Customer Reviews

Against the Tide of Years

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Inexplicably cast back into the Bronze Age, the New England island of Nantucket is attempting to preserve modern technology and democratic traditions, but it isn't easy. Although Nantucket and its proto-British allies defeated the renegade Walker in his first attempt to set up a kingdom of his own, Walker has escapted to Myceanian Greece where he is hobnobbing with Agamemnon and the wily Odysseus. His ally in Phoenecian Spain, is also adapting modern technology and poses a threat to the Island republic. New allies are critical and the Island turns to Babylon. After battling the Assyrians, the epic battle heads toward modern-Turkey--toward Troy.

In the meantime, back in North America, Nantucket authorizes a Lewis and Clark-like exploration of the largely depopulated continent, and Nantucket engineers experiment with breech-loading rifles to replace the flintlocks that gave them initial advantage over their opponents.

AGAINST THE TIDE OF YEARS is the second book in a trilogy following the exploits of the residents of Nantucket. No longer fighting for their lves on a daily basis, Nantucket has used its technology to carve out a protectorate. Unlike Walker, who provides technoogy broadly to his people, Nantucket hoards its technological advantage using 'locals' as spear-catchers for the most part, with a stiffening of regular troops behind them.

A lot that made the first book in the series so powerful is lacking by the timeframe in this second novel. The island is rich, has adapted much of its technology to available resources, and is able to use all of its thousands of residents to further its military and economic goals. Walker, with his handful of renegades, becomes more admirable than an enemy. I sense that author S. M. Stirling has ambiguous feelings about Walker himself. Although his relationship with the sadistic Alice Hong and his tendency to rape and enslave keep him on the evil side, the man is spreading technology that Nantucket hoards, is developing close friendships with the locals (beyond the marriage to local nobility-friendships that seem Nantucket's only way of going local), and is honorable in his own way. Indeed, AGAINST THE TIDE OF YEARS comes alive largely when Walker is on the stage.

Middle books are hard, and it would be hard to write a sequel to the powerful ISLAND. With plenty of action, a number of characters familiar to everyone who's ever read Homer, and well researched and detailed technology introduction, AGAINST THE TIDE OF YEARS is certainly worth reading.

I like the premise, but this book drags on way too long...

This is the second of SM Stirling's sweeping Nantucket saga. While it lacks a little of the appeal of the first part "Island in the Sea of Time" it is nonetheless a solid and enjoyable novel. What can I say but that I went to great trouble to secure the entire set in Hardcover, which is a rare compliment.

This is the first book I ever read by S.M. Stirling. I was pleasantly suprised with the caliber of the writing. He chose a difficult historical period to work with, and he handled it well. I only found one serious historical error - distaffs are not actually used to put twist in yarn. A spindle is the tool to put twist in yarn, a distaff holds prepared fiber. This error, like the other errors of fact in the book could easily have been inserted by an overexcitable copyeditor.

The plot is not simple, the number of characters is rather large, and the action shifts around quite a bit. The scene shifts are noted at the beginning of each chapter, and they help keep the reader oriented. I would have preferred that the scene shifts be noted when the scene changes, but that is another minor quibble. The scene changes are handled so that is not necessary.

Enough of what I don't like *g*. The book starts in the middle of things, and just zooms along. The characters are introduced clearly, as are the situations. Even though it is the second book in a series, everything is laid out so that the series can be begun with this book. It is clear that Mr. Stirling made some compromises on how quickly the Nantucketers could ramp up industrial production, but it's handled well. You don't notice that they all would likely have died of food poisoning, starvation or from a serious industrial accident until about the third or fourth time through. Even there, you can argue that the characters could have gotten lucky and that they had the necessary experts to handle such problems.

All in all the book is very enjoyable, and the writing is very well done.

Although the first book was at least plausible (if one accepts the premise of the "Event"), this one was absurd. How is it possible that the RON wins every battle it fights, losing not one commander? The weaponry Stirling uses (essentially Civil War-era) resulted in extremely large amounts of command-level casualties. While Commodore Alston is wounded a great many times, she somehow never dies or is even permanently wounded. Her perfection, as well as that of every general officer of the RON, gets annoying and totally ridiculous by the time the novel ends. In contrast, Walker's lack of perfection (and his realization of it) makes him the most interesting of the characters, and I find myself rooting for him, although an Islander victory is inevitable the way the books are going. Stirling might as well have killed Walker in Island and saved us the trouble of reading two more books.

