My favorite historical fiction work in recent years is An Instance of the FingerPost
http://www.amazon.com/Instance-Fingerpost-Novel-Iain-Pears/dp/1573227951/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195524922&sr=8-1 sadly there have been no good Conan the Barbarian pastiches for a decade!blaine
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