# Time Travel, Magicians, and Historical Whoopty-Do.



## Lalalaconnectthedots (Dec 5, 2010)

Yes. Historical Whoopty-Do. New genre coming to a theatre near you.

I'm looking for suggestions and I find that I get a bit specific at times and thought perhaps you guys could help me out.

1. I'm looking for novels that feature time travel and/or magicians. I like a bit of romance, but I don't necessarily like it overbearing (i.e. Not really in the market for bodice rippers, but some nice Indiana Jones/Marion Ravenwood type stuff - see, told you I was specific).

2. I'm also looking for real historical fiction set in Victorian England. Orrrrr, fantasy set in that era. 

3. Steampunk novels that focus on the story and characters instead of, "Oh look at my shiny new googles! Aren't I just the spiffiest? Right-O! To the Zeppelin, Frederick!"

4. Geeky romance. Let me explain (I bet you're just kicking yourself for even opening this post). I like a bit of romance in my stories. When I say romance, I'm talking Leia/Han, Indy/Marion, The Doctor/Rose. But I absolutely abhor stories with premises that have the woman falling in love with Mr. Hardbody, long-wispy hair and steel-blue/emerald-green eyes. Give me a cute geek over that noise anyday. Why aren't there more romances with nerdy professors? Boy howdy. Let's make that one happen, k?

5. Magical realism.

6. I was a big fan of the Gilmore Girls TV series, but haven't found a book series that really captured the quirkiness of a town like it did. Love a quirky town with larger than life characters. 

7. Extra points for any of the above that take place in Britain and/or features British characters. 

And I'll throw this out here - favorite authors: Neil Gaiman, Nick Hornby, JK Rowling, Terry Pratchett, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, HP Lovecraft

Books/series I've loved that don't fall under the "favorite authors" heading: The Time Traveler's Wife, The Hunger Games series, World War Z

There's more to both of those last two headings, but I'm getting tired. 

And if it helps, I love concepts like those in Lost in Austen (where she falls into the world of Pride and Prejudice). I love a bit of the fantastic in my fiction, but generally don't go for high fantasy unless it really pulls me in. I'm more a lover of contemporary fantasy.  

Thanks for your time. May your Kindle bless you with copious amounts of whatever it is you're looking for.


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## Taborcarn (Dec 15, 2009)

Have you tried "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman?


It's like more mature/slightly darker Harry Potter in an American university, with a good dose of Narnia mixed in. There's also some geek love for good measure


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Not the OP, but thanks for the recommendation of "The Magicians," it sounds like it's something I'd enjoy!

Betsy


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## AJB (Jul 9, 2010)

You've listed some of my favourite books and authors here, so I'm guessing we have similar taste. Have you read Jonathan Stroud's _Bartimaeus Trilogy_? They'd be up your street, I reckon. I'd also put in a word for Diana Wynne Jones, if you haven't read any of hers. _Charmed Life_ is a good one to start with.

Amanda


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Do not walk, nay RUN to your kindle store and pick up a copy of _To Say Nothing of the Dog_ by Connie Willis. No magicians in this one, but British time travel. I laughed out loud in places.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

For great historical novels, try Michael Cox's "The Meaning of Night," a kind of homage to Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens, of whose works Cox was an expert.



For fantasy/horror give Sergei Lukyanenko's quadrilogy set in modern Russia a try. (The first two books have been adapted into extremely popular (and very fine) Russian films; available here on DVD and bluray). It starts with "Night Watch" and continues with "Day Watch," "Twilight Watch" and "Last Watch."


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

You might like Monique Martin's _Out of Time_


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## Lalalaconnectthedots (Dec 5, 2010)

Taborcarn said:


> Have you tried "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman?
> 
> 
> It's like more mature/slightly darker Harry Potter in an American university, with a good dose of Narnia mixed in. There's also some geek love for good measure


I had been looking at this one for awhile before I got the Kindle (new owner!) and now it comes up again, so I'm sold. Thanks. 



AJB said:


> You've listed some of my favourite books and authors here, so I'm guessing we have similar taste. Have you read Jonathan Stroud's _Bartimaeus Trilogy_? They'd be up your street, I reckon. I'd also put in a word for Diana Wynne Jones, if you haven't read any of hers. _Charmed Life_ is a good one to start with.
> 
> Amanda


I haven't tried Stroud, but I'm going to look him up right now. I'm familiar with Jones, but haven't delved into her library, yet. I'll start with Charmed Life. Thanks!



