Customer Reviews

In High Places (Crosstime Traffic)

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In High Places (2006) is the third novel in the Crosstime Traffic series, following Curious Notions. Annette Klein has spent the past year as Khadija, a muslim girl, in an alternate timeline. She is presently living with her parents in Paris within the Kingdom of Versailles, but will soon be returning to Marseilles and then to her home timeline. She is very happy to be returning to civilization.

In this novel, Jacques is a guardsman in the service of Duke Raoul. Jacques has met the Kleins in their identity of Muhammad al-Marsawi and family and was attracted by Annette, although the robe and veil hid all but her hands and eyes. He though she was about his own age, but he couldn't really be certain. Muhammad had aroused Duke Raoul's curiosity for various reasons, including his perfect Parisian accent; now Jacques is working as a caravan guard while spying on Annette's family.

South of Grenoble, brigands ambush the caravan, taking captives and looting the pack animals. Annette reacts to a lunging attack with a Judo throw and also to the next and the next, but then somebody hits her on the side of the head and she goes down. After another blow to the head, she loses consciousness. Jacques is shot in the leg as he runs back to the Kleins and then surrenders to the brigands.

When Annette regains consciousness, she finds that Jacques is still with her on their way to Madrid. But her parents had been taken to Marseilles. Arriving in Madrid, they are both sold to the same master and follow him to a compound within the city.

That evening they are taken down to a subcellar, placed against the wall, and see a silvery box suddenly appear in the center of the chamber. Annette immediately recognizes the box as a transposition chamber and knows that the slavers have access to crosstime technology. Soon she realizes that the technology must have been acquired within her own homeline; someone in Crosstime Traffic is running the whole show.

This novel portrays the ultimate nightmare of the Crosstime Secret: rogue employees using alternate timelines to act out their own frustrated perversions. The outlaws have taken slaves from various timelines and used them like animals. Even worse, some people have paid to be treated as such slaves, abused and beaten into submission. Of course, none of the paying customers are intentionally killed, but nothing keeps the guards from killing the real slaves.

This subject is addressed in Piper's Paratime series, but never covered to this extent. The characterization is much better developed herein, particularly among the technologically primitive slaves. Also, Annette and Jacques learn much about themselves and their cultures from such close contact with both the slavers and the slaves.

One of the things that Annette learns is the need for slaves (or the equivalent) in low technology cultures. All kinds of necessary work must be done by unwilling individuals if labor saving machines are not available. Insofar as the reviewer is aware, such work was performed involuntarily in all such low technology cultures, from the Norse thralls to the Chinese peasants. Such servitude -- from indentured servants to chattel slaves -- was common into the nineteenth century and, despite all efforts to eradicate it, still occurs elsewhere in the world.

Highly recommended for Turtledove fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high adventure and alien cultures.

-Arthur W. Jordin

This is the third installment of Harry Turtledove's Crosstime Traffic series. These stories are based on a concept developed by the late and highly lamented science fiction writer H. Beam Piper: that numerous alternate worlds exist alongside our own, each different due to various "breakpoints" which occurred at various points in their histories. Thus Turtledove's first volume concerned a world in which the Roman Empire survived into the twenty-first century, his second was set in San Francisco in a world in which Germany won World War I, and now his third is the most ambitious yet.

The Kingdom of Versailles lies in what was once northern France, before the Black Death destroyed the vast majority of Europe's population in the 1300s (in our world the Plague killed off "only" one-third of the Europeans). In the aftermath of the Plague a new variety of Christianity emerged centered on the worship of Henri, God's Second Son. Now, nearly seven hundred years later, Versailles lies on the border between the Christian regions of Northern Europe and the expanding Muslim world to the south.

The story centers around young Jacques, a native-born citizen of Versailles, and Khadija, seemingly the daughter of a Muslim merchant,but actually Annette Klein from the "home time line" i.e. the "real world" of the late 21st century where time travel was discovered and Crosstime Traffic has become a stupendously wealthy corporation dealing in trade between the many alternate worlds.

