Original and thought-provoking travel through history
About the Book
Publisher’s description: December 1348. With the country in the grip of the Black Death, brothers, John and William, fear that they will shortly die and go to Hell. But as the end draws near, they are given an unexpected choice: either to go home and spend their last six days in their familiar world, or to search for salvation across the forthcoming centuries – living each one of their remaining days ninety-nine years after the last. John and William choose the future and find themselves in 1447, ignorant of almost everything going on around them. The year 1546 brings no more comfort, and 1645 challenges them still further. It is not just that technology is changing: things they have taken for granted all their lives prove to be short-lived. As they find themselves in stranger and stranger times, the reader travels with them, seeing the world through their eyes as it shifts through disease, progress, enlightenment and war. But their time is running out – can they do something to redeem themselves before the six days are up?
Book Facts
- Format: ebook
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster
- No. of pages: 400
- Publication date: 15th June 2017
- Genre: Historical Fiction
Purchase links*
Amazon.co.uk
*link provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme
My Review (4 out of 5)
It is several weeks since I finished this book and I’m still trying to decide what to make of it. I found it by turns puzzling, frustrating, impressive, thought-provoking, didactic and moving. Positioned as historical fiction, at times it seemed more like social history, political treatise, fantasy or philosophical debate. John’s and William’s journey is really a device to take the reader on a journey through time, charting changes in clothing, food, technology, architecture and religious debate. At times, this feels a little like a history lesson but an amazingly detailed and well-researched one, as you would expect from someone with the pedigree of Ian Mortimer.
Whatever period of history John and William arrive in, a constant is cruelty and inequality – plus ça change, plus c’est la mȇme chose seems to be the message. ‘I wonder what tomorrow will be like – whether the punishments of the landless and destitute will be even worse, and the haughtiness of the wealthy even greater.’ However, along the way John and William do encounter a few individuals who show them kindness or offer them assistance.
The brothers make entertaining companions on this journey through time with witty banter between the two of them masking an underlying deep affection. Their reaction to some of the new things they encounter is amusing. John and William also represent opposing sides of a debate about faith versus atheism. Although both have a desire to do good deeds, their motivation is very different.
While reading the book, I found myself pondering intertextual influences ranging from H G Wells’ The Time Machine, through Marlowe’s Dr Faustus, Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in the Court of King Arthur to Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, with William representing the character, Faithful.
The ending is both moving and thought-provoking. I think this book will divide readers.
I received an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley and publishers, Simon & Schuster UK, in return for an honest review.
In three words: Original, thought-provoking, moving
About the Author
Dr Ian Mortimer is a historian and novelist, best known for his Time Traveller’s Guides series. He has BA, MA, PhD and DLitt degrees from the University of Exeter and UCL. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and was awarded the Alexander Prize by the Royal Historical Society in 2004. Home for him and his family is the small Dartmoor town of Moretonhampstead, which he occasionally introduces in his books. He also writes fiction under the name James Forrester
Connect with Ian
Website
Twitter
About the Book
Steven R. Boyett is the author of Ariel, Elegy Beach, Mortality Bridge, Fata Morgana (with Ken Mitchroney) & numerous stories, articles, comic books and screenplays. As a DJ he’s played clubs, conventions, parties, Burning Man, and sporting events, and produces two of the world’s most popular music podcasts: Podrunner & Groovelectric. Steve’s also been a martial arts instructor, professional paper marbler, advertising copywriter, proofreader, typesetter, writing teacher and Website designer and editor. He also plays the didgeridoo and composes electronic music.
Ken Mitchroney’s film and television credits include director, head of story, director of photography, and storyboard artist on Storks, The Lego Movie, The Ant Bully, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., The Annoying Orange Show, Mighty Magiswords, and more. His comic illustration includes Ren & Stimpy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Myth Conceptions, and creating the influential Space Ark. He is an official artist for the Ed “Big Daddy” Roth estate, and official illustrator for the Oakland Athletics and at one time the Baltimore Orioles. He is currently involved with the restoration of the Ward Kimball collection at the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris, California. Mitchroney has been a professional race-car driver and pinstriper, and restores and runs vintage locomotives. He lives and works in the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles.