Basilius said:


> Do not walk, nay RUN to your kindle store and pick up a copy of _To Say Nothing of the Dog_ by Connie Willis. No magicians in this one, but British time travel. I laughed out loud in places.


Wow. You guys are GOOD. I had all her stuff (except for Doomsday Book, which doesn't seem to be on Kindle yet) sampled to my Kindle last night. Your suggestion has me sold.



DYB said:


> For great historical novels, try Michael Cox's "The Meaning of Night," a kind of homage to Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens, of whose works Cox was an expert.
> 
> 
> 
> For fantasy/horror give Sergei Lukyanenko's quadrilogy set in modern Russia a try. (The first two books have been adapted into extremely popular (and very fine) Russian films; available here on DVD and bluray). It starts with "Night Watch" and continues with "Day Watch," "Twilight Watch" and "Last Watch."


I'm going to go through this list tonight. Thanks so much.



intinst said:


> You might like Monique Martin's _Out of Time_


I bought this on Friday! I started reading it and it's a fun book. I'm enjoying it. Had time travel and a nerdy British professor. The cover practically said, "Hey you. Yes, you - buy this book!" I found it on a list on Good Reads for "Time Travel Books." I'm so predictable.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

From your favorite authors and some of the things you like (which both overlap to some degree -- but not totally -- with mine), I suspect you might like _The Name of the Wind_ by Patrick Rothfuss, one of the best new books I've read in the last couple of years: beautifully written with an engaging story.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

My first recommendation, a time travel story without magicians, has been removed from the kindle store but I know it used to exist (because I have it) and will again: Island in the Sea of Time by S.M. Stirling.

My second, also by Stirling, is a Steampunk, post-apocalyptic novel set about 15 years in the future in an India where a meteor swarm hit the earth in the Victorian era. its very much character and culturally based and I favorite of mine:


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## Lalalaconnectthedots (Dec 5, 2010)

NogDog said:


> From your favorite authors and some of the things you like (which both overlap to some degree -- but not totally -- with mine), I suspect you might like _The Name of the Wind_ by Patrick Rothfuss, one of the best new books I've read in the last couple of years: beautifully written with an engaging story.


Just requested a sample. Thanks!



Geoffrey said:


> My first recommendation, a time travel story without magicians, has been removed from the kindle store but I know it used to exist (because I have it) and will again: Island in the Sea of Time by S.M. Stirling.
> 
> My second, also by Stirling, is a Steampunk, post-apocalyptic novel set about 15 years in the future in an India where a meteor swarm hit the earth in the Victorian era. its very much character and culturally based and I favorite of mine:


This looks very intriguing. I'm looking forward to trying this one on.

This board is fabulous.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Island in the Sea of Time is an outstanding novel, and I should point out it is the first of a series--Followed by Against the Tide of Years, and On the Oceans of Eternity.  Highly recommended!  But they don't take place in Victorian England.  Though some of all three books takes place in the region we know as England.

As far as time travel, it is one of my favorite genres, in addition to the three books already mentioned, good 'uns in rough order of recommendation include:

Lest Darkness Fall, L. Sprague de Camp (one of the best!)

Mixed Doubles, Daniel da Cruz (Possibly the most tightly-plotted time travel novel ever, again long out of print but highly-recommended)

The Ship that Sailed the Time Stream G. Edmondson  (plus a sequel called To Sail the Century Sea.  These are long out of print and you'd have to buy used)

Never the Twain, Kirk Mitchell (you guessed it--Long out of print, but especially notable for bibliophiles since Mark Twain features prominently)

None of the above have a Victorian connection, alas

I assume you're aware of Arthur Conan Doyle's non-Sherlock stuff, notably the Professor Challenger series.

I'll probably think of other stuff, so I reserve the right to post more here later if I do!


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## akpak (Mar 5, 2009)

PersephoneLives said:


> 5. Magical realism.


I think my head just exploded.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

NogDog said:


> From your favorite authors and some of the things you like (which both overlap to some degree -- but not totally -- with mine), I suspect you might like _The Name of the Wind_ by Patrick Rothfuss, one of the best new books I've read in the last couple of years: beautifully written with an engaging story.


You sold me on it; I'll read this next.


