In the late 1990s, the billionaire founder of ITC develops technology that uses quantum foaming to transport objects and people back to fourteenth-century France. When Professor Edward Johnston becomes stranded in 1357 during the Hundred Years' War, three of his graduate students—Chris Hughes, Kate Erickson, and André Marek—travel through the portal to rescue him. They land near the Castelgard fortress amidst a violent conflict between English and French forces. The team must navigate feudal politics, survive knightly combat, and manage failing technological links to return to the present before their window for extraction permanently closes.
This thriller appeals to readers interested in the technical intersections of quantum physics and historiography. It attracts those who want a realistic depiction of the medieval period that avoids romanticized tropes, focusing instead on the era's sanitation, language barriers, and legal structures. After finishing the book, the reader understands the theoretical concept of multiverses and the logistical difficulties of surviving in a pre-industrial society. They gain a detailed perspective on how modern archeological methods compare to the physical reality of the historical sites they study.
Practical, outward-looking, growth-minded, clear-cut and escapist; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Curious Generalist. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1999
- Language
- EN
