historical fiction

hey /book/ I have been reading the eagle series by Simon Scarrow, what similar books can you suggest?

AZTEC by Gary Jennings. My favorite book of all time, and a stunning example of historical fiction.

thanks, I will look into it

Burmese Days by George Orwell.

I have no idea what kind of books Simon Scarrow's Eagle series are, but I heartily recommend Dorothy Dunnett. Her Lymond and Niccolo series are absolutely spectacular and I don't mention them first by accident (the rest have no order).

As for historical Rome, you might enjoy Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series or Robert Graves Claudius. I haven't yet read the latter, and found the former a bit too detailed if you will, but both have devout fans.

For nautical historical fiction there's C. S. Forester's Hornblower series and Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin series.

For the East you might enjoy James Clavell and Eiji Yoshikawa. I thought Yoshikawa's Musashi was great and I own, but have not read, Taiko. I also dare recommend a manga series, Lone Wolf and Cub.

Mary Renault wrote a number of books set in ancient Greece which are well worth reading. Dense, but interesting. Steven Pressfield also wrote a novel about the battle of Thermopylae, and he has since written other novels, but I've not read those.

George MacDonald wrote over ten books about Harry Flashman, a definite rogue, set in different parts of the world. I've only read a couple of them but I liked what I read.

Sharon Kay Penman has a handful of books set in the historical British Isles. David Blixt is writing a series set in Verona that combines historical events with William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Mika Waltari wrote a novel set in Akhenaton's Egypt called Sinuhe. A bit dark in tone but very good.

If you don't mind a bit of a fantasy element you could read Guy Gavriel Kay's Lions of Al-Rassan and Gene Wolfe's Latro/Soldier books. I'd say they could be read as historical fiction as well. The Latro books are especially kick-ass.

The Ides of March by Thornton Wilder

Simon Scarrow's Eagle novels are about Roman wars. Since that seems to be the OP's thing, he/she should try:

1. Bernard Cornwell - probably the greatest living writer of blood-and-guts fighting IMO. Other historical fiction authors ask him for blurbs.

- Stonehenge. Stand-alone novel, prehistory.
- Warlord Chronicles series. Post-Roman Britain.
- Saxon Stories series. Saxon England.
- Grail Quest series. Hundred Years' War.
- Agincourt. Stand-alone novel, Hundred Years' War.
- Redcoat. Stand-alone novel, American Revolution.
- Starbuck Chronicles series. American Civil War.
- Sharpe series. Napoleonic Wars.

He wrote more but that's what I recommend.

2. Conn Iggulden - The lives of Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan. At least for the former he tends to invent a lot, though. Very good battle scenes. Endorsed by Cornwell, as was Scarrow.

- Emperor series.
- Conqueror series. 

3. Steven Pressfield - Gates of Fire. Thermopylae. Better than 300.

4. William Napier - Attila the Hun trilogy.

5. William Dietrich  - The Scourge of God (Attila again; I prefer Napier).

6. Michael Curtis Ford. Greek/Roman war stuff. Less recommended than Cornwell/Iggulden/Pressfield but has his moments.

thanks again for the suggestions

If you have  the balls....dive into William T Vollmann's Dream Series.  But be warned, they are both dense and extremely strange.  For those of us who enjoy him, however, he is GOD.

MALKOVICH

Dawn of Empire and Empire Rising by Sam Barone. Details the rise of the Akkadian Empire in the Bronze Age.

The Troy Trilogy by David and Stella Gemmell. Retells the Trojan War but plays around with events and characters a lot.

Michael Curtis Ford has written about Xenophon, Julian the Apostate and Attila among other things.

Besides Thermopylae, Steven Pressfield has written about the Pelopponnesian War between Athens and Sparta.

conn iggulden?

wolf of the plains is nice.

It isn't actually historical fiction, but The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr (it's non-fiction). A great book nonetheless.