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## Lalalaconnectthedots (Dec 5, 2010)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Island in the Sea of Time is an outstanding novel, and I should point out it is the first of a series--Followed by Against the Tide of Years, and On the Oceans of Eternity. Highly recommended! But they don't take place in Victorian England. Though some of all three books takes place in the region we know as England.
> 
> As far as time travel, it is one of my favorite genres, in addition to the three books already mentioned, good 'uns in rough order of recommendation include:
> 
> ...


Too bad about Never the Twain. I'm a Twain fan as well. I'm not sure if I mentioned that above or not. I'm going to check out the others on your list, though. Thanks for taking the time to respond with all that. 



akpak said:


> I think my head just exploded.


That had to hurt. But the quick regeneration is impressive.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

PersephoneLives said:


> Too bad about Never the Twain. I'm a Twain fan as well.


Never the Twain, and most of the other out of print books I mentioned are available fairly cheaply from Amazon.com vendors....The shipping charge is often higher than the price of the book!

http://www.amazon.com/Never-Twain-Kirk-Mitchell/dp/0441569730/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291609414&sr=8-1


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

I second the Connie Willis,  Doomsday Book is one of my favourites!

Have you read any Jasper Fforde?


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## Lalalaconnectthedots (Dec 5, 2010)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Never the Twain, and most of the other out of print books I mentioned are available fairly cheaply from Amazon.com vendors....The shipping charge is often higher than the price of the book!
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Never-Twain-Kirk-Mitchell/dp/0441569730/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291609414&sr=8-1


You're not kidding. There's one on there for $0.26!



Lyndl said:


> I second the Connie Willis, Doomsday Book is one of my favourites!
> 
> Have you read any Jasper Fforde?


Have read Jasper Fforde. Liked it pretty well. Loved the concept. Need to read the rest of the series. Haven't read his Nursery Rhymes series, though.

I started one that seemed slightly similar to it, but not as contemporary, called "Here There Be Dragons," but I lost the book among the piles of books I own before I was a chapter in. Yay for the Kindle!


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

This book was written especially for you! Time travel, England, magicians (an Egyptian magician), romance but not too gushy and it's not the main point of the book, AND fabulously entertaining:










Heartbreakingly, not yet Kindleized.

I third the suggestion of The Magicians (it was the very first book I read when I got my Kindle!) and will add:

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, Susanna Clark
Tamsin, Peter S. Beagle
Sorcery and Cecelia, Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (it's an epistolary novel, with magicians and Britishness in Regency England, with cowriters each writing the letters for one of the characters)

Victoriania:

The Seance, John Harwood
The Crimson Petal and the White, Michael Faber
Fingersmith, Sarah Waters

Magical Realism:

Should I assume you've already read Alice Hoffman?

And, because they really fit what seems to be your fondness for playfulness and are packed with quirky characters:

Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, Maria Vargas Llosa
Call and Response, T.R. Pearson
The Crocodile on the Sandbank, Elizabeth Peters -- plus GEEEEEEEK LOVE in all its glory!

As these lists might suggest, I think we have very similar tastes!


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## Lalalaconnectthedots (Dec 5, 2010)

Thalia the Muse said:


> This book was written especially for you! Time travel, England, magicians (an Egyptian magician), romance but not too gushy and it's not the main point of the book, AND fabulously entertaining:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Okay, Anubis Gates has now officially been suggested to me by a friend and now you. I was sad to see it wasn't in Kindle version last week when a friend said I should read it, but I'm going to give in and go the traditional route on that one. Oh how quickly we are spoiled.

Your suggestions have me truly excited because I actually just purchased The Crocodile on the Sandbank and I was actually thinking of Hoffman when I mentioned Magical Realism.

I do think we have similar tastes!


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

Geoffrey said:


> My first recommendation, a time travel story without magicians, has been removed from the kindle store but I know it used to exist (because I have it) and will again: Island in the Sea of Time by S.M. Stirling.
> 
> My second, also by Stirling, is a Steampunk, post-apocalyptic novel set about 15 years in the future in an India where a meteor swarm hit the earth in the Victorian era. its very much character and culturally based and I favorite of mine:


I haven't managed to read the latest "Change" Series novel, but would you say the Change series of novels is sort of a historical fiction novel?

Plus... Check out Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove










Some South Africans go back in time and change the outcome of the US War Between the States, by giving the CSA AK-47's. Eventually, the leaders of the CSA realize something is completely wrong, and attempt to take down the South Africans. Once they do, they discover newspapers from the Prime Timeline.

