Books by Wallace Breem
“In Eagle in the Snow, Maximus, a Roman general who’s a pagan, is given the impossible task of defending the Rhine frontier with just one legion against six German tribes. It’s a novel that is full of historical mistakes…I’m not 100% sure he even made much of an effort to get the internals right, beyond making his hero a pagan, and putting him in the tricky position of defending a Christian empire. But what is so good about Wallace Breem’s Eagle in the Snow is the action sequences. He wrote really good battle scenes. And, although his main character may be a bit anachronistic, he’s interesting and conflicted. He’s a man who is the archetype for all sorts of later heroes in historical fiction. He’s a man going to do his duty even though he really, really doesn’t want to.” Read more...
Historical Fiction Set in the Ancient World
Harry Sidebottom, Classicist
Interviews where books by Wallace Breem were recommended
Classic Historical Fiction Set in Ancient Rome
Ever since the ruins of an ancient civilization started to be discovered around Italy, ancient Rome has captured the imagination and inspired writers. Here we’ve collected together all the novels about ancient Rome and its empire that have been recommended on Five Books, from an 18th-century bestseller to the last novel by one of the great fantasy authors of our time.
Historical Fiction Set in the Ancient World, recommended by Harry Sidebottom
The ancient world offers an excellent canvas for historical fiction but too many books fall victim to anachronistic thinking, says Oxford ancient historian Harry Sidebottom, author of two series of historical novels set in Ancient Rome. Here he recommends some of his own favourites, all written during the golden age of classical historical fiction half a century ago.
