TexasCHLforum.com

One more - I love stories about the Napoleonic era (Peninsula Wars) in Europe in the early 1800's. The Sharpe's series by Bernard Cornwell is a long-time favorite, as is the BBC film series made from his books (starring Sean Bean, Brian Cox, and a very young Elizabeth Hurley, among others). I also love both sci-fi and historical fiction. Naomi Novik has series of books about a dragon called Temeraire set during the Napoleonic Wars. Picture dragons used as great airships to carry musket-wielding infantrymen and black powder cannons into battle. She has published nine books so far in the series. Lots of period battle, political intrigue, treachery, and dragons in 19th century Europe and Asia.

Plot synopsis of "Her Majesty's Dragon" (book one) from Novik's website - "When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future–and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire."

Great stuff.

I really enjoy The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher. In his fifteen novels (of a planned 20) and a few short stories so far, Butcher tells the modern-day story of one Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, Chicago’s first (and only) Wizard Private Investigator. It's like Harry Potter + Chinatown for grown-ups. The Dresden series fixes everything Twilight screwed up about vampires, werewolves, and the supernatural, with heavy doses of pop culture and snark thrown in for fun. Butcher writes with a very cinematic style, which makes for an exciting read. For those who prefer audiobooks, Penguin Publishing has released the series all read by actor James Marsters (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). While some of the early books have Marsters mangling a few words (his Gaelic is awful), his tone and acting chops are perfect for the series.