Turtledove resets the storyline in How Few Remain by having the CSA discover the USA war plan shortly before the Battle of The Wilderness. This storyline continues all the way to WW2.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Oh, almost forgot The Twenty One Balloons by William Pene Dubois.  Written for teenagers, but is a blast (hee hee) for adults....


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## Lalalaconnectthedots (Dec 5, 2010)

Oh I don't mind YA fiction at all. Some of my favorites fall in that category. Now I'm just off to figure out why my Kindle isn't downloading properly. *sigh*


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## LaRita (Oct 28, 2008)

I'm reading _1632_ by Eric Flint. It's about a small West Virginia town which gets transported to seventeenth century Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years War . I'm about 2/3 finished, and really enjoying it. Not in the Kindle store, but got it free from Baen.com.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

LaRita said:


> I'm reading _1632_ by Eric Flint. It's about a small West Virginia town which gets transported to seventeenth century Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years War . I'm about 2/3 finished, and really enjoying it. Not in the Kindle store, but got it free from Baen.com.


1632 is one of the next two or three books I'm reading. If you like it, you can get many more books in the series for free (legally) here: http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/23-TheEasternFrontCD/1635TheEasternFrontCD/


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## M. G. Scarsbrook (Nov 22, 2010)

For historical fiction set in Victorian England, you should take a look at Wilkie Collins (you said you liked Dickens -- well, he was Dicken's best friend!). His two novels THE WOMAN IN WHITE and THE MOONSTONE are absolute classics of mystery and suspense. He also utilizes the epistolary style, made famous in books like DRACULA.


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## ginaf20697 (Jan 31, 2009)

I just finished Zoe Archer's Blades of the Rose series and it was really good. One of the books was a freebie a few weeks ago. Romance with a little magic, a little steampunk and a little Victorian all at the same time.


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

Thalia the Muse said:


> Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, Susanna Clark


This was the first book I thought of. I loved it. Great book for kindle (since it weights about twice as much as a kindle.) It is only $7.59. I might pick it up since I listened to it on audiobook and have not read it.


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## Rhynedahll (Oct 23, 2010)

I'd like to reccomend Robert A. Heinlein's _The Door into Summer_ but like a lot of older genre fiction, its not available on Kindle. 

The book has time travel, romance, and house cleaning robots. Oh, and a time traveling cat.


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## Lalalaconnectthedots (Dec 5, 2010)

I'm adding all the suggestions to my Kindle to-buy list and slowly working my way through. You guys will have me in books for months. I love it! 

I read some Heinlein years ago, but need to give some of his other stuff a try. I wish all this stuff would be on Kindle already.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

PersephoneLives said:


> I read some Heinlein years ago, but need to give some of his other stuff a try. I wish all this stuff would be on Kindle already.


A lot of Heinlein is available (legally) with no DRM through Baen Books at Webscriptions.net.

They will read just fine on your Kindle, and will transfer to Nook or other readers if you get one.


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

LaRita said:


> I'm reading _1632_ by Eric Flint. It's about a small West Virginia town which gets transported to seventeenth century Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years War . I'm about 2/3 finished, and really enjoying it. Not in the Kindle store, but got it free from Baen.com.


I've been trying to read the entire series based on that. They're really interesting.


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

Baen is a great place for a lot of free and drm-free books.  I bet I have read a 150 or so of their books.


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## nate5811 (Dec 9, 2010)

Might try the Dresden Files. Harry Potter type all grown up living in Chicago making ends meat by being a PI and working with local PD. Lots of magic stuff, girls dont fall at knees but he is likeable enough, no british accent 2 outta 3 aint bad . Was a tv show on SciFi but got replaced by painkiller jayne (blech). If you catch the show and even remotely like it the books are WAY better.


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## Lalalaconnectthedots (Dec 5, 2010)

Oh I started the Dresden Files awhile back in paperback, but really need to get back into it - and on Kindle. 

I'm about to check out Baen's free selection. I'm excited!

And Johnathon Strange and Mr. Norrell's on my "to buy" list. This board is just excellent. I know I've already said that once, but it bears repeating.


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

Oh, I love that book so much! I envy you getting to read it for the first time. ;-)

I also think you'd love Little, Big, by John Crowley, but it isn't on Kindle yet.


