50 books like Born in the Borderlands

By Gordon Doherty,

Here are 50 books that Born in the Borderlands fans have personally recommended if you like Born in the Borderlands. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Fortune's Child

Eileen Stephenson Author Of Imperial Passions - The Great Palace

From my list on to explore the Byzantine world.

Why am I passionate about this?

John Julius Norwich’s A Short History of Byzantium ignited my passion for the Byzantines in the early 2000s. I knew little about them before reading that book; now I rarely read any other topic. I have always loved historical fiction and was dismayed to find so few books about the Byzantines. Once I read about the remarkable life of Anna Dalassena I realized I had found a character to write about and remedy that shortage. I am presently working on my fifth book and third novel, which will be about Anna’s son, Emperor Alexios I Comnenus. I also have a book of short stories and a brief Byzantine history.

Eileen's book list on to explore the Byzantine world

Eileen Stephenson Why did Eileen love this book?

Byzantine history has only sporadically inspired historical fiction, although Empress Theodora, wife of Emperor Justinian, has had more than a few novels written about her. I’ve read and enjoyed many of them but this book is one of the best. Her dramatic life encompassed the deadly Nike riots, the building of the magnificent Hagia Sophia, and the Justinianic Plague. And did I mention that she was a courtesan prior to marrying Justinian? Martin’s Theodora is a glorious and sympathetic woman, even if flawed. The author tells her story wonderfully through the eyes of a court eunuch!

By James Conroyd Martin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fortune's Child as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

KIRKUS REVIEWS: "A meticulously researched historical account presented in the form of a thrilling political drama."
OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER, 2019 Best Book, Chanticleer Int'l Book Awards

Theodora: actress, prostitute, mistress, feminist. And Byzantine Empress of the civilized world. Stephen: handsome Syrian boy, wizard's apprentice, palace eunuch. And Secretary to the Empress. How does this unlikely pair become such allies that one day Empress Theodora asks Stephen to write her biography?

From a very young age, Theodora, daughter of a circus bearkeeper in Constantinople, sets her sights well above her station in life. Her exquisite beauty sets her apart on…


Book cover of Theophano: A Byzantine Tale

Eileen Stephenson Author Of Imperial Passions - The Great Palace

From my list on to explore the Byzantine world.

Why am I passionate about this?

John Julius Norwich’s A Short History of Byzantium ignited my passion for the Byzantines in the early 2000s. I knew little about them before reading that book; now I rarely read any other topic. I have always loved historical fiction and was dismayed to find so few books about the Byzantines. Once I read about the remarkable life of Anna Dalassena I realized I had found a character to write about and remedy that shortage. I am presently working on my fifth book and third novel, which will be about Anna’s son, Emperor Alexios I Comnenus. I also have a book of short stories and a brief Byzantine history.

Eileen's book list on to explore the Byzantine world

Eileen Stephenson Why did Eileen love this book?

I had never looked at or had an interest in graphic novels until I saw this graphic novel about the mother of one of the Byzantine Empire’s most important rulers, Basil II. But if there was ever going to be one I would read, it had to be a Byzantine one! I loved it! The vivid artwork in this book is superb and tells of Theophano’s life from innkeeper’s daughter to wife of not one, but two emperors. If you want to ease into Byzantine historical fiction, this graphic novel is a great places to start. 

By Spyros Theocharis, Chrysa Sakel (illustrator), Justina Theochari (translator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Theophano as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fairytale marriage that goes terribly wrong, a ruling dynasty struggling to keep everything together by having overly ambitious palace officials do the dirty work, and prominent Roman generals who dream of taking the throne for themselves.


This explosive mixture of occurrences takes place in the 10th century Byzantine Empire. An era of territorial resurgence and Imperial extravagance, but also an era of dynastic intrigue and endless plotting for the ultimate prize. The Roman throne.


During that time, an ordinary girl, marries the heir to the throne, enters the palace and becomes Theophano, an ambitious woman ready to climb the…


Book cover of The Bear of Byzantium

Eileen Stephenson Author Of Imperial Passions - The Great Palace

From my list on to explore the Byzantine world.

Why am I passionate about this?

John Julius Norwich’s A Short History of Byzantium ignited my passion for the Byzantines in the early 2000s. I knew little about them before reading that book; now I rarely read any other topic. I have always loved historical fiction and was dismayed to find so few books about the Byzantines. Once I read about the remarkable life of Anna Dalassena I realized I had found a character to write about and remedy that shortage. I am presently working on my fifth book and third novel, which will be about Anna’s son, Emperor Alexios I Comnenus. I also have a book of short stories and a brief Byzantine history.

