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Make the Darkness Light #1
To Turn the Tide
New time travel military adventure from New York Times best-selling novelist S.M. Stirling
IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
Everyone could see it coming. But one man could do something about it. Oh, he couldn’t avert the nuclear holocaust, but a scientist in Austria, ruthlessly using billions of research dollars for his own purposes, set himself up an he created a time machine, and filled a warehouse with low-tech survival gear. Too bad he didn’t get to use it himself.
Instead, a team of American grad students, led by their professor, is sent back to the late Roman Empire. Even though they are experts in this time and place, they are about to realize that books and actual experience are very different things.
If they can survive, they hope to remake the world into a better place. But that’s a big “if."
IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
Everyone could see it coming. But one man could do something about it. Oh, he couldn’t avert the nuclear holocaust, but a scientist in Austria, ruthlessly using billions of research dollars for his own purposes, set himself up an he created a time machine, and filled a warehouse with low-tech survival gear. Too bad he didn’t get to use it himself.
Instead, a team of American grad students, led by their professor, is sent back to the late Roman Empire. Even though they are experts in this time and place, they are about to realize that books and actual experience are very different things.
If they can survive, they hope to remake the world into a better place. But that’s a big “if."
464 pages, Hardcover
First published August 6, 2024
About the author
S.M. Stirling
174 books1,677 followersStephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.
MINI AUTO-BIOGRAPHY:
(personal website: source)
I’m a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft. I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.
MINI AUTO-BIOGRAPHY:
(personal website: source)
I’m a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft. I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
May 24, 2024
Stirling returns to time travel in his best book in a long time in my opinion. Tore through this book in 3 days, much faster than I normally read. I would recommend this book in the strongest terms. I only wish I could give this six stars instead of only five.
October 13, 2024
An OK story trapped in the authors need to show off their history nerdiness
As a fan of much of S. M. Stirlings previous works, I was excited for a return to ancient civilization with up time know how — however this was quite the slog.
The story is thin but OK, the characters are mostly fine, a stand out being a female Samartian warrior named Saruke.
Besides that though the amount of Latin with and without translation, and masturbatory historical exposition was a struggle.
Hopefully that will be the last of it for the series now the foundations are set, but I doubt it.
Overall, a disappointing read.
As a fan of much of S. M. Stirlings previous works, I was excited for a return to ancient civilization with up time know how — however this was quite the slog.
The story is thin but OK, the characters are mostly fine, a stand out being a female Samartian warrior named Saruke.
Besides that though the amount of Latin with and without translation, and masturbatory historical exposition was a struggle.
Hopefully that will be the last of it for the series now the foundations are set, but I doubt it.
Overall, a disappointing read.
August 15, 2024
Just in time as nuclear bombs are falling on Vienna (and the world's important cities) in 2032 or so, a military historian and former officer and four graduate students - two men and two women of various races and ethnicities who ultimately fit in without any real issues in the multicultural and multiethnic Roman empire of the time - go back in time around 165 AD (arriving, of course, still in Vindobona - Vienna of the time and border town of the Empire with the barbarians across the Danube) to try and redirect humanity on a different path; as this is somewhat accidental since an Austrian scientist somehow developed the time travel machine, prepared the stuff to take with them - he brought in the 5 Americans for their skills as he did not dare involve local people into this - the five have to take stock on arrival and are quite lucky being discovered by a Jewish merchant with property and many interests in the area and whose ethics do not allow him to take advantage of their original disorientation.
With money and ideas, they start improving the local technology, defeat barbarian raiders, and attract the attention of Emperor Marcus Aurelius who comes in person to see them. And so it goes with the storyline ending at a good point with more books planned.
Leaving aside the whole preposterous beginning with the time travel, the book is well-researched - in a moving scene the main character who Latinizes his Arthur to Artorius quotes to the emperor from his Meditations, a book not yet written by Marcus who is of course surprised to hear thoughts very similar to his own but put in such a clear form - and the narrative has energy but it feels somewhat predictable - make money, introduce new technologies, massively improve medicine and sanitation practices, slowly set the precedent for using paid labor rather than slaves as well as expand the rights of women in roman law, kill the barbarians and expand the empire beyond the Danube using the promise of mineral riches known to the Americans which the hard military men commanding Marcus' armies slowly accept based on the results obtained so far etc And of course a little romance here and there, action and philosophy...
