10 books like The Last Kingdom

By Bernard Cornwell,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like The Last Kingdom. Shepherd is a community of 7,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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The Winter King

By Bernard Cornwell,

Book cover of The Winter King

Another book by Bernard Cornwell, and this one is a bit of cheat as it's set more in Dark Age Britain than the Viking Age, but the Saxons antagonists are painted as Vikings of a fashion.

This is a version of the Arthurian legends. It is the first of the Warlord Chronicles, followed by Enemy of God, and Excalibur. I was blown away by this book when I first read it, the description of the period feels so authentic and is totally different to any other novel about Arthur. The characterization of Merlin and Nimue are stunning, as are the battles.

The series is a tragic tale of the downfall of the Britons so shot through with sadness that it brought a tear to my eye...

The Winter King

By Bernard Cornwell,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Winter King as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Uther, the High King of Britain, has died, leaving the infant Mordred as his only heir. His uncle, the loyal and gifted warlord Arthur, now rules as caretaker for a country which has fallen into chaos - threats emerge from within the British kingdoms while vicious Saxon armies stand ready to invade. As he struggles to unite Britain and hold back the Saxon enemy, Arthur is embroiled in a doomed romance with beautiful Guinevere.


The Killer Angels

By Michael Shaara,

Book cover of The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War

Michael Shaara’s Killer Angels describes the unbelievable sacrifice that occurred at Gettysburg, and the men willing to make it. 

It mimics in so many ways the terrible destruction and killing that occurred in Minnesota just the year before and the ultimate defeat and destruction of the Dakota, and later, Lakota people.   

Shaara gives the first detailed account of the First Minnesota, who charged Lee’s line in order to save the “high ground” for the Union. Only a very few men in the entire regiment survived, leaving just one to write a brief account of their heroic action. It was mostly unknown until Shaara’s book appeared.

Their action is again similar to the brave efforts of young, twenty-year Old Lieutenant Timothy Sheehan, who, with a handful of men, beat off a three-pronged attack and saved Fort Ridgely, the key to the defense Minnesota.

The Killer Angels

By Michael Shaara,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Killer Angels as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“My favorite historical novel . . . a superb re-creation of the Battle of Gettysburg, but its real importance is its insight into what the war was about, and what it meant.”—James M. McPherson
 
In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation’s history, two armies fought for two conflicting dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life. Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania fields. Bright futures, untested innocence, and pristine beauty…


Wolf Hall

By Hilary Mantel,

Book cover of Wolf Hall

This is the most compelling historical novel that I have ever read. It won both the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle award. It is the perfect mix of history and soaring political language. The characters jump off the page and are oh-so-very human. Ms. Mantel's knowledge of the period is extraordinary. I stand in awe.

Wolf Hall

By Hilary Mantel,

Why should I read it?

17 authors picked Wolf Hall as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the Man Booker Prize Shortlisted for the the Orange Prize Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award

`Dizzyingly, dazzlingly good' Daily Mail

'Our most brilliant English writer' Guardian

England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor.

Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with…


Hamnet

By Maggie O'Farrell,

Book cover of Hamnet

While this is a story broadly about all the Shakespeares, Anne Shakespeare is a focal point. She’s a unique woman with an understanding of nature and an almost supernatural way about her. Her courage to live her life as she sees fit is by turns subtly and boldly expressed through O’Farrell’s masterful prose. I’ve always enjoyed stories about Shakespeare and his family, and this one was so beautifully written that I might even re-read it.

Hamnet

By Maggie O'Farrell,

Why should I read it?

19 authors picked Hamnet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE 2020 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION - THE NO. 1 BESTSELLER 2021
'Richly sensuous... something special' The Sunday Times
'A thing of shimmering wonder' David Mitchell

TWO EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE. A LOVE THAT DRAWS THEM TOGETHER. A LOSS THAT THREATENS TO TEAR THEM APART.

On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a sudden fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?

Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London.

Neither…


Gates of Fire

By Steven Pressfield,

Book cover of Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae

Before Gerard Butler played Leonidas I in 300, Steven Pressfield wrote his version of the historical event of the Battle of Thermopylae. I loved this book because it does not hide the darker side of the 300 Spartans’ heroism as they stand to fight for their home. This is a well-researched novel about the invading Persians and the significantly fewer number of defenders who held them off long enough for the Greek navy to defeat the Persians at sea and save Greece.  

Gates of Fire

By Steven Pressfield,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Gates of Fire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the Sunday Times bestseller Gates of Fire, Steven Pressfield tells the breathtaking story of the legendary Spartans: the men and women who helped shaped our history and have themselves become as immortal as their gods.

'Breathtakingly brilliant . . . this is a work of rare genius. Savour it!' DAVID GEMMELL

'A tale worthy of Homer, a timeless epic of man and war, exquisitely researched and boldy written. Pressfield has created a new classic' STEPHEN COONTS

'A really impressive book - imaginatively framed, historically detailed and a really gripping narrative' ***** Reader review

'Beautifully written and a great joy…


Warriors of God

By James Reston,

Book cover of Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade

Warriors of God is an up-close and very personal deep dive with two legendary players during the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart and Saladin as they battle for the Holy Land. We dive headfirst into each ruler’s accession to power and how they clashed over the sands of the Levant. The novel is as gripping as it is profound, and I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking to further their knowledge and understanding of the crusades and their impact on our world today. However, it should be noted that while “history” tends to cross the line into fiction at times. Warriors of God is the only non-fiction history novel on this list. I feel that the narrative and story are strong enough to be read for knowledge and entertainment.