Eileen's book list on to explore the Byzantine world

Eileen Stephenson Why did Eileen love this book?

Simon Turney’s novel, The Bear of Byzantium, covers a period of time in late 1041 to late 1042 that I wrote about in my own book. This was a real-life Game of Thrones period with stupendous Viking members of the Imperial Varangian Guard such as Harald Hardrada, a dying emperor, a spurned empress, a conniving heir, and a crafty Viking wise-woman foretelling the future. Turney’s battle scenes will have you believing you are there manning the Great Palace’s walls with the Varangians, looking down on the streets of Constantinople seething with rioting mobs ready to execute a hated emperor. 

By S.J.A. Turney,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Bear of Byzantium as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The wolves of Odin sail to the centre of the world: Constantinople.

AD 1041. After successfully avenging the death of his father, Halfdan and the crew of the Sea Wolf seek adventure in strange new lands, far from their Scandinavian home.

They join the fleet of Harald Hardrada, the legendary Viking commander, sailing back to Constantinople from the battlefields of Georgia. There they join the Varangians, the personal bodyguard of the Byzantine Emperors populated almost exclusively by Viking warriors. But Constantinople has changed during Hardrada's long absence.

The Emperor, Michael IV, is ailing visibly, and powerful factions in his court…


Book cover of The Sheen on the Silk

Eileen Stephenson Author Of Imperial Passions - The Great Palace

From my list on to explore the Byzantine world.

Why am I passionate about this?

John Julius Norwich’s A Short History of Byzantium ignited my passion for the Byzantines in the early 2000s. I knew little about them before reading that book; now I rarely read any other topic. I have always loved historical fiction and was dismayed to find so few books about the Byzantines. Once I read about the remarkable life of Anna Dalassena I realized I had found a character to write about and remedy that shortage. I am presently working on my fifth book and third novel, which will be about Anna’s son, Emperor Alexios I Comnenus. I also have a book of short stories and a brief Byzantine history.

Eileen's book list on to explore the Byzantine world

Eileen Stephenson Why did Eileen love this book?

Anne Perry is a superb mystery writer who ventured once into the Byzantine world with this novel and I am so glad she did. The story takes place in 1273, twelve years after the overthrow of the Latin rulers who had occupied Constantinople since the horrific attack by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The city still struggles to recover and a young woman, Anna Lascaris, who has learned medicine from her father, decides to disguise herself as a eunuch to more easily find out who framed her brother for murder, which resulted in his exile to a distant monastery. Poisonous political intrigue swirls around Anna/Anastasius as she practices the healing arts while searching for clues about who was the true killer.   

By Anne Perry,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Sheen on the Silk as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A brilliant standalone novel from Anne Perry, the undisputed master of the Victorian mystery.

1273 - the gorgeous, cosmopolitan and enlightened city of Byzantium is in acute danger. Only an alliance with the Church of Rome will stop the crusading fervour of the Italian and French troops on its borders, determined to strike through Byzantium to reach Jerusalem. Faced with the prospect of surrendering its gentile Orthodox theology to Roman Catholicism, the city is in turmoil as opposing factions seek to assert their authority.
For Anna, the brutal conflict only echoes her own life. Recently arrived in Byzantium to find…


Book cover of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Lilith Saintcrow Author Of A Flame in the North

From my list on European history books for writing Western epic fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Like any writer, I’m fascinated with what makes people tick and why they act the way they do. Naturally, this means I read a lot of history. I love reference reading; I love researching arcane questions for a tiny detail that will bring a character or their world to life. Creating epic fantasy is an extension of both my drives as a reader and a writer. Pouring myself into characters who inhabit different settings is a deeply satisfying exercise in both craft and empathy, and each history book has some small bit I can use to make my settings more compelling, more enjoyable for readers, and more real.

Lilith's book list on European history books for writing Western epic fantasy

Lilith Saintcrow Why did Lilith love this book?

I was in love the moment I opened an abridged version of Gibbon’s magnum opus as a young history buff, and was even more delighted when I sought out the multivolume full experience.

Gibbon’s view of the Roman Empire is magisterial and his footnotes are a cranky delight; he’s up-front when his sources have axes to grind and sourly suspicious of his own motivations.

Sure, he’s an 18th-century British colonialist with all that entails. He’s also deliciously ironic, hilariously sardonic, and does his mightiest justice when he’s skewering folly and tyranny of any stripe.

By Edward Gibbon,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Spanning thirteen centuries from the age of Trajan to the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, DECLINE & FALL is one of the greatest narratives in European Literature. David Womersley's masterly selection and bridging commentary enables the readerto acquire a general sense of the progress and argument of the whole work and displays the full variety of Gibbon's achievement.


