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On the Oceans of Eternity

4.5 out of 5 stars (791)
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Book details

  1. Book 3 of 3
    Island
  2. Print length
    640 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Ace
  5. Publication date
    April 1, 2000
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    4.17 x 1.44 x 6.81 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0451457803
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0451457806
  10. See all details
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Book overview

Harry Turtledove hailed Island in the Sea of Time as “one of the best time travel/alternative history stories I’ve ever read,” and Jane Lindskold called Against the Tide of Years “another exciting and explosive tale.” Now the adventures of the Nantucket islanders lost in the time of the Bronze Age continues with On the Oceans of Eternity.

             Ten years ago, the twentieth century and the Bronze Age were tossed together by a mysterious Event. In the decade since, the Republic of Nantucket has worked hard to create a new future for itself, using the technological know-how retained from modern times to explore and improve conditions for the inhabitants of the past.
          
 Some of these peoples have become allies. Some have turned instead to the renegade Coast Guard officer William Walker. And for ten years, the two sides have tested each other, feinting and parrying, to decide who will be the ones to lead this brave new world into the future.
           
Now the official battle lines have been drawn. And only one side can emerge the victor…

Amazon.com Review

In the bestselling Island in the Sea of Time, 20th-century Nantucket was inexplicably hurled back to the Bronze Age. In the sequel, Against the Tide of Years, the villainous renegade William Walker introduced muskets, cannon, and other deadly anachronisms to Odysseus's Greece, making himself king and positioning himself to overthrow the democratic Republic of Nantucket and destroy his archenemy, Commodore Marian Alston. Now, in the trilogy's rousing conclusion, On the Oceans of Eternity, Walker's powerful army conquers Troy and invades Babylon, Nantucket's last great ally, as Walker's blood brother, the king of Tartessos, blocks Commodore Alston's Nantucket navy at the straits of Gibraltar. If Nantucket's tiny forces cannot defeat Walker's army and allies, the world will be plunged into a Dark Age bleaker and more devastating than any known in our history.

On the Oceans of Eternity ends cleanly, yet leaves the door open for a number of interesting sequels--and how often can you say that? Like its prequels, On the Oceans of Eternity is big, bloody, and ambitious, but always fast-paced and fascinating. This fun, intelligent series is perfect not only for action-adventure, alternate history, time travel, and military-SF fans but also for epic fantasy readers, for Burroughs and Haggard fans craving a modern update of the lost-civilization novel, and for anyone who loves Patrick O'Brian's sensational sea battles. --Cynthia Ward

From Booklist

With this book Stirling probably concludes a time travel^-alternate history saga that has met with great enough acclaim, however, to merit promotion to trade paperback or hardcover format should he continue it. The premise is that Nantucket has been tossed back to about 1400 B.C., with the Coast Guard tall ship Eagle in tow just offshore. From this, a new and different time line commences, one complicated by outbreaks of measles and smallpox, the inhabitants' shrewdness, stark treason on the part of one of the time-displaced band, thuggish genius William Walker, and the parallel introductions of diversity and women's rights with those of the steam engine and the ironclad. Readers of this book's predecessors, Island in the Sea of Time (1998) and Against the Tide of Years (1999), will find the same strong characterizations, high historical scholarship, superior narrative technique, excellent battle scenes, and awareness of social and economic as well as technological factors in evidence again. Newcomers will feel compelled to retreat to the saga's beginning. Roland Green

Review

“Stirling’s imaginative foray into time travel should please fans of alternative history.” – Library Journal

About the Author

S. M. Stirling is the New York Times bestselling author of many science fiction and fantasy novels, including the Novels of the Change (including Prince of Outcasts, The Desert and the Blade, The Golden Princess, The Given Sacrifice, Lord of Mountains) and the Shadowspawn series (A Taint in the Blood, The Council of Shadows, Shadows of Falling Night).

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S. M. Stirling
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I'm a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft -- I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
791 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the characters interesting, clearly drawn, and distinct. They describe the book as a pleasure to read, entertaining, and satisfying. Readers find the concept interesting, enlightening, and original. They also describe the story as fantastic, wonderful, and excellent. Opinions are mixed on the writing quality, with some finding it well-written and descriptive, while others say it's too detailed in some places.

