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Ancient history

Nostra

New Member
I'm looking for a book or books about ancient civilizations. You see I'm waiting for a computer game (Rome 2 Total war) and find myself interested about these ancient civilizations, mainly Egypt, Greece, Seleucid Empire, Rome, ... I could take a history book from my 2nd or 3rd grade high school days, but meh I don't feel like it. I'm 30 years old and would prefer a book for adults....

Can anyone make some recommendations? Titles, authors, ... All is welcome!
 
Well, I'm used to reading fantasy so i'll start with some broad chronological overview and see after that. I assume I best start with top one of the list.

Thanks!
 
I never really thought about it until but I wonder how "modern" tactics affect the game assuming that the game is supposed to simulate ancient tactics. Hmmm.
 
I suppose that would depend on how much the participants make the effort to learn and follow ancient tactics or not.
 
Well yes it's a game about ancient times, but we live in 2013 and it's made for a public in 2013 and has to sell also. You have to find the balance between ancient tactics and modern people.

Anyway besides the point :)
 
Have you heard of the, Camulod Chronicles, by Jack Whyte? I really enjoyed them. Here's the synopsis of the first 2 books in the series.

How do you find a new way to approach a story as familiar as any in the English language? If you're Jack Whyte, you begin your retelling of the Arthurian saga by taking one giant step backward to the latter days of the Roman Empire in Britain, sometime between the first breaching of Hadrian's Wall and the legendary days of King Arthur. Publius Varrus is the last legionnaire in Britain, and The Skystone is in many ways his story. He is a common man with aristocratic friends, and successful both as a soldier and an ironsmith. As the Roman world slowly crumbles around them, and Publius becomes involved in a political and personal vendetta, he and his friends seek to establish a refuge, a valley where the old Roman virtues will be kept alive and the empire's many faults be avoided.
A finely crafted historical novel, The Skystone pays close attention to the details of everyday life in fourth-century Britain. As the first book in Whyte's Camulod Chronicles, it makes few allusions to the usual details of the Arthurian legends until Publius comes into contact with a sword, a stone, a lake, and a Celtic tribe who name themselves Pendragon. Greg L. Johnson

We know the legends: Arthur brought justice to a land that had known only cruelty and force; his father, Uther, carved a kingdom out of the chaos of the fallen Roman Empire; the sword Excalibur, drawn from stone by England's greatest king.

But legends do not tell the whole tale. Legends do not tell of the despairing Roman soldiers, abandoned by their empire, faced with the choice of fleeing back to Rome, or struggling to create a last stronghold against the barbarian onslaughts from the north and east. Legends do not tell of Arthur's great-grandfather, Publius Varrus, the warrior who marked the boundaries of a reborn empire with his own shed blood; they do not tell of Publius's wife, Luceiia, British-born and Roman-raised, whose fierce beauty burned pale next to her passion for law and honor.

With The Camulod Chronicles, Jack Whyte tells us what legend has forgotten: the history of blood and violence, passion and steel, out of which was forged a great sword, and a great nation. The Singing Swordcontinues the gripping epic begun in The Skystone: As the great night of the Dark Ages falls over Roman Britain, a lone man and woman fight to build a last stronghold of law and learning--a crude hill-fort, which one day, long after their deaths, will become a great city . . . known as Camelot.
 
I've read quite extensively in the Arthurian legend and haven't come across those and they sound quite interesting. Thanks.
 
I've read quite extensively in the Arthurian legend and haven't come across those and they sound quite interesting. Thanks.

It has been a little while, I really liked them when I did read them so I may have to dig them out and reread.

Another that may fit your search is, the Firebrand, by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

Blending archaeological fact and legend, the myths of the gods and the feats of heroes, Marion Zimmer Bradley breathes new life into the classic tale of the Trojan War-reinventing larger-than-life figures as living people engaged in a desperate struggle that dooms both the victors and the vanquished, their fate seen through the eyes of Kassandra-priestess, princess, and passionate woman with the spirit of a warrior.
 
I have to make a confession - I much prefer the "kids" book about history and stuff like the Dorling Kindersley books.
I agree! I like to use those books for the 9-12 year old readers, as introductions to a topic. Then I expand to adult titles. The Dk books are like a trip to a museum, meant to whet the appetite for more information. I love them.
 
I always regarded history as boring. Reading about events that happened hundreds of years ago and trying to remember the dates and strange names was quite painful for me. But now I really love Historical Fiction. The mix of real events and imaginary characters makes it much easier for me to comprehend history. I really wish I was taught History in the form of a long story instead of a huge collection of dates and dynasties :(

Coming back to the topic I read an excerpt of Nefertiti by Michelle Moran and was quite intrigued by the Egyptian culture particularly the opening scene where a burial is taking place. It has made me curious about Egyptians. And it may be a good book to begin Nostra :)
 
Coming back to the topic I read an excerpt of Nefertiti by Michelle Moran and was quite intrigued by the Egyptian culture particularly the opening scene where a burial is taking place. It has made me curious about Egyptians. And it may be a good book to begin Nostra :)
This just reminded me of a favourite historical fiction book that I really need to revisit - The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George. I read it a few years ago and the richness of the story and how much research George put into it was fantastic. Yeah, definitely need to go reread that one!
 
Margaret George is very good, I can't believe I have forgotten her. I read a few of her books years ago and always meant to read more.
 
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