Book cover of The Byzantine World War

T.C. Kuhn Author Of The Byzantine Cipher

From my list on the longest empire in western history.

Why am I passionate about this?

After my third visit to this part of the world, I decided to revisit the locales that had become engrained in my memories in the company of a character I had tentatively invented some years back who was in search of a time and place to emerge it seemed. As a retired archaeologist and amateur historian of early time periods I became fascinated with Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire, which lasted for a thousand years and has received so little attention in average history books and even college and public school teaching. Constantinople sat at the center of a unique and important world and deserves far more attention than we have often given it.

T.C.'s book list on the longest empire in western history

T.C. Kuhn Why did T.C. love this book?

Will we ever be free of the Crusades and how it shaped our modern world? Not according to the author, who brings this idea to the forefront with a new perspective on the role that the Byzantine Empire and the fall of Constantinople in the 11th Century at the hands of western Christian crusaders wrought at the time. Personally, since this story unfolds less than a century after when my own focus on Byzantine history has been the past two years, I was fascinated by Holmes’ thoughtful interpretation of how the fading empire sitting at the center of three diverse cultural centers and their burgeoning religions, all dedicated to overt expansionism, has so often been neglected or overlooked entirely by later historians, even into the present. The Crusades were truly a “World War” at the time, and the author’s ability to connect so many diverse and related pieces of…

By Nick Holmes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Byzantine World War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Crusades shook the world. But why did they happen?
Their origins are revealed in a new light. As part of a medieval world war that stretched from Asia to Europe. At its centre was an ancient empire - Byzantium.
Told for the first time as a single, linked narrative are three great events that changed history: the fall of Byzantium in the eleventh century, the epic campaign of the First Crusade and the origins of modern Turkey.
Nick Holmes not only presents the First Crusade in a wider global context but he also puts forwards new interpretations of the…


Book cover of Byzantium: The Decline and Fall

Olivia Milburn Author Of Kingdoms in Peril, Volume 1: The Curse of the Bao Lords

From my list on epic historical narratives from around the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a translator specializing in Chinese historical novels, and also an academic researching marginalized groups in Chinese history—ethnic minorities, the disabled, people with mental health issues, and so on. The treatment of marginalized people tells you a lot about what is going on within mainstream society. I’ve always been interested in stories about people from distant times and places, and I have a particular love of long sagas, something that you can really get your teeth into. Kingdoms in Peril covers five hundred years of history: I translated this for my own enjoyment and was surprised when I realized that I’d managed to write 850,000 words for fun!

Olivia's book list on epic historical narratives from around the world

Olivia Milburn Why did Olivia love this book?

Byzantine history often gets short shrift in studies of the Roman empire, but the empire in the East survived at its capital, Constantinople, for many centuries after the fall of Rome.

There’s a lot to learn from the political machinations recorded here, the selfish acts of emperors and scheming ministers, and the overweening ambitions of princes. This is real life, so there’s not a lot to admire, but as with all the books on this list, we’re talking about genuine historical individuals making lasting decisions that still affect us today.

This is a great rendering that takes us from the founding of the city of Constantinople in 330 to its fall to the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II in 1453.

By John Julius Norwich,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Byzantium as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the accession of Alexius in 1081, through the disastrous Fourth Crusade - when an army destined for the Holy Land was diverted to Constantinople by the blind, octogenarian but infinitely crafty Doge of Venice - to the painfully protracted struggle against the Ottomans, the closing centuries of the Byzantine era are rich in pathos, colour and startling reversals of fortune. The terrible siege of Constantinople in 1453 ended the empire, founded in the year 330, which Lord Norwich has devoted many years to re-creating; this volume forms the climax to an epic sequence of books.


Book cover of Ancient Greece: A Very Short Introduction

Robin Waterfield Author Of Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece

From my list on ancient Greek history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a British scholar – a former university lecturer, many moons ago – now living in rural southern Greece. In fact, I have Greek as well as UK citizenship, which really pleases me because I’ve loved Greece and things Greek since boyhood. I started to learn ancient Greek at the age of ten! I’ve written over fifty books, mostly on ancient Greek history and philosophy, including many volumes of translations from ancient Greek. But I’ve also written children’s fiction in the form of gamebooks, a biography, a book on hypnosis, a retelling of the Greek myths (with my wife Kathryn) ... I’ll stop there!

Robin's book list on ancient Greek history

Robin Waterfield Why did Robin love this book?

