Historical fantasy- one of the fantasy subgenres, considered the most believable and close to reality kind of fantasy, often implies real or, but with elements of magic. This section can be like love historical fantasy novels, and harsh or even books with elements of a detective story. After all, this direction does not have a rigid framework, it only determines the surroundings of the books, but not the plot.

Features of books in the genre in 2019

Historical fantasy is characterized by works whose actions unfold in real life. Can be played up as well-known historical events, and just certain eras. Heroes are different: historical figures, or fictional characters, men or women - anything is possible. And if the plot in the books of historical fantasy can be from love to military, then the fantasy component has a certain framework: it is here in limited quantities, often merges with because of its insignificance. However, there are exceptions where strong magicians and shamans are not idle, and the earth is trampled in addition to people. And they also read historical fantasy together with "" or: for example, the hero moves into the past and begins to change it.

Another feature of the subgenre is historical authenticity. Unlike, where the author is free to compose whatever comes to mind, in historical fantasy novels, attention is paid to realism. Sometimes this means cruelty and bloodiness, and sometimes, on the contrary, it elevates the romance of past centuries. Not every author is strong in this direction, but successful works are worth their weight in gold here.

In the section "Historical Fantasy" you can find real gems of the genre for every taste. Our functionality allows you to view list of books as by popularity and by novelty, but you can sort the books by most comments.

Do not forget that it depends on your activity which works will be in the top of the genre! Your likes, reposts and comments the books you like not only motivate the author to work harder on the work, but also attract new readers.

• The Balkans ... Unknown, amazingly beautiful and harsh at the same time. The pole of power, where rivers of blood have flowed for many centuries. The cycle of legends of Vuk of Transdanubia "Balkan crown" takes us to the cruel and unusually bright world of the fantastic Balkans. Incredible circumstances of the Battle of Kosovo and the fall of Constantinople. Prince Milos Obilic, who conquered fate itself in an unequal battle, and the warlock Sultan Bayazid. The sinister Wallachian ruler Vlad, nicknamed Dracula, and a monk who went into the wall of the Hagia Sophia. The curse of the royal dynasty of Nemanichs and the Iron Lame Tamerlane, who turned his hordes, and at the same time the whole course of history, because of ordinary sleep - is it just ordinary? Ghouls-janissaries and an unclean spirit that possessed the king of the Macedonians. And also vampires of all stripes, werewolves, beautiful pitchforks and soldiers of peacekeeping contingents come from here. The mystical Balkans turn out to be prohibitively real. This is a world where people are ruled by inhuman passions and where a miracle is not a luxury, but a means of survival.
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• XI century A.D. e. The Tmutarakan principality, this southern outpost of Russia in the middle of the Wild Field, is surrounded by enemies on all sides - the predatory Khazars, the Pechenegs, the Kasogs, the Varangians, and the powerful Byzantine Empire sharpen their teeth on it. But the most dangerous of all is the internal strife between the first Christians and pagans who remained faithful to the Father's faith. And although after the bloody Baptism of the Magi outlawed in Russia, the messengers of the Light Gods rush to help Prince Mstislav the Brave to reveal to him main secret Veles's temple and find the one who gives the Force, the owner of which will defeat any enemies. But the path to the innermost sanctuary is guarded by Khazar ambushes and hired assassins, black Tsargrad magic and countless hordes of steppe ...
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• “The cold shackles not only the body, but also the brains. I'm used to thinking in any situation, even when I shouldn't. But now it doesn’t work. Any attempt to think is cut short by the tinny word “cold”. I, clutching a piece of clothing, like a beloved woman, drift with him among high waves... They smoothly, carefully understand and lower me, raise and lower me. Lulling them makes you want to fall asleep. I chase my sleep, trying to think of something warm. The attempt is immediately stopped by the word "cold". Oddly enough, I feel cold only with my ears, nose, cheeks, lips. The latter were brought together so that he could not call for help. The rest of the head does not freeze. Maybe because he used to go without a headdress in winter. And the body does not freeze. Even the part of him that is above the water. I try to keep as much of my body as possible above the water. It seems warmer in water, but in fact it sucks heat more intensely. Shipwreck statistics show that those less submerged are more likely to survive. And who fights to the end. I am still struggling, even though I cannot think ... "
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• “At Christmas, news reached us that King Stephen had been exchanged for the Earl of Gloucester, and at Westminster the synod again recognized him as King of England. Those who would fight on the side of Empress Matilda were threatened with excommunication. I could not understand whether I should be happy about this news or not. I am a small fry, the church will not particularly persecute me, even if I decide to fight on the side of the empress. After all, I will do this on the orders of my lord. From him and the demand. And Ranulf de Gernon, Earl of Chester, is still a goose. Wherever you sit down, you get down there. However, in winter, no one fought with anyone. King Stephen was sick. Dungeon and shackles are bad for health. Empress Matilda and her brother Robert of Gloucester, too, were not eager to fight, did not want to be beaten again by William of Ypres, whom King Stephen made the Earl of Kent as a reward for his release from captivity ... "
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Fantasy, as one of the most popular literary genres, has many directions and branches.... For example, there is such an entertaining subgenre as historical fantasy.

What is this direction?

In historical fantasy, the realities of our past are closely intertwined with fiction and fantasy. In such works, the magical and fantastic aspects of reality are for the characters something mundane, everyday.... In such worlds, goblin and aquatic, elves and gnomes really live, the wise men have real witchcraft, and alchemists create living homunculi in test tubes.

The authors of historical fantasy, as a rule, talk about the fact that all this really existed in the past, and is not a product of human fantasy.... If all this was real, then where did the magic and mythical creatures go?

There are several possible answers to this question:

• The development of rational thinking, logic, the progress of science and technology killed the belief in the supernatural, and it disappeared, ceasing to receive nourishment in human faith.
• All this rationality, sciences, progress were specially created by some secret order, an organization of technocrats who sought to destroy all magic, spirits and magical creatures.
• Magic, spirits, ghosts exist even now, only they have hidden from the inhabitants, are in deep underground, only the initiated know about all this.

It should be noted that the most common concept of historical fantasy is a plot version in which the book is based on real event, which took place in the past, but it is transferred to a fictional world... The second option is the opposite - in the realities of the past, events occur that actually did not exist, or about which there is practically no information. In both cases, it would be more correct to call this direction pseudo-historical fantasy.

The most striking examples of historical fantasy:

1. , cycle;
2. , cycle;
3. Guy Gavriel Kay's Song for Arbonne;
4. , cycle.

The second half of the 18th century, the conquest of the eastern lands by the Cossacks is in full swing. Ermak's army includes a hundred under the leadership of the brave and daring ataman Ivan Yegorov. Cossack troops attack the Siberian Khanate and, having defeated the hordes of Khan Kuchum, successfully advanced deep into the country, capturing rich cities. But here Legends among local residents reach Ivan, which tell about the land of eternal summer, located in the upper reaches of the Ob River. Formidable dragons live there, ruled by evil sorcerers, who have a lot of gold hidden away.... And then Ivan, together with his hundred, leaves the army of Ermak and sets off in search of a fabulous country.

Nadezhda Popova "The Path of Death"

We find ourselves in Cologne, Germany, at the end of the 14th century. There is peace and quiet here, the Inquisition has dealt with its enemies long ago, and only occasionally minor incidents happen. A young and ambitious inquisitor named Kurt Hesse is transferred to this district. He's been bored here for a long time, until his tenacious mind does not grasp at one insignificant event at first glance - a student of the University of Cologne died in a dream. Trying to find out something about this case, Kurt plunges into the thick of things, in which student lads, the university leadership and even the highest nobility are involved.

Welcome to our site! Here we have collected the best examples of historical fantasy to brighten up your leisure time.

Historical fantasy- one of the fantasy subgenres, considered the most believable and close to reality kind of fantasy, often implies real or, but with elements of magic. This section can be like love historical fantasy novels, and harsh or even books with elements of a detective story. After all, this direction does not have a rigid framework, it only determines the surroundings of the books, but not the plot.