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## nmg222 (Sep 14, 2010)

'Time and Again' by Jack Finney

Time travel and a bit of romance, takes place in New York in the late 1800's.

http://www.amazon.com/Time-Again-Jack-Finney/dp/0684801051/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292006856&sr=8-1

One of my favorites.


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## Erick Flaig (Oct 25, 2010)

Wow.  I really appreciate this thread!  I've read a number of these, and with my new, almost-empty Kindle, this will be a great list to fill up on.  I've always had a hard time describing what I'm looking to read, and what I've written, and I think most of these hit the mark.  Thanks!


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## Lalalaconnectthedots (Dec 5, 2010)

nmg222 said:


> 'Time and Again' by Jack Finney
> 
> Time travel and a bit of romance, takes place in New York in the late 1800's.
> 
> ...


I have looked at his numerous times. I don't know what's kept me from reading it. I need to check this one out.



Erick Flaig said:


> Wow. I really appreciate this thread! I've read a number of these, and with my new, almost-empty Kindle, this will be a great list to fill up on. I've always had a hard time describing what I'm looking to read, and what I've written, and I think most of these hit the mark. Thanks!


Isn't it fabulous?


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## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

I second the Alice Hoffman rec. I just finished _The River King_. I love her subtle use of supernatural phenomena like ghosts to enrich the emotional depth of her stories. Very poetic writer who creates compelling characters and makes my everyday life feel a bit magical whenever I read her writing.

Also, when I read your initial post, I thought of Joyce Carol Oates's Bloodsmoor Romance 1ST Edition. Oates wrote this strange, surrealistic story about the five daughters of a crazy inventor and their various adventures. It's set in the United States during the Victorian era. One gets abducted by a man with in a black balloon, one ends up becoming a famous actress who gets involved with a dandified Mark Twain, one helps her father invent things . . . Oates's tone is darkly sarcastic and imitates Victorian writers' dense, descriptive wording throughout the book, a combination of steampunk/comedy of manners/parody/adventure story. I've never read anything quite like it. Of course, it's not on Kindle--she wrote it back in 1982. And I notice there's not a good book description on Amazon either.


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## Five String (Jun 6, 2010)

This thread is a bit rarefied/specific for me, but I had to weigh in with one of the best time travel books I ever read, Timeline, by Michael Crichton. Alas, no romance of the Indy/Marian etc. type, except inferentially when one of female characters turns up pregnant in the epilogue. Also, it may be too pseudo-scientific fvor the original poster's taste. 

I liked it because it confirmed my admittedly vernacular view of medieval European history, something like heavily armed private gangbanger armies in feuds over real or imagined slights because, well, they just grooved on that.


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## tbrookside (Nov 4, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> My second, also by Stirling, is a Steampunk, post-apocalyptic novel set about 15 years in the future in an India where a meteor swarm hit the earth in the Victorian era. its very much character and culturally based and I favorite of mine:


I hadn't given _The Peshawar Lancers_ a chance, mainly because I saw a short story set in that universe in an anthology and didn't care for it. Do you think it matches up with the _Island in the Sea of Time_ series in quality terms?


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

tbrookside said:


> I hadn't given _The Peshawar Lancers_ a chance, mainly because I saw a short story set in that universe in an anthology and didn't care for it. Do you think it matches up with the _Island in the Sea of Time_ series in quality terms?


In complexity I wish it was a trilogy and not a single novel, but the societal details are probably more complex in this one than in _Island_. The ending is a bit too tidy for my tastes, but as you know from Stirling's other books, he does like to tie of all the loose ends while leaving room for a sequel.


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## Alessandra Kelley (Feb 22, 2011)

This is _Shades of Milk and Honey_ by Mary Robinette Kowal:


It's the first book in a series of Jane Austen-type fantasy regency romances. The MC is a magically talented but plain young woman who has lost hope for a suitor but has an extraordinarily beautiful younger sister who has high hopes. The magic is a sort of artistic glamour-weaving, and an integral part of the story.


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## Nancy Beck (Jul 1, 2011)

Thalia the Muse said:


> This book was written especially for you! Time travel, England, magicians (an Egyptian magician), romance but not too gushy and it's not the main point of the book, AND fabulously entertaining:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I read the Anubis Gates years ago, and while I found it fascinating enough to finish it (you know there's a "but" coming ), I kept getting things mixed up in my mind. There is A LOT going on in that story, lol, but it's not one of my faves.

