Top Five Writers
No.1
No.1
No.1
Bernard Cornwell
Not a huge surprise given the current popularity of the Last Kingdom series and due to his massive body of highly popular previous work. It is hard to believe that one writer could produce work as diverse as Sharpe, Stonehenge, the Starbuck Chronicles , the Grail Quest and the Fort.
No.2
No.1
No.1
George R.R. Martin
Martin already had a huge and enthusiastic following for his Game of Thrones series before the immensely popular series hit our TV screens. He has succeeded in generating an insatiable and ravenous appetite for tales of the fantasy world which he has created.
No.3
No.1
No.3
Conn Iggulden
Iggulden deserves his place in the top five simply for his Conquerer series alone. His telling of the story of the Great Khan is one of the best examples of historical fiction. The War of the Roses series was also an absolute triumph. Another author who cannot produce work quickly enough to satisfy his readers.
No.4
My Recommendation
No.3
Stuart MacBride
Stuart MacBride does well to be highly recommended by a subscriber base which heavily favours the historical fiction genre. I picked up on his D.S. Logan McRae crime series based on such a recommendation and proceeded to read the whole series back-to-back. Quirky and heavily laced with dark humour, MacBride has the ability to make you laugh out loud one minute and to leave you fighting to still your quivering bottom lip the next.
No.5
My Recommendation
My Recommendation
Wilbur Smith
Smith is another author who is loved by his die-hard fans. In fact, the only criticism of him seems to be that he cannot produce new work quickly enough to keep them satisfied. With published work stretching as far back as the 1960s, any readers who are newly discovering him have a huge amount of material to enjoy.
My Recommendation
My Recommendation
My Recommendation
Marc Morris
I have recently read 'A Great and Terrible King - Edward I and the Forging of Britain' by Marc Morris. This is by far the most interesting and readable biography of Edward Ist that I have come across. Although a work of serious historical research, it is written in a style which is both entertaining and informative.
Recommended Film
Outlaw King
This eagerly anticipated movie covers the early days of King Robert Bruce's war of independence against the English Plantagenet Kings. Required viewing for anyone with an interest in this most brutal period.