I thought I would take some time to post a list of Novels based off the late roman time frame, I know they are not allways accurate but I love them and some times its fun to get caught up in them. If any one has more they would like to post please do im always looking for more books
1.) Eagle In The Snow : by Wallace Breem one of the best books EVER!
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Banished to the Empire’s farthest outpost, veteran warrior Paulinus Maximus defends The Wall of Britannia from the constant onslaught of belligerent barbarian tribes. Bravery, loyalty, experience, and success lead to Maximus’ appointment as "General of the West" by the Roman emperor, the ambition of a lifetime. But with the title comes a caveat: Maximus needs to muster and command a single legion to defend the perilous Rhine frontier.
On the opposite side of the Rhine River, tribal nations are uniting; hundreds of thousands mass in preparation for the conquest of Gaul, and from there, a sweep down into Rome itself. Only a wide river and a wily general keep them in check.
With discipline, deception, persuasion, and surprise, Maximus holds the line against an increasingly desperate and innumerable foe. Friends, allies, and even enemies urge Maximus to proclaim himself emperor. He refuses, bound by an oath of duty, honor, and sacrifice to Rome, a city he has never seen. But then circumstance intervenes. Now, Maximus will accept the purple robe of emperor, if his scrappy legion can deliver this last crucial victory against insurmountable odds. The very fate of Rome hangs in the balance.
Combining the brilliantly realized battle action of Gates of Fire and the masterful characterization of Mary Renault’s The Last of the Wine, Eagle in the Snow is nothing less than the novel of the fall of the Roman empire.
2.) Fire in the East: by Harry Sidebottom
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In this blood and guts tale of ancient warfare, Oxford lecturer Sidebottom introduces readers to Marcus Clodius Bastilla, a third-century warrior who has risen through the ranks of the Roman army to achieve citizenship and the honorific of Dux Ripea. Charged by the emperors Valerian and Gallienus with the responsibility of defending the empire's eastern borders, Bastilla says good-bye to his new wife and sets sail for the East. Once he arrives at the Syrian city of Arete on the banks of the Euphrates, Bastilla organizes his legionaries to defend against the besieging Sassanid Persian army and hold out until reinforcements can arrive. In addition to having his hands full with the invading army, Bastilla must also deal with traitors, saboteurs, assassins and patrician officers who resent obeying the orders of a low-born superior. How the brave and resourceful former barbarian defends himself from forces both within and without the city walls forms the spine of this action-packed and detail-rich narrative. This novel of sharp swords and blunt wit should find an appreciative audience among bloodthirsty battle boys of all ages.
3.) An Oblique Approach: David Drake. This book was..odd it has aliens and guns..it was a odd one.
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But it has Belisarius in it.
In northern India the Malwa have created an empire of unexampled evil. Guided or possessed by an intelligence from beyond time, with new weapons, old treachery, and an implacable will to power, the Malwa will sweep over the whole Earth. Only three things stand between the Malwa and their plan of eternal domination: the empire of Rome in the East, Byzantium; a crystal with vision; and a man named Belisarius, the greatest commander Earth has ever know.
4.) The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff (a kids book but all of my friends and father like it and we only act like kids.)
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Set in the brief Romano-Celtic twilight between the end of the Roman Empire and the creation of Anglo-Saxon Britain, this is the story of Aquila, a Roman soldier who chooses to stay among his adopted people. However, his world crashes to pieces when he and his sister are enslaved by the Saxons, their father slain and their farm destroyed. Aquila eventually escapes, but his sister, now married with a Saxon son, makes her own choice to stay with the invaders. Aquila is embittered and angry, and the remainder of the story is his redemption, helped by a kindly priest, his celtic wife from an arranged maarriage, and the Romano-British leader, Ambrosius, whose friend he becomes. I first read this book in my early teens, and it has stayed with me ever since. The themes of irreparable loss, vengance and redemption are quite adult, but not at such a level that adult or teen cannot appreciate them. Sutcliffe brilliantly captures the heroic twilight of the Dark Ages, and makes it utterly convincing.
5.) Sword at Sunset by Rose Mary Sutcliff ( damn good book. close to Eagle in the snow. grity and harsh you will feel the pain of being with out rome)
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This brilliant reconception of the Arthurian epic cuts through the familiar myths and tells the story of the real King Arthur: Artos the Bear, the mighty warrior-king who saved the last lights of Western civilization when the barbarian darkness descended in the fifth century. Artos here comes alive: bold and forceful in battle, warm and generous in friendship, tough in politics, shrewd in the strategy of war?and tender and tragically tormented in love. Out of the interweaving of ancient legend, fresh research, soaring imagination, and hypnotic narrative skill comes a novel that has richly earned its reputation as a classic
6.) Julian by Gore Vidal.
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Julian the Apostate, nephew of Constantine the Great, was one of the brightest yet briefest lights in the history of the Roman Empire. A military genius on the level of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, a graceful and persuasive essayist, and a philosopher devoted to worshipping the gods of Hellenism, he became embroiled in a fierce intellectual war with Christianity that provoked his murder at the age of thirty-two, only four years into his brilliantly humane and compassionate reign. A marvelously imaginative and insightful novel of classical antiquity, Julian captures the religious and political ferment of a desperate age and restores with blazing wit and vigor the legacy of an impassioned ruler.
