Wraiths of Time (Tor Fantasy) [Mass Market Paperback]

Andre Norton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1992 | Series: Tor Fantasy

"Science fiction at its best" (Portland Oregonian) from the author of Gryphon's Eyrie. When she tries to prevent the theft of a mysterious black box containing an Egyptian ankh, Tally Mitford is unexpectedly hurled back in time to the kingdom of Meroe, a nation threatened by magical forces more real and powerful than anything she has ever seen. Reissue.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

For well over a half century, Andre Norton has been one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy authors in the world. Since her first SF novels were published in the 1940s, her adventure SF has enthralled readers young and old. With series such as Time Traders, Solar Queen, Forerunner, Beast Master, Crosstime, and Janus, as well as many stand-alone novels, her tales of action and adventure throughout the galaxy have drawn countless readers to science fiction.

Her fantasy, including the best-selling Witch World series, her "Magic" series, and many other unrelated novels, has been popular with readers for decades. Lauded as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, she is the recipient of a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention. Not only have her books been enormously popular; she also has inspired several generations of SF and fantasy writers, especially many talented women writers who have followed in her footsteps. In the past two decades she has worked with other writers on a number of novels. Most notable among these are collaborations with Mercedes Lackey, the Halfblood Chronicles, as well as collaborations with A.C. Crispin (in the Witch World series) and Sherwood Smith (in the Time Traders and Solar Queen series). An Ohio native, Ms. Norton lived for a number of years in Winter Park, Florida, and now makes her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she continues to write, and presides over High Hallack, a writers' resource and retreat.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (December 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812547527
• ISBN-13: 978-0812547528
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,758,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Princess of Amun, January 2, 2004

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wraiths of Time (Hardcover)

Wraiths of Time is a singleton novel about an ancient Egyptian civilization. Tallahassee Mitford is a student of archaeology and an assistant curator at the local museum. She has been employed to help catalogue the Lewis Brooke collection after the owner's accidental death the previous year. Dr. Roman Carey, a specialist in Egyptian and Nubian artifacts, has been called in to study the collection.

In this novel, the FBI have stumbled across a box in a locker at the airport that emits some unknown form of energy. Their initial survey does not find any obvious way of opening the object without damaging it. They involve Jason Robbins from the local FBI office because of his knowledge of African artforms and he then calls in his cousin Tally after recognizing the obvious age of the object. She identifies several African motifs in the design of the object and suggests that the FBI store the box in the museum safe overnight and then let Dr. Carey identify the artifact the following day.

After storing the box and its lead-lined carrier within the safe, Tally and Jason go out for dinner and then he escorts Tally to her apartment. Her phone is ringing when she arrives and her boss, Dr. Greenley, asks her to return immediately to the museum. Someone has ransacked Dr. Greenley's office, but the artifact itself remains untouched within the safe. When Tally shows it to Dr. Greenley, the supercilious Dr. Carey elbows his way to the object and opens it by pressing on both sides.

Within the box is a small bundle wrapped in yellowed material. Tally grabs his arm and warns him of the radiation, but Dr. Carey jerks away and picks up the bundle and, eluding an effort by Dr. Greenley to take the bundle, Carey unwraps it to show an ankh, which he then drops onto the desktop. There is a crash of thunder, the lights go out, and the glowing object rises in the air and moves off through the museum to another object stored therein, a rod of office from the Brooke collection. This object is also glowing, but more faintly. When she grasp the rod and the ankh touches it, Tally is surrounded by a riot of light, heat, sound and pain and then falls senseless.

In this story, Tally is hurled into a time after Egypt has been overrun by barbarians. She gains consciousness in a place of rock and sand, where she finds the dead body of someone who looks like her yet is dressed as a Royal princess. Moreover, the body is holding the ahkh and rod in either hand. Then a woman in the mask of a lioness comes upon Tally and the body, calls in two other women, and has them carry the girl's body into the nearby temple of Apedemek, the lion god.

Despite the evidence of her travel though space and time, Tally also discovers signs of an advanced civilization: a humming pillar and a flying machine with no apparent means of propulsion. And then she is introduced to a box that conducts thought between persons wearing the two earpieces.

Tally learns that she been thrown into an alternate timeline in which the refugees from Egypt, and later from the Kush, have fled far to the West, preserving and increasing their ancient knowledge. Her duplicate in this timeline was the Princess Ashake and now she is being asked to replace the Princess amidst a power struggle for the throne of the Empire of Amun. The Candace is the eldest child of the late Pharoah's sister and thus the proper heir to the throne. However, the Pharoah's son, Userkof, is attempting to usurp the throne with aid from Kashti, a person of great power who has found a way to pierce the wall between timelines.

This story illustrates some characteristic features in most science fiction tales by the author. Like many adventure tales that predated science fiction per se, it is filled with ancient ruins containing strange artifacts with inexplicable powers. Often these artifacts are gateways to unknown realms and are guarded by powerful monsters. Most of the technology in these tales is commonplace in SF (the author may have invented some of it) but a few technological objects are so advanced as to be incomprehensible to the scientists and techs who study it. Even before Clarke coined his third law, the author was writing about advanced technology that was indistinguishable from magical artifacts.

This story is another tale of crosstime travel but with elements of the ancient Egyptian religion intermingled with technology. The plot is a bit weak and is very similar to that of the author's Shadow of Albion fantasy novel. However, the story is a good adventure among the exotic ambiance of an Empire of Amun that never existed in our own universe.

Highly recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of ancient societies mixed with very advanced technology.

-Arthur W. Jordin

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Archaelolgy Meets Great Sci-fi, May 19, 2002

By 

Shepen "ladysekhmet9" (Iowa, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wraiths of Time (Paperback)

I first read this book back in high school, and it got me interested in fantasy and science fiction again. As an ancient Egypt enthusiast, I am still impressed by how much research Norton put into the the pseudo-african culture where most of the book takes place. It is also a quick read.
It tells the story of an American archaeologist who is drawn into an alternate universe where Egyptian culture still thrives. She must assume the identity of a dead princess/priestess to defeat an uprising with a mysterious leader.
I found this book refreshing because it is a sci-fi book whose main character is a black woman, and a smart, no nonsense one at that! It's not the usual sci-fi or fantasy i am used to seeing. So if you're interested in books that feature strong women and "Stargate" like Egyptian culture, I reccomend this book strongly.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A KEEPER, February 27, 2001

By 

GLENNDA (HESPERIA, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wraiths of Time (Tor Fantasy) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have a copy of this book from the '70s. It's falling apart from being re-read so many times. The book is entertaining, suspenseful and just down right good.

Tallahassee is a great herione. She is smart and willing to fight the good fight. She is taken back in time to a place that was only fabled to exist. This place is being threatened by an evil that will destroy it, unless Tally can convincingly take the place of the just deceased princess.

This book is a great way to introduce young readers to science fiction and time travel.