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Title: NAVIGATOR |  |
Orm, a mercenary in the clean up team following the Norman troops crushing the rebellions after Hastings comes across a woman hiding. She starts to go into a trance and recite a prophecy, one that talks of the Engines of God and flame across oceans. The woman, Eadgyth, also speaks the name of a priest.
Orm, years later seeks out the priest in the muslim dominated Spain, trying to make sense of the prophecy. But Sihtric has his own prophecy to fulfil, and is playing a deadly game with the vizier.
The very future is up for grabs with competing views of the prophesy, and indeed differing prophesies, suggesting meddling from an unknown future. Mixed with the Christian/Islam conflicts the race to realise the prophecy takes on a grand and potentially devastating scale.
NAVIGATOR is the third book in Stephen Baxter's TIME'S TAPESTRY series, following EMPEROR and CONQUEROR.
NAVIGATOR covers an impressive time scale with a strong storyline. While fictional, the strong historic background leads a credence to the story that makes is utterly fascinating. With real events and real people mixed with the fantastic events of the search for the Engines of God, NAVIGATOR is a real page turner.
There is a lot going on in this novel, with the inter-familial tensions a metaphor for the wider tensions between Christianity and Islam. There is a lot made of how little these differences are, both in the religious wars and in the conflict between the warring factions on either side of the prophecy.
Don't be afraid of reading NAVIGATOR without reading the others in this series. Each book stands alone and is a great read in its own right, and each is different enough to deserve a place in your library.