A secret history published in four volumes in the us was a long science fantasy epic that won the sidewise award for alternate history in 2000. Gentles framing device is wonderfully rendered and printed here, and i think it would be totally lost and defeated in the separatedintofourvolumes us edition. Yes i have read and accept the terms and conditions. This is an alternate history series and is set in the medieval burgandy. While the book itself is stamped fantasy on the spine, all the topics above apply at one time or another. If this book becomes a kindle unlimited book, get it. The wild machines ends with a twist which should prove to have very interesting consequences in the final book of the sequence. A secret history is a fantasy novel by british author mary gentle. Nov 23, 2015 ive read a number of alternative histories but struggle to think of any with a setting as creative as ash. Mary gentle project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Mary gentle first came to prominence with the lovingly conceived and beautifully written sf novel golden witchbreed.
Master and commander meets tamora pierce in a seafaring adventure of duty, love, magic, and a princesss quest to protect her kingdom on her own terms. It is also a work of literature that is very difficult, if not impossible, to categorize. I had not read anything by mary gentle before, so when i picked up ash. Ash, the largest single fantasy work ever longer even than the lord of the rings combines the authentic details of bernard cornwell and the magical storytelling of terry goodkind. This conference was prompted by the occurrence of 5 encounters between passenger jetliners with drifting clouds of volcanic ash from the 198990 eruptions of redoubt volcano in alaska. The complete series list for book of ash mary gentle. It is simultaneously historical fiction, alternate history, fantasy and science fiction. Gentles bestselling book ash is the largest single fantasy work ever. Dec 14, 2015 this was the arrival of ash a secret history notice the connection. The book of ash book series by mary gentle includes books a secret history, carthage ascendant, the wild machines, and several more. Mary gentle is an author of fantasy and science fiction, her first published novel was the 1977 young adult novel hawk in silver but it was the science fiction duology orthe that really brought her to prominence. Of course, gentle is herself moving into the endgame of the chronicle of ash and ratcliffes discoveries.
Read ash a secret history by mary gentle available from rakuten kobo. One of the most important and idiosyncratic contemporary british speculative fiction writers, mary gentle was born in 1956, and published her first novel, a hawk in silver, a young adult fantasy, in 1977. A secret history by mary gentle is an amazing book recounting several important months in the life of ash, a fictional medieval female mercenary captain who plays a key role in the fate of her world. Mary has two masters degrees, and is an expert sword fighter. A secret history, carthage ascendant, the wild machines, and lost burgundy. Ash has escaped from carthage, where she has learned about her own background and has begun to delve into the mysterious wild machines, the beings who are behind the voices which she and her twin, faris, can both hear. The virtues that she and her comrades show are not those treasured by much of the modern world. Id read and enjoyed other mary gentle books, so i picked the first volume up when i saw it in a used book store. Ostensibly its about ash, a girl whose ability to hear voices giving her military advice allows her to lead a troop of mercenaries in 15th century. The wild machines, the third book of the ash tetralogy by mary gentle, only covers a span of three days, but manages to include many pivotal changes in the series. Ash, it seems, is not only strong and fast but has the advantage of hearing a voice that instructs her on troop deployment.
The story follows ashs campaigns in leading her mercinary company of warriors. There is a book within the book, turning up every few chapters, that i gave up on very quickly and stopped reading. I knew that the story i was about to read was set in mediaeval europe, albeit not quite the historical europe we know today, and i knew that the main character was a woman mercenary leader named. For the beautiful young woman ash, life has always been arquebuses and artiller. Gentle has an ma in war studies, and has experience more about mary gentle. A secret history is the first quarter of mary gentles book of ash, published in one volume in the united kingdom. Ash ebook by mary gentle 9780575128767 rakuten kobo.
After a lifetime of training, seventeenyearold princess nile greysik, a lieutenant on the prestigious ashing navy flagship, sails into battle with one vital missionand fails. Ash a secret history can in many respects be regarded as mary gentles magnum opus, both in terms of volume a whopping 1100 pages and in terms of its ambition and scope. She won the sidewise award for alternate history in. Id liked it, but not got around to reading any more of her work. The female protagonist isnt the usual posing woman warrior of fantasy shes gritty and tough, and she makes flawed decisions in harsh circumstances. Mary gentle is one of the worlds most acclaimed writers of fantasy and science fiction. I found reading emails between a scholarauthor and an editor boring and annoying. The first is purported to be the modern translation of ashs autobiography. There was a book in his hands, illuminated in red and blue. A secret history book of ash by mary gentle book cover, description, publication history. It is filled with vivid and interesting details about medieval armor, weapons, tactics, warfare, politics, cultures, and the like, has plenty.