7.) Gods and Legions by Michael Curtis Ford (not accurate to the T but a action packed book about war from west to east)
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Julian the Apostate was a man of many contradictions. In this powerful and passionate second novel by Ford (The Ten Thousand), readers come to understand his dimensions in intimate detail. The story opens with Julian as a young, sheltered philosophy student and pacifist in Athens. Not long into his education, however, he must take up arms and save the Roman Empire from corrupt leaders and hostile neighbors. He does so ingeniously, becoming the first emperor since Julius Caesar to conquer the tribes of Gaul.
8.) The sword of Attila by Michael Curtis Ford (Attila sems to be a super bad as in this using his hunFU fighting ways and allmost unbeatable tactics. still fun)
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For centuries, Rome had ruled from Africa to the wilds of Britain. Now, from across a broad plain of waving grass, a new enemy had poured out of the East--to be led by a man whose goal was not just victory in battle, but the end of an empire...
In his novels of ancient warfare, Michael Curtis Ford captures the roar, clamor and horror of battle as well as the intimate moments of human choice upon which history turns. In his extraordinary new work, he brings to life the buckling Roman empire in 400 A.D., a jagged, sprawling realm of foreign fighters, unstable rulers, and battle lines stretched too far. At this pivotal moment, General Flavius Aetius is forced into a battle he does not want but cannot afford to lose. Once Flavius lived among the wild Huns, rode their stout warhorses and became like a son to their king. Now, he faces a man who once saved his life, a man he fears, loves and admires... a man named Attila--the most dangerous enemy Rome has ever known.
9.) The Fall of Rome by Michael Curtis Ford (not very true to history but a good read.)
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Fans of The Sword of Attila will open this follow-up with happy anticipation. Since it begins with the unexpected death of the great Hun conqueror in A.D. 453, readers unfamiliar with the previous work will not suffer. In the chaos following Attila's death, Odoacer and Onulf, sons of a leading Hun general, flee after a greedy rival kills their father. They split up, with Odoacer traveling across Europe to Noricum, his dead mother's homeland. Although he arrives in rags, he soon learns he is the grandson of its king. A talented soldier, he reorganizes the army and wins a victory against marauding Huns, only to see a Roman invasion destroy his people six years later. He flees to Italy where he again rises to military prominence and reunites with Onulf, also serving in the Roman army. Encountering their father's murderer, now a leading figure in the crumbling empire, the brothers lead a revolt. History buffs will admire the author's research as he recounts the final bloody decades of the Roman Empire.
10.) The Scourge of God by William Dietrich (has good thoughts and logic on why romans lost and about how huns lived but not the most historic)
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Set in the dark final days of the Roman Empire, Dietrich's rousing fifth novel (after Hadrian's Wall, etc.) chronicles the bid of the charismatic Attila the Hun to conquer the West and dominate all of Europe. Standing in his way are the crumbling vestiges of the Roman Empire, now divided between West (Rome) and East (Constantinople) and still struggling with the adoption of Christian faith. The story of Attila's western march is given additional human dimension by a romance between Jonas Alabanda, a scribe assigned to an embassy mission to Attila from Theodosius II, emperor of the Eastern Empire, and Ilana, a gorgeous Roman taken by the Huns as a slave. Because of a foiled Roman plot to assassinate Attila, Jonas finds himself held hostage, but with the aid of a cunning and intrepid dwarf jester, Zerco, he manages to steal a legendary giant sword and upset Attila's plans and fortunes long enough for the Roman general Aetius to assemble the Germanic tribes into an effective defense force. Because the period is comparatively undocumented, the historical background is somewhat thin, and the standard-issue romance doesn't quite fill in the blanks. Still, the story unfolds swiftly and satisfyingly, and the confusing array of tribes and leaders are deftly presented--no mean feat
11.) Frontier wolf by Rose mary Sutcliff.
(this is a book about life on the limes more or less but in Britain. Wallace breem actualy help her wright the miltiary stuff in it so I had alot of fun reading it.)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
FRONTIER WOLF is the story of Alexios Flavius Aquila, (a descendant of Marcus of EAGLE OF THE NINTH), a young Centurion in the Roman Legions. After a tragic mistake that causes the loss of most of his men, he is sent up North, beyond the Wall, to command the irregular troops, the "Frontier Wolves". But though Alexios makes friends among the Wolves and tribesmen of the Votadini, his history seems to be repeating itself when the tribesmen rise in revolt and Alexios and his Wolves are forced to flee...
Last edited by legio_XX; September 08, 2010 at 09:47 PM.
"ANY person,country or race who use's religion as a pretext to kill or conquer deserves neither Religion nore Name"
ive read both the scourge of god and sword of attila, and another one about attila the hun and aetius.
I couldnt remember which one was the stupid love story one.
one of the others was told from aetius' POV
and there was the other one.
MMFA if your read sword of attila I realy think you should read Eagle in the snow. its damn near the perfect book for the fall of the roman empire, It is as close as you can get for the feel of decay darkness in my opinion.. not to mention the battles are epic and the last 80 pages is one big battle with fighting, sieges and retreating then fighting some more.
"ANY person,country or race who use's religion as a pretext to kill or conquer deserves neither Religion nore Name"
A list of Historical novels
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