On The Oceans Of Eternity (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
This seems to be the final volume of the Nantucket trilogy, although Stirling left himself the opportunity to continue it, should he ever feel the urge.To recap, the trilogy tells the story of the island of Nantucket after it finds itself suddenly transported from 1998 AD to 1250 BC.It's another long book, full of digressions that aren't important to the plot, although they can be of some interest. What was the procedure for negotiating with the relatives of your wife-to-be in ancient Babylon? Probably no-one knows, but Stirling's imagination sets it all out in some detail in case you're interested.I've noticed before that in some of his books he gets so fond of his scenario that he wants to take you on a tour and show you around it, regardless of the plot. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but may not be to everyone's taste.I dislike William Walker, the overdone villain, but he makes relatively brief appearances in this volume, and we see more of Isketerol of Tartessos, who's on the wrong side despite being a relatively decent man by the standards of his time. This is more the kind of baddie I prefer to see in a book, and his character evolves during the trilogy.Overall, the trilogy seems overlong, and there are parts that drag a bit, but I still find it very readable overall and interesting, especially for bringing ancient history to life. The characters are numerous but mostly easy to distinguish from each other, more varied and perhaps more likeable than in Stirling's later books. It's a pity we have to read our way through multiple battles ("Not another battle!"); some of them are unavoidable given the situation and the story, but perhaps some could have been cut or conducted off-stage. Stirling considerately avoids killing off well-established characters that readers may have become fond of.I'd say that the random selection of people marooned on Nantucket seem improbably blessed with relevant skills, improbably productive, and rather lucky to find some loyal and trustworthy allies in 1250 BC. By way of a counterweight, William Walker is improbably capable as well as improbably nasty, and his ally Isketerol is also improbably capable. A more realistic story would have given the islanders less good luck in their allies and less bad luck in their enemies; though perhaps it would have been messier and less dramatic that way.(view spoiler)[A minor implausibility is the way Isketerol is welcomed to Nantucket near the end of the book, with the other visiting kings. The Nantucket leaders may be willing to forget diplomatically that he personally murdered two people on Nantucket in the first volume, while he was there as a guest; and that he later caused many more casualties by attempting to conquer by island by military force. But it seems incredible that the rest of the population would be so forgiving. I suppose Stirling didn't want to spoil his happy ending with a discordant scene of protest. (hide spoiler)]
On the Oceans of Eternity reviewThis whole series was really a mixed bag for me. There were several things about the series I enjoyed, but as I came to the end I couldn't help but think of what might have been.There maybe a slight spoiler in what follows, read carefully but I think you'll be ok, since I'm just giving my opinion. If your reading this review I assume that you have read the first two books (or your just curious and want to see what might wait ahead if you do start the series...I do that too, sometimes). This is kind of a World War 1 Bronze Age style. This has been building every since Walker ran away from the island. And for all of the build up I must say it was somewhat anticlimactic, no wait that may not be the right word.. "let down" is more what I'm looking for. You get the sense that this huge battle is coming and then it's over. I don't mean I didn't like the ending but I mean your reading along wondering how this is going to be wrapped up in the few pages remaining and BAM, it's over.Ok, on to the plot. I really have enjoyed the idea of modern man being swept back in time to the Bronze Age with bits of modern technology and knowledge. It was quite fascinating visiting ancient cities and cultures, from the perspective of the postmodern man. But there were just too many subplots going on at one time. I get the attempt at trying to create suspense through cliff hanging, but too much of it felt arbitrary and contrived. This element became worse as the series develops. The more the story develops the more threads you have that the author feels the need to explore. As a result I thought it got a little confusing at times.Did I enjoy the series? Yes and I do recommend. It probably will not end up in your list of favorites for the year, but it is fun and interesting.
What do You think about On The Oceans Of Eternity (2000)?
This was one LONG book! The third in the Nantucket trilogy set in an alternate past where only a few present day people are sent back in time. Fantastic alternate history!As much as I enjoyed it I think that there were a few too many side stories. There was an expedition to California that could have had it's own book. While the war fought in this installment was fought on many fronts, there were a few that were too elaborate with characters easily lost between chapters. There was so much going on sometimes I'd get lost, especially if it had been a day or two since I picked up the book.Still, a very satisfactory conclusion to the trilogy, less one minor point I won't spoil. If you've read it you know what I'm talking about... I agree with Kenneth Hollard's disappointment at the very end.Stirling set this up for another installment with the main characters' children, just like he did in Dies the Fire. Sneaky!!!
—Sheena
OK. So I'm done now. It was painful to finish the series, but hey, I'm adicted to reading.Stirling does not cover himself with glory in this series. There are some interesting characters, and the basic story is quite good, but the pacing is awful, there are stretches of description and inner-monologues that are interminable, and the sheer number of characters Stirling is trying do justice to is unmanageable.Considering this is the guy who wrote The General series, he's ALREADY dealt with the whole primitive culture affected by advanced technology theme, and done it MUCH better than he does it here.There were times, as I was reading this book and the second in the series (not so much the first, probably because there were fewer characters and sub-plots) that I was nearly overcome with resentment, and I skimmmed whole sections as I could not force myself to focus on pages and pages descriptions for the least-important and most minor locales. This reads like an overly-ambitious and poorly-edited first book. Clearly we have an author here who editors are shy to confront, and so the book sinks to lows of masturbatory detail and a SLEW of emotionally unaccessible characters.In the end, I was disappointed with the experience, and just glad to finish the ordeal.
—Craig
All three books in this series are pretty good, but it's obvious that in this book the author decided that for some reason it was his calling to use nearly every word in the thesaurus, especially those that haven't gotten enough use in print then string them into sentences more complex and elaborate than perhaps even the love-child of Shakespeare & Joyce might attempt. On the upside, it was interesting to learn that apparently all the residents of Nantucket are PhD-level history scholars who spend a great deal of time talking to themselves and can recite historical quotes ad nauseam.But despite the author's overinflated sense of self, screaming "I'm an AUTHOR" throughout the book, the story is a good one. And if you read the first two books in this series, then you may as well read this one too. "In for a penny...."
—J.D. Heskin