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Story qualityEnjoymentThought provokingCharacter developmentWriting qualityPace
Story qualityEnjoymentThought provokingCharacter developmentWriting qualityPace
47Customers mention
42Positive
5Negative

Customers find the story fantastic, wonderful, and excellent. They say it's a good alternate history story that follows many separate story arcs. Readers also mention the book is an enjoyable ending to a great series. They appreciate the numerous well-written battle sequences.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

"...This was a great finale to the series, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. There are a few curve balls thrown, but they really add to the story...." Read more

"What a fantastic historic alternate history story/trilogy...." Read more

"...Stirling seems to know his stuff, and carries his story along at a good, solid pace. Not too much hurry, not too much detail...." Read more

"...The IitSoT trilogy is a good example: a thrilling, well woven story, with (apparently) a lot of research into its writing...." Read more

28Customers mention
28Positive
0Negative

Customers find the book enjoyable, satisfying, and exciting. They say it's perfect for a single day-long reading session and keeps their interest.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

"...This was a great finale to the series, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. There are a few curve balls thrown, but they really add to the story...." Read more

"...This book, even though over 500 pages of small type, was really satisfying...." Read more

"...Great read, you WILL lose sleep." Read more

"...The IitSoT trilogy is a good example: a thrilling, well woven story, with (apparently) a lot of research into its writing...." Read more

19Customers mention
19Positive
0Negative

Customers find the concept interesting, enlightening, and original. They say the book brings together a number of themes. Readers also mention the quality is excellent, well-researched, and detailed.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

"Interesting starting point for a well researched and peopled story of time travel and adventure...." Read more

"...read this genre of books, and have fallen in love with the openness, idea laden, conversation starting story that SM Sterling provides...." Read more

"...His ideas are original, soundly researched and brilliantly written.These are "clear your calendar and read" sorts of books...." Read more

"...book in the Island in the Sea of Time series is well written and very detailed, and the details are what I love about this series...." Read more

11Customers mention
9Positive
2Negative

Customers find the characters interesting and clearly drawn. They also say the book features dozens of characters, each distinct.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

"...There are good character sketches; Stirling understands (evidently) that you don't have to detail every little mole a character who isn't a main..." Read more

"Beautifully descriptive, rich in characters and history. Steve does it again with what is hopefully NOT the last of this series...." Read more

"...The character is competent and professional, so that's good...." Read more

"...His characters are clearly drawn; feel as though I could recognize them if I somehow met them on the street..." Read more

19Customers mention
11Positive
8Negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book. Some mention it's well-written, descriptive, and realistic. However, others say it'd be better if it were less detailed in some places and if the author could summarize better.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

"...I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by ROC (Penguin) in 2000 that I just bought in 2021...." Read more

"...our protagonists face simply aren't big enough, the challenges are surmounted far too easily, and as a result there's not much tension..." Read more

"...There are few typos or grammatical errors. Stirling appears to have done more than a first pass with a spell-checker.Lots of fun. Read it." Read more

"Beautifully descriptive, rich in characters and history. Steve does it again with what is hopefully NOT the last of this series...." Read more

6Customers mention
3Positive
3Negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pace of the book. Some mention it's solid, while others say everything finishes up far too quickly.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

"...seems to know his stuff, and carries his story along at a good, solid pace. Not too much hurry, not too much detail...." Read more

"...Everything finishes up far too quickly- and unsatisfyingly...." Read more

"Last in the island trilogy. All three were evenly paced. Good guys or bad guys, you get to meet them all." Read more

"The pacing in this book aims for "epic," I think, but just felt slow to me...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

