You know who does a decent job at historical fiction? Bernard Cornwell. "The Harlequin Tale" trilogy is my favorite, follow it up with "Agincourt"; The Winter King trilogy is okay, too (about King Arthur--with some differences, Mordred is his brother instead of son in this version, Lancelot is all talk and no action). The series on Alfred the Great is pretty good, too (The Last Swordsman, etc.), especially if you like stories about Vikings. I have not read any of the Sharpe series, though, because I'm never in the mood to read about Napoleonic times. He also has started a series set in the American "Civil War" (actually, the First War of the Southron Secession), but I haven't read those, either.