Emperor: Time's Tapestry #1 [Hardcover]

Stephen Baxter (Author)

Book Description

Series: Time's Tapestry | Publication Date: January 2, 2007

Inscribed in Latin, The Prophecy has resided in the hands of a single family for generations, revealing secrets about the world that is to come, and guiding them to wealth and power...

It begins when a Celtic noble betrays his people at the behest of his mother's belief in The Prophecy and sides with the conquering Roman legions. For the next 400 years, Britannia thrives-as does the family that contributed to Rome's reign over the island with the construction of Emperor Hadrian's Wall and the protection of Emperor Constantine from a coup d'Žtat.

And even when the sun begins to set on the Roman Empire, The Prophecy remains. For those capable of deciphering its signs and portents, the future of Earth is in their hands

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Excellent characterization and deft historical scene-setting lift this first of an ambitious new series from Philip K. Dick Award–winner Baxter (Sunstorm), which follows the passing of a prophecy across generations of a British and Roman family, whose members variously interpret its cryptic promise of freedom vis-à-vis the fate of both Britannia and later Christianity. The Latin prophecy, referring to three Roman emperors, is born in 4 B.C., along with the boy who becomes the British chieftain Nectovelin. Half a century later, Nectovelin's cousin Agrippina uses the prophecy to pique the curiosity of the invading Emperor Claudius, who brings her back to Rome. Later, her avaricious Roman granddaughter, Claudia Severa, capitalizes on the predictive words to persuade Emperor Hadrian to build the wall along Britain's northern frontier. An epilogue set at the dawn of the fifth century hints at the rebirth of the prophecy in a more modern form, providing fodder for the sequel. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

About 40 years after the death of Julius Caesar, a child is born in Britain. As his mother struggles in hard labor, she prophesies in Latin, a language she doesn't speak. The forecast is written down and kept as a treasure that will, if properly interpreted, aid the family in times to come. Following the prophecy, the family makes peace with Claudius and prospers under Roman rule while retaining ties to the homeland. Constantine's visit to Britain, however, tears the family asunder, and part of the prophecy is lost. As Roman power wanes and barbarians encroach, the prophecy, with its promise of foreknowledge for those who can construe it, is renewed. Baxter follows what is known of Roman Britain, including the results of recent archaeological research, adding the element of how much influence belief in a knowable future might exert. Embedded in Roman British history, the family's 400-year effort to protect and interpret the prophecy constitutes a very coherent, readable story, which this book just begins. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover; First Edition edition (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441014666
• ISBN-13: 978-0441014668
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,508,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Writing!, January 24, 2007

By 

Winter's Tiger (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emperor: Time's Tapestry #1 (Hardcover)

It's the first new hard cover novel I've bought from a physical bookstore in about 8 years! But for some reason, I was overcome by the need to read this book now and it's been worth every penny and then some!

If you are in to Celtic and/or Roman history and how these peoples survived one another, and enjoy grand fiction and historical-based epics... this is a book on a grand scheme for sure!!

It's a page turner, and the author is absolutely brilliant in creating many unforgettable scenes and fictional characters who operate within a realm of historical facts and interact with real historical figures - as if rewriting history. You will love one or more of his characters - if not, at least be moved by them.

I think that the plot of the prophecy was a good way to move the two families of characters through time, bringing them back together generation after generation, rewriting history again and again, as if they were cursed.

There are some parts of the book where Baxter tends to go on and on with description, but I can't see the book moving forward without some of those passages, and without them, we couldn't see what the characters saw. There was a couple times within the last 70 pages where I thought he might lose me, but I held on. The book is fast-paced, moves very quickly. I can't believe how adequately he moved through several generations of Romans and Brigantians (& British) in just 300 pages, without losing a step.

The second book is supposed to be coming out in July, 2007. I'll be looking forward to that.

Happy Reading to you all!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars enlightening but turgid, July 26, 2009

By 

J. S. Banks (Mountain View, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Emperor: Time's Tapestry Book One (Mass Market Paperback)

this would be a good read for a history class, bringing alive a milieu little known to most. Saying this is better than a history textbook is faint praise. Love the premise but I had to push through to the end, rather than be drawn effortlessly. I felt virtuous having read the whole thing, but not pleased.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could be an interesting start, March 23, 2007

By 

robert johnston (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Emperor: Time's Tapestry #1 (Hardcover)

Baxter has obviously read the non-SciFi author Edward Rutherford's books Sarum and London. The similarities on nearly all levels are too coincidental. Injecting a Sci-Fi dimension into a Rutherford model could actually be a lot of entertainment, but that remains to be seen as there's not much of a SciFi component developed in this first installment. I like the story approach well enough to try the next Baxter episode.

I'll buy book #2