If You Love Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Read These 6 Historical Fiction Books 

Thanks Philip! I really appreciate it! I’m glad you enjoyed Pillars and The Name of the Rose! I love both Follett and Eco for very different reasons, but they’re both masters of what they do. Yeah I love historical fiction and have always found it to be a wonderful complement to a lot of those epic fantasy stories we love and I’m glad more and more people are experiencing that as well!

Thank you so much!! Shogun is absolutely a top priority for me and I will be trying to get to it as soon as I can! Similar to what you said, I’ve heard almost unanimously incredible things about that book. Thanks so much for watching I really appreciate it!

Thank you so much Johanna! I really think these are fantastic books and if you pick them up I hope you enjoy them! Agincourt is fantastic and while I am a huge Cornwell fan, a lot of people hesitate before diving in because a lot of his series are fairly long so I think Agincourt is a great book to check out because it’s a standalone, but has a lot of what makes Cornwell’s writing so compelling.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VPgX1DZPTmw.html I made this vid of out of context Follet quotes. Sorry if it's bad etiquette to post this here, but I was going to write a big long comment about why I love Follet but can't take him seriously. I feel like the video expresses it better. Haha

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it! Silence is a fantastic read, I highly recommend it and hope you enjoyed it! Master and Commander is a lot of fun and Pillars is just a monument of historical fiction. You’ll have a great time with all of those! I still need to read Warlord! Can’t wait to though because I’m 99.99% sure I will absolutely love it. Thanks for watching!

I appreciate it! Petrik is a fantastic person! That’s so awesome you’re a big historical fiction fan! I love Cornwell and I’ve read about 9 or 10 of the sharpe novels and absolutely love that series. I definitely need to keep reading them. My next Cornwell priority is definitely Warlord! Thanks for watching!

I've got Imperium on my TBR, too.

Thanks so much!! I really appreciate it! That Cornwell one is definitely a hidden gem in my eyes. I don’t think it’s at the same caliber as some of his better know series, but as a stand-alone book I really enjoyed it! You should absolutely read Pillars of the Earth! Monumental historical fiction and I would recommend it to everyone even if it’s the only historical fiction you read, ESPECIALLY if you’re a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy because it reads like epic fantasy. Thanks so much for watching!!

Awesome, happy to have you here! Glad you enjoyed the video!! I have not read anything by Jean M Auel but I have heard great things!

No problem at all! I still need to read Warlord! I’ve heard incredible things about that trilogy! A fav series video is definitely in the pipeline!! Thanks for watching!

Thank you so much! Happy to hear you enjoyed it!

Thank you so much! I still need to read the Grail trilogy! That and Warlord are two Cornwell trilogies I need to read and will be trying to get to them super soon. I love the Aubrey/Maturin series and totally agree with you on the first few books. However, if a reader is enjoying those then they are in for a wild ride with the rest of the series! I never knew about the abridged audiobook edition! That sounds interesting! Thanks for watching the video!

@@TallGuyReads I bought the abridged audio version of the entire series on CD for my dad about 10 years ago because he was reluctant to read a 20-book series. Each audiobook is only about three hours long (compared to 13-20 hours for the unabridged editions), so a lot of material is cut out of them. I listened to a couple of the abridged books for comparison sake, and although they're still enjoyable, they lack the immersive aspect and richer character development of the unabridged editions.

Yeah that makes sense, I bet they definitely lose that...but still an awesome option for those who want to get into the series, but don't want to commit to 20 books!

That series is so good! I think you would love it! There’s also a movie called “Master & Commander: The Far Side of The world” starring Russell Crowe that covers the first two or three books and I always thought it was pretty great! Thanks for watching man!

That’s exciting! I’m glad you were able to find this video helpful! Let me know which one(s) you decide to pick up in the future and what you think! I’d be super curious to hear your thoughts! Thanks for watching!