I loved this series. I've lost track of my initial purchases, since I've lent them out to so many people. This is a series I love to read and reread. There's so much depth to the characters and so many different plot threads I notice something new each time.

Stirling has done a masterful job at engaging the reader in the "time & place." Those reviewers here who balk at the "PC" correctness they see as prevalent must have a personal agenda. I find it fairly realistic that in this situation of being suddenly thrust into the past, the islanders bring their 20th century values with them. Would they really ignore the contribution the women in their midst are able to make? I don't think so.

I'm not a big fan of military fiction, but his descriptions of the battles grip my imagination as much as do his sailing scenes and there I do have a personal reference. He makes better use of the power of smells to evoke memory than any other writer I know. You can smell the woodsmoke, the tang of iron, the dank mud, the clean sweep of the sea. His characters are engaging and believable.

I heartily recommend all three books in this series. You'll get hooked! I just hope Steve Stirling continues to add to the three books. He left plenty of loose ends to be picked up and woven into another 3 books.

The second of Stirling's alternate timeline series is as compelling as the first. If I had the time, I would have read the book in one sitting. The plot is brilliant and the anticipation of where the Eagle people go and what they do next is mind boggling. If you haven't read the first part of the trilogy, you may want to stop reading this volume and read the first one to get a better flavor of the characters, the event and the change of history. I hope Mr. Stirling keeps this series going past the next volume and the one after that. I guarantee that once you start reading this series you will not put this book down until it's finished.

This is one of the better "Americans lost in the past" books, and certainly more realistic than Eric Flint's =1632=.

I'm puzzled, however, by the number of reviewers who seem to believe that a strong female character, like Marian Alston, automatically means that the male author hates his own gender. I'm also puzzled by the references to Alston being "a psychotic lesbian." If being career oriented, strong minded, and loving toward her family is "psychotic," well, I'm a psychotic heterosexual and have been for forty years. It's too bad that a decent female military lead is still intolerable to so many.

I also do not understand this "Stirling is left wing" business. The only way I could see any "leftist influence" is that the female characters were portrayed as equal to the men rather than being stereotypes. Compared to the average military SF book, this *is* liberal, but ultimately this is much more damning of the right wing/libertarian strain in science fiction than of S.M. Stirling. Or maybe the idea of one person, one vote at a New England town meeting is a bit much for some people?

Finally, the "reviewer" who brings up the subject of Bronze Age combat being reliant on brute strength is forgetting a few things (just a few). First, this book is about Americans changing the paradigm by introducing less strength oriented tactics and weapons. Second, modern Americans are larger, stronger and healthier than Bronze Age Mediterraneans. That includes women, believe it or not. Third, Bronze Age warfare depended on brute strength because the tactics and weapons were extremely primitive. The Nantucketers may be *in* the Bronze Age, but they are not *of* the Bronze Age. Their weapons are steel, not Bronze (and thus stronger and lighter), they eat a better diet and are in better shape, and they have the benefit of several thousand years' worth of later military tactics and battle accounts. Of course they would cream the Bronze Agers in battle.

Stirling has done a nice job with what is rapidly becoming a cliche in science fiction. Definitely worth reading.

Alternate military history is normally an excuse to give stock characters blasters and knives and then run them through the usual paces. No thought as to how the cultures interact on each other. No real tech knowledge. Often little real military knowledge.

Mr. Stirling makes it all work so beautifully that you have to keep shaking yourself that this is NOT a popular history of real events. The characters and places are so real it is breath taking. Even when he takes a real event, such a Rorke's Drift, he makes it come alive in the detail.

Every time you think he cannot get any better he does. He's in a class by himself. He understands multiple viewpoints so well it almost feels like you are listening to their thoughts.

There's no doubt that Stirling knows his histories and that the situation as he set it up is fascinating, particularly the idea of the all-metal modern sailing craft to be used for travel. What turned me off (and it always does) is the ubiquity of a horrible and seemingly omnipotent villian (Walker). I think dealing with the impact of the ancient civilizations would have been more than enough for Nantucket's citizens to contemplate. Imagine establishing a firm government for the meso-Americans and the potential pre-Inca civilizations of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Just sitting back and trying to fit in with the Celts (or their dark-haired predecessors in Britain) and learning how to speak with Egyptians and read linear A -- the prospects are fascinating. When Walker made off with the small boat and became the eternal, untouchable villian, I discarded book I without finishing it, and when he was still a problem in book II, I gave it away. That's a personal bias, I admit...but I may not be the only one who possesses it.