slow start but got better fast ( )

http://allbookedup-elena.blogspot.com... ( )

This is really just another take on the old theme of 'what if a person from modern times is stranded without technology?' but with several twists, in this case, the entire island of Nantucket goes!
However, this is really well done, and the characters are very interesting. The description of ancient societies is a significant part of the book also. Definitely looking forward to the next book in the series. ( )

Here's a fun idea: Take a bunch of modern folks and send them helplessly back in time. What kind of culture clash could we get from smashing together past civilizations with a modern community, technologies, ideas, and knowledge?

You could get a fabulous novel of ideas, as well as an amazing rip-roaring adventure.

Unfortunately, Stirling's all-too-evident Libertarian-right politics killed any possible "novel of ideas" angle, leaving only the shell of a fun adventure.

This painful preachiness plays out most obviously in characterizations. One notices right away that the hippie-lefty feminist environmentalist crowd are strawfolks. Oh how ironic that their crazy lefty ideas about the peaceful Native Americans got them eaten by cannibalistic Caribs! If only they hadn't gotten Good People killed on account of their naively wrongheaded ideas.

What are all those lefties and anti-racists and shrill feminists complaining about anyhow? All good white folks are color-blind, etc., etc., so there's absolutely no need to worry about racism or sexism or heterosexism in Nantucket civilization. This is obvious, because Captain Marian Alston -- an African American lesbian Coast Guard captain -- has succeeded in the US Coast Guard and is even more successful in enlightened Nantucket civilization. Can you spell TOKEN, girls and boys? ("S-A-R-A-H P-A-L-" -- ahem.) Is anyone surprised that Captain Alston is of course a martial arts expert, doing tai chi (or whatever) in the early dawn on her deck?

The gruff and kindly somewhat over-the-hill alpha male (aka "mary stu") is right about everything, except -- of course -- he is a little too trusting of the villains. But that's okay, because how else would the Nantucketers get to demonstrate the need to arm society, spread Western style democracy about the world, and play tough with lefties and villains alike? (And of course the Nantucketers ally very early on with British Isles folks.)

This political simplicity harms the characterization (and the resulting plot points) but also effectively destroys the suspense. Do we, really, worry about the survival of the Nantucketers through their first hard winter? No, because we know that their Yankee pluck and ingenuity -- and their wise leadership -- will carry them through. At least, anyone smart enough to go along with the wise leadership will survive; naive and foolish environmentalists, lefties, etc., will perish, because of course that's what those crazy ideas would naturally lead to if faced with reality.

The whole damn thing is a paean to how almost-perfect "our" (US, middle-class) civilization is, and how just a few libertarian tweaks would make it even more perfect.

No, I'm not exaggerating. The *concept* at the core of this series had the potential to become a great series of novels of ideas. But when the ideas being put forward are so painfully simplistic and unrealistically drawn, you just can't take it seriously.

But, hopefully, you didn't mean to take it seriously. Because on the good side, if you can ignore Stirling's aggravating preachiness, and the various too-convenient coincidences that make life so peachy-keen for the Nantucketers, it's a pretty fast and entertaining read. And there are lots of battles with various cool historical figures and peoples, and loving descriptions of various archaic and modern technologies. And who doesn't love Robinsonade survival / encounter stuff?

So, in conclusion: Pick it up if you want to while away a few pleasant hours in escapist adventure with fun trappings, so long as you have a high tolerance for straw-feminists and other eye-rolling characterizations. ( )

An alternative history book. Nantucket is somehow transported back in time. There is an interesting collection of people in this area and they co-operate to bring modern technology to an ancient world.
It has the feel of a multi-series saga but so far I have not seen a following book.

I liked the book. Once you accept the time travel concept (why did you pick up this book otherwise) things develop logically and in an interesting fashion. I liked the characters and felt they were reasonably well developed.

I would like to see a followup book or two, just to see how the world would change because of this technology transfer. ( )