Synopses & Reviews
Nicole Gunther-Perrin is a modern young professional, proud of her legal skills but weary of the daily grind, of childcare, and of sexist coworkers and her deadbeat ex-husband. Then after one exceptionally awful day, she awakens to find herself in a different life, that of a widowed tavernkeeper on the Roman frontier around A.D. 170.
Delighted at first, she quickly begins to realize that her new world is as complicated as her old one. Violence, dirt, adn pain are everywhere; slavery is commonplace, gladiators kill for sport, and drunkenness is taken for granted. Yet, somehow, people manage to face life everyday with humor and goodwill.
No quitter, Nicole manages to adapt, despite endless worry about the fate of her children "back" in the twentieth century. Then plague sweeps through Carnuntum, followed by brutal war. Amidst pain and loss on a level she had never imagined, Nicole must find reserved of the sort of strength she had never known.
Review
"I believed it all--the torchlit streets and pungent taverns, the cool marble courtyards, the filthy, verminous beds, the wine as thick and sweet as syrup. All this and a fascinating protagonist as well. Nicole Perrin manages to be vulnerable and intrepid at the same time. She's a real person. Thanks to the skills of Tarr and Turtledove, the two worlds she inhabits are just as real."--Morgan Llywelyn
Review
"I believed it all--the torchlit streets and pungent taverns, the cool marble courtyards, the filthy, verminous beds, the wine as thick and sweet as syrup. All this and a fascinating protagonist as well. Nicole Perrin manages to be vulnerable and intrepid at the same time. She's a real person. Thanks to the skills of Tarr and Turtledove, the two worlds she inhabits are just as real."--Morgan Llywelyn "Drawing on a wealth of fascinating historical material and fleshing it out with snappy dialogue, superb characterizations and a genuinely appealing heroine, Tarr and Turtledove genially prove how much fun it can be to go back to Oz."--Publishers Weekly "Seamless and completely believable."--KLIATT "Veteran fantasy author Tarr and alternative-history specialist Turtledove ... combine their considerable talents in a tale of time travel that recalls such classics as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, yet emphasizes the human qualities that transcend the limitations of history."--Library Journal
Synopsis
Two of today's masters of historical fantasy team up to tell the compelling story of a modern woman transported to the second-century Roman frontier. Delighted at first about escaping her old life to become an innkeeper, Nicole comes to realize that complexity and hardship transcend the bounds of time.
Synopsis
Nicole Gunther-Perrin is a modern young professional, proud of her legal skills but weary of the daily grind, of childcare, and of sexist coworkers and her deadbeat ex-husband. Then after one exceptionally awful day, she awakens to find herself in a different life, that of a widowed tavernkeeper on the Roman frontier around A.D. 170.
Delighted at first, she quickly begins to realize that her new world is as complicated as her old one. Violence, dirt, adn pain are everywhere; slavery is commonplace, gladiators kill for sport, and drunkenness is taken for granted. Yet, somehow, people manage to face life everyday with humor and goodwill.
No quitter, Nicole manages to adapt, despite endless worry about the fate of her children "back" in the twentieth century. Then plague sweeps through Carnuntum, followed by brutal war. Amidst pain and loss on a level she had never imagined, Nicole must find reserved of the sort of strength she had never known.
About the Author
Judith Tarr is the author of more than twenty widely praised novels, including
The Throne of Isis, White Mare's Daughter, and
Queen of Swords, as well as five previous volumes in the Avaryan Chronicles:
The Hall of the Mountain King, The Lady of Han-Gilen and A Fall of Princes (collected in one volume as Avaryan Rising),
Arrows of the Sun, and
Spear of Heaven. A graduate of Yale and Cambridge University, Judith Tarr holds degrees in ancient and medieval history, and breeds Lipizzan horses at Dancing Horse Farm, her home in Vail, Arizona.
Harry Turtledove is the Hugo-winning author of many SF and fantasy novels. His alternate-history novels, include the bestselling The Guns of the South, How Few Remain, the Worldwar series, and the recent Ruled Britannia. He lives with his wife and daughters in Los Angeles.