While I quite liked the book and read it in almost one sitting, the general predictability and the lack so far of interesting villains leaves it not quite on par with the best similar stories I've read across the years though I would definitely recommend it and I am interested in the promised sequels.
With money and ideas, they start improving the local technology, defeat barbarian raiders, and attract the attention of Emperor Marcus Aurelius who comes in person to see them. And so it goes with the storyline ending at a good point with more books planned.
Leaving aside the whole preposterous beginning with the time travel, the book is well-researched - in a moving scene the main character who Latinizes his Arthur to Artorius quotes to the emperor from his Meditations, a book not yet written by Marcus who is of course surprised to hear thoughts very similar to his own but put in such a clear form - and the narrative has energy but it feels somewhat predictable - make money, introduce new technologies, massively improve medicine and sanitation practices, slowly set the precedent for using paid labor rather than slaves as well as expand the rights of women in roman law, kill the barbarians and expand the empire beyond the Danube using the promise of mineral riches known to the Americans which the hard military men commanding Marcus' armies slowly accept based on the results obtained so far etc And of course a little romance here and there, action and philosophy...
While I quite liked the book and read it in almost one sitting, the general predictability and the lack so far of interesting villains leaves it not quite on par with the best similar stories I've read across the years though I would definitely recommend it and I am interested in the promised sequels.
August 18, 2024
I enjoyed Stirling's books years ago and I have an unreasonable fondness for time-travel stories, so this appealed to me as a fun read. It was not.
As a genre novel, it's mediocre. The structure and pacing aren't good; the characters are mostly uninteresting. They are either stereotypes or opaque.
The deeper problem with this book is that it is morally corrupt. It's a Marty Stu story written by someone with a dark-but-smug view of history. It's Strauss filtered through three generations of students, then into the turgid minds of people like Peter Thiel and Curtis Yarvin, and then out into the world where incels imagine they could be philosopher kings.
This review's references will be obscure to most, which is appropriate. The point is that this book has a message: WOKE HISTORIANS SUCK. Wait, no, that's just kind of bitchy. No, the message is: what if a middle-aged, white Harvard professor was ALSO a former special forces veteran and ALSO has a hard-on for Marcus Aurelius (don't be fooled by "Julia", Artorius and Aurelius are destined to share an uncomfortable mat on the floor) and ALSO is just the right man to prevent the Fall of Rome? No, wait, that's not actually the message.
The message is: the hordes are coming and we need a Great Man to save us, even if it means tyranny and war. Even if it means destroying the village to "save" the village.
As a genre novel, it's mediocre. The structure and pacing aren't good; the characters are mostly uninteresting. They are either stereotypes or opaque.
The deeper problem with this book is that it is morally corrupt. It's a Marty Stu story written by someone with a dark-but-smug view of history. It's Strauss filtered through three generations of students, then into the turgid minds of people like Peter Thiel and Curtis Yarvin, and then out into the world where incels imagine they could be philosopher kings.
This review's references will be obscure to most, which is appropriate. The point is that this book has a message: WOKE HISTORIANS SUCK. Wait, no, that's just kind of bitchy. No, the message is: what if a middle-aged, white Harvard professor was ALSO a former special forces veteran and ALSO has a hard-on for Marcus Aurelius (don't be fooled by "Julia", Artorius and Aurelius are destined to share an uncomfortable mat on the floor) and ALSO is just the right man to prevent the Fall of Rome? No, wait, that's not actually the message.
The message is: the hordes are coming and we need a Great Man to save us, even if it means tyranny and war. Even if it means destroying the village to "save" the village.
August 31, 2026
Do you ever think about the Roman Empire? S. M. Stirling clearly does, and he decided to write an entire series of Alt-History Time Travel books, focused on the Roman Empire. To Turn the Tide kicks off what's promised to be an epic historical story.
The story is about a professor (Arthur Vandenberg) and 4 of his students, who think they're sent on a regular assignment to Vienna when Nuclear War breaks out. Before Vienna is destroyed, the 5 academics are sent hurtling through time to the Roman Empire in the year 165 AD (Stirling unfortunately uses CE but we'll let that slide). Now trapped in the past with no possible way to return, Vandenberg and his crew decide to become Romans and make changes to history to try and preserve the Roman Empire.
