This break I've been reading all of the novels by Donna Tart and Madeline Miller, and, altough I have issues with the pacing in The Goldfinch and in Circe, both of those authors are among the best working right know, they have beautiful writing and most of all they show that they know their topics. Who else would you add to the group?
Please no Dan Brown, I got sick of the boilerplate plot and innacurate art and history facts by the middle of the 4th book.
by nightsreader
13 Comments
Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman
The art of the deal
How about Barbara Kingsolver? I’d put her in the same category as Donna Tartt. Literary fiction, beautifully written, realistic characters and compelling stories that are very well researched. Demon Copperhead was the one that got me started on her.
Try “The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert!
If you liked Circe, you’ll love A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes.
The audibook is read by the authoer and is superb.
Moby-Dick.
Currently reading “The Antidote” by Karen Russell. She always blends the real world with magic and mythos. This book takes place in the part of Nebraska I grew up in and she has mentioned so many specific towns, landscapes, and local lore that I’m shocked she’s not a local herself.
Mary Doria Russell
Anything by Ken Follett. He does research to ensure historical accuracy.
Kate mosse
Jason Goodwin is a Byzantine historian who wrote a series of murder mysteries set in Ottoman Istanbul.
Elizabeth Peters had a doctorate in Egyptology, and her Amelia Peabody mysteries are fun.
A lot of sci fi is written by authors who are scientists, programmers, etc. Andy Weir, Arthur Clarke, Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, etc.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel – she researched like crazy to try and keep the book as accurate as possible (it’s still historical fiction, but well researched and very detailed!)
Patrick O’Brian’s Master & Commander series is meticulously researched and elegantly written. He spent many years scouring the Royal Navy archives of ships logs and reports. Imagine an ‘age of sail’ Napoleonic War swashbuckler as written by Jane Austen and you start to get close. 20 books of dry humor, eccentric characters, birdwatching, heavy drinking, furious battles, primitive surgery, drawing room banter, violin & cello duets, espionage, and scenic global travel. Plus so many artery destroying meals that a couple of superfans created a cookbook accompaniment to the series.