My dad is a huge history buff and an East Asian history professor. He’s watched a few Xianxia-type fantasy shows in the past year (ones with Chinese Mythology and historical wars and stuff) and I was wondering if there are any good novels of the same genre, somewhat geared towards a male audience.
Any books with actual references to historical events would definitely interest him. Even if they weren’t historically accurate, he would definitely get an ego boost from pointing out the flaws.
Everyone else in my family is so easy to buy gifts for except for this man. He has no interest in grills, hates all neckties, will use the same two mugs for the rest of his life, and already has a gold-painted bust of himself so that’s out of the picture.
by WilliamWilliams3
5 Comments
The poppy war was actually pretty good, I grew up in Taiwan and learned Chinese history in school, I kept on comparing events to history. The end was pretty heavy though and I can barely get myself to go through the dragon republic
I’m no East Asian history prof, but I liked “She Who Became the Sun” by Shelley Parker-Chan and it’s maybe the type of thing your looking for.
I can’t recall exactly if there are specific historical references by the Jade City series by Fonda Lee could be a good one.
Zen Cho is an author worth looking up! I love The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water.
If you enjoy stories with strong female leads, ‘Sabriel’ by Garth Nix is a book I often suggest. It’s a dark and captivating tale of a young necromancer’s quest to find her father and stop the Dead from overrunning her world, all while learning about her own powers.
‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ by C.S. Lewis, starting with ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,’ is a series I suggest for its classic good versus evil narrative set in the magical land of Narnia. It’s a series that delights with talking animals, noble quests, and allegorical depth.