Gunpowder Empire (Crosstime Traffic)

Rating:
Summary: Junior High material
Review: This story represents a lot of hard work for the author but it's not much of an adult reader. If I were selecting books for 7th or 8th grade English readers this would be on that list. The premis of two teen youth's caught in a time-traveling accident leaving them stranded in an alternate history (ancient Rome) is the kind of adventure the Harry Potter crowd would enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Two teenagers get a shocking introduction to old Rome
Review: Using the alternative reality device rather than time travel, Turtledove gives us a glimpse of what might have been 20th century Europe had Rome never fallen. He doesn't give the Empire much of a chance of progressing very far beyond its state at its peak.

Through the eyes of two teenagers, we experience the problems of sanitation, slavery and war. We also see them deal with the contemporary problems of snobbery, sexism and bloated government bureaucracy.

This book is simply written. Teens might enjoy it.

This is definitely NOT Turtledove's best effort.