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I just finished all Allan Furst's books in a X-mas binge. I recommend them all....some fascinating parallels in several of the books with recent activities btween Ukraine and the rock star formerly known as USSR.

So...any recommendations for my next binge????

Have you read the original Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser?

If you like a lot of gore and ancient period try Marius' Mules series by S J Turney

Someone has picked up the Flashman idea and moved it to napoleonics - different but also good. Look for Robert Brightwell.

Not so modern as to when written - have a look at Philip McCutchan's novels

I am busy reading the Station series by David Downing - set in Berlin in the outbreak of the 2nd WW and during the war. Incredibly atmospheric.

Medieval stuff - Pillars of the earth and its follow up - Ken Follett.

C J Sansom's Shardlake series - Tudor times

Not quite novels but superb - Giles Milton stuff

And did I mention George MacDonald Fraser..... he was also in the Burma campaign and wrote about them biographically.

Roger

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

I just finished all Allan Furst's books in a X-mas binge. I recommend them all....some fascinating parallels in several of the books with recent activities btween Ukraine and the rock star formerly known as USSR.

So...any recommendations for my next binge????

warspite1

Not sure what you are looking for by way of timescale, but assume you mean novels set against an historical background??

There are a few I would recommend, the works of Robert Harris being chief amongst them:

Pompeii
Enigma
Fatherland
Archangel

Patrick O'Brians's naval fiction, starting with Master and Commander. It has an excellent feeling of period, fascinating characters and plenty of action.

Did anyone mention George MacDonald Fraser?

Stephen Pressfield's Gates of Fire (Thermopylae) & Tides of War (Siege of Syracuse). GoF might be one of the finest studies of training, comradeship & combat that I recall - of particular interest is Leonida's rationale behind picking his 300. I think he's got a few others from the era (Alexander's conquests), but I've not read them.

From the previous generation, Mary Renault wrote historical fiction based on tales of ancient Greece, today her prose is kinda tame, but still interesting, as she was one of the first to write serious historical fiction.

Arturo Perez-Reverte has a great 6-book serial, beginning w/ 'Captain Alatriste'. Set in the 1620-30's, w/ harquebuses & Toledo steel, these books are just full of swash & buckle. I recently finished his stand-alone 'The Siege', a murder-mystery in 1812 Cadiz, but it didn't scratch my itch as well as the Alatriste books.

Of course, you gotta read O'Brian, he's a cultural treasure. The last 4 or so books of the 20-1/2 Aubrey/Maturin series fell off in quality, IMO due to the death of O'Brian's wife Mary.

Fraser's (did anyone mention him) Flashy is just a total hoot, w/ good historical background to the hysterically funny & jaw-droppingly non-PC antics.

Thx to the OP & other respondents for giving some author-names that are new to me - I'll be checking them out & looking forward to feeding my urge!

Two others I would mention:

Recently finished reading The Ghost of Munich by Georges-Marc Benamou (set around Munich 1938, and seen from Daladier's perspective).

The other one I read about 6-years ago. Churchill's Trimuph by Michael Dobbs (set around the Yalta conference in 1945).

Both are novels I would not have chosen to read - I prefer fact not fiction - but they were bought by my other half and so thought I should give them a go. I expected very little and probably to not even finish them. But as it turned out both were extremely enjoyable reads.

War and Peace.

There are a couple of very interesting directions in the ideas....thanks gentlemen! I think I'll start with Harris' Enigma....I thought I had read all his stuff years ago, evidently I missed this one. The David Downing thing looks interesting too. I have read a lot of the old sea yarns.

This comes from way out of left field but I heartily recommend The Destroyermen Series by Taylor Anderson. He gets those Asiatic Fleet sailors down REAL well!

The Blooding of the Guns by Alexander Fullerton is a novel about the Battle of Jutland, and the first of a series of novels spanning from 1916 to 1943 covering the career of a RN officer. The first book was very good, but I haven't read the rest of the series so I can't comment on those.

How about John Jakes' Bicentennial Series? Follows a family from pre-Revolution America to the turn of the 20th century and places them at the major historical events (wars, Alamo, Chicago fire, opening of the West, labor strife, etc. Eight books in all.

For Flashman fans try the Speedicut Papers - fantastic - try spotting the points in time when Speedicut and Flashman are at the same place (e.g. Charge of the Light Brigade).

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot
I just finished all Allan Furst's books in a X-mas binge. I recommend them all....some fascinating parallels in several of the books with recent activities btween Ukraine and the rock star formerly known as USSR.

So...any recommendations for my next binge????

Dude, people who write books are living in hindsight. They may be right, they may be wrong. They weren't there. Neither are we. The parellels are indeed fascinating. Russia wishing to secure their frontiers from a Euro Alliance? Russia thinking on its historical imperitives? Kinda like France after War-I, where they didn't dare give Alcace-Lorraine a plebiscite. Oh my wonders, politics is such a beautiful thing, ain't it? I been there, done that. Any of you can say the same? Ciao JWE

ORIGINAL: Symon

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot
I just finished all Allan Furst's books in a X-mas binge. I recommend them all....some fascinating parallels in several of the books with recent activities btween Ukraine and the rock star formerly known as USSR.

So...any recommendations for my next binge????

Dude, people who write books are living in hindsight. They may be right, they may be wrong. They weren't there. Neither are we. The parellels are indeed fascinating. Russia wishing to secure their frontiers from a Euro Alliance? Russia thinking on its historical imperitives? Kinda like France after War-I, where they didn't dare give Alcace-Lorraine a plebiscite. Oh my wonders, politics is such a beautiful thing, ain't it? I been there, done that. Any of you can say the same? Ciao JWE

warspite1

What about those writing about the future? [:D]

If you want something in the WITP category, recommend the Last Lieutenant by Gobbell. A novel that tries to give the hopeless feeling of being in the 1941 Philippines. Also 4 follow on volumes.

The Last Dogfight by Martin Caidin - set in 1944 Pacific Theatre is an entertaining read if not completely historically accurate.

HMS Ulysses by Alastair McClean for a European WWII naval novel first published in 1955 but still an inspiring if rather chilling read.

Marius' Mules is a tremendous if little known series of books by S J Turney - may only be available as digital downloads?

Anything by George MacDonald Fraser - especially the Flashman Papers!![:D]

The Thin Red Line by James Jones - Semi-fictional account about Guadalcanal - also made into a Terrance Malik film around 1998 or so. Book apparently better than film, as in most cases.

I'm glad I have a copy of 2194 Days of War by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. The English version was first published in 1977 and republished in 1993 by Barnes & Noble back in 1993.

It's an excellent day-by-day compilation of the entire WW2. Really great for knowing when Japan conquered each place during it's 6 month blitzkrieg to begin their war. Plus a good way to gauge the Allied comeback.

Omnius

I suggest 2 books. Both books are very good and related to Pacific theater. The first book is called Fly Boys. It even has information on George Bush SR when he got shot down over chi chi jima. Second is called With The Old Breed, written by E.B. Sledge. Sort of what the HBO series (pacific) was based on. The series and the book are very, very different. With The Old Breed blows away the series, as most books do.

As recommended I read Harris' Enigma and while I was at it read Officer and a Spy. Neither was as good as Fatherland. Enigma was ok, while Officer and Spy was quite good. I see that many of Harris' books have been made into movies or mini-series. Specifically I wonder if anybody has watched Bletchley Park or Archangel?

For novels I will try that Downey chap next.