The actual origin and meaning of what was once thought to be an ancient Chinese curse—“May you live in interesting times”—is still under debate, but certainly the phrase itself suggests some fascinating potential story lines. That’s even more the case when the world the reader is entering takes place is clearly part of our history…and yet not. Alternate histories such as those written by Harry Turtledove can reveal some intriguing possibilities of what might have been, but what I have always found fascinating as well—and have tried to do in my own novel, Black City Saint—is see how our world turns when fantastic elements such as magic becomes as inherent a part of our history as anything.
His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
His Majesty’s Dragon, the first part in a series, takes place in an alternate version of the Napoleonic Wars where intelligent dragons are part of the struggle. Thanks to the dragons, aerial combat is an integral part and the book involves the exploits of Temeraire and his handler Will Laurence. In the course of the novel and the sequels that follow, we learn about how dragons are treated in a variety of regions, including not only Britain, but France, China, the Americas, and Africa, which adds tremendous depth to this variation of history that Naomi Novik has put together.
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman
Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula and its sequels revolve around a world where Dracula was not defeated and vampires have become an inherent part of Great Britain and beyond. Dracula himself is not so prominent in the stories (although he is consort to a widowed Queen Victoria in this novel), but the books do also have supporting characters that include actual historical figures. Like several of the novels/series mentioned in this post, the series has won awards.
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Under Heaven is the first novel by Guy Gavriel Kay taking place during the Tang Dynasty. It features the story of Shen Tai, second son of a general, who is, among other things surrounded by ghosts, especially those of the unburied dead killed twenty years earlier during an epic battle between China and Tibet (known here as the Taguran Empire). It is due to some of these ghosts that Shen Tai manages to survive at least one assassination. The author weaves a fascinating tale of loss and honor in a world different from many of those to which most readers are familiar. A second novel taking place centuries later is also out.
Too Many Magicians by Randall Garrett
The late Randall Garrett wrote the intriguing Too Many Magicians featuring Lord Darcy, a criminal investigator in a world where magic is a respected science and used to both solve crime and commit it. It is also a world where Richard the Lionheart’s brother John never ruled and much of Europe and America are now part of a different British Empire still ruled by the Plantagenets. Less known these days, it’s a well-crafted adventure that includes a character reoccurring in shorter fiction later produced by Garrett and two novels written by Michael Kurland after Garrett’s death. Mystery readers will enjoy these stories as well as they are very much whodunits with the answers not always actually affected by magic.
Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly
Those Who Hunt the Night is another world where vampires are a part of society, in this case since the time of Elizabeth I. Set in the dawn of the 20th century, it features Professor James Asher, a former operative of the British government, who is sought out by the oldest of the London vampires, Simon Ysidro, to discover who is murdering (if such a term can be used since we’re dealing with the undead) vampires. The sequels tend to focus on Asher’s wife more and more, but Hambly’s world is one that is always a treat to return to.
Top image from Pan’s Labyrinth
Richard A. Knaak is the New York Times- and USA Today-bestselling author of The Legend of Huma, WoW: Wolfheart, and nearly fifty other novels and numerous short stories, including works in such series as Warcraft, Diablo, Dragonlance, Age of Conan, and his own Dragonrealm. He has scripted a number of Warcraft manga with Tokyopop, such as the top-selling Sunwell trilogy, and has also written background material for games. His works have been published worldwide in many languages. His most recent releases include Shade (a brand-new Dragonrealm novel featuring the tragic sorcerer), Dawn of the Aspects (the latest in the bestselling World of Warcraft series), and the fourth collection in his Legends of the Dragonrealm series. He is presently at work on several other projects. Black City Saint hits shelves on March 1st.
That’s because any portion of the truth is the greatest story of all
For those who have read Sapkowski’s novels about Geralt, in The Lady of the Lake I believe Ciri goes to 13xx when black death was desolating countries.
Nice to see an article from you mr. Knaak, currently i’m reading Stormrage. Already read Legacy of Blood, not a fan, but surely you are a great author.
Love the Lord Darcy novels!
I love this sub-genre. Top on my list are Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and anything by Tim Powers.
I’d add QUEEN’S GAMBIT DECLINED by Melinda Snodgrass, which depicts the conflict between Louis XIV and Prince William of Orange as a “secret war” utilizing white and black magic.
The Stratford Man duology by Elizabeth Bear; though the magic doesn’t become a public history.
