The Cross-Time Engineer (Adventures of Conrad Stargard, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Leo A. Frankowski (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB

One moment Conrad Schwartz was a hungover hiker in the mountains of modern Poland, the next he was running for his life from an angry Teutonic knight.

At first Conrad just thought he'd stumbled across a mad hermit. But several days of ever stranger events convinced him that he had somehow been stranded in A.D 1231.

And that meant Conrad had to turn Medieval Poland into the most powerful country in the world. Otherwise the Mongols were destined to destroy it--in just ten years!
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Leo Frankowski was born on February 13, 1943, in Detroit. By the time he was thirty-five, he had held more than a hundred different positions, ranging from "scientist in an electro-optics research lab to gardener to chief engineer. Much of his work was in chemical, optical, and physical instrumentation, and earned him a number of U.S. patents.

Since 1977, he has owned and managed Sterling Manufacturing & Design, the only mostly female engineering company in the Detroit area. Sterling designs electrical and fluid power controls for automatic special machines. It also produces Formitrol®, a stretchy material that is used to fix rusty cars.

He is active in MENSA, the Society for Creative Anachronism, and science fiction fandom. He is an officer in two writers' clubs, and his hobbies include reading, drinking, chess, kite flying, dancing girls, and cooking.

A lifelong bachelor, he lives alone in Sterling Heights, Michigan. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 259 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (January 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345327624
• ISBN-13: 978-0345327628
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #254,891 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent 5 Book Series, August 7, 2000

By	silliman89 "silliman89" (Burke, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This is the best time travel series in a realistic timeline ever written. Before these books, L. Sprague De Camp had held that title for decades with his "Lest Darkness Fall", but it was too short. Mark Twain may be the most famous with his "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", but that is more light hearted than serious, and disappointing at the end. The Conrad series delivers on all the promise, and even after 5 books, it still leaves you wanting more. (There is a sixth book now, but Conrad is a minor character, and I've reviewed it separately.)

I say realistic timeline, because Conrad isn't really from our timeline. I was a little suspicious right from the start, but it wasn't until Conrad reminisced about the Mongols invading France that I thought "Hey, wait a minute". It turns out that it didn't happen to us (even without Conrad). But the historians I read agree that it would have, except the great Khan died and the Mongols had a war of succession which they never recovered from. This is often used as an example of the actions of one person changing history. I never even heard the story, until Conrad got me to look it up. Go figure.

This is an action story, with fighting and sex, where Conrad overcomes insurmountable obstacles, and usually has a good time along the way. The author doesn't just ignore the time travel though. He writes a science fiction sub-plot about that too. In fact, the author is obviously an engineer, not just because it takes an engineer for Conrad to build the things he does, but also from the way the books were planned out and crafted. Obviously the author planned the Mongol invasion and built the series around it, but he also foreshadows romantic sub-plots 3 books in advance.

I love these books, and share other reviewers disbelief that they haven't been reprinted since 1993. If you've already read them, and love them too, you might want to try "The Misplaced Legion (Videssos Cycle, Book 1)" by Harry Turtledove, about elements of one of Caesar's legions travelling into Rome's future of the Byzantine Empire. Only it's not the real Byzantine Empire, it's a parallel universe where magic works. Aside from that, it's Byzantium during the 1100's written by a Byzantine historian. And of course you'll want to read the "Island in the Sea of Time" series by S. M. Stirling, about modern day Nantucket going back in time to the Trojan War. These works are different, but also 5 star time travel books.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying, if shallow, November 6, 2001

By	Annette C. Nelson "webtarkeena" (Gresham, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Very decent sci-fi / time-travel / alternate timeline treatment. If you're at all technically minded, and if you can look past the author's rather abysmal treatment of anyone of the female persuasion, you'll probably enjoy this as a nice break from something deeper and harder hitting. It's fun and diverting to imagine what one expert engineer who (unlike most of us technical rabble) actually knows how things work could do with 13th century technology, culture, and a great deal of luck.
The first 2-3 books of this series are by far the best, as near the end the author seems to loose a bit of interest - or at least creativity - and begins to engage some serious Deus Ex Machina plot elements with Conrad's friends in the distant future. Still, worth a read to those not offended by the "women are property - and they *love* it" garbage scattered throughout.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 'Connecticut Yankee,' plus sex, January 7, 2002

By	R. Treynor (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Similar storyline to Twain's 'Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' - only this time, it's a Polish engineer in 13th century Poland.
It's a fun read, although I found it a bit convenient that the hero was an engineer - it would have been much more fun & challenging if the hero only had a rudimentary knowledge of how things worked.
A similar book to these that I'd also reccommend is 'Enchantment' by Orson Scott Card. That book and the Stargard series are the only time-travelling in Poland fantasy books I'm aware of.