4/16/10

Which Book Would You Pick as the 2009 Best Historical Fiction?

Another Friday — another chance to state your opinion on which book YOU think should win a Whitney on April 24th.

The nominees for best HISTORICAL are:

In the comments section, state which book you think should win 2009 Best Historical and why.

Or, if you have another favorite that didn't make the list, you can go ahead and tell us about it too.

(And I'd love it if you'd repeat your comment over on the LDS Fiction post for that book.)

14 comments:

Melanie Goldmund said...

I haven't read any of them yet, but the one I most want to get my hands on is In the Company of Angels by Dave Wolverton.

Stephanie Black said...

I read three in this category--The Last Waltz, Alma, and Tribunal. All of them were very well written. I'm thinking this is another powerhouse category where any of the nominees could wear the Whitney well.

Emily M. said...

_In the Company of Angels_, not just the best book in the category but one of the best books I've read this year. It portrays the Willie handcart company with honesty. It doesn't shy away from tough issues, but manages to combine those issues with a sense of grace and holiness at the handcart pioneers' sacrifice.
I'm planning on having my book club read it next year. And I really hope it wins.

brendajean said...

I thought Tribunal was a fantastic book that showed a side of war few of us know about. I also thought The Last Waltz was fabulously written, but it left me horribly sad and a little depressed even.

Anonymous said...

The Undaunted of course. Its a Lund. Does no one have the endurance to last 800 plus pages? Come on you 245 pagers, do your due diligence.

Emily M. said...

I liked The Undaunted--it was the next one after Company of Angels. But don't think that a book should win just because it's got pretty good writing and is super long. 245 pages can pack a bigger wallop than 800 sometimes.

Wm Morris said...

What Emily said.

Taffy said...

WOW! Good luck to the judges with this category!
I've read all of them except "Undaunted" which I plan on reading this summer.
I'm reading "Company of Angels" right now.

Th. said...

.

How many pages is Farland's book? Isn't it longer than Lund's?

And, as a practical question for LDSP, how does one inspire the sort of fanatacism a Lund can attract wherein I could publish a book and have people know for certain it's the best of the year, sight unseen?

Elizabeth Morgan said...

I would totally pick Undaunted. It was such an amazing book. They characters were so much fun.

Emily M. said...

Farland's book is shorter. I tried to look it up on Amazon, but it didn't mention the pages. I would estimate it's no more than 400 pages, though.

Susan said...

Th., I'm not LDSPublisher, but I'll give you my opinion. Gerald Lund did something pretty spectacular when he came up with The Work and The Glory series. Church history interwoven with fiction. Romantic fiction, at that. Plus, let's be honest, he's an amazing writer, though I personally liked his Kingdom and the Crown series even better. I will say that I thought the Undaunted was way too long. He could have cut 1/3 of it and still had an the same impact. IMHO. I'll have to check out In The Company of Angels. It sounds intriguing.

battraws said...

Tribunal, definitely. It was well-researched and well-written. Lund's book are also well-researched, but Sandra Grey does a much better job with character development and keeping the story line interesting.

LDS_Publisher said...

Th. If I could answer your question, I'd be the richest publisher in the valley, maybe even the WORLD.

First, they have to write something to capture their reader so completely that it stays with them for years. HOW to do that? Beats me.