1. Nadine

    Nadine New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2010
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    Leeds, England

    Best book for battle scenes

    Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by Nadine, Feb 15, 2011.

    Hey people

    Has anyone got any recommended for any books/novels that have great battle scenes (hand to hand, guns and swords)?
    I have already read David Gemmell's Legend.
     
  2. art

    art Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2010
    Messages:
    1,153
    Likes Received:
    117
    Not a work of fiction, but for insight into what battle means for those doing, rather than directing, the fighting, I would suggest you take a look at John Keegan's excellent The Face of Battle. It covers the experience of the common soldier at Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme (if I remember).
     
  3. Acanthophis

    Acanthophis ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2011
    Messages:
    606
    Likes Received:
    340
    Location:
    Canada
    If you're looking for intense action, try reading anything by Matthew Reilly. No swords, but any type of action you can think of, he has written. I may have exaggerated a little.:p
     
  4. Porcupine

    Porcupine Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2011
    Messages:
    346
    Likes Received:
    21
    Location:
    Frankfurt, Germany
    I like to think that I am quite good at writing battle scenes myself, it's probably one of the things I like writing most. :) Unfortunately, that doesn't exactly help you right now. :D

    The scenes in the Hornblower series by C.S. Forester are very good, but that is mostly either naval combat or hand-to-hand during boarding.

    A word of advice, from my own experience - if you have sufficient imagination and intelligence, you can write very good small-scale battle scenes even without much experience or research. But I wouldn't recommend writing a detailed account of a large battle without intense study (and better yet, experience) of tactics. Realism will suffer drastically.
     
  5. Elgaisma

    Elgaisma Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2010
    Messages:
    5,319
    Likes Received:
    97
    My experience and don't laugh but I advise typing how to write romance or sex scenes into google (as long as you of such an age to read them lol) My fight and battle scenes improved no end when I realised the basics of a good sex scene were transferable - how to incorporate the senses, the action and feelings and communicate it on a personal level.

    I really like the ones in Narnia - Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian etc
     
  6. FictionAddict

    FictionAddict New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2011
    Messages:
    122
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    I'm from Holland
    Bernard Cornwell is the man! He writes intense battle scenes, detailed. Sometimes they're told from the perspective of the soldier, others by the king/strategist of the battle.

    I strongly recomend the The Saxon Stories (The Last Kindom, The Pale Horseman, The Lords of the North, Sword Song and The Burning Land), but Azincourt is very good too.
     
  7. w176

    w176 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2010
    Messages:
    1,064
    Likes Received:
    52
    Location:
    Luleå, Sweden
    Andrzej Sapkowski is my favorite author when it comes to action. He is a rare juvel. he is a fantasy writer, who write heroic fantasy,,, But really really can both write (4 reals!) and tell a story. His Witcher series (yes, the books the compyter game was based on) is worth reading, for many more reason then the action scenes. Hes also a master of dialog.

    And I think GRR Martin in worth a mention. In his booksl, pain really hurts.
     
  8. Porcupine

    Porcupine Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2011
    Messages:
    346
    Likes Received:
    21
    Location:
    Frankfurt, Germany
    I've never thought about it like that, but now that you mention it, I think you may have a point. I'll try going the opposite way, and transfer the way I write battle scenes to sex scenes and see what comes out. :)
     
  9. w176

    w176 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2010
    Messages:
    1,064
    Likes Received:
    52
    Location:
    Luleå, Sweden
    Yeah. It all about making it more then a blow by blow encounter in both cases.
     
  10. Elgaisma

    Elgaisma Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2010
    Messages:
    5,319
    Likes Received:
    97
    LOL that depends on the sex scene :) Its not exactly a sex scene but I have one where my MC has been cheating on his lover, lover comes back and what begins with a kiss ends with with a punch up. Its not large scale battle, but personally I think large scale battles are better when you take the small scale, play on the characters and make it bigger. Like which character loses his head, which one is playing with his crufix, who is screaming come on you I'll get you, which one is screaming Mummy. What are they reading inside the tank etc

    Best visual I can think of is Captain Jack/Captain John if you find the scene on youtube - it was where my inspiration came from. It shows what I mean where the tension is passionate and angry.
     
  11. guamyankee

    guamyankee Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2011
    Messages:
    474
    Likes Received:
    15
    Location:
    Tacoma, Washington
    I've always thought R.A. Salvatore was pretty good at sword play description.
     
  12. Porcupine

    Porcupine Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2011
    Messages:
    346
    Likes Received:
    21
    Location:
    Frankfurt, Germany
    That's pretty much what I meant, but you phrased it better than I did. You can get away with realistic large battles by reducing the horizon of the observer, and only describing what they can see in their immediate vicinity.