Features of books in the genre in 2019

Historical fantasy is characterized by works whose actions unfold in real life. Can be played up as well-known historical events, and just certain eras. Heroes are different: historical figures, or fictional characters, men or women - anything is possible. And if the plot in the books of historical fantasy can be from love to military, then the fantasy component has a certain framework: it is here in limited quantities, often merges with because of its insignificance. However, there are exceptions where strong magicians and shamans are not idle, and the earth is trampled in addition to people. And they also read historical fantasy together with "" or: for example, the hero moves into the past and begins to change it.

Another feature of the subgenre is historical authenticity. Unlike, where the author is free to compose whatever comes to mind, in historical fantasy novels, attention is paid to realism. Sometimes this means cruelty and bloodiness, and sometimes, on the contrary, it elevates the romance of past centuries. Not every author is strong in this direction, but successful works are worth their weight in gold here.

In the section "Historical Fantasy" you can find real gems of the genre for every taste. Our functionality allows you to view list of books as by popularity and by novelty, but you can sort the books by most comments.

Do not forget that it depends on your activity which works will be in the top of the genre! Your likes, reposts and comments the books you like not only motivate the author to work harder on the work, but also attract new readers.

Our contemporaries, tourists, rafting in a merry campaign along the Ural river Kuive, as part of a "weekend tour", find themselves in the middle of the 16th century. In the same place, on the river Kuive, on the border of the Stroganov lands, but several years before Yermak's campaign to conquer Siberia. Part of the campaign decides to get to Moscow, believing that only there they will be able to apply their knowledge with due success. These optimists hope to take their rightful place in Russia, or in Europe, if they are lucky.

One princess, two northerners and a mercenary southerner. Each has its own life, its own goals and its own truth, but the borderlands brought them together, defining the path through the war-torn country, adding necromancers with the dead for speed and letting them go on their heels for confidence Secret Chancery... Yes, and the childhood dream that she met, it turned out, has its own uneasy, icy character and does not at all need the romantic feelings of the young princess. And what remains? Dreaming of custard cake, choking on a northerners' dry ration, or of a lace dress sinking knee-deep into a swamp? And also hope that the northern relatives of the grandfather, who must be reached, will accept their southern relative and will not drive them away.

Well, how can you do without the popes in today's time? Judging by our literature, it is they who are the engine of science, progress and human relations. It is to them that we owe everything that happens around - one of them told Stalin about the atomic bomb, and suggested how to win the war, someone brought homeless Varangians to their homelands in time, who taught stupid barbarians life, and someone stopped the invasion evil aliens.

This book, as it should be according to the laws of the genre, is not an exception, the heroes, together with the GG, will teach their ignorant ancestors new technologies, industries, find free lands and create their own state, which will provide all-round support to their ancestors and help them defeat their enemies, completely changing the existing history ...

Could Alice, embarking on a journey, have imagined that fate would carry her from our time to ancient Russia XI century? What should a girl do and how to survive among the Slavic ancestors? Our heroine will not only make a leap in time, but also visit the court Of the Kiev prince, learns all the intricacies of internecine wars and finds love. But the most difficult thing for Alice will be to make a choice that will affect not only her happiness, but also the lives of many people.

True love separation, distance, or even death are not terrible. But can she overcome the centuries?

IN works of art usually tells about the life and adventures of the protagonist. You won't find that here. Here you will find a story about the life of entire states. Probably, it is difficult to find another such person who would have such an influence on modern world like Genghis Khan. And what would have happened if he had died what is called takeoff? This is what will be discussed in this work. Which would be more correctly called a timeline. It is also worth mentioning that when I was writing this work, I did not have any result that I needed to reach. When compiling the timeline, the random number generator was used as much as possible. And the result can be called completely random. And this is far from the result. Continuation will surely follow.

