Good Fiction set in the time period

[V.T. Marvin]

@TPC - I hope you will let us know more about your upcomming book when it is ready. I am sure it will be a great reading.
May Clio by with you all the time!

[Disciple of Tacitus]

The Simon Scarrow series (I think there is 6 now - although I could be wrong) is a good read. Not heavy stuff, but light entertatining stuff with some historical accuracy to it. I've read 4 of them.
@ Lynchius, I'm glad you started this thread. Sometimes "straight" history books can be dry and mind-numbing. In short, I can only take some much of Heradotus's "Histories" or Aurellius's (sp) "Meditations" before I need a break.

Does anyone know the book "Sword of Carthage" or some such title? I bought it/ read it/ liked it/lent it to a friend and haven't seen it in 3 years. And I can't remember the title.

Anyway, keep the recommendations coming in!

[J.Alco]

Stay away from the 'Boudicca' series. I've flipped through them when I'm killing time in Waterstone's. Basically it's big on druidic hocus-pocus, it turns the Romans into caricatures, blows Boudicca's revolt out of proportion, makes claims about equal-sex society in Celtic Britain, and it's history is, well, it's not that impressive.

[Morte66]

Has anybody read Household Gods by Harry Turtledove and Judith Tarr? If so, what did you think of it?

[Justinian II]

Has anybody read Household Gods by Harry Turtledove and Judith Tarr? If so, what did you think of it?

Quite frankly, I terribly enjoyed that book. It's one of my all-time favorites.

As for historical accuracy for that period, i have no idea. My focus is Byzantium

[Spartan198]

Stay away from the 'Boudicca' series. I've flipped through them when I'm killing time in Waterstone's. Basically it's big on druidic hocus-pocus, it turns the Romans into caricatures, blows Boudicca's revolt out of proportion, makes claims about equal-sex society in Celtic Britain, and it's history is, well, it's not that impressive.

I concur. I bought Ravens of Avalon from a book club expecting at least a sub-par portrayal of legionary combat,but the only thing that really stood out (in a bad way,I mean) is a vague description of a legionary shield wall amounting to just a few words,something about shields guarding sword arms (I'm by far not even an expert compared to most you guys here,but wouldn't you need to stick your arm out ahead of your shield to use a sword?).
Not to mention that the climactic final battle between Boudicca's and the Roman army is barely even present,amounting to no more than a couple of short paragraphs.
A sad experience,IMO.

[Divie]

Don't think these have been mentioned but Rosemary Sutcliffe (sp?) has a few very good books on the romans, frontier wolf and eagle of the ninth amongst them, havn't read them for years but do remember they what first got me hooked on classical fiction novels!

[SaFe]

Soldier of Rome by James Mace is the worst book i've ever read about the attempted roman conquest of Germania.

Not only describes Mr.Mace the battles of Germanicus Caesar against Arminius in a very unhistorical one-sided way (Battle Pontes Longi, Battle of Idistaviso, Battle at Angivarian Wall, etc...) but also likes to describe numerous times the germanic tribesmen as dirty and brutal while the romans act like "freedom soldiers" from modern day Iraq.
I mention Iraq because the author wrote his novel during his service time as soldier in Iraq. Sadly he seems to compare those two completely different wars.

As a sidenote the book ends with the total annihilation of the germanic tribal coalition under Arminius and the destruction of the Cheruscii.
Makes me wonder why the calling back of Germanicus to Rome (because of the heavy losses the roman army took during those three year long war) is totally left out from the book. Also Arminius was able to fight against Marbod's Marcomanni tribal coalition (who's plea for help the romans ignored) a few months later and suceed with numerous tribal warriors from the allegedly destroyed Cheruscii.

Stay away from this "historical" book.