    Another way to get believable large battles, particularly if you are trying to describe it from the commander's point of view, is to twist circumstances to increase the "fog of war", as it were. A night ambush, or fighting in tight surroundings (buildings, space stations, tunnels etc.) is much easier to describe well than a daylight set-piece battle, where you would have to take (complex) tactics into account.

    At least, that's the way it has been for me, and I have done all of the above. :)
     
  13. Sabreur

    Sabreur Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2008
    Messages:
    1,119
    Likes Received:
    39
    Location:
    At the combination pizza hut and taco bell
    George RR Martin and Aaron Dembski-Bowden are my favorites.
     
  14. Unit7

    Unit7 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2009
    Messages:
    1,148
    Likes Received:
    61
    Definitely agree with this. R.A. Salvatore adds plenty of fight scenes within his Drizzt series. Everything from small skirmishes, to fighting dragons, to large scale battles between two large armies.
     
  15. hawky94

    hawky94 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2011
    Messages:
    173
    Likes Received:
    8
    Location:
    New Brunswick, Canada
    I'd read Chris Ryan - The One that Got Away for some modern battle scenes. Gulf War era.
     
  16. w176

    w176 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2010
    Messages:
    1,064
    Likes Received:
    52
    Location:
    Luleå, Sweden
    All of you promoting Salvator should really read the Witcher books. It the same type of story, same type of hero, but where Salvatore can pace action scenes and tell a adventure story, Sapkowski outdoes him, by strides, and is a -good- writer. Not merely an entertaining one.
     
  17. Sabreur

    Sabreur Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2008
    Messages:
    1,119
    Likes Received:
    39
    Location:
    At the combination pizza hut and taco bell
    Wasn't aware they were translated into English. Are the translations faithful to the original (Polish, correct?)
     
  18. w176

    w176 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2010
    Messages:
    1,064
    Likes Received:
    52
    Location:
    Luleå, Sweden
    Some of them are. Then there were some sort of legal issue... *growls*

    I read the English version, can't speak Polish. The translation is excellent, he using a very straightforward, direct and almost Steinbeckish language, hence I believe very little has been lost in translation.

    I recommend beginning with his short story collection (Geralt the main characters out on diffrent missions, each mission a story of it own yet part of a overall story). "The Last Wish" who have been translated to English.
     
  19. guamyankee

    guamyankee Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2011
    Messages:
    474
    Likes Received:
    15
    Location:
    Tacoma, Washington
    Noted!
     
  20. Nadine

    Nadine New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2010
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    Leeds, England
    Thank you everyone I better start reading as many of your suggestions as I can lol
     
  21. ENJOY

    ENJOY Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2010
    Messages:
    57
    Likes Received:
    0
    Read the other David Gemmel ones. Troy has some of the best fight scenes around. Also I'm in the middle of reading this book called The dwarves and its sequel The war of the dwarves these have great fight scenes and good plots.
     
  22. TWErvin2

    TWErvin2 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2006
    Messages:
    3,374
    Likes Received:
    1,629
    Location:
    Ohio, USA
    Large Scale and Smaller Battle Scenes, you might try Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicle's of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever

    For combat, individual and fantasy military, try Steven Brust's Dragon.

    For guns combined with swords, try Roger Zelazny's The Guns of Avalon.

    My novel, Flank Hawk, has mideval weaponry, magic, and firearms--muzzle loaders and Panzers on the battlefield.

    Terry
     
  23. HarleyQuinn

    HarleyQuinn New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2009
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    I just finished The Hutt Gambit, the Second Book in the Han Solo Trilogy....are ya done laughing? Ok, so it's not the greatest literary achievement, and it's probably on the bottom of the list of other works that were listed here but I thought I'd throw in my two cents since I enjoy a really well-composed battle scene as well.

    The Hutt Gambit had a long chapter towards the end regarding a battle in space that is worth the read - either so you can learn from the way it was written or so you can avoid writing like that. You'll likely get something out of it. It's a quick read, too. I'm not much into the Star Wars genre but it was just sitting there, I was bored, and I didn't want to think too much....so there you go. Please stop laughing at me :-D

    HQ
     
  24. Lavarian

    Lavarian Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2009
    Messages:
    4,562
    Likes Received:
    93
    I'm a pretty big fan of Joe Abercrombie's fight scenes.

    Frantic and bloody, but also convincing.
     
  25. guamyankee

    guamyankee Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2011
    Messages:
    474
    Likes Received:
    15
    Location:
    Tacoma, Washington
    Embrace your nerdness!
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice