"Far Edge of Darkness" by Linda Evans

 

Publisher: Baen Books

Copyright: 1996

ISBN: 0671877358

Historical time travel novels are likely one of the more difficult stories to write (at least in my opinion), as the author needs to do something called research. In "Far Edge of Darkness" Linda Evans comes through as a star in the field as her research is impeccable.

The story revolves around three main characters:

Sibyl, a PhD student in Classical Archaeology who had recently discovered a something while digging in Pompeii that shouldn't have been there. This one little thing changed her life dramatically as we next see her in ancient Rome where she is being sold as a slave. 

The second, is Charlie a Miami Vice cop who was deep under cover, and is now a slave in the house of a cruel Roman master, after spending a few years in the Circus Maximus fighting for his life.

The third is Logan a psychiatric patient on day leave who disappears in a monstrous lightning storm in Florida and reappears five years later in Alaska.

These three characters, and many secondary ones interact in a truly believable way and I believe this is mainly due to the great job the author did in setting the stage, and painting the world of ancient Rome in a detail that will delight virtually all readers.

Ms. Evans has written a number of other books as well, which I will review, but this was the first of her I read (a number of years ago), and it is well worth it. She unfortunately hasn't written much lately, but hopefully this will be corrected in the near future.

Highly recommended.

"Citizen of the Galaxy" by Robert A. Heinlein (1908-1980)

Publisher: Ballantine
Copyright: 1957

Citizen of the Galaxy is the 11th (and second last) book in what are considered to be the Heinlein juveniles. As far as I can tell it is not set in the same timeline as some of the others are. However, if one wished to consider it to be in the same framework then it would have to be much farther in the future then pretty much any of the other books. I say this because interstellar travel is common, as it is faster than light travel, and many many stars have been colonized, etc.

The story itself tells the tale of a young orphan boy named Thorby. Later on in the book we learn that at the beginning of the story he is approximately four years old. When the story opens Thorby is standing on a slave block in the process of being auctioned off. He is purchased for a very small amount by a begger named Baslim the Cripple.

The first part of the story tells of the time Thorby lived with Baslim, which seems to equate to approximately ten years. The rest of the story is unfortunately hard to relate in a review without giving away the entire plot. However, in general Thorby is forced to leave Baslim, and the planet they had lived on and escapes on a starship. He lives aboard this ship for approximately two more years, then once again moves on, unwillingly at first, and joins the Hegemonic Guard at which time he is finally identified, reunited with his biological family (which has both good and bad points), and learns about his place in the world.

While I could be mistaken I believe this was one of the very first Heinlein books I ever read, and I still consider it to be one of my favourites (even after close to 50 years). It is a well written novel, with great characterization, a well devised plot, and a great message.

Highly recommended to anyone who likes classic science fiction.