I’m not really sure what to make of Baxter’s novels. He’s frighteningly prolific, and keeping up with his books is almost a career in itself. Some of his novels I’ve enjoyed and thought quite good. And then the next one I pick up is weak and juvenile. And there doesn’t seem to be any pattern to it. For example, I liked the first book of the Destiny’s Children quartet, Coalescent, but was bitterly disappointed by the second, Exultant, and I really must read last two some day… Emperor I quite enjoyed, although it was ridiculously contrived. A woman in pre-Roman Britain begins speaking in tongues while in labour. Someone recognises it as Latin and writes it down. She dies in childbirth, but the son survives. And the Latin becomes the family prophecy… It is supposedly the words of the “Weaver”, a mysterious someone from the future. At least, this is the interpretation by several of the characters, as the prophecty is passed down, and mangled, through generations, and elements of it come true. The novel paints an interesting portrait of Roman Britain, mostly in the region around Hadrian’s Wall – the building of which comprises one section, and a visit to it a couple of centuries later forms another. The whole Weaver thing, however, feels too modern a conceit for the novel’s setting, but since it’s the link which ties the four novels of the quartet together – or so I’m guessing – then I suppose the novel is stuck with it. As Baxter novels go, this is a thin one, a mere 302 pages in hardback. I’m hoping I’ll find the second book as enjoyable a read, unlike the Destiny’s Children quartet. ( )

Although (far better) known as a science fiction author 'Emperor' is as heart, a historical novel, taking a number of periods during the Roman Occupation of Britain, starting with the Claudian invasion then following through the building of Hadrian's Wall, the visit of Constantine the Great, then the final decay of Roman power under the attacks of the Saxon invaders. This is all, very roughly held together by a prophecy presented to a woman dying in child-birth at the start of the original invasion.

This is definitely not your typical Baxter novel, and despite the existence of that prophecy, it is definitely a historical novel, with Baxter presenting his sources in his Author's Note at the end of the book, though it has to be said that Baxter's Rome is not presented as the glorious thing that one generally finds in pure novels! ( )

You know that whole "don't judge a book by its cover" thing? Yeah, well, I totally did. In a heady bit of book buying when I graduated from college and got a full time job, I may have celebrated by overindulging in a Books-a-Million and grabbing anything that struck my fancy. I may or may not have read the book blurbs. After all, I was young, financially independent, had a whole life ahead of me to read--who cared how many books I wantonly threw into my book basket? Life was a library, baby, and I was going to spend it all in the stacks.

Tragic mistakes were made that I'm still paying for 7 years later.

For example, Emperor, a book that I feel must shoulder some of the blame for underwhelming me because of its blatantly misleading cover. There's a statue of Julius Caesar on the front pictured over what is clearly Rome. You might think that this is what the book is about. As did I. We're both mistaken because the book takes place in Britain and focuses on the rule of Claudius, Hadrian, and Constantine. It's the literary equivalent of being roofied and waking up next to an ugly book.

Emperor revolves around a prophecy passed down from one family's generation to another in Britain around the time of Roman rule. Unable to understand the enigmatic message in its entirety, each generation uses it to its own ends: during the reign of Claudius, it is mistakenly believed to vouchsafe Britain against conquest by Rome; during the reign of Hadrian, it is used to gain the family profit by manipulating the emperor into building an ill-advised stone wall to protect his empire in Britain; and during the time of Constantine, it is used to make an assassination attempt on the emperor's life.

Consisting of three interlocking narratives that necessarily skip forward in time with only loose connections to the previous tale, the reader never really gets to know any of the characters--which is a shame because many of them could be fascinating if given more depth. Baxter writes with authority about the time periods involved, but the novel is billed as an alternative science fiction history. Without a historian's understanding of the time period, it is difficult to ascertain which parts are alternative and which are authentic. And the science fiction bit is definitely AWOL. There's some very brief philosophical debate about the nature of time (is it linear, or do the past, present, and future coexist at the exact same time?) and about whether or not the prophecy was sent by someone in the future (known only as the Weaver) attempting to change the past, but nothing that I would classify as "science fiction."

