<p>Patrick OBrien - 100%. Omigod I read 17 of them. Now, if he were a girl I would say the Dorothy Dunnett books. But their protagonists are these to-die-for complex men <em>indrawn breath</em> and I am not sure they would work for a boy. But they are incredible early Renaissance historical fiction and the plots are amazing and the historical detail is over the top.</p>
<p>Freedom at Midnight by Dominique LaPierre. It is really non-fiction but the story of how India won independence from India is written to read like a thriller. A very easy and fascinating read.</p>
<p>The Quincunx by Charles Palliser</p>
<p>If you like Dickens, this is the book for you. All 781 pages of small print and English prose that only the English can write.</p>
<p>A modern reproduction of an early Victorian novel about “…murder, disinheritance, and deception that knits all levels of English society together in a mesmerizing, intricately crafted plot.”</p>
<p>I’m a firm believer that the opening page of a novel should grab a reader’s interest. Consider the following:</p>
<p>" It must have been late autumn of that year, and probably it was towards dusk for the sake of being less conspicuous. And yet a meeting between two professional gentlemen representing the chief branches of the law should surely not need to be concealed.</p>
<p>Let us imagine, then, how Law might have waited upon Equity."</p>
<p>Better public libraries should have this book on it’s shelves. It may still be available in paperback.</p>
<p>For American authors, consider E.L. Doctorow: Ragtime, Billy Bathgate, Waterworks et. al. I find many of Doctorow’s passages read like blank verse. You want to read paragraphs out loud to hear how beautiful the words sound…</p>
<p>I second “Killer Angels” - read, and then take a trip to Gettysburg.</p>
<p>A caveat about the Patrick O’Brien books: my fave sister in-law gave me two for my birthday one year, thinking that she’d found something that would cover giftgiving for several years of birthdays/Christmas/etc. Wrong…I ripped through them in about six weeks, then waited for the last few to come out. There are 20 in toto…how many in Kansas I don’t know.</p>
<p>BUT. The best table-setter for the series is the second volume but you have to wade through the first volume for the second to make sense. O’Brien knows his stuff but so immersed in his period was he that his novelistic style is very anachronistic as well and some contemporary sensibilities might be jolted if they don’t make the transition. E.g., the books are very episodic in nature and most don’t end with much of a sense of “closure” as you might expect even in volumes of a contemporary series.</p>
<p>I think they’re well worth reading but for some it may take a little time for the taste to be acquired.</p>
<p>I’ve thought of pointing TheD at Uris but she’s still got several volumes of Renault and Turtledove to absorb.</p>
<p>I also loved Pillars of the Earth…makes trip to Europe (which will always include visits to cathedrals) so much more meaningful… I wish I could charter a small plane and fly over all the castles and cathedrals in England…Pillars of the Earth gave me an appreciation for how they cited the cathedrals which were the cornerstone of the community. Excellent suggestion…also Faye Kellermans book The Quality of Mercy is also wonderful…late 1490’s early 1500’s and the Black Plague in Europe…Jews escape to England from the Spanish Inquisition…one becomes the doctor to the queen…his daughter befriends Shakespeare…great read also…</p>
<p>Leon Uris’s Trinity is also a wonderful read…first time thru it was a history of Ireland…2nd time thru it was a love story, 3rd time thru it was such a political read…always compelling…</p>
<p>I agree with Uris and MIchener and the Ender series. Orson Scott Card (Ender) also wrote a series of books which are a combination of historical fiction and fantasy. It’s American history with a twist - real historical figures, places and events with folklore and magic in 18th & 19th America. The first is Seventh Son.</p>
<p>Ender has been on the re-read-once-a-year list since age 7. Thus the stated ambition to become a hegemon, LOL. We did extend his foray into Science fiction with the Foundation series but all others failed to catch his interest.</p>
<p>Likewise, O’Brien–but you say it might be the sequencing? Which one should I start with? </p>
<p>He loved McCourt as an 11 year old, but his radar for chick lit is on extra-high at the moment (testosterone overload?). Family sagas are out, I’m afraid. He met McCourt once. Those were two peas in a pod. the mirth and mischief vibe tickled them both. Imagine having McCourt as a high school English teacher! (McCourt taught at Stuy for 20 odd years).</p>
<p>He’s read Finney, all the Dan Browns, Vonnegut, Remarque and many of the outdoor disaster books.</p>
<p>Shopping list:</p>
<p>Michener Hawaii
Michener The Source
REnault The Hellenic Historicals
Saylor Roman Mysteries
Vidal 1876
Clavells Whirlwind
??(Author overseas?) Two Years Before the Mast
?? Caliban’s Shores
Uris Trinity
Uris Exodus
Shaara Killer Angels
Palliser Quincunx
McCullough The Path Between the Seas
LaPierre Freedom at Midnight
Stone The Agony and the Ecstasy
Ford The Fifth Queen</p>
<p>This may have to be an Amazon order. Fedex charges be damned!</p>
<p>Thanks to all…</p>
<p>Update…: )</p>
<p>“Two Years Before the Mast” Richard Henry Dana</p>
<p>“The Caliban Shore” Stephen Taylor</p>
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<p>Start with the first one (Master and Commander), but like TheDad says, be sure to keep reading at least through the second book (Post Captain). The sailing jargon and technical detail can get a bit heavy until you get used to it.</p>
<p>Once you get through Post Captain, you will be hooked and will read the remaining 18. I got depressed at about book 14 because I realized I had was nearing the end of the series, which then stood at 17. Fortunately O’Brian (note: not O’Brien), lived for several more years and pushed the series out to 20. The 20 books really comprise one long book. He was working on 21 when he died in the year 2000.</p>
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<p>Two Years Before the Mast is not historical fiction. It’s history. It is Dana’s memoir of his sailing days. BTW, the town of Dana Point in Orange County, CA is named for him.</p>
<p>Cheers, for the O’Brien, by all means start with #1 but caution that it might not “click” until the end of book #2 or half-way through #3.</p>
<p>I think that with #1 O’Brien was still learning how to write novels, even his idiosyncratic way.</p>
<p>X-posted. Dang, I was too lazy to run downstairs and check the spelling of “O’Brian.” I’ve seen it both ways on-line so much that I’ve forgotten which way it really is.</p>
<p>Herman Wouk</p>
<p>O’Brien definitely comes alive at Book 2. The first one is all about knots:).</p>