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Must-read Historical Fiction for fans of Shogun, Rise of Empires, and The Odyssey
15
items My favorite historical novels!
Sections
4
Section 1: The Way of the Warrior (Shogun & Samurai)
Section 2: Myths of the Ancient Sea (The Odyssey & Legends)
Section 3: Blood, Crown, and Iron (Vikings)
Section 4: The Crescent and the Cross (Ottoman Series)
Section 1: The Way of the Warrior (Shogun & Samurai)
An Englishman stranded in a world of lethal elegance. Navigate the treacherous waters of 17th-century Japan, where a single word can mean honor or death.
Shogun (Asian Saga #1)
The path of the sword is a lonely one. Journey with Japan’s greatest swordsman as he seeks enlightenment through the bloody art of combat.
Musashi (New Edition): A Novel
If you loved the lethal elegance and the 'hidden heart' of the characters in Shogun, this is your next obsession. A daughter's quest for vengeance along the legendary Tokaido highway—where every tea house hides a spy and every sunset reflects the edg...
The Tokaido Road: A Novel of Feudal Japan
Beyond the gates of Dejima lies a world forbidden to the West. A lyrical, high-stakes story of intrigue and forbidden love that captures the suffocating beauty of the Edo period better than any lens.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
he era of the samurai is bleeding into the dawn of the modern world. For fans of epic clashes between tradition and progress, this story of a prophetic Lord and a Western missionary is a haunting, blood-soaked masterpiece of the Bakumatsu era.
Cloud of Sparrows: A Novel
Section 2: Myths of the Ancient Sea (The Odyssey & Legends)
Read this if recent screen adaptations left you craving the unvarnished, gritty reality behind the myth: Emily Wilson’s historic, razor-sharp translation cuts through Hollywood grandeur with urgent, contemporary verse, capturing Odysseus not just as ...
The Odyssey: Translated by Emily Wilson
Read this if you loved Gladiator and want the brutal, unvarnished history behind it: the very book that inspired modern gladiatorial epics on screen, it pulls back the cinematic veneer to expose the sickening scale, cutthroat politics, and bloodthirs...
Those About to Die
The Odyssey told from the perspective of the witch. A breathtakingly modern take on ancient Greek gods and monsters.
Circe
A tragic, lyrical retelling of the Trojan War. If you loved the scale of "Troy," this story will break your heart.
The Song of Achilles
Section 3: Blood, Crown, and Iron (Vikings)
The first book in the "Saxon Stories" series. Cornwell is the king of historical battle scenes. Uhtred’s story starts here!
The Last Kingdom (Last Kingdom Series #1) (Saxon Tales
Brownworth breathes life into the Viking Age, transforming dry dates into a blood-pumping epic of dragon ships, iron wills, and the relentless pursuit of glory. If you loved the grit of 'Vikings' on screen, this is the map to their true soul.
The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings
From the salt-stained decks of longships to the golden thrones of the Mediterranean. This is the staggering saga of the Normans—a race of restless warriors who traded their axes for crowns and redrew the map of Christendom. Brownworth captures the sh...
The Normans: From Raiders to Kings
Section 4: The Crescent and the Cross (Ottoman Series)
Fans of Rise of the Ottoman Empire must read this!
1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West
If you loved the naval battles and the siege of Rhodes, this is a gripping account of the 16th-century struggle for the Mediterranean
Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of theWorld
Set during the final days of Constantinople in 1453. It perfectly captures the desperation and heroism seen in the Netflix series.
Porphyry and Ash