Annette and her family have been spending some time in Versailles but are preparing to return to the home time line. Jacques is one of the guards of the caravan which is escorting the Kleins to the transposition chamber which takes them from world to world. Suddenly, the caravan is attacked by slavers, and Annette and Jacques are separated from her family. Ensuing events are exciting and well told, with some interesting plot twists and a satisfactory outcome.

All of Turtledove's stories in this series have teenage protagonists and are meant to be not only exciting but also morally instructive. Here the subtext of opposition to slavery is a bit obvious, but it nevertheless bears repetition. I hope there will be many more installments to come, and I only wish I could sign on to work at Crosstime Traffic myself!

A few years ago, Turtledove discovered a curious omission in the science fiction market. Few major, living writers were targeting the juvenile market with new works, with the possible exception of Andre Norton. And in her case, arguably her best novels for young readers were written decades ago. While her recent productivity had fallen, due to age constraints. [She died in 2005.]

Turtledove is a smart bloke. So just as he made himself associated closely with the alternate history genre, he attempted to do likewise with juvenile science fiction. The latest result is this book, the third in his Crosstime Traffic series. Continuing the custom in the earlier books, he chooses a teenage protagonist. A different one from those earlier. This time, she is a 21st century Jewish girl, pretending to be a pious Muslim in an alternity where Europe was devastated by multiple Black Deaths, and Muslims conquered much of southern Europe. Plus, the Industrial Reformation never happened.

The result is a world stuck in the Middle Ages. Backward and squalid. Turtledove cleverly reveals piquant insights into this. As having a character refusing a drink of water. Because of the lack of sanitation, water is often sewage contaminated. Beer in fact is far safer.

While our timeline is shown as importing some food from this alternity, it is not a major factor in the plot. Unlike the second book. Perhaps Turtledove is implicitly acknowledging that our timeline's need for food could be easily met by farming unpopulated Earths. Or more prosaically, the agricultural productivity of this alternity is so low that a trade in food is not significant. I cannot tell from the text which reason it is, though I suspect it is one or both of these.

The plot lacks a certain tautness. Yes, it is an adventure novel. But you'd never confuse the level of action in it with, say, Stirling's Nantucket series.

The plot also has the heroine captured and sold into slavery. This lets Turtledove explore for the sake of the reader the iniquities of slavery, and the contrast between modern and past viewpoints. But probably because of the young audience, the details about the violence inherent in slavery are minimised. Nothing too graphic. In related wise, the rapes of female slaves by male slaveowners is mentioned in an en passant fashion. Nor does this happen to the heroine. No salacious descriptions. A thoroughly G-rated book.

I loved Andre Norton's novels, and Robert Heinelein's, when I was in elementary school and perhaps I learned a kind of morality from them. (It was inadequate after some further life experiences and graduate study.)

"In High Places" works as a "Young Adult" novel because it has two young adults engaging challenges. The violence is not graphic, nor is sexual activity depicted. The Science Fiction convention of "parallel timelines" based on alternate histories is well done (but it does antedate both H. Beam Piper and Andre Norton). Mr. Turtledove's narration and description are very clear and I believe at a level suited to a literate teen-ager, and a motivated or adult-aided non-literate teen could also plow through.

My quibble is the privileging of "the home timeline" (OURS) as the home of tolerance and inclusion and totally lacking in ethnocentrism or demonizing xenophobia --EXCEPT for those pesky religious characters.

Every time that Annette, the primary protagonist, considers religious people, even in ours, the most enlightened timeline, it is paired with "and they have caused a lot of trouble" and as I recall, use of biological weapons is one example of the trouble religious people have caused.

Plus the tired, old canard that as long as a person believes in Heaven, Hell, and Divine Punishment, they will never have any other moral incentive or insight.

Islam, Christianity, and an author-invented version of Christianity for an alternate timeline, are all treated with equal respect.

"Making a comfortable world for everyone" seems however,to be the only moral imperative and the only universalizable maxim in this novel's world ( or rather "set of worlds"). Perhaps this is understandable for Annette, but it is never seriously called into question for the reader.

A good read for all ages, and very suitable for a post-9/11 culture, but with an ethnocentric blind spot.

Argumentum ad hominem material: I AM one of those pesky religious people!

