Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

Our Ancient Poll winner is The Lion and the Lamb

Britain, AD366. The island is at peace, her people enjoying an age of prosperity such as they have never known. But from beyond the northern frontier into the Four Provinces come unsettling rumours: the barbarians are rising, eager to prey on the riches of the south. And they are not alone; with them conspire traitors from within Britannia herself: fellow-Romans, but men who seek only power, and power for which they are willing to watch their homeland burn.

As the shadow of war looms from beyond the Wall, Cironius Agnus Paulus, a young soldier with a secret past, becomes ensnared in a conspiracy that threatens not only him but the home he has forsaken and the family he loves. To survive he must desert the field army and embark on an odyssey to reclaim his home and his birthright, and rescue his nobility. For when the barbarians surge into the civilised heart of Britannia, when the generals fall and the politicians flee, will the lights go out? Who will have the courage to stand against them?

Yay. Glad this one won too. I'll be reading it too in June.
This is the first time for a while (I think) that both books that I voted for won.

Since I am reading Conscience of the King now as the May book, this will be a nice followup to see the time preceding the early Anglo-Saxon period.

Sounds like this one will cover the 'Barbarian Conspiracy.'

I'm so disappointed I couldn't source this one :(

It does look good. I can't source it for cheap enough either. I did my splurging in the sale section of Chapters and mustn't spend any more on books right now. Probably shouldn't have spent what I did but the shiny, cheap hardcovers were calling to me..... lol

hahahah! I've been a victim of that. Always splurging at the Chapters.

And I was at the giant 3 storey one in Vancouver, kinda hard not to find something....

I am looking forward to this one. The era it covers is one of my favourites.
Actually, I am looking forward to both our group read books in June. they both look interesting.

Brilliant. I have reserved this one. they have two copies at the library and one is available. One is due back 5 June so if the 'available' one falls through there will still be another copy.

Getting excited for this read...only a few more days to go..

I bought it a few days ago; as soon as it came in the mail, I devoured it. It was so good, I'll reread it with the group.

I got mine in the mail a few days ago but will be reading Corrag first since it is a library book and could be recalled.

Jane - I noticed that The Lion and The Lamb was quite a thick book, so you must be a very fast reader!

I've just put a reserve on at the library so should be able to pick it up on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it, I find that late Roman period (not just in Britain) really interesting.

Aly wrote: "I got mine in the mail a few days ago but will be reading Corrag first since it is a library book and could be recalled.

Jane - I noticed that The Lion and The Lamb was quite a thick book, so you ..."

It is a thick book, but it is not hard to read. I'm glad it's rereadable. And, Suzanne, I like the late Roman period, too.

I have my copy, just finishing up another book and then I'll crack on. I needed some Roman punching after the relentless misery of the eagle and the raven. :) I seem to be all about the ancient group reads though I really like the look of Corrag - I might try to squeeze it in.

Also, with this rereading [I'm about 1/4 of the way in] the significance of the title finally hit me.

I have started. I am kind of liking the feel of the story, but I am only about 15 pages in.
I have some reservations on some of the non era specific word uses. Like trousers (I keep picturing them putting on their trousers and doing up the zip and button..) and peasant boy (for a young boy from a local tribe).
It is giving the book (these early stages) a nondescript setting. I could be reading a story set in late medieval times and not ancient Britain.

Not badly written though. I think it has promise.
I am willing to not be a snob about these kinds of word usages and give the book a fair chance. It is a debut after all. And there aren't enough authors out there writing well and getting published in this era. So I want to be openminded.

Here is a short video posted to the groups videos. It is on Roman Britain.

https://www.goodreads.com/videos/6573...

p.s can't take the credit for finding this one. One of my fellow mods found it and uploaded it..I don't know which of the A&M Angels did it yet. :]

I can't get used to the names of the different ranks, e.g., pedes, biarchus, semissalis, etc.
I've seen 'trousers' in other Roman books, so that didn't bother me.

Names of people made me blink too. The boy from the Cornovian tribe was called Victor?? I am not sure on the history of that name, but put together in the same scene with lots of repeat uses of trousers and peasants, it disoriented me.
Am not sure what era or culture I should be picturing as I read and I keep having to force my mind back in history to Roman Britain, instead of much, much, MUCH later in Britain.

I've seen the name 'Victor' in other Roman books, so I guess it's not all that unusual. Boudicca does mean Victoria more or less, after all. :) I'd still prefer indigenous personal names for any tribal people. 'Paul' pulled me up short, too. I imagined the trousers with drawstrings; I didn't think of how you pictured them, Terri, but I'd see how it would be easy to think of them that way.

That's the thing. I prefer indigenous names for these people too. To be called by names that are more Roman in origin?? It throws me.

I wouldn't flinch if they were names for Roman characters. Victoria is a Roman Goddess after all, so I suppose Victor must ahve been getting around amoung the Roman males.. But Victor for a child of the Cornovian tribe. Weird. :)

On the trousers thing. I don't think it would jolt me as much if the word were not used several times in a few short paragraphs. It makes it too obvious that there is no commonly known term for early celtic pants.
Over here trousers are very formal pants. The ones you iron a crease up the front of and wear to your office job. :)
It is probably just a cultural thing that I see trousers used multiple times and feel pulled out of the era.
If he'd used pants instead of trousers, I would be more comfortable. lol. Purely because the less formal long legged trousers are pants to Aussies and trousers to the British. :D
So, not the authors fault. It's mine.