This is an outstanding short introduction to Greek history – with a really neat gimmick. Instead of writing a standard kind of history, Cartledge picks on the eleven most prominent cities of ancient Greece and writes up their story in about ten or twelve pages. But the chapters are also organized chronologically, so that the first two cities, Cnossos and Mycenae, illustrate Greek prehistory. Then we move on to the Archaic Period (four places, including Sparta), then the Classical Period (three, including Athens), and then the Hellenistic period (one: Alexandria, the greatest city in the world before Rome). He ends with a leap into late antiquity and the eastern Roman empire with Byzantium. I’m always on the lookout for books that can turn people on to Greek history, get them to share my (and Cartledge’s) passion: this one does it brilliantly.

By Paul Cartledge,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ancient Greece as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The contribution of the Ancient Greeks to modern western culture is incalculable. In the worlds of art, architecture, myth, literature, and philosophy, the world we live in would be unrecognizably different without the formative influence of Ancient Greek models.

Ancient Greek civilization was defined by the city - in Greek, the polis, from which we derive 'politics'. It is above all this feature of Greek civilization that has formed its most enduring legacy, spawning such key terms as aristocracy, oligarchy, tyranny and - last but by no means least - democracy.

This stimulating Very Short Introduction to Ancient Greece takes…


Book cover of The Later Roman Empire 284-602: A Social Economic and Administrative Survey (Volumes 1 and 2)

David Alan Parnell Author Of Belisarius & Antonina: Love and War in the Age of Justinian

From my list on introducing yourself to the early Byzantine Empire.

Why am I passionate about this?

Many students are still taught that the Roman Empire ended in 476 AD. To the contrary, the Roman Empire survived and flourished through the Middle Ages up to the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The Roman state was incredibly long-lived and resilient. Modern historians often call its medieval incarnation the Byzantine Empire. I have devoted my professional life to studying these medieval Romans (or Byzantines) and to telling others about them. I teach courses at my university, write books, consult for documentaries, appear on podcasts, and engage on Twitter. The early Byzantine period was a time of both continuity and immense change and I find it endlessly fascinating.

David's book list on introducing yourself to the early Byzantine Empire

David Alan Parnell Why did David love this book?

After reading about fascinating emperors, cities, and wars, one might begin to ponder larger questions like how the late Roman (early Byzantine) government functioned and what its society was like. This book is a detailed analysis of these issues.

To my mind, it is one of the best history books ever written about the early Byzantine Empire. It can be approached as a reference work, and one can seek out sections that seem interesting such as the conditions of service in the army, the social origins of the clergy, the taxation system, or the powers behind the throne.

The breadth and depth of Jones’ learning is impressive and on full display in this classic.

Book cover of Justinian II of Byzantium

David Alan Parnell Author Of Belisarius & Antonina: Love and War in the Age of Justinian

From my list on introducing yourself to the early Byzantine Empire.

Why am I passionate about this?

Many students are still taught that the Roman Empire ended in 476 AD. To the contrary, the Roman Empire survived and flourished through the Middle Ages up to the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The Roman state was incredibly long-lived and resilient. Modern historians often call its medieval incarnation the Byzantine Empire. I have devoted my professional life to studying these medieval Romans (or Byzantines) and to telling others about them. I teach courses at my university, write books, consult for documentaries, appear on podcasts, and engage on Twitter. The early Byzantine period was a time of both continuity and immense change and I find it endlessly fascinating.

David's book list on introducing yourself to the early Byzantine Empire

David Alan Parnell Why did David love this book?

After reading Turteltaub’s Justinian, I was determined to discover whether the details of the life of Justinian II which were included in that work of historical fiction were history or fiction.

This book, the first full treatment of the emperor’s life in English by a modern historian, was where I turned. The book is short and engaging and is an excellent example of rehabilitation.

Justinian II received a bad reputation from his contemporaries and successors, and Head shows how they had incentive to portray the emperor in this way and offers a more sympathetic take on his life. This is a classic example of the difficulties modern historians face in trying to evaluate the sources we have for the Byzantine Empire. 

By Constance Head,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Justinian II of Byzantium as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is the first complete book on the Emperor Justinian II, who despite having had one of the most colorful and tempestuous careers of any historical figure, remains largely enigmatic. Ruler of the great Byzantine Empire from 685 to 695, Justinian was deposed by the usurper Leontios, who severed the emperor's nose in a brutal warning to him never again to return to Constantinople. Defeated, disfigured, and alone, Justinian wandered among barbarian tribes beyond the far borders of the Empire. Finally, after 10 years in exile he gathered together an army of Bulgar mercenaries and returned victorious to Constantinople where…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Byzantine Empire, the Roman Empire, and the Middle Ages?

The Roman Empire 170 books
The Middle Ages 429 books