Customer Reviews

The Ancient Future (The Dark Age)

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If you have read the likes of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series and found it a little too "real" or heavy going, but still liked the idea of a modern day woman going back to medieval times, then Traci Harding's work may be for you. The Ancient Future has a similar start to Diana's works in that a young woman is transported back in time, but where it becomes obviously different is the lead character, Tori, doesn't have a lot of sense in regards to "not changing the past with items from the future". Once I adjusted my thinking of the book to take it as a very light read and forced the suspension of disbelief, the book became a lot more enjoyable. The characters aren't as fleshed out as I would normally like and they seem to do things that you wouldn't normally expect. All the same, the super Goddess Queen Tori is out to change the past for a better future. So if *YOU* were transported back to old times and would happily whip out your walkman, your camera and teach all and sundry the finer points of martial arts, then you will love Traci Harding's The Ancient Future.

I read this book the first time when I was 17. I am currently reading it for the third time (9 years later). Unfortunately the writing is not very good and the characters are not very deep. But the story and the plot are so much fun. The mixture of history (or pseudo history), fantasy, mythology, time travel, gods, chosen ones, super powers..... It is all jam packed in there and with massive doses of cheesiness. I still love the book despite its flaws. I guess I would recommend it for younger readers who would not be so critical of the writing.

I have read all except one of Traci Harding's books. This first one wasn't bad but the rest of the Ancient Future series is awesome.

Remember the Neverending Story where the boy reads something and wonders if this book is actually real? I had a few of those moments during this series..

I first read this book when I was 13. I remember loving it. I loved the characters, and the plot. I thought it was awesome. I reread it about a week ago. I couldn't finish it. I was so completely distracted by the ridiculous usage of the word 'thou' that I dropped it about a third of the way through. I'm still shocked by the idea that I ever thought this book was any good at all. I would love to go back in time myself and slap my 13-yr old self in the face.

Sadly, this is one of the worst examples of writing I've plowed my way through. Non-existent characterisation, strange plotting and no sense of tension or excitement and very limited sense of history. I enjoy a light read but this wasn't fun.