This third installment of Harry Turtledove's Crosstime Traffic series focuses on a young woman from a "modern" society that travels across dimensions into alternate Earths. This modern world is NOT ours, perhaps one of the other dimensions they trade with is ours. Like all the Crosstime books the hero and heroine are in their late teens and the book appears to be pointed at the young adult audience. The hero of this piece is a young man from a version of Europe that never rose out of the Dark Ages and must, in the end, find his way in the heroine's modern world.

The concept is intriguing, the twists to history are interesting but the writing is flat! There's wonderful detail but it's presented almost like a text book. I never became engaged with either of the main characters and found both more than a little annoying at times. Turtledove's books for adults, like Guns of the South, are so much better written it isn't funny. It's almost hard to believe that they are written by the same person. There's no reason why a young adult book can't be an exciting read even if it is trying to be very, very moral with good "things" for young readers to learn!

In High Places has an interesting premise and is fast read, but it falls flat for me. The characters just go through their paces, there's no passion, no excitement, no real adventure. And it's sad, it could have been so much better.

In High Places: A Novel of Crosstime Traffic, by Harry Turtledove, is an exciting science-fiction adventure. Khadhija, the daughter of a wealthy Muslim Moorish merchant, is not all that she seems to be, and neither is the world that she is currently in. Khadhija is actually teenager Annette Klein, from the 21st century United States. She and her family are working for Crosstime Traffic, a business that trades merchandise from the alternate timeline- a world where history has taken a different path- to their modern timeline. In this alternate world, Europe is still engulfed in the medieval Dark Ages and greatly contrasts to the "home" timeline. For example, technology is basic, and the Muslims rule and occupy most of Europe, which is disunited into small states. The most significant difference is that in the alternate timeline, slavery still exists without any controversy. Annette and her family are preparing to return to the home timeline, so they travel in a caravan to locate the Crosstime Traffic portal that will send them home. However, bandits capture Annette, her local friend Jacques, and other travelers, and sell them all as slaves. Separated from her family, Annette's situation becomes even worse: her captors take her and the other slaves and transports them through an unauthorized Crosstime Traffic portal into a land ruled by Khadhija's own people. She must escape, but it seems as if she will be a slave forever.

In High Places was adventurous and page-turner. The historical analysis was very interesting and this book is perfect for any history buff. It did seem, however, that the author could have addressed the topic of slavery better. The argument made against slavery could have been more complex and powerful. All in all, a good read with an excellent plot, especially on a rainy day.

Reviewed by a reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews
www.flamingnet.com
Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations

Harry Turtledove has been rewriting history for a most amazing 25 years, blending historical fact and fiction in ways that are sure to entertain, plus raise a few eyebrows along the way. IN HIGH PLACES continues Turtledove's tradition of writing tales that are equally appealling to young and old, male or female, and incorporating adventure to move along plots of wonderful imagination.Annette Klein makes a fascinating protagonist as she and her family jump between alternate worlds buting and selling commodities as agents of Crosstime Traffic. She is a well rounded character through whom Turtledove tells his tale, and with whom the reader feels a real connection. The plot is solid and moves forward at a fast but measured pace, and when the novel comes to a close, the reader is left content with a tale well told. Highly recommended.

I have, for some time, been interested in the Young Adult market, considering most the stuff I've found has been some kind of Catcher-in-The-Rye wannabe, about disfunctional losers.

An earlier reviewer reminds us that Andre Norton's work, before she went to fantasy in the Witch World--when she was doing "hard" science fiction--was frankly YA, and had its young protagonists facing moral choices. This is true of her longer-lasting Star Rangers series, beginning with Starman's Son. It is also true of the Solar Queen stories, and of the less well-preserved stories she did which apparently never got out of paperback. Do I recall her doing Ace Doubles half a century ago? Still, they were all YA, and all valuable. Heinlein, up through Starship Troopers, was primarily YA and well done.

I am a great fan of Rosemary Sutcliff, the British author who built YA stories around the history of Britain, and sometimes other places. I reviewed her Sword Song at some length.

I am glad to find Turtledove's series going forward. The moral instruction of the young is a responsibility of society. How it is done shapes the future. If it is not done--that shapes the future as well. The only choice is in the content.

