Customer Reviews

The Centurion's Empire

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let me start by saying I'm not the kind of guy who gives 5-star reviews lightly. Many of my favorite books have serious flaws, but I don't let that get in the way of reading and enjoying them.

This book has no noticable flaws, at least after one reading. The level of craftsmanship is incredible; I haven't seen it done this well since Avram Davidson (although McCullen is not a 'prose stylist' - some will find this an improvement). Some very complex plot twists are deftly handled, and well foreshadowed. I was in complete suspension of disbelief from the very beginning, and felt compelled to read it in one sitting. Characterization was strong, action scenes were comprehensible and gripping. Violence was appropriate to the plot, and not overused.

The plot revolves around a Roman Centurion who gains access to a suspended animation elixer, and uses it to survive voluntary freezing for many centuries. He awakens several times over the years, finally in the mid-21st century. I don't want to give too much away; it's great fun to find it out as you go.

The 21st century technology may be a bit hard to keep up with for readers not familiar with cyberpunk conventions - there is nothing completely groundbreaking here, but my mother would be quite lost in the maze of bions, tiltfans, and brain imprints. This is probably appropriate; certainly our hero is confused by them himself.

All in all, it's the best novel I have read in some years. Quite excellent.

Getting books from Australia must be very hard, which explains how difficult it is to find Sean McMullen's works here in the States. Centurion's Empire predates his Greatwinter Trilogy books and it appears that the author was still learning his craft while writing this novel. The book starts slowly, which is normal in a time travel novel, but don't let the slow start get you down. Once our Hero finally reaches the 21st Century, which is about page 150 or so, the book is non-stop action and becomes incredibly fast-paced. I guarantee you'll like the book more after this point.

While I enjoyed the book, it is evident that this book was written in the mid-90's. Like many books from that era, it overestimates the rise of computer and nano-technology to point where it becomes very unbelievable that the advances described in the book will be with us before 2030. We have William Gibson to thank for this and it seems that McMullen tries to imitate that style and that maybe of Stephenson in Snow Crash, instead of exploring his own style, which is quite wonderful as anyone who has read and enjoyed his Greatwinter Trilogy can tell you. However, I highly recommend this book and hope that this author continues to write and gets the recognition he deserves on this side of the Pacific.

This excellent time-travel saga begins with a young Roman soldier almost dying in a tempest in the year 71. The first hundred pages takes place during this time, where the method of time travel that forms the basis for the book is introduced. This section is all excellent conspiracy stuff with the ancient Rome twist. This is followed by a sixty-page interlude in France during the 100 Years War which is full of chivalry and heroism, also good stuff. The remainder of the book takes place about 30 years years into our future and is heavy on complicated technology and elaborate double-crossing. This is somewhat less satisfying for all its complexity than the previous settings, although the story is good enough to carry the reader through until the end. For the futurist buffs, there all kinds of neat ideas: mind imprinting, body repair, crazy weapons and armor, vehicles, etc. Although a bit too long, the book is a pretty satisfying blend of historical fantasy and futurist sci-fi.

This novel is a remarkable book featuring a grand hero who is all an ancient Roman should be, just wearied by time and experience and a beautiful, deadly assasin with her own agenda, set in the distant past and not to distant future. Once you get about 300 pages in, you can not put it down. The plot has so many twists and turns you have to go back and check names, dates, facts and motives. Not that I'm complaining, this is just a very involving read. Prepare for a thrilling ride right to the end which is a shocker but fitting. This reminds me a great deal of a fantastic book I read from 1970, 'The Ice People' by Rene Barjavel. Again, an unusal couple and a powerful love that transcends time. If you can get a copy, read it. But if you want a great hard scifi novel with a different time travel twist,read 'The Centurion's Empire. Thank you, Mr. McMullen.

I must differ with sparhawk@eunet.at; I found the first half of the book to be of higher quality than the second half, although in general the book suffered from the usual problem that sci-fi books have: lack of character depth.

I enjoyed the historical sections, which show that McMullen did his homework, but was disappointed with the 21st-century scenario, which seemed thin and not terribly creative (it read like too many other books of the type-- and I read a lot of sci-fi). My impression of the book was that McMullen should try writing a full-fledged historical fiction novel and stop trying to compete in the sci-fi arena. His talents seem to lie more in that direction.

"Centurion's Empire" has a clever premise which is well-developed in the first half of the book, then falls off the deep end in the second half. The only thing that kept me reading was the subtle twists of who is stabbing whom in the back and where their loyalty really lies-- elements of a good thriller that could have been set in any century.

