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Against the Tide of Years Mass Market Paperback – May 1, 1999

by S. M. Stirling (Author)

4.5 756 ratings

Book 2 of 3: Island

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“STIRLING HAS SURPASSED HIS PREVIOUS WORK,” raved Science Fiction Chronicle of his bestselling novel Island in the Sea of Time, and George R. R. Martin hailed it as “an utterly engaging account of what happens when the isle of Nantucket is whisked back into the Bronze Age.” Now, the adventure continues...

In the years since the Event, the Republic of Nantucket has done its best to recreate the better ideas of the modern age. But the evils of its time resurface in the person of William Walker, renegade Coast Guard officer, who is busy building an empire for himself based on conquest by technology. When Walker reaches Greece and recruits several of their greater kinglets to his cause, the people of Nantucket have no choice. If they are to save the primitive world from being plunged into bloodshed on a twentieth-century scale, they must defeat Walker at his own game: war.

Book 2 of 3

Island
Print length

454 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ace
Publication date

May 1, 1999
Dimensions

4.2 x 1.2 x 6.7 inches
ISBN-10

0451457439
ISBN-13

978-0451457431
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Stirling's bestselling Island in the Sea of Time, modern Nantucket found itself trapped in the Bronze Age. In the sequel, Against the Tide of Years, the renegade William Walker forges a dangerous alliance with the ancient Greek kings Agamemnon and Odysseus; Commodore Marian Alston faces terrible sea storms and cannon-armed Phoenician ships in an anachronistic Age of Sail; and the outnumbered Nantucketers race Walker to make contact with the Babylonian Empire.

Of course this ambitious, action-packed series is perfect for time-travel, alternate-history, and military-SF fans. But epic-fantasy readers, Burroughs and Haggard fans desiring a modern update of the lost-civilization adventure novel, and anyone who ever read Patrick O'Brian for the terrific sea-battles will enjoy it as well. --Cynthia Ward

Review

“Another exciting and explosive tale of ambition, ingenuity, intrigue, and discovery. Against the Tide of Years is even more compelling than Island in the Sea of Time—but just as much fun.” – Jane Lindskold, author of When the Gods Are Silent

“Amazingly real. The research is impeccable, the writing excellent.” – Harry Turtledove

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ace (May 1, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 454 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0451457439
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451457431
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #653,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,003 in Time Travel Fiction
- #2,072 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books)
- #13,451 in Science Fiction Adventures

Customer Reviews:
4.5 756 ratings

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S. M. Stirling

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I'm a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft -- I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.

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4.5 out of 5

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Lawrence H. Feldman

Change in the Bronze Age

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2014

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I gave this book 5 stars because it shows us what would happen if modern Nantucket found itself over a 10 year period. It provides one view of how these changes effected the cultures of Babylonia, Mycenian [sic] Greece, New Kingdom Egypt, the Hittite Empire, the Iberian peninsula and yes, prehistoric California. It is not just on the initial explorers, if that is the right tells of Greeks, Celts, Iberians, Hittites and especially Babylonians, who came into contact with the explorers from Nantucket. It is the interaction between people of the Bronze age and Modern era that makes this book so interesting. This is the story that makes the book so worth reading.

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AJ Reissig

Great science fiction

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2014

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As a scifi writer ( Chronicles of Aria Prime, Episode One ), I'm a sucker for alternate reality novels. The second in the Nantucket series, Against the Tide of years is set eight years after "the event", as the time displacement has come to be called. In that time, the Islanders have fought wars, stabilized the island as an industrial and political powerhouse, and are now living at a much more subsistence level than in the twentieth century. They have met with many of the cultures of the day, and are working to form an alliance that will put an end the renegade William Walker.

Early on, it's apparent that the Islanders are masters at adapting nineteenth and twentieth century technology to 1250 BC. For example, near the beginning of the story, we see a steam powered semi-truck. They've also progressed in what they can build, as the crossbows of book one have been replaced with muzzleloaders. Stirling goes into a lot of detail on many of these inventions, how they were built, and how they were adapted. For some people, this may bog the story down. However, I love the techno-stuff (and I tend to believe most of Stirling's fans do as well), so for me, this added to the story rather than take away.