@@TallGuyReads As a fan of the Red Rising series I definitely have to check out Imperium & the way you talked about Agincourt has me keen to check it out as well! :) I'll try and remember to let you know how I feel about them when I eventually get around to them - right now I'm on a mission to plan my TBR towards The Indie Accords readathon in July & in general finishing up some dang series; I have wayyyyy too many on the go! 😂

Thanks so much and welcome! Happy to hear you pushed those up your TBR! I hope you enjoy them when you get to them! Agincourt is a great read, but Pillars is one of my favorite books I've ever read and I think it's such an incredible story! I hope you enjoy both of them when you get to them! Thanks for watching!!

Thank you so much!! Glad you enjoyed the vid!

Thanks so much Baron! I can’t wait for you to read it! I have a good feeling you’re going to really enjoy it and can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

Thank you so much! They are, I've read a good amount of both Follett and Cornwell and they are just so good at what they do haha. I can't wait to read Shogun, it's been on my TBR for way too long and I know I will most likely love it. I will definitely check out your review! I've heard great things about Iggulden's Emperor Series (the Rome one) and his Genghis Khan series and I really want to check out both of those. Thanks for watching!

@@TallGuyReads I read the first of the Genghis Khan books by Iggulden and loved it. Honestly don't know why I didn't continue with the series! I'll have to get back to those soon.

Thank you for watching! I absolutely agree. I really want to read more of his works! Pillars of the Earth is an epic story that has a number of parts that I would say are violent and graphic, but I never found any of it frivolous. Hope that helps!

@@TallGuyReads Thank you very much for the reply. Looking forward to your future videos.

I totally understand that. It can also be an intimidating genre because there’s SO much out there and like everything, there’s good and bad haha. I truly think The Pillars of the Earth is one of those beloved books that everyone should at least pick up and try! I hope you love it when you get to it, I’m curious to hear your thoughts! I’m glad I could sell you on some of these books! Let me know when you pick any of them up! Thanks for watching, Esmay! I really appreciate it!

Thank you for watching Jai, I really appreciate it! I really think that you can't go wrong with Pillars. It's a phenomenal read and probably the best place to start in Historical Fiction for someone who reads primarily fantasy. You will find a lot of what you love about the Fantasy genre in Pillars and if you enjoy it, I highly recommend the sequels (especially World Without End) because they are also fantastic. Thanks again for watching!

Excellent! That’s awesome to hear! Let me know what you think of it when you get to it! I hope you enjoy

Awesome!! Glad I could give you some recommendations you’re excited for! Hope you enjoy them if you get to them! Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching! Yeah I get that, Pillars has a lot of that and it’s not a short book haha I think The Name of the Rose is a fantastic place to start with Eco (it was where I started)!The Grail Quest is absolutely another great series from Cornwell that is definitely great for fantasy lovers! I think if you enjoyed those books, you will absolutely enjoy Agincourt. Thanks again for watching!

Thank you for watching Safina! That's so exciting to hear! Let me know when you start Pillars of the Earth! I'm really curious to hear your thoughts. I've actually had Dissolution on my TBR for a while and have been meaning to move it up the list and this just reminded me to do so! I hope you enjoy it! Happy reading!

My man! Thank you so much, I really appreciate it and I'm really glad you found it helpful! Imperium is a great read and if you love that, Robert Harris has written some really good historical ficiton/alternate history books as well, which I've enjoyed quite a bit. Cornwell is a master, definitely recommend Agincourt since you're loving his Warlord Chronicles! Thanks again for watching!

Thanks Chas! I totally get that! If you do pick up The Pillars of the Earth or Imperium, I think you might find some stuff in there you will really enjoy! Let me know if you end up reading either of those as I’m interested to hear your thoughts! Thanks!

@@TallGuyReads ok yes I sure will Alex. 🙂

You absolutely should try both of those! Especially Pillars! It’s a fantastic book! Warlord is one I really, really can not wait to read and will be trying to get to soon! Thanks for watching!

