Brightness Long Ago (2019)

The Sarantine mosaic

Guy Gavriel Kay

1998 · 578 pages · 1 review

Others: Positive

Boudicca's Daughter

Elodie Harper

2025 · 480 pages · 1 review

Others: Positive

Deploying the same gripping plot dynamics and unforgettable sense of time and place that she used in the bestselling Wolf Den trilogy, Harper tells the thrilling story of the child of one of Ancient Rome's most implacable foes, Boudicca. There is more than one way for a woman to fight. From the author of the bestselling Wolf Den Trilogy. A dazzling new standalone novel set in the Roman world about the daughter of one of Britain’s most powerful heroines… Meet Boudicca's Daughter. Boudicca. Infamous warrior, queen of the British Iceni tribe and mastermind of one of history's greatest revolts. Her defeat spelled ruin for her people, yet still her name is enough to strike fear into Roman hearts. But what of the woman who grew up in her shadow? The woman who has her mother's looks and cunning but a spirit all of her own? The woman whose desperate bid for survival will take her from Britain's sacred marshlands to the glittering façades of Nero's Roman Empire… Born to a legend. Forced to fight. Determined to succeed. Meet Solina. Boudicca's Daughter.

Excalibur

Bernard Cornwell

1997 · 458 pages · 4 reviews

Others: Overwhelmingly positive

A story of love, war, loyalty and betrayal, EXCALIBUR begins with the failure of Lancelot's rebellion and the ruin of Arthur's marriage to Guinevere. The Saxons, sensing the disunity of the Britons, seize the chance to destroy Arthur. The climax of the war comes with the legendary triumph at Mount Badon, and Arthur's great victory. But the promises he made then come back to haunt him after the years of peace and glory.

Far Better Thing

H. G. Parry

2025 · 416 pages · 5 reviews

Others: Positive

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell meets A Tale of Two Cities in H. G. Parry’s A Far Better Thing, a heart-rending fantasy of faery revenge set during the French Revolution. I feared this was the best of times; I hoped it could not get any worse. The fairies stole Sydney Carton as a child, and made him a mortal servant of the Faerie Realm. Now, he has a rare opportunity for revenge against the fae and Charles Darnay, the changeling left in his stead. It will take magic and cunning—cold iron and Realm silver—to hide his intentions from humans and fae and bring his plans to fruition. Shuttling between London and Paris during the Reign of Terror, generations of violence-begetting-violence lead him to a heartbreaking choice in the shadow of the guillotine.

Goddess of the River

Vaishnavi Patel

2024 · 1 review

Others: Positive

A powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son, from Vaishnavi Patel, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi . A mother and a son. A goddess and a prince. A curse and an oath. A river whose course will change the fate of the world. Ganga, joyful goddess of the river, serves as caretaker to the mischievous godlings who roam her banks. But when their antics incur the wrath of a powerful sage, Ganga is cursed to become mortal, bound to her human form until she fulfills the obligations of the curse. Though she knows nothing of mortal life, Ganga weds King Shantanu and becomes a queen, determined to regain her freedom no matter the cost. But in a cruel turn of fate, just as she is freed of her binding, she is forced to leave her infant son behind. Her son, prince Devavrata, unwittingly carries the legacy of Ganga’s curse. And when he makes an oath that he will never claim his father’s throne, he sets in motion a chain of events that will end in a terrible and tragic war. As the years unfold, Ganga and Devavrata are drawn together again and again, each confluence another step on a path that has been written in the stars, in this deeply moving and masterful tale of duty, destiny, and the unwavering bond between mother and son.

Golem and the Jinni

Helene Wecker

2013 · 544 pages · 2 reviews

Others: Overwhelmingly positive

In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York. Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.