Turtledove emphasizes courage, willingness to sacrifice for others, and self-reliance in this story of crosstime travel gone wrong. Not only do the protagonists save themselves, they clear up a monstrous traffic in slavery. As an interesting subject, Turtledove introduces the concept of people warped enough that they would pay to be a "slave" for a period of time, or to be a slaver, or slave guard, or a high-tech conqueror of poorly-armed primitive people. These miscreants, too, are dealt with by the exertions of the two young subjects. I must say that the bad guys are bad enough that I was disappointed our two young heroes didn't manage to personally damage some of them.
The situations in which the young subjects of the story find themselves are made clear enough that the reader will be asking, "What would I do?", a very valuable question.

The Romans told each other the story of Horatius at The Bridge for a thousand years. Why? Should we be interested in the stories we tell each other, and our children?

That having been said, both of my favorite YA authors (Norton and Sutcliff) had far better style than Turtledove. His ROA (really old adult) novels are lively, entertaining, and the reading itself is a pleasure. This story shows signs of having been done as a self-imposed duty. I hope he can bring more of his talent to future work in this area.

Disguised as Moslem traders from Marsailles, Khadija and her parents are actually crosstime traders--buying the stuff that lets the home timeline prosper. They're exploring a world where the black plague lasted longer and killed more people than in the home timeline--a world where Europe was so depopulated that Moslem invaders reconquered Spain, moved further into the Balkans and Southern Europe, and even defeated most of France than in our own history. In this alternate world, a holy man proclaimed himself to be Henri, God's second (and more important) son.

When Khadija and a young caravan guard, Jacques, are taken captive and enslaved, Khadija hopes that Crosstime will rescue her. A lifetime of slavery seems like a nightmare. But that nightmare pales compared to the reality she faces. She and Jacques are purchased not by locals, but by rogue elements of the home timeline--elements with illegal access to the transportation chambers that allow Crosstime to move goods and people across the multiple dimensions of history. Khadija and Jacques are slaves in an alternate reality unexplored by Crosstime--and held captive by people who get their jollies out of owning slaves--and killing anyone who gives them trouble.

Author Harry Turtledove continues his Crosstime saga with the strongest story yet in this young adult-oriented series. Although the movement between two alternate realities, and the limited access Khadija and Jacques have in the slave-world allow Turtledove to do less exploration of the differences that small changes in history might make, Turtledove deals with real moral issues and human problems.

Young readers, in particular, will enjoy seeing Khadija planning her escape--and respect her fears that Crosstime itself must be infiltrated. I found Khadija's escape plan to be a bit simplistic and unbelievable, but that didn't keep IN HIGH PLACES from offering an intriguing look at alternate history.

In the Kingdom of Versailles in the year 715 of the New Revolution winter keeps its grip on everyone while aristocrat, freeman, serf, and slave expect the Berber Kingdom of Berry to attack soon. Most residents ignore the threat as hard agricultural labor consumes all available time if one wants to eat. Teenage Khadija is an exception to the farming equation as she is the daughter of apparently wealthy Moorish business moguls. Actually that is their front; Khadija is Crosstime Traffic Californian Annette Klein who with her family comes from the future. Currently they head to the Marseilles portal so Annette can return to school.

Bandits attack her train and abduct her heading to a slave market to sell her and other prisoners. Annette still has high hopes her family will find her even after she is sold until her owners reach the unexpected destination. Slavery may have been outlawed for over two and a half centuries (since the American Civil War), but this is a non-sanctioned CT transposition chamber; meaning she can be anywhere in time as well as the planet while her anxious family struggle to find and rescue her.

Leaving the alternate past to a different portal, Harry Turtledove provides a terrific exhilarating futuristic thriller starring a wonderful young protagonist and a deep support cast. The storyline is fast-paced once the players are introduced and the abduction occurs. Annette is a fabulous individual who keeps the plot focused as she, her parents, and the audience wonders if she will ever reunite with her family. The third CT science Fiction (see CURIOUS NOTIONS and GUNPOWDER EMPIRE) is a wonderful entry in a fine series as once again a courageous female takes charge of the story.

Harriet Klausner