Talk about an awesome premise.
One thing I liked was how quickly we jump into the story. Stirling wastes absolutely no time getting our characterst to the past. There's one chapter set in the future (2032). But by Chapter 2, the story is now set in the past, and the entire rest of the story is set between 165-167.
One of the things I really enjoyed in this book was the justification that Stirling's characters give for introducing different technology. Some technology is introduced because the Romans in 165 would have had the full capability to create it if they simply knew about it (things like the Wheelbarrow, the Spinning Wheel, and a few other inventions). Stirling also has his characters decide not to introduce technology that would be too foreign or difficult to produce in 165. As such, every decision feels extremely believable.
I have one comment which is both positive and negative: Stirling really did his research and emerses the audience into the story. This is a positive, because unlike some attempts at historical fiction, you can tell that Stirling is trying his best to be as accurate as possible (while also changing things up). As such, I felt confident in the decisions that Stirling was making in the story.
However, Stirling also went quite overboard proving his historical bonafides. So much of the first 200 pages is dedicated to explaining the food, lifestyle, people, and history of the timeperiod. It was so detailed at points it did remind me of some textbooks. I was still interested, but then again, I'm a history teacher. But at the same time, I want the story and characters to shine through, not the historical research. As such, for the first 200 pages the research felt like it took precedent.
This is a common problem among fantasy and Science Fiction writers, where they will get so bogged down in the worldbuilding, magic system, or the science of their story. These are books that sometimes have interesting premises, but unfortunately can't get out of their own way. This book has a similar issue with it's historical focus. However, unlike some other books I've reveiwed, I still think the story and premise is strong enough to make it worthwhile.
However, from pages 200 onwards I thought that Stirling really came into his story, and it was awesome!
Stirling's characters aren't the most dynamic as would be expected in other fiction, but when you read a book like this the premise and historical explorations really take a front seat. I'll be curious to see if book 2 has the same level of historical depth or if it explores the characters and story more.
I cannot stress enough the "cool" factor of getting to rewrite history and explore how the Roman Empire could have unfolded differently. Stirling was extremely methodical in where he plopped his characters in the timeline. Every time they introduced a new technology that wouldn't be seen for hundreds/thousands of years, I got really giddy.
I also liked seeing how the characters had to decide whether to make families with local Romans or if they would get closer with their fellow academic time-travellers. I really enjoyed Artorious (Arthur's) relationship he develops in the book. It was very sweet. One thing I didn't care for was Filipa's storyline. That felt a bit gratuitous.
I did feel that the epic scope of the book reminded me of some classic movies, like "Ben Hur", and there are some sequences where the soundtrack from Ben Hur would fit in nicely.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it's not as strong as it could have been. It's biggest vice is its overemphasis in its focus on historical details, rather than on the characters and story. That being said, I still really enjoyed the book and plan to read book 2 soon! 7.5 out of 10!
The story is about a professor (Arthur Vandenberg) and 4 of his students, who think they're sent on a regular assignment to Vienna when Nuclear War breaks out. Before Vienna is destroyed, the 5 academics are sent hurtling through time to the Roman Empire in the year 165 AD (Stirling unfortunately uses CE but we'll let that slide). Now trapped in the past with no possible way to return, Vandenberg and his crew decide to become Romans and make changes to history to try and preserve the Roman Empire.
Talk about an awesome premise.
One thing I liked was how quickly we jump into the story. Stirling wastes absolutely no time getting our characterst to the past. There's one chapter set in the future (2032). But by Chapter 2, the story is now set in the past, and the entire rest of the story is set between 165-167.
One of the things I really enjoyed in this book was the justification that Stirling's characters give for introducing different technology. Some technology is introduced because the Romans in 165 would have had the full capability to create it if they simply knew about it (things like the Wheelbarrow, the Spinning Wheel, and a few other inventions). Stirling also has his characters decide not to introduce technology that would be too foreign or difficult to produce in 165. As such, every decision feels extremely believable.
