The Centurion's Empire
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Aurealis Award
In the year that Mount Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii, the Roman Centurion Vitellan set off for the twenty-first century as Imperial Rome's last human-powered time machine. He killed an unfaithful lover by just letting her grow old, but her hate pursued him across seven centuries. In 1358 he stood with a few dozen knights against an army of nine thousand to defend the life of a beautiful countess...and earned a love that would conquer death.
Now Vitellan has awakened in the twenty-first century, a bewildered fugitive, betrayed and hunted in a world where minds and bodies are swapped and memories are bought, sold, and read like books. But worst of all, a deadly enemy from the fourteenth century is still very much alive--and closing in.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McMullen (Voices in the Light), a three-time winner of the Aurealis Award, has crafted a novel that's both historical and futuristic, with much to recommend it. The story begins in A.D. 71, when Vitellan Bavalius is a simple sailor. Due to a series of fortunate accidents, Vitellan is made a centurion and handed a secret formula that was created by a group of Romans known as the Temporians. When used in combination with ice chambers, the formula induces a state of cryogenic suspension from which a person can be successfully resuscitated. Vitellan uses the formula to travel forward in time. He is revived at various turning points in history by his hereditary Icekeepers, who guard his "immortal" status. Each time Vitellan awakens, he finds his life complicated by previous and current love affairs. In this novel, women have long memories and they pass on their grudges (as well as their loyalties) to their offspring. Although his story occasionally lapses into tedious technical description, McMullen handles his characters and historical action scenes with zest. He is even more inventive with the sequences set in the 21st century; these are thrilling and allow more leeway for his wry sense of humor. Whether peeling off a false face or discussing the realities of the world shortly after Christ's death, Vitellan is an appealing protagonist. His fictional advent, worthy of a sequel, should enthrall fans of both history and hard SF.
