The Fantasy Review’s list of 6 Historical Fiction Books with Epic Tales of Adventure.
The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories, #1) by Bernard Cornwell
From the blurb:
In the middle years of the ninth century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England—and the course of history—depended upon one man, one king…
The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1) by Ken Follett
From the blurb:
The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known . . . of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect—a man divided in his soul . . . of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame . . . and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother…
River God (Ancient Egypt, #1) by Wilbur Smith
From the blurb:
The first book in the epic Egyptian series. ‘Fame and popularity breed envy in high places, and the adulation of the mob is fickle. they often take as much pleasure in tearing down the idols that they have grown tired of, as they did in elevating them in the first place. It is safer by far to live unseen and unremarked, as I always attempt to do’ An ancient kingdom. An incredible destiny…
Aztec (Aztec, #1) by Gary Jennings
From the blurb:
Told in the words of one of the most robust and memorable characters in modern fiction, Mixtli-Dark Cloud, Aztec reveals the very depths of Aztec civilization from the peak and feather-banner splendor of the Aztec Capital of Tenochtitlan to the arrival of Hernán Cortás and his conquistadores, and their destruction of the Aztec empire. The story of Mixtli is the story of the Aztecs themselves—a compelling, epic tale of heroic dignity and a colossal civilization’s rise and fall.
The First Man in Rome (Masters of Rome, #1) by Colleen McCullough
From the blurb:
When the world cowered before the legions of Rome, two extraordinary men dreamed of personal glory: the military genius and wealthy rural “upstart” Marius, and Sulla, penniless and debauched but of aristocratic birth. Men of exceptional vision, courage, cunning, and ruthless ambition, separately they faced the insurmountable opposition of powerful, vindictive foes…
Outlander (Outlander, #1) by Diana Gabaldon
From the blurb:
Scottish Highlands, 1945. Claire Randall, a former British combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding clans in the year of Our Lord . . . 1743…