Crocodile on the Sandbank was my intro to Elizabeth Peters - archeology (yum!), Victorian-era woman who is not a simpering idiot (yum!) - oh, that was a fun one. Also read another in that long series, but I have yet to get back to it. (Too many books, not enough time. )

Didn't care for Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell for some reason, and I thought it would be right up my alley - I like all things history, even faux history, with all the footnotes. I'm wondering if I should try it again.

I have The Magicians in my Wishlist - thanks to all who recommended it. I think I also might try Tamsin.

Great thread! I'll be like Oliver Twist and ask - "Can I have some more?"  Because the ebooks I have right now, save one, just aren't saying "read me" all that much.


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## Nancy Beck (Jul 1, 2011)

purplepen79 said:


> Also, when I read your initial post, I thought of Joyce Carol Oates's Bloodsmoor Romance 1ST Edition. Oates wrote this strange, surrealistic story about the five daughters of a crazy inventor and their various adventures. It's set in the United States during the Victorian era. One gets abducted by a man with in a black balloon, one ends up becoming a famous actress who gets involved with a dandified Mark Twain, one helps her father invent things . . . Oates's tone is darkly sarcastic and imitates Victorian writers' dense, descriptive wording throughout the book, a combination of steampunk/comedy of manners/parody/adventure story. I've never read anything quite like it. Of course, it's not on Kindle--she wrote it back in 1982. And I notice there's not a good book description on Amazon either.


Actually, it IS on Kindle:



And it's on my Wishlist. Love gothic romances!


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## Alessandra Kelley (Feb 22, 2011)

I also recommend Infernal Devices, by K.W. Jeter.

_Technically_ it is the first steampunk novel, since Jeter himself coined the term "steampunk" in 1987 to describe it.

Practically speaking, it is a mad, weird, brilliantly funny fantasy of a rather unlikeable Victorian young man who has inherited his father's watchmaker business and a whole lot of trouble.


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## Nancy Beck (Jul 1, 2011)

nmg222 said:


> 'Time and Again' by Jack Finney
> 
> Time travel and a bit of romance, takes place in New York in the late 1800's.
> 
> ...


OMG, how did I forget this one! One of my favorites of all time.  Read it back in the 1970s, then finally bought the DTB version a few years ago before it (recently) became enKindled.


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Rhynedahll said:


> I'd like to reccomend Robert A. Heinlein's _The Door into Summer_ but like a lot of older genre fiction, its not available on Kindle.
> 
> The book has time travel, romance, and house cleaning robots. Oh, and a time traveling cat.


Second that.

And also Asimov's The End of Eternity, which has no cat but pretty good romance, and is in general a great read.


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## lindnet (Jan 25, 2009)

I figured I would already see this one on the list. One of my very favorite books of all time, and I don't usually read this genre.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

M. G. Scarsbrook said:


> For historical fiction set in Victorian England, you should take a look at Wilkie Collins (you said you liked Dickens -- well, he was Dicken's best friend!). His two novels THE WOMAN IN WHITE and THE MOONSTONE are absolute classics of mystery and suspense. He also utilizes the epistolary style, made famous in books like DRACULA.


I'll second this in spades. A great writer who most people know of but not nearly enough have read.


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## Ancient Lawyer (Jul 1, 2013)

Tony Richards said:


> I'll second this in spades. A great writer who most people know of but not nearly enough have read.


Collins is pretty amazing - he was a Victorian feminist and makes an interesting contrast with Dickens. 'The Woman in White' is amazing, and has parallels with Jane Eyre. A lot of people say that 'The Moonstone' was one of the first detective stories.

Suzanna Clarke's book (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell) is being dramatised for TV in the UK (and presumably the States).

I personally can't get enough of Historical Whoopty-Do  . My all time favourite is 'The House on the Strand' by Daphne du Maurier, which is a mixture of time-travel into the past and a thriller.


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## josephdevon (Feb 6, 2014)

I just need to say that I continue to visit this thread both for the recommendations and just because the thread's title tickles me every single time.


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## Alessandra Kelley (Feb 22, 2011)

josephdevon said:


> I just need to say that I continue to visit this thread both for the recommendations and just because the thread's title tickles me every single time.


Me too. This is one of my favorite thread titles on the site.


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Alessandra Kelley said:


> Me too. This is one of my favorite thread titles on the site.


For some reason, it's the "t" in the Whoopty that really brings it home.


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