A good beginning to a quartet (Emperor - Stephen Baxter)

Member Name: Onyx

Product:	Emperor - Stephen Baxter
Date:	07/07/08 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Readable, interesting story

Disadvantages: Somewhat confusing sometimes

A long time ago I wrote down the names of the 'Weaver' series though I never saw them in the shops, so I was delighted when I saw the first three books in the local library. The books are: 'Emperor', 'Conqueror', 'Navigator' and 'Weaver'.

'Emperor' follows the fortunes of one family living under Roman rule in Britain. A woman in childbirth starts screaming out words none of her family except one, who (luckily) knows Latin and records it. The mystery is how this woman, who was uneducated, could suddenly know Latin. In time the words are recognised as being a prophecy. The future generations of the child born during the prophecy are followed, including a plan to assassinate an emperor in trying to follow the prophecy.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked the idea of getting to read historical fiction but with a sf twist because of the prophecy. Also, I do not usually like writers using real people from history and this is what happens with the emperor, but it was a while before I realized that I did actually like that, because the character was so realistic. However the Latin names of the British cities were somewhat confusing and I had to continually refer to the map to see what they were (and where they were) but after a while I began to remember the Latin names. What was rather confusing was the switch between hundreds of years to complete strangers. In a page or so who they are is explained, but until then it is guesswork, hoping they will soon be explained.

I liked the three books I read at the library enough to buy them at full price (and so it made me rather sick to see them for sale at £1 each, brand new, in a shop in Hay-on-Wye!) but when reading other reviews I saw that these books are described as being counter-factual, which means, I think, that some of the events described in the books (independent of the prophecy) might never have happened. That disappointed me somewhat because I thought reading these books would be a simple way of learning something about the history of the Romans in Britain!

Summary: An interesting story about a prophecy, set in Roman Britain