Guy Gavriel Kay’s Lions of Al-Rassan is also well worth checking out — set in his analog of Moorish Spain.
And Aliette de Bodard’s Obsidian & Blood trilogy — murder mysteries set in an Aztec empire where magic & the gods are real.
Very much anything by Guy Gavriel Kay, it’s pretty much his speciality.
Tim Powers is very close behind. I love The Anubis Gates and On Stranger Tides.
Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series plays fast and loose with a bunch of different time periods mashed together into a fascinating Europe.
Phillip Mann has a great take on Roman Britain in A Land Fit For Heroes.
And Michael Moorcock plays with the Thirty Years War in The Warhound and the World’s Pain, one of his finest books.
Oh, and another plea for one of the most criminally underrated series, Michael Scott Rohan’s Winter of the World, which takes ice age civilization to new heights of craft.
I think Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart fits here as well, as does John M. Ford’s The Dragon Waiting, which posits that the Angevins and Byzantines partitioned Europe in the 12th century of a world where Christianity was never Rome’s official religion (thanks to Julian the Apostate).
And one more – Stephen Lawhead’s King Raven trilogy, which recasts the Robin Hood myths from the Middle Ages of stories and the long tamed forest of Sherwood to the surprisingly plausible old forests of the Welsh marches, soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
The Sarantine Mosaic is my favorite of Kay’s (Byzantine empire).
Also, Juliet Marillier has written several fairy tell retellings or just general stories set during the times of the Celts, Picts, Vikings, etc. I loved Daughter of the Forest (and the other Sevenwaters books), and the Wolfskin/Foxmask duology.
Also, I just finished The Rithmatist, which is one of Brandon Sanderson’s YA books which takes place in a strange alternate version of America (in which the states are isles, not one landlocked mass) in a kind of gearpunky 1900s setting, with a geometry based magic system.
And what of Alvin Maker, by Orson Scott Card?
I just finished Connie Willis’ Blackout & All Clear – the basic plot is that a group of time travellers are trapped in London during the Blitz, but Willis uses their worry about whether they’ve changed the timeline (and the outcome of the war) to crank up the tension to a more contemporarily realistic level than straight historical fiction could manage. They’re fantastic character-driven novels, I highly recommend them.
Patricia C. Wrede has written some excellent historical fantasy in a regency setting – “Mairelon the Magician” and “Magician’s Ward”, and “Sorcery and Cecelia” and its sequels with Caroline Stevermer. All are great fun. “Mairelon” has one of the funniest scenes I have EVER read, once all the threads come together near the end.
Actually, another of the funniest would be “To Say Nothing of the Dog” by Connie Willis, who was also mentioned above. “Blackout” and “All Clear” are very dark and tense, as the WWII setting requires. Another of her time travel books, “Doomsday Book”, is titled appropriately. But “To Say Nothing of the Dog” leaves me breathless with startled laughter. Imagine traveling back in time, while *severely* jet-lagged, and having to deal with one of Bertie Wooster’s most brainless friends…
Mercedes Lackey’s “Elemental Masters” series are also absolutely amazing. Even as straight historical fiction they are utterly engrossing – “The Serpent’s Shadow” is about the difficulties encountered in 1910 London by a young woman doctor who is also half Indian. And then there is a magical element, and then the overall shape of the story faintly resembles that of “Snow White”. And that’s just the first book. “Phoenix and Ashes” is basically Cinderella during WWI, and “prince charming” is suffering from severe shell shock.
No one has mentioned Neal Stephensen’s Baroque Cycle yet? Or is that sci-fi? Or is it just historical fiction? He always claimed the sci-fi label was just for convenience.
Glad people are enjoying the post! There were so many choices I could have added, some of them listed by others here!
Oh, and Kara Dalkey’s Goa trilogy, which follows a young Englishman circa 1597 who finds himself in Goa, India.
In Great Waters, by Kit Whitfield. Tudor-ish England,with… well, you can’t really call them mermaids, that’s much too pretty a concept. A strange and beautiful book.
And the “Onyx Court” series, by Marie Brennan. Several centuries of London history and some very interesting fairies.
And Amitav Ghosh’s Calcutta Chromosome, which has so much magic in it, I say it is fantasy as much as it is sci-fi.
Can’t go wrong with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s St. Germain series with settings from ancient Egypt to Cold War France.
@19: Yes to both. I don’t recall what that breed of aquatic humanoid called themselves, either. And the Onyx Court Trilogy is great.