I have one comment which is both positive and negative: Stirling really did his research and emerses the audience into the story. This is a positive, because unlike some attempts at historical fiction, you can tell that Stirling is trying his best to be as accurate as possible (while also changing things up). As such, I felt confident in the decisions that Stirling was making in the story.
However, Stirling also went quite overboard proving his historical bonafides. So much of the first 200 pages is dedicated to explaining the food, lifestyle, people, and history of the timeperiod. It was so detailed at points it did remind me of some textbooks. I was still interested, but then again, I'm a history teacher. But at the same time, I want the story and characters to shine through, not the historical research. As such, for the first 200 pages the research felt like it took precedent.
This is a common problem among fantasy and Science Fiction writers, where they will get so bogged down in the worldbuilding, magic system, or the science of their story. These are books that sometimes have interesting premises, but unfortunately can't get out of their own way. This book has a similar issue with it's historical focus. However, unlike some other books I've reveiwed, I still think the story and premise is strong enough to make it worthwhile.
However, from pages 200 onwards I thought that Stirling really came into his story, and it was awesome!
Stirling's characters aren't the most dynamic as would be expected in other fiction, but when you read a book like this the premise and historical explorations really take a front seat. I'll be curious to see if book 2 has the same level of historical depth or if it explores the characters and story more.
I cannot stress enough the "cool" factor of getting to rewrite history and explore how the Roman Empire could have unfolded differently. Stirling was extremely methodical in where he plopped his characters in the timeline. Every time they introduced a new technology that wouldn't be seen for hundreds/thousands of years, I got really giddy.
I also liked seeing how the characters had to decide whether to make families with local Romans or if they would get closer with their fellow academic time-travellers. I really enjoyed Artorious (Arthur's) relationship he develops in the book. It was very sweet. One thing I didn't care for was Filipa's storyline. That felt a bit gratuitous.
I did feel that the epic scope of the book reminded me of some classic movies, like "Ben Hur", and there are some sequences where the soundtrack from Ben Hur would fit in nicely.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it's not as strong as it could have been. It's biggest vice is its overemphasis in its focus on historical details, rather than on the characters and story. That being said, I still really enjoyed the book and plan to read book 2 soon! 7.5 out of 10!
October 26, 2024
Stirling loves going back in time and bringing a few wise men along with him. He did it in Nantucket and now he's done it in Vienna. If he doesn't take us back then he brings about some sort of catastrophic changes so that we have to use our knowledge in order to survive or improve the world. I suppose he's a frontiersman, hacking out a comfortable lifestyle in the wilderness.
And so it is with "To Turn the Tide". The world has destroyed itself but a few, hand-picked, specialists have gone back to Roman times in order to remake the world in a, hopefully, better image. This does create a thrilling tale; slightly cliche for readers of Stirling because the characters are somehow recognisable, but entertaining and gripping.
I'm looking forward to more of the same.
And so it is with "To Turn the Tide". The world has destroyed itself but a few, hand-picked, specialists have gone back to Roman times in order to remake the world in a, hopefully, better image. This does create a thrilling tale; slightly cliche for readers of Stirling because the characters are somehow recognisable, but entertaining and gripping.
I'm looking forward to more of the same.
October 27, 2024
Verry good!
October 25, 2024
Time travelers bringing uptime technology to the past is a fairly common science fiction trope. Various writers have used it over the years -- Judith Tarr, Sprague de Camp, and Mark Twain come to mind just to name a few. But, nobody does it better than S.M. Stirling.
In this story five people from slightly uptime from us (2030s) barely escape death in thermonuclear war and are transported back to the time of Marcus Aurelius. They are all historians and they all speak passable Latin and thus can communicate a bit. (There is a good reason for this; read the book to find out what it is.) Thus begins the tale -- and a good one it is with lots of interesting characters, action, adventure, danger, and even a bit of romance.
Stirling loves history and obviously did a lot of research into Rome of that period. He also thought a lot about what uptime technologies could be introduced upon the existing Roman industrial base and the order they could be introduced in. Very simple ideas could make a big difference -- wheel barrows and stirrups for example.
There are a few things in the story I didn't particularly care for. But, overall this is a fast-moving, thoughtful, and enjoyable story. Solid 4 stars for me.
