greece are certainly considered ancient, but I think Clan of the Cave Bear might be prehistoric? Not too sure on those. Haha. I think I only finished the first two books of the Earth Children series but I don’t remember much from them. I’ve never actually read the original Odysses before, but I’ve read and watched a lot of adaptations. It’s one of my favorite stories from ancient Greek :)
! :D I was exactly thinking whether or not I should include it to this list! I’m pretty sure it’s prehistoric too! But then I thought it’s just one book haha so whatever. I think I loved Earth Children because the books were so freaking long. I’m kind of fond of bricks 🙈🙈🙈 There were really animated series I watched as kid! Mission Odyssey was one of them I think :D
They are freaking huge. You could probably fend off a rabid dog with those books. Haha. I’ve not heard of Mission Odyssey before! Something new to check out :)
Ahh, you have chosen a great theme for this week! I want to read more ancient times books, so badly..
I will check your list, definitely! ☺
Thank you! :) Hope you’ll find a book you’ll enjoy reading from this list!
Love this theme and your choices!
Historical fiction is great! :)
I adore ancient world setting, but I always have a hard time finding books set in this world.I’ve had Ancient Evenings sitting on my shelf for so long, but its size has always intimated me. Thanks for the awesome recommendations!
Definitely would recommend Conn Iggulden’s books for you! :) They are pretty action packed so they’re easier to start. Ancient Evenings is excellent but maybe Mailer rambles a bit there… I have a problem with liking books with crazy amount of pages haha 🙈 Thank you for reading!
Rome, Egypt and Greece are certainly considered ancient, but I think Clan of the Cave Bear might be prehistoric? Not too sure on those. Haha. I think I only finished the first two books of the Earth Children series but I don’t remember much from them. I’ve never actually read the original Odysses before, but I’ve read and watched a lot of adaptations. It’s one of my favorite stories from ancient Greek :)
! :D I was exactly thinking whether or not I should include it to this list! I’m pretty sure it’s prehistoric too! But then I thought it’s just one book haha so whatever. I think I loved Earth Children because the books were so freaking long. I’m kind of fond of bricks 🙈🙈🙈 There were really animated series I watched as kid! Mission Odyssey was one of them I think :D
They are freaking huge. You could probably fend off a rabid dog with those books. Haha. I’ve not heard of Mission Odyssey before! Something new to check out :)
What a wonderful theme! :-) Very unique this week!
Thank you! :)
I love your choice of topic. I haven’t read any of these books although I also like books set way back when! Have you read The Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston? Set in Ancient Rome during the Mark Anthony/Cleopatra period but focuses more on some of the lesser known individuals such as Cleopatra’s daughter Seline. It’s very low key fantasy and i loved it. I will definitely check out some of your books – I love in particular books set in Rome.
Lynn :D
I like books set way back because you always learn a bit of history! :) I haven’t! It sounds very interesting, especially if it’s concentrated on Cleopatra’s daughter. I don’t think that many even know that she had a daughter (or twins even…) I added it on my TBR now though! Thank you for the recommendation! :) In that case, I think you’d very much enjoy Emperor series.
Ahh, you have chosen a great theme for this week! I want to read more ancient times books, so badly..
I will check your list, definitely! ☺
Thank you! :) Hope you’ll find a book you’ll enjoy reading from this list!
I adore ancient world setting, but I always have a hard time finding books set in this world.I’ve had Ancient Evenings sitting on my shelf for so long, but its size has always intimated me. Thanks for the awesome recommendations!
Definitely would recommend Conn Iggulden’s books for you! :) They are pretty action packed so they’re easier to start. Ancient Evenings is excellent but maybe Mailer rambles a bit there… I have a problem with liking books with crazy amount of pages haha 🙈 Thank you for reading!
What a cool and unique setting! I haven’t read any of these, but some of them sound interesting.
My TTT: http://www.anovelglimpse.com/2016/08/16/top-ten-tuesday-ten-romance-novels-or-series-set-in-the-workplace/
What a wonderful theme! :-) Very unique this week!
Thank you! :)
I love your choice of topic. I haven’t read any of these books although I also like books set way back when! Have you read The Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston? Set in Ancient Rome during the Mark Anthony/Cleopatra period but focuses more on some of the lesser known individuals such as Cleopatra’s daughter Seline. It’s very low key fantasy and i loved it. I will definitely check out some of your books – I love in particular books set in Rome.
Lynn :D
I like books set way back because you always learn a bit of history! :) I haven’t! It sounds very interesting, especially if it’s concentrated on Cleopatra’s daughter. I don’t think that many even know that she had a daughter (or twins even…) I added it on my TBR now though! Thank you for the recommendation! :) In that case, I think you’d very much enjoy Emperor series.
What a cool and unique setting! I haven’t read any of these, but some of them sound interesting.
My TTT: http://www.anovelglimpse.com/2016/08/16/top-ten-tuesday-ten-romance-novels-or-series-set-in-the-workplace/
I love your theme! It was great to read a top ten so outside of the norm. I haven’t read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin, but she inspired so many great authors and is so talked about, I want to explore her. Do you have a favourite of her books? Here’s my TTT: https://paigehadleywriter.com/2016/08/16/top-10-books-set-in-creepy-old-buildings/
Thank you! :) If you haven’t read Le Guin before and if you like epic/high fantasy, you’re in for a treat! My favorite books by her and ones I would definitely recommend are her Earthsea series. Also, she has an interesting way to write science fiction: Rocannon’s World & Left Hand of Darkness.
I love your theme! It was great to read a top ten so outside of the norm. I haven’t read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin, but she inspired so many great authors and is so talked about, I want to explore her. Do you have a favourite of her books? Here’s my TTT: https://paigehadleywriter.com/2016/08/16/top-10-books-set-in-creepy-old-buildings/
Thank you! :) If you haven’t read Le Guin before and if you like epic/high fantasy, you’re in for a treat! My favorite books by her and ones I would definitely recommend are her Earthsea series. Also, she has an interesting way to write science fiction: Rocannon’s World & Left Hand of Darkness.
I had no idea Norman Mailer set a book in the past. From the ones I’ve read of him he seemed such a modern writer.
I had no idea Norman Mailer set a book in the past. From the ones I’ve read of him he seemed such a modern writer.
Have to add some of these on my TBR :D
Definitely do!
Have to add some of these on my TBR :D
Definitely do!
Do you know the Colleen Mccullogh’s “Masters of Rome” series, about the fall of the Roman Republic? It’s extremely well researched and very well written too. I think you will enjoy if you like Historical Romances. It’s not exactly “fiction”, it’s not a story set in Roman Republic. It’s a dramatization of history itself.
No I hadn’t heard of it before your comment :) Thank you! I think I’d like it. I added the first part The First Man in Rome on my TBR list.
Tell me if you had enjoyed when you read it.
I will! :)
Do you know the Colleen Mccullogh’s “Masters of Rome” series, about the fall of the Roman Republic? It’s extremely well researched and very well written too. I think you will enjoy if you like Historical Romances. It’s not exactly “fiction”, it’s not a story set in Roman Republic. It’s a dramatization of history itself.
No I hadn’t heard of it before your comment :) Thank you! I think I’d like it. I added the first part The First Man in Rome on my TBR list.
Tell me if you had enjoyed when you read it.
I will! :)