Warriors of God

By James Reston,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The story of the Third Crusade, and the two men who dictated its outcome: Saladin, hero of the Islamic world and Richard the Lionheart. Richard and the King of France led a European army of several hundred thousand warriors, but Saladin's manoeuvres resulted in the crusaders retreat and the demise of the Third Crusade,


Blood Eye

By Giles Kristian,

Book cover of Blood Eye: A Novel (Raven: Book 1)

While written in a similar vein as The Last Kingdom, Kristian has a knack for making his writing come to life in a very Anglo-Saxon epic poem kind of way. In this novel, we follow an orphan of sorts, Raven, as he joins a rapacious band of Norsemen embarking on a violent quest. Kristian is a relative newcomer compared to the others on this list, but he does not disappoint and will take the reader on a grand adventure.

Blood Eye

By Giles Kristian,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

For two years Osric has lived a simple life, apprentice to the mute old carpenter who took him in when others would have him cast out. But when Norsemen from across the sea burn his village they also destroy his new life, and Osric finds himself a prisoner of these warriors. Their chief, Sigurd the Lucky, believes the Norns have woven this strange boy's fate together with his own, and Osric begins to sense glorious purpose among this Fellowship of warriors.Immersed in the Norsemen's world and driven by their lust for adventure, Osric proves a natural warrior and forges a…


The Iliad & The Odyssey

By Homer, Samuel Butler (translator),

Book cover of The Iliad & The Odyssey

These are epic poems that have been presented in the courts and amphitheaters from ancient Greece into the modern era. I first read The Iliad as a high-school summer-reading assignment. Later in college, I read The Odyssey for personal entertainment.

The Iliad begins during the siege of Troy (c.1200 BCE) and describes the personality conflicts among the Achaean besiegers as well as detailed descriptions of army and personal combat in this era. The Odyssey is the story of the return of the King of Ithaca and his retinue from the war. They inadvertently offend Poseidon which results in ten additional years of misadventures. By the time Odysseus returns to Ithaca, he is alone and he must reclaim his wife and his throne alone.

I first undertook to read these epic poems because they play such a huge role in Western culture but as I read them, I became fascinated by…

The Iliad & The Odyssey

By Homer, Samuel Butler (translator),

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The Iliad and the OdysseyEpic Poem by Homer


Mr. Midshipman Hornblower

By C.S. Forester,

Book cover of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower

This was the first series of heroic historical fiction I ever read. Forester’s narratives had the power to pull me into the stories as if I was serving alongside Horatio Hornblower.

The series follows the exploits of seventeen-year-old Midshipman Hornblower in 1794 as he rises in rank and responsibilities to flag rank by 1815. During the course of the series, we watch Hornblower mature from an unsure, bookish teenager to become a self-confident and bold commander. Forester’s ability to meld true historical events and personages into his narratives captured me from the start and is a quality that I strive to accomplish in my own writing. I read these books decades ago and still keep them on my bookshelf for when I need inspiration or want to understand how Forester resolved certain authorly issues.

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower

By C.S. Forester,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Mr. Midshipman Hornblower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Join young Horatio Hornblower in the thrilling naval adventure from the author of The Good Shepherd, now a major-motion picture starring Tom Hanks

'A joyous creation, a perfection in words. Young Hornblower is, simply, one of the most complete creations of character in fiction' Conn Iggulden, The Independent
_______

1793, the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, and Midshipman Horatio Hornblower receives his first command . . .

As a seventeen-year-old with a touch of sea sickness, young Horatio Hornblower hardly cuts a dash in His Majesty's navy.

Yet from the moment he is ordered to board a French merchant ship…


The Pillars of the Earth

By Ken Follett,

Book cover of The Pillars of the Earth

This is certainly a book that transports you to another time and place.

Follett paints a vivid picture of 12th Century England; it is a period that I am interested in, and the way in which the author writes allows you to see the action as it unfolds on the page. Research is important in historical fiction and Follett has a great attention to detail, especially in regards to cathedrals which is the element that his story revolves around.

His characters are interesting and engaging, to the point where you feel like you know them…a great sign in a book.

The Pillars of the Earth

By Ken Follett,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Pillars of the Earth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 New York Times Bestseller

Oprah's Book Club Selection

The "extraordinary . . . monumental masterpiece" (Booklist) that changed the course of Ken Follett's already phenomenal career-and begins where its prequel, The Evening and the Morning, ended.

"Follett risks all and comes out a clear winner," extolled Publishers Weekly on the release of The Pillars of the Earth. A departure for the bestselling thriller writer, the historical epic stunned readers and critics alike with its ambitious scope and gripping humanity. Today, it stands as a testament to Follett's unassailable command of the written word and to his universal appeal.

The…


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