Navigator

by Stephen Baxter

Book Overview

As William the Conqueror's men attempt to stamp out the flames of rebellion, a prophecy is uttered. A bedraggled woman in a ruined chapel speaks of civilizations in conflict, armed by the engines of God... And that prophecy proves to be true as the fearsome war between Christianity and Islam leaves its mark across the land. In Spain, a rogue priest dreams of the final defeat of Islam, for he has found a rent in the tapestry of time, a point where agents from the future used diabolical weapons of destruction to change history. Centuries later, in 1492, as men of vision weary of the strife and are drawn to the unknown West, one such explorer seeks the funding for his voyage- while a mysterious Weaver plots to unravel the strands of time and stop him.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 044101559X
• ISBN13: 9780441015597
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 323 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A darker turn of events for Time's Tapestry

The third book in Stephen Baxter's Time's Tapestry series, Navigator is striking in how it differs from the first two novels in the series. Although the historical detail is still present, the setting is different, the characters highly different, and a great deal of complexity is introduced into the mystery surrounding the entity called "The Weaver" and his/hers/its manipulation of time and history. Some similarities do remain. Like its predecessor, Navigator begins in Great Britain, with a prophecy uttered by a now-dead woman playing a major role in shaping the story. That is where the similarity in setting ends. Unlike the first two novels, Great Britain is little more than a side-show in this book, returned to on a handful of occasions - the major events take place in Spain, as the muslim kingdoms left behind by the spread of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries are slowly crushed, their populations driven out and replaced by Christian conquerors. Baxter also continues the pattern he did in the previous two books, with separate "slices" of time in chronological order each containing their own character arcs, dealing with the issue of the prophecy. The characters continue to improve, although most of them are much darker and less sympathetic than their earlier counterparts (particularly the brutal and fanatical Joan and Grace). At the heart of many of their motivations lies religious hatred and intolerance, shaped by years of war between Christian and Muslim. One major difference, though, lies in both the number of arcs (there are fewer of them, and the book is dominated by three arcs in particular), and the fact that the characters of the last character arc in Conqueror are also the characters of the first story arc in Navigator. Perhaps most interesting of all, the mystery of "The Weaver" and its interventions in time becomes drastically more complex and puzzling. The characters in the book come to understand that there is more than one force meddling in the past, and some are capable of more than sending prophecies through the mouths of women - they send objects, knowledge of powerful weapons, and even people back in time. Baxter in particular dwells on a number of historical "what-ifs" that are avoided by the interventions in time, such as a Islamic conquest of Europe that creates a world nearly united in Islam by different outcome at the Battle of Poiters (in the early 8th century), a Mongol conquest of Europe, and a massive future war between the New World and the Old. Some of these historical scenarios seem questionable in veracity; many historians, for example, have downplayed the traditional importance placed on the Battle of Poitiers (particularly since Islamic armies returned north of the Pyrenees later in southern France and were driven). The "New vs Old World" scenario seems far-fetched (although there is a reason for this that becomes clear in the fourth and final book), and although the Mongols were highly dangerous and heavi

A Peculiar But Compulsively Readable Alternate History Series

Huddled in a church cellar hiding from Normans putting down an English rebellion in the wake of the Norman Conquest, a woman seemingly becomes possessed and utters a strange prophecy about a Dove to the Viking mercenary that will become her husband. That prophecy will be remembered by her descendents, and it will seem to contradict another prophecy held by an ambitious priest who has left England for Spain and its Moorish learning that may help him realize weapons designs from the future. So begins the third book in this compulsively readable "alternate history epic". This novels differs from its two predecessors with an alternate history actually developing. There is a deviation from our historical timeline when weapons technology develops slightly faster. The big historical events, however, are not different. The Battle of Potiers still stops a Moslem advance into Europe, and Western Civilization dodges a bullet with the sudden death of Genghis Khan. But Baxter's story says there's more involved in those events than it seems, that there may not be, as implied in previous books, just one entity from the future attempting to manipulate history but two or even four, all with different agendas. And the last third of the book makes Columbus the pivot in another struggle to change history. This book, like its predecessors, is still mostly an historical novel. It's not a genre I normally care for, but the short lengths of the books and Baxter's epic sweep make him concentrate on the grand sweep of history, not the minutae of daily life in any one era. If the latter is what you like in your historical fiction, than these books may not appeal to you. If you like alternate history, Baxter has created an interesting one. But you should start at the beginning of the series and not with this book. Those that have come this far will not be disappointed with this book.

great thought providing alternate historical epic

I Musta'rib AD 1085. In northern Spain, English teenager Robert wants to become a holy warrior until he meets and falls in love with intelligent Muslim Moraima. At the same time, scholar Father Sihtric and the Vizier of Cordoba hate their symbiotic relationship as the Christian is forced by the Moors to build God's weapons from the Eadgyth of York prophesy he possesses while the Vizier is forced to rely on the priest to obtain the wine he needs to quench his alcoholic dependency. These two enemies work together on their personal needs, but will do anything to keep Robert and Moraima apart; as cross religious love has no place under God. II Crucesignati AD 1242-1248. The Christian crusading armies force the Muslim Subh to flee Seville where she hid her shame of a Christian ancestor circa the late eleventh century. At the same time Joan the Christian fled the Christian Holy Land kingdom Outremer when it fell. Each possesses a segment of a prophecy that when combined will make God's engines drive the infidels out. When these two women meet, hell has come to Spain in the fury of these two enemy combatants. III Navigator AD 1471-1492. A new power has surfaced in Spain at a time when the Christian's Crusade against the Muslims proved successful. The middle class sees things more from an economic opportunity perspective than a godly viewpoint. This has led to a new religious fervor from within as the Spanish Inquisition weeds out heretics especially from the middle class. Talk is focused on womanizing Genoa baboon Columbus as he wants to sail west to reach the East instead of journeying through Islam. He might be the Dove named in a recently discovered prophesy or another heretic needing a fiery lesson. The third Time's Tapestry (see EMPEROR and CONQUEROR) covers the century between William's victory and Columbus' trip. The book is divided into three stanzas that accentuate the changes in fortune of the prime groups especially the fall of the Moors and the rise of the Christian middle class. Stephen Baxter continues to make his case that those who sit on their past glory by introspection lose over time to those who look beyond barriers for opportunities. A terrific tome that provides readers with a great thought providing alternate historical epic. Harriet Klausner