1582 year. Ataman of a dashing hundreds, Ivan Yegorov, son of Eremeev, as part of Ermak's army, sets off to conquer the Siberian Khanate. The troops of Khan Kuchum were defeated, the rich cities of Kashlyk and Chingi-Tura were taken and plundered, the Cossacks are fighting to break through to the Ob ... And here Ivan and Yermak's paths diverge: the young chieftain learns from local residents about the existence of a country somewhere in the upper reaches of the Ob eternal summer and terrible dragons, whose masters - the evil sorcerers sir-cha - possess a myriad of gold ...

Fry Wensley is a young pastor who, by the will of fate, on the first day of ordination, is offered to be a priest in a lucrative parish. They just forget to mention that the area is cursed, an ancient evil lurked in the old castle, ready to rebel and kill all living things. But the young gentleman does not yet know about this, and how much he will have to endure before realizing his destiny as an exorcist. Good old England keeps many legends and superstitions. There is a lady in a ghostly carriage, with a headless coachman, and nimble brownies hurrying to help, and also a mysterious stranger with a heap of secrets, and in a straw hat. And also mystical enemies and kind-hearted inhabitants of Darkwoods, and how to stay here a normal person?

Historical fantasy opens not only new worlds, but also new times

Such a genre as historical fantasy appeared a long time ago. Seriously speaking, almost all books about past eras can be called fantasy, because we will never know how everything really was.

However, historical fiction allows us to imagine what this or that era was, avoiding scientific stinginess and callousness, weaving a magical and even fabulous element into the historical narrative. We bring to your attention the best historical novels written in the fantasy genre. They will make you not only worry, reflect, but also help you learn something new about world and native history.

We read Russian science fiction

Modern Russian science fiction has rich and strong roots, thanks to which even young authors write interestingly, informatively, at their best. Such qualities are possessed by and. Her historical romance with fantasy elements "Found" has gained considerable popularity. You can read the book online on our website. The novel takes the reader into the harsh, mysterious world of Ancient Russia.

On the throne is the famous prince-baptist Vladimir, nicknamed by his subjects the Red Sun. After his death, a fratricidal war begins, the goal of which is the Kiev throne, the capital and power over the entire empire. In this battle, the simple warrior Goryaser and the songstress Nayden are involved. Mysterious events do not allow them to move away from the turmoil. How will it end for ordinary people princes battle?

About the history of entire nations

One of the more interesting historical fantasy novels is written in the timeline style. The book "The World of the Perished Genghis Khan" tells about the period when the Tatar yoke almost completely swept over Europe. Only the story in this novel will not be about individual people, but about entire states and peoples. As if from a bird's eye view, the reader will be able to see Europe of that time, the advance of the Tatar troops, the history of the great conquest and the great retreat... This novel deserves special attention, it will allow you to better understand an important era in Russian history.

About the conquest of Siberia

The book was written by Andrey Postnyakov at the junction of the genres of fantasy and the historical novel, there are also elements of a detective story. The reader will definitely not get bored reading it.

The main character of the novel is Ivan Egorov, the chieftain. He goes on a campaign to the Siberian lands with Yermak himself. Not everything is so simple in this campaign, especially when you consider the mysterious events that one after another haunt the hero. It turns out that Siberia is not only endless forests, swamps and cold weather. Somewhere here there is a lost land of eternal summer, where powerful dragons still live. They are ruled by sorcerers who have accumulated a lot of gold over so many years of dragon ownership. Rampant Cossack heads have a place to roam.

The author tried and combined the actual chronicles of the conquest of Siberia with creative fiction, folk tales, legends, Siberian folklore. From such use different sources the plot acquires relief, alluring volume, you can plunge into it and not notice how the novel has come to an end. Of course, an experienced historian will tell the difference between fiction and the true course of events, but it will sometimes be difficult for the average reader to understand where the fiction is. This fantasy book can be read on our website.

Our virtual library contains an excellent collection of books written at the intersection of the genres of science fiction and historical novels. You can easily read historical fantasy online on our website in a format convenient for you. A world of exciting adventures from the past awaits you!