A story that not only tells the story of the protagonists but also gives a description of life at the times the protagonists live. The first half of the book is in the times of ancient Rome and the middle ages but focuses more on the plot then on background issues. After that Vitellan (our hero) enters the 21st century and from this point on the book becomes truly excellent. From my opinion it shows that the author is more a SF author than an historic or a fantasy writer. The ideas of life in 2026 seem plausible and within the reach of current technolygies advancments, thus the books universe seems believable. This is an important point to me because I hate it when an author creates a new world and then violates his own limitations because he didn't think it through all the way. The pace is quite fast and you become entangled in a fascinating story of treachery and counter-treachery with all bits and ends properly resolved. So, after all, I can only recommend this book wholeheartedly even though I don't really like the first half. The second half makes more than adequately up for it. Another thing I liked about the book. Vitellan is not The Hero with no faults (and thus one dimensional). Rather he develops from the centurion to a man that thinks about life and his environment. As might be expected from somebdoy who lives through centuries and has to rely on the help of many people he has to trust.

McMullen has done a fine job here of telling an unusual time-travel story about a Roman Centurion, Vitellan, who finds a way to move into the future. The story takes place in four time periods; around 71 AD in the Roman Empire; 870 AD in Britain in the Dark Ages; 1358 in northern France; and finally 2028 in America--this last section accounting for over half of the book.

Vitellan captures your sympathy pretty quickly. He's sharp, tough, and sympathetic, and it's easy for a reader to care about his misfortunes. Which is a good thing because the plot is a bit too episodic--the first two sections have almost no plot consequences for the last two; we don't meet the major bad guy until almost halfway through the book; and the love interest (a very odd subplot) is also a late arrival. The result is the book feels like two or three long stories cobbled together into a novel.

Having said that, the book is worth reading. The historical sections are rather better than the 21st century sequences, which read like rehashed Neal Stephenson--lots of action and plenty of high-tech gimmickry. The section set in 71 AD, in particular, is well done; especially the part dealing with the Temporians' fortress.

This is worth a try if you like historical sf; it's not going to become a classic, though.

Not, admittedly, up there with his Great Winter series, this is nonetheless and inventive and involving book with a rarely depicted, these days, although common in earlier ones, one way time travel plot.

However, McMullen uses this trope in a way I have never seen before. Equal parts well researched history and future speculation leads to a real feel of the spanning of centuries. (Ours is overlooked, which adds to the effect.)

Xena's jump decades into her own future in (I think) the fifth series HAS to have been drawn from this. With the combination of potion and freezing? I know. There are a lot of heads and a few bodies on ice somewhere, but this was just too close for comfort.

When as and if I get around to reviewing the three (so far) books of Great Winter they will all get 5 stars. This gets 4 only by comparison.

Sean McMullen may be one of the finest and most original SF authors to come along in the last decade. Well known in his native Australia, but often lost in the profusion of novels published in the US and Britain, he has a unique voice that was brilliantly expressed in his "medieval cyberpunk" novel VOICES IN THE LIGHT, and takes on an even more fascinating tone in THE CENTURION'S EMPIRE.

History takes on a very personal perspective through the eyes of the protagonist - Vitellan. He is not immortal, but fate has curiously given him an opportunity (in the form of a stolen chemical concoction) to freeze himself in suspended animation and be reanimated at a later date. At first, he is only frozen for a few years at a time -- wreaking a terrible fate on a women (and indirectly her family) who spurned his love. Later the centuries pass quicker and give us a very intimate look at romance and glory, chivalry and human frailty. Vitellan's awakening in the mid 21st c! entury is especially fascinating and suspenseful when a deadly enemy from the 14th century is found to be very much alive--and closing in.

A Superb novel, well written, entertaining and enlightening. Highly Recommended. [EAG]

This is an unusual time travel novel by the inventive Sean McMullen, the author of the very entertaining Greatwinter Trilogy. In this book, time travel is accomplished one way by suspended animation technology discovered by a group of Etruscans. The hero is a Roman Centurion and this book is the story of his experiences while emerging from the ice episodically over the last 2000 years. The central character is presented well and the first half of the book, covering classical Rome, Barbarian age Britain, and the high Middle ages, is entertaining. The second half of the book, dealing with the immediate near future is an attempt at a cyperpunk type adventure novel with a very convoluted plot and many of the stock tricks of this sub-genre. It is less interesting. Worth buying as a paperback, though not as a hardcover.