Rating: 
Summary: Solid Alternate History
Review: What if a secular lord somewhere in Western Europe had opposed the spread of Church power rather than being a party to it? What if the *real* Old Time Religions had never died out? Harry Harrison's vision of those processes unfolding is both thought provoking and great fun.Harrison's story works on several levels at once. His hero, Shef, is a classic rags-to-riches figure, but he's also reminiscent of Mark Twain's "Connecticut Yankee"--making the future happen a few centuries early. There's also more than a little of King Arthur in him: The principled, visionary leader trying to bring order and decency to a brutal world. It's a story with a good bit of intellectual and emotional weight to it . . . weight that's borne easily by a sturdy plot full of battles, duels, political intrigue, true love, strong hate, and general mayhem. If you liked this series, and want to explore another well-imagined Middle Ages, try Parke Godwin's unjustly neglected version of the King Arthur story: _Firelord_
Rating:
Summary: Improbable, but fun
Review: With a little coaxing from mysterious "gods", a 9th century peasant begins a career as a warrior, inventor, and leader that will start a minor industrial revolution, bring an early end to slavery, serfdom, and the oppression of women, and establish Nordic religion as a serious rival to Christianity. Probable? Not really. But this is one of those carefully-written conjectural stories that entertains and stimulates the mind, so you're more than willing to overlook a few flaws in the premise. Throw in a host of interesting characters and fascinating descriptions of everyday medieval life, and you have a nice antidote to the tedious soap operas and weird political diatribes that dominate current SF.
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