ALTERNATE HISTORY REVIEW: Northland 2: Bronze Summer - Stephen Baxter

Release Date: 15/09/11

SYNOPSIS:

Centuries have passed. The wall that Ana's people built has long outlasted her and history has been changed. The British Isles are still one with the European mainland and Doggerland has become a vibrant and rich land.
So rich that it has drawn the attention of the Greeks. An invasion is mounted and soon Greek Biremes are grinding ashore on a coastline we never knew and the world will be changed for ever.
Stephen Baxter's new series catapults forward from pre-history into the ancient world and charts a new and wonderful story for our world. This is a superb example of Baxter's belief that anything is possible for mankind - even making a new world.

An epic wall has been built to keep the sea out. And the history of the world has been changed. A superb alternate history from an SF master.



REVIEW:

Having read the first novel in the series I was looking forward to returning to Northland in this title for quite some time as I pondered what the changes to Neolithic Britain would mean in the sense of having a land bridge to the rest of Europe. What Stephen does with this title is fast forward in time in much the same way he did in his Time Tapestry series picking times that he felt would mean major changes, in this case fast forwarding to a time when the Greeks would look at invading this rich and fertile land.

As with his other books it is thought provoking, the characters within fascinating and I think that its easy to forget what a subtle change to one part of history would have meant to the world as a whole. Add to this Stephen’s own unique writing style, cracking prose and a piece that demonstrates the futility of war which creates a story that will stay with you long after the final page is turned. The third part is definitely going to interesting and I suspect that the second world war will never be the same.