Of Chiefs and Champions

Castaways in Time #4

by Robert Adams

The time projector has been unexpectedly activated, transporting Bass Foster's fellow castaways in time to the American wilderness where native Indians battle Spanish invaders. And even as the unlikely band of travelers struggles to save the Indians from their foe, Bass and his troops are caught in the intrigues of Ireland's warring kingdoms. Divided and standed in their different times and lands, the castaways face the challenges of foes far more deadly than any they have ever known ...

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction

238 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1987

About the author

Franklin Robert Adams (August 31, 1933 - January 4, 1990) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, formerly a career soldier. He is best known for his "Horseclans" books. He wrote as Robert Adams, an abbreviated form of his full name.

Adams was an early pioneer of the post-holocaust novel. His Horseclans novels are precursors to many of today's attempts at this type of story, many of which do not exhibit his painstakingly detailed world view or extraordinary plot follow-through (many of his Horseclans books are so interlinked that they make sense only when read in order; he did not create many "stand alone" books in the series).

Hallmarks of Adams' style include a focus on violent, non-stop action, meticulous detail in matters historical and military, strong description, and digressions expounding on various subjects from a conservative and libertarian viewpoint.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of Chiefs and Champions, is the fourth of six books in Adams' Castaways in Time series. Bass Foster has been marooned in the past along with several other time swept people. He eventually signs up with the third King Arthur (yep, it's an alternate history series) to oppose the Church in their effort to depose him and put his nephew on the throne. We learned in a preceding novel that the Church is being influenced by another group from the future, mysterious ones who plan to conquer and enslave the planet. Foster's forces are separated in this as the time projector takes part of his group away to the American wilds where they become embroiled in the conflict of the Indians and the Spanish. Adams' dialog is a little hard to follow when he goes for antique phonetic gobbledygook, but it's a fun alternate history military adventure. It's very sequential, and I'm not sure if the later books can be appreciated without reading the earlier ones first. Recommended for alternate history fans of Harry Turtledove, H. Beam Piper, and perhaps Leo Frankowski's Conrad series. The Signet editions all had very good Ken Kelly covers.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like displaced people in time then this series is for you. Robert Adams does an excellent job of telling the troubles and adventures of this houseful of modern people jerked back to medieval Europe and their effect on history. Highly recommended

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good solid entry into the series. Number 4