AJ Reissig
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Great Ending to the series
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2014
As a scifi writer (Chronicles of Aria Prime, Episode One), I have been inspired by Stirling's work, and couldn't wait to get my hands on the last book in the Nantucket series. Ten years have passed since "the... See more
As a scifi writer (Chronicles of Aria Prime, Episode One), I have been inspired by Stirling's work, and couldn't wait to get my hands on the last book in the Nantucket series. Ten years have passed since "the Event" flung the island of Nantucket backwards through time to 1250 BC, forcing its inhabitants to survive as best they can in a world where bronze, cities and writing are new innovations and most of humanity still lives as hunter-gatherers or Neolithic villagers. The Islanders continue their battle against William Walker, a renegade from their own society who saw the sudden transportation of Nantucket into the past as an opportunity for his own aggrandizement. The alliance with Babylon and the other Mesopotamian powers have borne strange fruit, including several mixed marriages in positions that have the promise of reshaping entire societies from the bottom up. They are introducing modern technology and medicine, hoping to improve the lot of the people they help and shortcut around hundreds of generations of misery.

However, all that they are doing is threatened by Walker's aggression. His creation, Greater Achea (Mycanean Greece reshaped by modern ideas), is a nightmare empire of industrial slavery and police-state tactics in a world unprepared to deal with this level of evil. His principal wife, Dr. Alice Hong, has spread her Dark Sisterhood right alongside more benign innovations such as the germ theory of disease. Bound together by a religious initiation that calls upon the dark spirit of Hecate, these women form a network of spies and assassins which spread tendrils into every noble house and can even watch the watchmen organized by Heinrich Mittler.

At the same time, Iskaterol of Tartessos continues his opposition to Nantucket, which he sees as trying to crush his efforts to see to it that his people and his city do not disappear into the trash can of history as they did in the original timeline. Although he is not evil in the same sense that Walker is (he's merely doing what's common in his own place and time, rather than re-establishing cruelties given up by his people), his opposition to Nantucket prevents them from effectively dealing with the monster they have inadvertently inflicted on this time and place, simply by tying up resources they need in order to give the Walker problem a full-court press..

The arrival of Americans from the far future didn't mean an instant end to all the rivalries that were in existence prior to the Event depositing Nantucket in the past. The Assyrians are "less bad" than Walker only because they are using less advanced weapon technology, but they are a very real danger to the fragile alliance the Islanders have forged with the Babylonians. Especially considering that Walker has decided it's time to fight the Trojan War, but this time it's going to be fought his way.

Once again, Stirling goes into great detail with his technological explanations. Once again, we an improvement in manufacturing capability. Book 2′s muzzleloaders are gone, replaced with bolt-action cartridge rifles, and in many ways the Nantucket soldiers are equipped much like the doughboys of World War One. Walker's troops are better equipped as well, and throughout the entire story, you feel as if things are building to a massive war between the Islanders and Walker.

This was a great finale to the series, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. There are a few curve balls thrown, but they really add to the story. I highly recommend picking up a copy.
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Anthony A. Whatley Jr.
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Good alternate history.
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2024
Charaters are flushed out and consistent. A bit anticlimactic though. I hope for a fourth book to follow the coarse of Nantucket.
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Michael Lynn McGuire
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Book number three in a three book apocalyptic alternate history time travel series
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2021
Book number three in a three book apocalyptic alternate history time travel series. This trilogy is the prequel to the fifteen book Emberverse ("Dies The Fire") series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by ROC (Penguin) in 2000 that I just bought in... See more
Book number three in a three book apocalyptic alternate history time travel series. This trilogy is the prequel to the fifteen book Emberverse ("Dies The Fire") series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by ROC (Penguin) in 2000 that I just bought in 2021.

In the sudden blink of an eye, the island of Nantucket and its 6,000+ inhabitants plus a Coast Guard training sailing ship with a crew of 300 are transported back to 1,250 BC. Over 3,000 years in the past in the same place. But every one outside of Nantucket is still the same in the past.

