Mod post: theme suggestions

[damned_colonial]

Please suggest themes you'd like to see covered here! Cut and paste the following into a comment:

ETA: please put your theme in the subject of your comment!

Theme:
Are you prepared to run it? Yes/No
Suggested books, if you have them already:


What does it mean to run the theme?

1. At least one month in advance, you'll let everyone know about the theme and your suggested reading for it. You need to suggest at least 3 works of fiction.
2. On the first of the month, you will post a welcome/introduction/kickoff for the theme.
3. Throughout the month, you'll take an active part in discussion of the theme.

You do not have to be an expert on the theme to run it. You just need to have an interest in it.

Comments

[cofax7]

Okay!

Theme: Roman Britain
Run it: Um, sure.
Suggested books: Sutcliff (Eagle of the Ninth), Finney (The Crow Goddess), Bradshaw (Island of Ghosts), not sure what else. Is Finney even still in print? I'd have to look around to see what's available via Gutenberg. There's nothing available movie-wise that I'm comfortable with recommending.

This would explicitly be not an Arthurian thing, which I think of as more fantasy, but we could talk about the intersections with that myth, both within and external to the novels.

[holyschist]

Jack Whyte, maybe? His main series is Arthurian, but the first couple books are solidly Roman Britain, aside from the making of a certain sword, and they're not particularly mythical in tone (actually, I kind of got bored after the first couple).

[cofax7]

Yeah, I tried to read them and they really didn't work for me.

[tegels]

Hi there,

Just putting my oar in :-)

I would contest that Jack Whyte is 'solidly Roman' - he's more fantasy. He makes seemingly historical stuff up, so fits into the Arthurian fantasies quite neatly.

I also got bored with him after a couple of books :-)

[holyschist]

I think I read a couple of the more Roman ones, actually, and it's not my period of obsession. I also got bored after a couple books.

[damned_colonial]

Could we do Asterix too, just for fun?

[cofax7]

oooooh. Now that's an idea! Does Asterix go to Britain at some point? I've only read a very few of the comics, and that long ago.

[damned_colonial]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix_in_Britain

[damned_colonial]

mouseworks has also suggested a wider Roman theme here.

[tegels]

Rosemary Sutcliff's 'Sword at Sunset' has just been re-issued. It is Arthurian, but has a pretty good realistic setting. Other Roman books could include Simon Scarrow's 'Eagle ...' books (not sure how available they are in the US, though) I could dig up some more, if you want.