Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Gunpowder Empire (Crosstime Traffic #1)
Jeremy Solter is a teenager growing up in the late 21st century. During the school year, his family lives in Southern California--but during the summer the whole family lives and works on the frontier of the Roman Empire. Not the Roman Empire that fell centuries ago, but a Roman Empire that never fell: a parallel timeline, one of an infinity of possible worlds.
For in our t...more
For in our t...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
December 5th 2003
by Tor Books
(first published November 2003)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
810)
Jul 13, 2012
Herman Gigglethorpe
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
alternate-history
Although there's a decent story buried in here, this book still feels like a lot of filler that insults the reader's intelligence.
The basic premise is that traders from 2090 or so in our world can travel to alternate Earths, and bring back scarce resources or food.
*EXPOSITION WARNING, BUT NOT WITH MANY SPOILERS*
The main characters are stuck in a world in which the Roman Empire never fell because a better commander than Quintilius Varus (sp) fought at the Teutoberg Forest battle. This victory me...more
The basic premise is that traders from 2090 or so in our world can travel to alternate Earths, and bring back scarce resources or food.
*EXPOSITION WARNING, BUT NOT WITH MANY SPOILERS*
The main characters are stuck in a world in which the Roman Empire never fell because a better commander than Quintilius Varus (sp) fought at the Teutoberg Forest battle. This victory me...more
I had never heard of Harry Turtledove before last month. I saw his book while visiting my local library. I was intrigued by Gunpowder Empire because of my enjoyment of the ancient Roman empire. I've recently watched the entire ROME television series (via Netflix) and the SPARTACUS: SAND & BLOOD series (also via Netflix). So I was ready to enjoy this science fiction book about an American family in the 28th century who is able to travel to alternative timeline ... and in this case the alterna...more
Hmmmm, I normally like Turtledove and alternate history type books, but this one was kind of a let down. Let me preface by saying I did not know this was for young adults. However, with a good book, that should not matter. Gunpowder Empire follows the Solter family who spend their summers on the frontier of the Roman Empire trading items such as Swiss Army knives for grain. Jeremy and Amanda are the teen-age children who get left in charge when their parents must come back to the present for an...more
While the book contains an interesting story line, the writing was amateurish and aimed at middle schools students(which you think I would have notices while reading the blurb on the back cover). The book had an intriguing focus on social issues, such as sexism and slavery, that is observed by modern Americans within the Roman culture(I think they said they were from California or were learning American history or something). The characters themselves didn't really have depth or display any form...more
I have been a fan of alternate history stories for a while. I've read some short stories and really enjoyed them. This book I found a little dry. I got bored and stopped reading it for a while then came back to it. Partially it may have been my lack of interest in studying the Roman Empire but I found some of the other Crosstime Traffic books in this series that look really good. I wanted to read the first in the series in case it explained some things that make the later books make more sense....more
The Crosstime Traffic series is an interesting premise on alternate histories. In the 21st Century people go back in time to trade with the locals for food stuffs or other supplies needed in the 21st Century. Or on unpopulated worlds you can mine for minerals and oil without worrying about harming the ecosystem. Jeremy and Amanda Solters’ parents are traders from the 21st Century working in the Roman Empire. They trade pocket knives and straight edge razors for grain. Jeremy and Amanda join the...more
Yes, this series is targeted at the teen/young adult audience. Yes, that means the writing is less complex than his other series. The point here is that Turtledove is trying to hook younger readers on reading and sci-fi in particular. If you are trying to pull in a younger, newer audience, you don't start them out with the theory of relativity! Crawl, walk, run. Don't write discouraging reviews because you thought you were getting something that wasn't intended. Encourage a new generation. This...more
Not very impressed with this one. Couldn't really get immersed in the story and/or characters. The writing seemed stilted and the characters thoughts kept thinking about and explaining to themselves (you the reader) where some of their cultural biases came from instead of just reacting with cultural bias. Not that I know how to write so that the cultural biases are visible to the reader but internally integrated in the characters. I just know that the technique used in this story kept me from re...more
I have never read any of Turtledove's work, since they often center on the Civil War or WWII, not my favorite topics. But this sort of YA series intrigued me - it is about the multiverse. A way to cross over to alternate timelines was discovered, and Crosstime Traffic established to train people to go to various timelines, and trade and barter to bring things back. Some timelines have no people yet, even though it is the same "time." Others are ones where Hitler won WWII, or Germany won WWI, or...more
Wow. I don't know where to start. The book was just so bad. Well, it's dated. It's only 10 years old, but being set so far into the future (he didnt give an exact year, but I estimate about 80 years) ages a book extremely quickly. The tech in this book is actually less advanced than what we have now. I know.
I should probably backtrack. The premise of this book is that at some time (Turtledove doesn't like to use exact years) people in our world learned how to dimension travel. So, like the gree...more
I should probably backtrack. The premise of this book is that at some time (Turtledove doesn't like to use exact years) people in our world learned how to dimension travel. So, like the gree...more
This book did not impress me, which makes me sad because I have been wanting to read some of Harry Turtledove's alt history for some time. I'm hoping this is a reflection of this being a novel geared towards young adults - if anyone can reassure me, please do in the comments!