Ah ha. Braccaes is what it should be. But if the author used that word majority of readers wouldn't know what he was talking about. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braccae

It wasn't this mod, must have been Dawn :)

'Twas me, I confess! :)

I have ordered the book, a hardback copy, on Abebooks and is due to arrive in one week's time. Looking forward to reading it.


Terri wrote: "Victor for a child of the Cornovian tribe. Weird. :)"

Romanized from birth!

I haven't gotten very far, but I admit, I like what I am reading thus far. Sometimes the writing is naive and simple, but I kind of expect that in a debut anyway.

If the author had already written a few books I would expect the writing to meet a higher standard.

I like that the lead female is so flawed!
Her flaw. Don't look if you don't want to know..
(view spoiler)[
missing a hand.
(hide spoiler)]
I think that is a unique aspect to the female character. She has broken the stereotypes.

I finished it this afternoon, rated it 4**** but am holding off on review until later in the month. I don't want to spoil it for you folks who haven't read it yet.

Congrats Jane, looking forward for it myself. I'm glad you liked it.

I am beginning to be quite charmed by the read. I don't even really notice anymore that the writing isn't slick.

50 pages in

Terri wrote: "I am beginning to be quite charmed by the read. I don't even really notice anymore that the writing isn't slick.

50 pages in"

I think Mr. Clay did a darn good job for a first novel! I do think he should have used a lot of Latin terms instead of English equivalents; that would have given more of the atmosphere. And if he had, he could have put a Latin/English glossary at the end.

late Roman Army ranks:

http://www.oocities.org/thebatavi/lra...

I cannot find book in ebook format, and I really wanted to read this book. If I have overlooked an ecopy, please let me know. Thanks.
Linda
LL

Linda, I can only find it on Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lion-Lamb-Joh...

I don't think that helps you though. :(

While I was looking for an ebook version, I found this interview from The Historical Novel Society with John Henry Clay:

http://historicalnovelsociety.org/joh...

I tried and failed, but I thank you for trying.

How's your Spanish? There is a Spanish ebook version Anno Domini 367 but I haven't seen an English one

Not that good!

Dawn wrote: "While I was looking for an ebook version, I found this interview from The Historical Novel Society with John Henry Clay:

http://historicalnovelsociety.org/joh......"

Fascinating! Thanks, Dawn.

Since I had to buy another book from abroad, I broke down and bought this one too. With any luck it will arrive in the next two weeks and I'll be able to read it before month end :)

Darcy wrote: "Since I had to buy another book from abroad, I broke down and bought this one too. With any luck it will arrive in the next two weeks and I'll be able to read it before month end :)"

I think this one is worth every penny [or £]! And I'm not joking.

Darcy wrote: "Since I had to buy another book from abroad, I broke down and bought this one too. With any luck it will arrive in the next two weeks and I'll be able to read it before month end :)"

Excellent!

My brakes came on. Forget which chapter now. I'll check later and get back to you all. The chapter in question was not good. The writing was not ideal and the character was juvenile. (In my opinion)
Will post more details soon. I got so busy over the last four days that one really bad chapter was enouh to put me off reading it during those busy days. Hope to get back to it tonight and push on. Want to put that awful chapter behind me and see if it gets decent again.

I have just received my hardback copy and I'm looking forward to reading it. Fingers crossed, I hope I'll like it.

Jane wrote: "Dawn wrote: "While I was looking for an ebook version, I found this interview from The Historical Novel Society with John Henry Clay:

http://historicalnovelsociety.org/joh......"

When I read about Tribune Drogo and the fort he commanded, I wondered at the time if that was (view spoiler)[ some kind of reference to The Tartar Steppe, which I read and thought was amazing! (hide spoiler)]

It seems to have been that specific chapter that was weak. Perhapswritten at a different time and inserted into the book....or written earlier in the authors life with other parts written later. Once he became a better writer.
The chapter in question was chapter 3. The character. Amanda.

I'm about a quarter of the way through the book and still in two minds. When I do pick it up, I'm reading on for a while, but it certainly isn't a 'can't put down' read for me (faced with the choice this morning between staying in a warm bed with cat and book, and getting up to watch England vs Italy, the football won easily!).

I think, for me, the story feels a bit too 'personal' - the Romano-British world feels real and well-drawn, but I'd like to see more of the bigger political/social world the characters are operating in, rather than the characters' quite narrow personal takes on that ((view spoiler)[hopefully there's more to come from the point of view of Paul's father and bishop Ludo (hide spoiler)]). That's all about my personal reading preference, though, and not an inherent flaw with the way the book is written.

Okay, I've just read the Historical Novel Society interview linked above, and the reasons for my ambivalence become clear: the author sees his work as a coming-of-age novel, and I've never been terribly fond of those.

Oh, there's a certain amount of Bildungsroman, but I felt it was good character development, also.

I don't feel much of the coming of age coming through. For it to be one of those for me, they would have had to be young kids coming of age.

I agree with Suzanne on the 'unputdownable' factor. I don't feel drawn to read it. When I do read it I quite enjoy it, but I kind of get distracted easily. Then when I have put it down I don't have any urge to pick it up again. This is a strange sensation considering that I like the book.