Much of the plot hangs on the Islanders' formation of an alliance with the Mesopotamian king Shiumash. They hope that by aiding him and increasing stability in the region, he will provide them with the man-power they need to defeat William Walker in Greece. This proves move difficult than originally thought due to Tartessian pirates, working loosely under the command of Isketerol, the native whose power is based on early ties to both the Islanders and the renegade Walker.

Throughout the book, we see a stark difference between the Islanders and Walker. Walker has embraced brutality and slavery to get him what he wants. The Islanders, however, have brought the ideas of late twentieth century to 1250 BC. Freedom, liberty, gender and racial equality are embraced by the people of the island. This is not to say, however, that there are not conflicts. Certain individuals don't mind giving Indians whiskey before a trade, there are disagreements over how to deal with Walker, and so on.

While Island in the Sea of Time is my favorite in the series, this is still a good read. I highly recommend picking it up.

2 people found this helpful

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watzizname

A Rarity: A Sequel Even Better than the Original

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2008

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Eight years after the Event, the Nantucketers finally decide that William Walker must be brought to justice. (What took them so long?) This is the first (not quite) half of that story, and I found it even more enjoyable than the first book, Island in the Sea of Time (Island) , which you should read first because it provides the background.

Most of the action in ATTOY takes place in the (then) fertile crescent where Western civilization began, and some history of which is known, which I think is part of why I enjoyed it more than ISLAND, much of which took place in the British Isles before any recorded history thereof. (Stonehenge was already there, but all we know about it is what was learned from the artifact itself.) ATTOY has to (and does) accord with the known history of the region, except for the changes caused by the Nantucketers.

One jarring note: near the bottom of page 294 (paperback) is the sentence

"That was where the Chamberlain was under repair in the spanking-new dry dock, and a second being was constructed." We never learn the nature of the being that was constructed, and it doesn't figure in the plot, so why even mention it?

Three things I wish were included in these books: (1) maps of the region(s), (2) Cast of characters, both such as are provided in Eric Flint's 1632 (The Assiti Shards) and 1633 ; and (3) historical notes, such as Miriam Grace Monfredo includes in Seneca Falls Inheritance and its sequels.

Even without those, I greatly enjoyed IITSOT and ATTOY, and am currently enjoying the third book, On the Oceans of Eternity , and I heartily recommend them. Enjoy!

watziznaym@gmail.com

2 people found this helpful

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Shikantaza

Thought-provoking alternative history

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2019

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Sterling has written a gem of alternative history.

Suppose you had year-2000 technology, but you and your town were abruptly transported to 1500BCE - the pre-Classical era - when Odysseus and Agamemnon walked the earth?

How does your small group survive in an age of barbarians? How do you create a harmonious global political order mindful of pollution and sensitive to human rights?

2 people found this helpful

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ROBERT WATTERS

excellent sequel from a master writer

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2022

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This was a reread on my part but the pacing and structure made it read as fresh. A masterful piece of writing from one of the best alternative history voices.

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Top reviews from other countries

Robert Newman

Great series

Reviewed in Canada on October 31, 2021

Verified Purchase

One of the best SF series. Author really knows history and geography. Pleasure to read.

Kindle Customer

Its areally good read!

Reviewed in Australia on July 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

I read it previously and wished to own a copy, as it s unavailable as an ebook.

Giulio Bobbo

Great follow up

Reviewed in Italy on September 21, 2014

Verified Purchase

Great sequel of a genial book, I liked how the character are well detailed, never banal, and interesting. I could barely took my sight off the reader!

P. barton

more stars for this great book please

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2010

Verified Purchase

book two continues the adventures of the time slipping island of nantucket, its been almost a year since i read the first one but it was easy to pick up on the storyline, while reading i often wonder what was happening further up the time line in the world they left behind, hopefully a subject for a further volume (hint hint) once again mr stirling has put together a superb story, i just wish the print was a little bigger , ah the joys of getting old eh folks !!!!!!!!

One person found this helpful

Brian Bell

Fascinating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2020

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Second book of good trilogy

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