The novel would have been far more successful for me if it had been a straight historical fiction (really the alternative part is virtually nonexistent and seems to stem entirely from the prophecy, which never really changes events) and focused on one of the three narratives presented. Baxter has the ability to bring the past to life in a real and satisfying way, but the lack of payoff in terms of the novel's presentation and in its use of the prophecy as an unnecessary device to explore the past make it a tedious read. While I will not read the other books in the series, I would not entirely rule out reading another Baxter novel.

So, the moral of the story is: the next time a cute little book starts making eyes at me from the shelf, I'm damn sure going to take the time to read the blurb before I take it home with me.

Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder ( )

Again, Baxter flags up a suppressed desire to write historical fiction, though as a loyal SF writer he can't resist throwing a spanner into the works. This book would be a family saga, with three generations of the same family experiencing the visitations of three Roman emperors - Claudius, Hadrian and Constantine - to Britain. But the linking factor to each stage of this family drama is a prophecy. All well and good, the Romans were quite fond of prophecies, but this one has a twist - three quarters of the way through, it suddenly lapses into the American Declaration of Independence....

The reaction of the characters to this is interesting; they seize on the bits of the prophesy with alacrity, seeking out meaning and divinations. But the lines about "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" nonplusses them for the most part.

(This is a bit of a double-edged sword. The science fiction fans amongst the readers immediately pricked up their ears, and then read the rest of the book waiting for some hint as to the reason for this anomalous text. But to judge by some of the reviews from first-time readers, this threw them off-balance and - because it is the aim of Baxter to work this plot out over four novels - it seemed totally superfluous.)

What then follows is a fairly straight historical novel, though by taking three separate chunks of Romano-British history, Baxter achieves a sense of the span of the history of Roman Britain rather than focusing on any one family story in detail. But that's not his intention; it is that span of history that he's interested in. I was particularly taken with the recurring image of certain buildings, such as the arched gateway to Camulodunum (Colchester), the fort at Rutupiae (Richborough) or the mile-forts on the Roman Wall, and how they are changed over the centuries, reflecting the vibrancy and state of Romano-British society in that segment of the book; that imagery I found most telling.

At the climax of the third part, the attempted assassination of the Emperor Constantine, sf fans will recognise a potential historical change as one of the characters experiences a vision of different outcomes of the unfolding events. This is a little reminiscent of the Brian Aldiss short story, 'The Day of the Doomed King', which is essentially about an alternate history that fails to be created as events follow their historical path rather than launch down new and untrodden timelines. (Apparently, some editions of this book in some markets are subtitled 'An alternate history epic', which is a bit naughty of the publishers for setting up some readers' expectations.)

At the end of the book, another prophecy is made in a manner that suggests some sort of cyclical chain of events.

The book is a pretty quick read; chapters are short and the overall length is of the sort that we would have expected some thirty years ago.

In short, then; if you aren't seized by the mystery of the initial premise, this book might seem to be too slight, with too much historical scene-painting and not enough family drama. If you are intrigued by the premise, though, you'll probably want to read on but will have to put up with not getting answers just yet. ( )

Genre: Science Fiction/Alternative History
Setting: Roman Britain
No. of pages:
Part of a series: Yes, 1st book in Time's Tapestry Quartet.
Next book: Conqueror

A woman going through a difficult birth starts uttering words in latin, a language she doesn't know. It is a prophecy, a prophecy that will echo down the centuries...

This book is set mostly in Roman Britain, from before the Romans came to Britain to the fall of Rome. The book is made up of several different sections, each focusing on a different generation from the same family line, spanning several hundred years. It is the story of a family and their prophecy, and how that links in with the fate of Rome and Britain. The early beginnings of Christianity is also one of the themes in the book. I particularly like the part where a stone mason convinces Emperoer Hadrian to build his great wall out of stone, and not mounds of turf. Enlightened sel interest I think!

The book is well written, and as well as being a good story gives an interesting insight into Roman Britain. It's supposed to be part of an alternative history series, but as far as I can tell so far it sticks fairly closely to accepted Roman history, so I learned a lot about the changing fortunes of the Roman Empire and of Britain over several centuries.

If I was to level a criticism at the book, it would be that the different sections of the book, each separated by many decades at least and featuring different characters, struggle to form a strong overall narrative. Each section is good on it's own but the link is sometimes a tenuous one between each set of characters. ( )