It has been ten years since the event that threw the island of Nantucket into the past. The islanders have been very busy feeding themselves and exploring the rest of the very primitive world. They have made friends. And enemies. And the traitor William Walker took 30+ islanders, a ship, many guns, and hass setting up his own Mediterranean kingdom in what is now known as Greece. The Islanders have built Babylon into a stronghold.
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Glassco
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
terrific series
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2024
Interesting starting point for a well researched and peopled story of time travel and adventure.
S. M. Sterling is an excellent author with a phenomenal imagination!
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Pamela O
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
SM Sterling hits it outta the park!
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2013
What a fantastic historic alternate history story/trilogy. I usually don't read this genre of books, and have fallen in love with the openness, idea laden, conversation starting story that SM Sterling provides. It's not just a story, it's an experience! The depths of... See more
What a fantastic historic alternate history story/trilogy. I usually don't read this genre of books, and have fallen in love with the openness, idea laden, conversation starting story that SM Sterling provides. It's not just a story, it's an experience! The depths of description allows the reader to fully understand SM's vision for not only his characters, but the time in which he places those characters. His heroine, a strong black woman who happens to not only love to cook, is a true blue militaristic naval hero, but also happens to have a deep humanity shown in her personal life as a gay woman. Her alter hero, town sheriff turned mini President Pro Temp, Jared Cofflin, is equally impressive and shows the true grit of the American spirit. The villain? Equal to the hero's of the story and twice as clever and devious! You truly learn to not only revile this man, but begin to understand just how dark the human soul can become with unchecked power and privilege.

For those who love civilization games and studies in anthropology, you will love this book. It is as if you are reading the story of one of your Civilization IV games come to life. SM Sterling truly hits the nail on the head of the common sense approach to a dilemma not imaginable.

Two thumbs way up! I can't wait to begin reading the now 7 books that tell the story of those left behind in the present!

Pamela J. Olson
Citrus Heights, Ca.
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Dianna Deeley
3.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Very Satisfying! And No Impalements!
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2000
Stirling did a bang-up job with this trilogy. From first to last, he kept everybody consistent even while they changed over the 11 year span. He kept a modicum of control over sprawling material. There are still too many threads to catch at once (it's the whole bronze age... See more
Stirling did a bang-up job with this trilogy. From first to last, he kept everybody consistent even while they changed over the 11 year span. He kept a modicum of control over sprawling material. There are still too many threads to catch at once (it's the whole bronze age world!), but he limits what he narrates, and hews close to an exciting story-line.
If you don't like political maneuver, and the continuation of diplomacy by other means, you may not care for this book. I had a great time. Stirling seems to know his stuff, and carries his story along at a good, solid pace. Not too much hurry, not too much detail.
It has been evident from the first book that Stirling had a definite plan for these books, and he's stuck to it. I felt in the first book that he padded it a little, and even more in the second book. I realize now that this was actually set-up, and I apologize in retrospect. This book, even though over 500 pages of small type, was really satisfying.
Without giving the plot away, which tends to annoy me, I will say this: there is a beautifully done distinction between people who are doing the best they can and the truly evil. There are good character sketches; Stirling understands (evidently) that you don't have to detail every little mole a character who isn't a main viewpoint has.
While he left lots of room for sequels, Stirling ended the trilogy well. The bad guys get their come-uppance. The good guys get their rewards. This is expected, but it's done well.
What's more, though he mentions crucifixions (yuck!), Stirling doesn't go into much detail about it, and he restrained his intellectual brutality to a bearable level. This has been a consistent problem for me with Stirling. I am happy to see it kept under strict control.
There are few typos or grammatical errors. Stirling appears to have done more than a first pass with a spell-checker.
Lots of fun. Read it.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Typical Stirling
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2024
Beautifully descriptive, rich in characters and history. Steve does it again with what is hopefully NOT the last of this series. Great read, you WILL lose sleep.
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Ricardo Josua
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Mind the story
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2002
Ever since I started reading SF (and alternate history) I have wondered why the genre is so often disregarded by "mainstream" literature. The IitSoT trilogy is a good example: a thrilling, well woven story, with (apparently) a lot of research into its writing. As... See more
Ever since I started reading SF (and alternate history) I have wondered why the genre is so often disregarded by "mainstream" literature. The IitSoT trilogy is a good example: a thrilling, well woven story, with (apparently) a lot of research into its writing. As I finished OtOoE, the last installment, I guess I finally found the answer. SF writers in general, and Stirling in particular, are great with the premises and plot, but are usually unable to provide depth to the characters. "On the Oceans of Eternity" ends nicely (although in a somewhat corny fashion) the adventures of the RON, but enthralling as he plot was - I kept wondering what would I've done were I in the characters shoes - the characters are doomed to early oblivion...
That doesn't mean there weren't great characters in the book (like Rapuasha, Kash and the Hollards), only that they were somewhat underdeveloped.
Overall, it is a great book, so forget the character depiction minor flaws and enjoy the story.
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Top reviews from other countries