In the Crosstime Traffic series, the main timeline has discovered a way to move between alternate histories and Crosstime Traffic is an organization that sends employees to live in alternate histories and collect resources...more
In the Crosstime Traffic series, the main timeline has discovered a way to move between alternate histories and Crosstime Traffic is an organization that sends employees to live in alternate histories and collect resources...more
I have tried reading Harry Turtledove about 3 times and each time I have put the book down. I love his ideas for stories and this one caught my eye. I however did not enjoy the story and finished it in case it improved for me. His writing does not capture me as his style is different to what I seek. I saw this as a young readers book and it just did not explore the concept and have it reach it potential for me. Others may prefer this but it just does not fit my tastes unfortunately.
So far the writing seems rather unsophisticated although the concept is a very intriguing one. The fact that this is a work geared toward juvenile readers probably accounts for the style of writing. At least that is the benefit of the doubt I will give without having read any of his other books. Turtledove is considered one of the masters of alternative history and since that genre is fascinating to me, I decided to give him a try. Unfortunately, my library does not have the titles of his that s...more
Great premise but this book is aimed at younger readers. I should have read other readers, the description and story builds up for a confrontation that never really comes. I may have enjoyed it a lot more when I was younger. The main characters are good to a fault, and we're very preachy. I felt this book was more of a pamphlet to discourage wearing furs ( but you can eat meat ) and how bad slavery was and less a science fiction novel.
This was the first book in his crosstime traffic series. Each of these books is its own novel so there is no need to read one after the other. That said it was definitely written for young adults. Not just the fact that the two main characters are brother and sister in their mid teens, but the writing as a whole was for young adults / teens. Overall my least favorite Turtledove book to date.
This book had a fascinating premise, but I gave up about halfway through because the author neither developed that premise nor the characters. The idea is that peak oil comes and goes and we're forced to travel to alternative universes to get our food and oil. Too bad such a good idea went so bad!
I was reading this book thinking, "I have read this before" and sure enough I had read it but not finished it. I managed to finish this time.
Not sure why I bothered.
To be clear this might be a better book for a young adult to read but for adults I can give an easy pass on it. Every second or third chapter contains another summary of how different things are from the one time line to the other. Not unforgivable, except that at least use different examples each time you revisit the topic. Not th...more
Not sure why I bothered.
To be clear this might be a better book for a young adult to read but for adults I can give an easy pass on it. Every second or third chapter contains another summary of how different things are from the one time line to the other. Not unforgivable, except that at least use different examples each time you revisit the topic. Not th...more
It felt more like a YA book than adult. Interesting concept of alternate worlds being judicially "farmed" for resources to supply what seems to be a future version of our world with dwindling resources.
Harry Turtledove writes suspenseful alternative histories similar to Eric Flint. His “Crosstime Traffic” series book 1 Gunpowder Empire might be a good place to start.
Apr 27, 2013
Igor
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
time-travel
For a young readership. There's a lot of repetition, nothing much really happens in the story, and the tone is often annoyingly paternalistic, even when that's really not approriate.
For example, first the Lietuvvan empire is described as barbarian in comparison with Rome, then we readers are reminded that we should not judge the Lietuvans since they are not much different from the Romans.
For a story on such wildly imaginary premises, it could do with more imagination. 2000 years of Roman empir...more
For example, first the Lietuvvan empire is described as barbarian in comparison with Rome, then we readers are reminded that we should not judge the Lietuvans since they are not much different from the Romans.
For a story on such wildly imaginary premises, it could do with more imagination. 2000 years of Roman empir...more
interesting, entertaining and thought provoking. A low technology civilization is usually best enjoyed through the media than actually living there.
The story sounds like a direct lift of H. Beam Piper, but I've read Mr. Turtledove before, so it will still be a treat to read.
You can tell this is Turtledove's first book in the series, as he hasn't quite got the formula down yet. Jeremy Solters and his sister are stuck in an alternate history where the Roman Empire never fell when their parents suddenly fall ill and leave them to their own devices. The story is good, but Turtledove is more interested in setting up the world than his characters who are irritating Mary Sues with no flaws and perfect ingenuity. He irons these kinks out in the next few. Gunpowder Empire i...more
Good read for teens and some pre-teens, and enjoyable for adults, easy read, I read in two days.
It's a fantastic sci-fi and history novel. I recommend it to those who enjoy time travel.
Great Sci-Fi/Alternate History read! Will try to read the others in the series.
Gunpowder Empire (Crosstime Traffic) by Harry Turtledove (2004)
Not as good as the other Turtledove's books I've read. For me this one was just OK.
Good, reasonable and consistent with the structure of Turtledove's overall series. I wonder whether this series has caught on with the target audience, and whether the history lessons are learned.
Perhaps my one star rating is unfair, Turtledove it seems is a small icon when it comes to alternate history. But I really, really, really, did not like this book. And here's the reason: IT WAS BORING. Let's be honest for a moment, I wasn't expecting my socks to be knocked off, but the plot did nothing for me. In fact, the only reason I finished the darn thing was because I have some stupid gene in me that requires me to finish every book I start. So, if you have that same gene, you might want t...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Dr Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced a sizeable number of works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original sce...more
More about Harry Turtledove...
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original sce...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Feb 06, 2013 04:28am