Hahaha I think Pillars is one of those books that has a very basic, boring sounding premise but is almost like nothing like what you expect going into it! I’m not going to predict whether you’d like it or not, but I will say it’s definitely not boring! It actually reads really fast, Follett is great at his pacing in that book! That’s a bummer you didn’t enjoy Agincourt! I’ve read around the same number of Cornwell books and while it’s not my favorite for sure, I just wanted to recommend one that is a stand-alone and a little different than his other stuff so people don’t have to worry about being locked in another 20 book series (Had one of those on the list already lol). No, you’re right! Nicholas Hook is the main protagonist and the story is told through him, but Cornwell does a great job of capturing the battle (build up, battle events, and aftermath), which is really what I was trying to get at and compare to something like The Heroes, which covers the events of a single battle. I know I said the book shows the battle from multiple angles so that is my bad. Really should have said the book covers the battle from beginning to end so you see multiple events in the battle in different areas of the battlefield as the story progresses. It’s been a couple of years since I read Agincourt as well as most of my Cornwell reading lately has been tied to Sharpe/Saxon. I haven’t read The Heroes like I said in the video, but think if you enjoy reading books that revolve around a single battle like The Heroes, there’s a lot to love in Agincourt! Bummer it didn’t work for you though man! I’m a sucker for Henry V and that specific time period of English/French history so have always loved books (fiction and non-fiction) related to that! That’s awesome to hear! I think you should def try Umberto Eco’s stuff, I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts! Iggulden is an author I’ve wanted to read for forever and his Genghis Khan series sounds absolutely fantastic. Will definitely need to pick that up. Thanks for watching man!

@@TallGuyReads I wasn't calling you out on Azincourt 🤪 I just couldn't remember if there were other perspectives or not haha. I did still give it three stars. I agree though, I think the battle of Agincourt is such an interesting battle. I think you'll love The Heroes when you get to it!

@@readbykyle3082 hahaha I can’t wait to get to it man! Probably will end up being a July read with all of the series I’m trying to finish up this month but really looking forward to it!

Ahh totally get that man, it is not a small book haha I really hope you love it when you get to it! It’s such an enjoyable read and one of those universally well-loved books that deserves all of its praise and then some. Thanks for watching man!

Off the top of my head I would definitely check out the Emperor series by Conn Iggulden!

Thanks so much Anthony! I absolutely agree. I think it's starting to be more and more recognized among the fantasy community, but what makes it tough is that a lot of times fantasy readers are not sure the best places to start within historical fiction that would best suit their tastes based on their fantasy preferences. That was partly my goal here and I'm so happy you enjoyed the video! I love World Without End. In many ways, I like it more than The Pillars of the Earth, but overall I'd say Pillars was the more compelling story for me. As far as Master & Commander goes, I've read the first 9 or 10 and I have had great experiences with those books so far. There's also a movie with Russell Crowe that covers the first 3 books (I believe?) that is really good! Let me know when you get to The Name of the Rose! It's a unique read, but I found it to be a lot of fun and I made me want to read more of Eco's works! Thanks for watching!

That’s awesome! Yeah I absolutely agree! I really think that entire series is worth reading! Did you read A Column of Fire? I think it’s book 3!

@@TallGuyReads no not yet but I will this year once I finish ken follett century trilogy

@@angelaholmes8888 how are you liking that one? I have those books but haven’t been able to get to them yet!

@@TallGuyReads I have only read the first book I really enjoyed it

I love the Warlord Chronicles! Gates of Fire is one I’ve been meaning to get to for a while and will def be checking that one out! I always enjoy reading anything about Thermopylae!

@@TallGuyReads I finished Gates of Fire yesterday and it blew me away! Hope you enjoy it. I'm actually going to be doing a re-read of Warlord Chronicles very soon, hopefully.

I totally agree! Will, if there’s someone who I think would absolutely love Pillars it would have to be you. Definitely definitely recommend it! Cornwell is a master and he has so many books that there’s almost a seemingly endless fill of his great stories! Thanks for watching!

Yup! I am in the US so the copy I have is Agincourt! Thanks for watching!

I absolutely can not wait to read that trilogy! I’m hoping I can squeeze that in before the end of the year but we will see! Thanks for watching!

I am 6’8 hahaha thanks for watching!

@@TallGuyReads wow. That's really tall. Subscriber here from the Philippines

Thanks for watching and subscribing! I appreciate it! Haha I’m glad you enjoyed Pillars of the Earth! It’s one of those books that I think everyone should at least try!