Daniel
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Satisfactory Finale to a grand epic.
Reviewed in Canada on March 1, 2016
This is book three of the trilogy and the finale of the series; not counting the spin-off series which I haven't read that explains what the "Event" actually was, what caused it, and what happened to the 20th century they left behind. . Not to spoil the ending, I...See more
This is book three of the trilogy and the finale of the series; not counting the spin-off series which I haven't read that explains what the "Event" actually was, what caused it, and what happened to the 20th century they left behind. . Not to spoil the ending, I was surprised by the direction that the author ultimately took. On the one hand, it ended rather abruptly and basically decapitated what would have been its' climax, but on the other, the ending we got through espionage instead of conquest served as a worthy accompaniment to the battle's and tactical drama on land and sea encompassing "a conflict on the scale of WW2 with absurdly small numbers of combatants" that was already present in the anthology. . Given how it ended, the author could have written substantially more and drawn out the plot further, but chose not to. Putting aside the manner in which it ended--which while unexpected, was satisfactorily well done, intended from the beginning, and about which I remain ambivalent--I cannot get over the manner in which the epilogue/final-chapter set up the basis for another series to carry the plot into the second generation of Islanders, yet this book that was hinted at remains unwritten. Where this trilogy not among my favourites, I would have to give this final instalment a 4.3, but since it managed to wrap up the plot in a satisfactory manner, I will still give it a 5, as it--along with the other two (2)--are definitely worth owning. I wholeheartedly recommend all three instalments of this series to all interested parties. You won't regret it.

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Giulio Bobbo
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Happy end but...
Reviewed in Italy on September 21, 2014
The quality of the writing and the evolving of the many stories inside the main plot is always excellent. Still, the story comes to a sudden, quick end. It's like to see a huge storm charging, and then ending with an intense but quick rain, perhaps there was a fourth novel...See more
The quality of the writing and the evolving of the many stories inside the main plot is always excellent. Still, the story comes to a sudden, quick end. It's like to see a huge storm charging, and then ending with an intense but quick rain, perhaps there was a fourth novel who was canceled?

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Steve Casely
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
All the characters were thoroughly researched and believable with exception of a demented Sado- Masochist doctor who is frankly
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2015
fast pace, and well written. Stirling returns to theme of worlds ending and the start of a new history this time with people from 3500 years ago. sexier with less repeated violence he handles the change in time through the eyes of the people who have to lead the survivors...See more
fast pace, and well written. Stirling returns to theme of worlds ending and the start of a new history this time with people from 3500 years ago. sexier with less repeated violence he handles the change in time through the eyes of the people who have to lead the survivors through the challenges and difficulties of being thrown back in time. The leading characters are well crafted and strong and unusual in that the war leader is a black feminist lesbian, who he creates with a thoroughly crafted and detailed pen. All the characters were thoroughly researched and believable with exception of a demented Sado- Masochist doctor who is frankly badly written and boring. She will not spoil your enjoyment of excellently crafted novel

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Mark
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
After you finished dies the fire
Reviewed in Canada on May 1, 2018
Great book goes well with the dies the fire series. Only wish there were more in the series. Note: This is the second book!

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Ken
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Not the end?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2008
I love this series, the first book is excellant and worth 5 stars, the second and third 4 stars as is inevitable in sequels where the idea and setting are already established and the wow factor missing. There are clear indications to me that a further book or more could be...See more
I love this series, the first book is excellant and worth 5 stars, the second and third 4 stars as is inevitable in sequels where the idea and setting are already established and the wow factor missing. There are clear indications to me that a further book or more could be written as there is the open ended sections regarding the crew of the lost airship, and the surviving daughter who intends to rebilud her fathers empire away form the sea where the nantucknians can't easily get to her? the "Dies the fire" trilogy has spawned a follow up series based on the children of the main characters from the first series

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