This is a huge book brick that the reader needs to swallow as a single piece. The woman warrior ash and her compatriots are some of the most compelling characters ive come across in a long time. A stunning read in many,many ways, i can no longer read the woman warrior in fiction without thinking of ash. Mary gentle is one of britains most outstanding writers of imaginative fiction, able to move seamlessly from science fiction to fantasy within the same story. I think its something a lot of people here would dig especially those of you into the hybridcrossover genres of fantasy and im curious if many people have. A secret history an excellent fantasy novel by uk author mary gentle. Mary gentle lagger i sitt forfattarskap inte sa mycket tonvikten vid snabb, rastlos action. Ash might have made the text out with enough time to spell it letter by letter. This acclaimed book by mary gentle is available at in several formats for your ereader. A secret history is a 2001 fantasy alternate history historical fiction science fiction novel by mary gentle. She writes the orthe duology, book of ash, and other series.
Author of ilario, the lions eye, golden witchbreed, rats and gargoyles, ash, scholars and soldiers, ash, scholars and soldiers, a sundial in a grave1610 mary gentle open library donate. Her main character is ash, who seems to be based on the joan of arc type character. As part of her research for this novel, she acquired a masters in war studies. Mary gentle has an ma in military studies, and this is a wellresearched story of latemedieval warfare, modernday scholarship, and crazy speculative physics.
The book of ash novel series written by mary gentle is comprised of four books in total, which were released between the years 1999 and 2000. For the beautiful young woman ash, life has always been arquebuses and artillery, swords and armour and the true horrors of handtohand combat. Gentle has an ma in war studies, and has experience with swordfighting and armor. She won the sidewise award for alternate history in 2000 for the science fiction epic ash.
Mary gentle obviously has an elegant grasp of both the actual history of the region and its personalities, and the nuances of the changes she wrought upon that canvas, and the result is a fantastical europe that feels far more alive. I spent a while in the first half of the book trying to decide if it felt more like historical fiction with elements of fantasy or fantasy with a veneer of historical fiction, before reaching the point where i was so immersed that i realised it didnt feel like. Mary gentle is a famous novelist from the united kingdom, who is popular for writing fantasy and science fiction novels. Mary gentle finished her first novel at the tender age of 15.
In the 4 part book of ash series, mary gentle concocted an amazing blend of historic detail and quantum physics consequences. What makes this novel special is the 15th century environment mary gentle has placed the reader in. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. A secret history is a fantasy novel by british author mary gentle, published in 2000.
She has also written a number of erotic novels under the name roxanne morgan. A secret history, the first of the four books of ash, is difficult to categorize. The debut novel of this series is entitled a secret history. She was born on march 29, 1956 as mary rosalyn gentle in eastbourne, sussex.
Jul 27, 2008 ash a secret history can in many respects be regarded as mary gentles magnum opus, both in terms of volume a whopping 1100 pages and in terms of its ambition and scope. A secret history book of ash by mary gentle fantastic fiction. Ash is a young teenager, living in mercenary army camps at the end of the 15th century. It opens with rape and death, and continues to look unflinchingly at medieval life and medieval war. The story follows a 15thcentury female mercenary captain, ash, as she gets involved in literally worldchanging events. Gentle formed part of the midnight rose collective in the early 1990s. For the beautiful young woman ash, life has always been arquebuses and artillery, swords and armour and the true horrors. Mary gentle was born in 1956 and is one of the most highly praised writers of fantasy and science fiction. Gentle s framing device is wonderfully rendered and printed here, and i think it would be totally lost and defeated in the separatedintofourvolumes us edition. I have enjoyed some of her other books, but not this one. This series is a parallel tale of a fifteenthcentury female mercenary captain, ash, and a twentiethcentury scholar, pierce ratcliff, who has discovered a new manuscript about her life and hopes to prove that european history did not occur in the manner generally accepted.
That sudden disappearance of burgundy from history is the historical seed for ash. In unflinching prose, gentle describes the childs treatment in a mens camp, then the teenagers hard lessons in the art and craft of war, and finally the young womans rise to command a mercenary army. This was the arrival of ash a secret history notice the connection. Aug 20, 2015 that sudden disappearance of burgundy from history is the historical seed for ash. The primary storytext in the book is the story of ash, a female mercenary captain living in 15th century europe. Mar 31, 2017 author of ilario, the lions eye, golden witchbreed, rats and gargoyles, ash, scholars and soldiers, ash, scholars and soldiers, a sundial in a grave1610 mary gentle open library donate. Gentle has since published ilario, set in the same timeline. The novel describes the life of ash, a joan of arclike mercenary leader.
See the complete book of ash series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles. A secret history im currently working my way through gentles ash, this huge, intense thing that mixes some gritty fantasy, secret histories, and golems into it. She first gained major critical attention with her orthe sequence, an sf planetary romance made up of golden witchbreed 1983. Gentle, i hope, has never actually murdered anybody. Mary gentle made her debut as a novelist in 1977 with the standalone novel a hawk in silver. Mary gentle keeps it interesting, even though ash is at her best when shes hacking and slashing, not hunkering down behind city. Gentle uses secret history, alternate history, and the moldability of history to explore a 15th century that wasnt but perhaps once was. Set in the 15th century, the novel blends elements of fantasy, alternate history, and secret history. A secret history is a book that proceeds along two lines. She starts hearing voices in her head, giving her tactical advice on battlefield situations. Mary gentle is an english author of science fiction and fantasy novels. Recently discovered after centuries hidden away, it reads in story format i.
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