| SF Reviews by Aaron M. Renn | By Author - By Title - By Date Reviewed |
Conclusion: Worth Reading
This is one of those "the way the past really happened" books that follows the life of Vitellan Bavalius from the days of the Roman Empire to the 21st century. Before the birth of Christ, a man discovered a potion that would allow a perons to be safely frozen and revived. He founded a secret society that controlled the Roman Empire from behind the scenes. These "Temporians" slept frozen for years at a time to be revived only when needed in times of crisis. Vitellan never became a member of this group, but obtains some of the potion, enabling him to be frozen.
In fact, our friend Vitellan gets frozen and revived several times: in early Dark Ages England, during the Hundred Year's War, and finally in the mid-21st century. I personally found the historical episodes more interesting than the generic near future setting at the end of the book. Neither particularly overwhelmed me though. The book was fast paced and kept my interest, but I'm fairly sure I'll never be tempted to pick it up and read it again.
%A McMullen, Sean %T The Centurion's Empire %I Tor %D 1999-05 (original publication 1998-07) %G ISBN 0-812-56475-8 %P 363 pp. %0 mass market paperback, US$6.99
Reviewed on 1999-06-13
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