2021 Category Challenge SFFKit JULY : Historical fantasy

From the Chinese empire (Liu) to the Aztec Empire (de Bodard), from prehistoric times (Swann) to the Irish war (Leicht), from old and new authors, here are some possibilities :

P. Anderson Roma mater The king of Ys
Nearly everything by G.G. Kay (only a little touch of fantasy)
D. Gemmel Lord of the silver bow
A. De Bodard Servant of the underworld
M. Brennan Midnight never come
S. Clarke Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
E.M. Pope The perilous guard
J. Ford The dragon waiting
T. Frohock In midnight silence Los nefilim
M. Gentle A sundial in a grave 1610
Jasper Kent Twelve
Stina Leicht Of blood and honey
Ken Liu The grace of kings
Vonda McIntyre The moon and the sun
P. Pevel The cardinal's blades
Thomas Burnett Swann The forest of forever
J. Walton Lent
Gene Wolfe Soldier of the mist

And don't forget the wiki !

I adore this subgenre -- especially historical fantasy set in the 19th century! A few of my favorites: Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer, Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho, the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, Masks and Shadows by Stephanie Burgis. For this CAT I'll read The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton, which looks like it includes some paranormal elements.

>1 h-mb: I'm very picky about folklore retellings but can definitely rec Elizabeth Marie Pope's YA novel The Perilous Gard, and her more historical and less angsty YA The Sherwood Ring too.

I think the only book waiting on my To Read shelf that fits is The English Way of Death, but I could go on a Doctor Who spree at the library. Or maybe I'll treat myself to a new book.

>3 spiralsheep: *chants* Doctor Who spree! Doctor Who spree!

I think you've convinced me to pull out The English Way of Death as well... although I also have The Roundheads waiting to be read...

>4 rabbitprincess: The English Way of Death it is then, and as I've been reading more than one SFFkit book per month maybe also Anatole France's Penguin Island (or something else free online), and we'll see if I get to the library for more Doctor Who novels (they don't have The Roundheads).

I am going to read Dread Nation by Justina Ireland - American Civil War setting with zombies!

Would The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry count for this?

>7 Robertgreaves: I found historical fiction and fantasy both in the the tags so that makes me think it would work. I have this one, so it could be a possibility.

I just finished Deathless Divide, second in Justina Ireland's series where the American Civil War triggers a zombie apocalypse.

And I finished Dread Nation by Justina Ireland, the first book in her YA series about zombies in 1880s America.

I have concluded The Cardinal's Blades series by reading The Dragon Arcana. Set mostly in Paris at the time of the Musketeers where Cardinal Richelieu has formed an elite squad to combat the threat of dragons.

>11 AHS-Wolfy: Well that sounds bonkers and delightful!

>11 AHS-Wolfy: >12 christina_reads: That was fun!

I have finished Civilizations by Laurent Binet where the Incas led by Atahualpa arrive in Lisbon, conquer Spain and execute Charles V. Lots of fun with familiar names in this.

I read Daughter of the forest by Juliet Marillier and really liked it! This book takes place in Ireland and Britain at the time where Britain was beginning to be united and there were wars between britons and irish (I should know more precisely when that was but I'm completely ignorant of this part of history). Sorcha is the daughter of an irish lord, and her life will be shattered and take directions she would never have expected when her father decides to marry again to a woman who seems to have nefarious designs.
The story was well written, engaging, and made for excellent recreation reading time.

BTW this book's title gives me my revenge on the Lord of war movie. As a frenchperson trying to speak English I've been traumatised by the main character, acted by Nicholas Cage, repeatedly correcting the French speaking character about his use of the word 'of', hence the movie title: you should not say 'Lord of war' but 'warlord'. With this book I can finally tell Nicholas Cage that it's OK to use 'of' in at least some cases! ;)

>15 chlorine: Thank you for your openness, chlorine! As I learned more French, I had to unlearn the American English tendency to constantly use the word "that." So I feel your trauma. And please do tell Nicholas Cage that it is perfectly acceptable to use the word "of" in "Lord of War!" Frederick Forsyth used it in his remarkable novel "Dogs of War" and he is a master wordsmith.

I think the term "warlord" came about more often during the Bosnian War as a shortening of "warrior lord." And the newspapers were trying to send out so much information about what they saw so quickly that "war lord" became more common.

And I'm so glad you enjoyed this book and its look into this part of history!

>16 threadnsong: If I meet Nicholas Cage I'll be sure to let him know! :p

>15 chlorine: I love the Sevenwaters series! I read it many years ago when it first came out and have been meaning to reread. It just such a big commitment, so many books!

>18 JayneCM: Indeed I didn't notice it had 6 books and a novella ! I'm happy that the first book can be read as a standalone but I really liked it so I definitely will read the rest at some point in the future! I'm commited to many series though so I don't know when I'll find the time to fit them in. :)