In this story five people from slightly uptime from us (2030s) barely escape death in thermonuclear war and are transported back to the time of Marcus Aurelius. They are all historians and they all speak passable Latin and thus can communicate a bit. (There is a good reason for this; read the book to find out what it is.) Thus begins the tale -- and a good one it is with lots of interesting characters, action, adventure, danger, and even a bit of romance.
Stirling loves history and obviously did a lot of research into Rome of that period. He also thought a lot about what uptime technologies could be introduced upon the existing Roman industrial base and the order they could be introduced in. Very simple ideas could make a big difference -- wheel barrows and stirrups for example.
There are a few things in the story I didn't particularly care for. But, overall this is a fast-moving, thoughtful, and enjoyable story. Solid 4 stars for me.
August 4, 2025
The review to read: https://locusmag.com/2024/08/paul-di-...
Excerpt: "Veteran readers will certainly recognize the broad outlines of this scheme as the plot of de Camp’s Lest Darkness Fall. The thing is, Arthur and his SF-savvy students explicitly acknowledge this precedent too, thereby defusing any assumptions that this tale will be a mere replay. It’s a different Roman era from that of the de Camp book, and Arthur has plans that are more far-ranging that those of de Camp’s hero, Martin Padway. ...
To Turn the Tide is the perfect fusion of knowledge and wisdom—with the seasonings of commitment and slaughter as spice."
I liked this a lot, and I have notes somewhere. I thought I'd written it up?
Anyway, if you like Stirling's alt-hist novels this is one of his better ones. For me, a 3.5+ star read, rounded up. I'll likely reread it down the line.
Excerpt: "Veteran readers will certainly recognize the broad outlines of this scheme as the plot of de Camp’s Lest Darkness Fall. The thing is, Arthur and his SF-savvy students explicitly acknowledge this precedent too, thereby defusing any assumptions that this tale will be a mere replay. It’s a different Roman era from that of the de Camp book, and Arthur has plans that are more far-ranging that those of de Camp’s hero, Martin Padway. ...
To Turn the Tide is the perfect fusion of knowledge and wisdom—with the seasonings of commitment and slaughter as spice."
I liked this a lot, and I have notes somewhere. I thought I'd written it up?
Anyway, if you like Stirling's alt-hist novels this is one of his better ones. For me, a 3.5+ star read, rounded up. I'll likely reread it down the line.
August 6, 2024
Equal to or better than his other time travel stories
I can hardly wait for the sequel. A very nice story excellently told. I expect great things from the next few books.
I can hardly wait for the sequel. A very nice story excellently told. I expect great things from the next few books.
October 18, 2024
This is a great time travel / what if / alternate Earth book. I am a fan of SM Sterling's Emberverse series and picked this up when I saw he had something new out. I really liked the premise of this a group of classical historians unexpectedly sent back to Rome in the year 165CE. They do have some equipment and a lot of book knowledge to get them through. This would have been a 5 star book but I found the repetition of certain information to be irritating.
I will say this book does have some luck that you just kind of have to go with. Starting with who they meet upon arrival. There are a lot of descriptions of technology, more than I usually care for, but it makes sense with the overall story. There still is quite a bit of the personal side of relationships and individual characters which is what kept me engaged.
I am currently learning Latin and there are several jokes about the language that I found hilarious! I found myself wondering if the changes introduced will produce a better world or will it just quicken the eventual end of the world. I can't wait to read the next book to see where the series goes from here!
I will say this book does have some luck that you just kind of have to go with. Starting with who they meet upon arrival. There are a lot of descriptions of technology, more than I usually care for, but it makes sense with the overall story. There still is quite a bit of the personal side of relationships and individual characters which is what kept me engaged.
I am currently learning Latin and there are several jokes about the language that I found hilarious! I found myself wondering if the changes introduced will produce a better world or will it just quicken the eventual end of the world. I can't wait to read the next book to see where the series goes from here!
August 9, 2024
For want of a Nail revised. A nail and a hammer fixes all.
Back in time. The Roman empire is at its strongest, but not for long. The first of many aggressive northern tribes and the last good western Roman emperor will combine to bring western Rome down in around a hundred years. But three men and two women, all scholars of Roman history, will find themselves transported back to that time. Another S. M. Sterling master story telling that you cannot put down.
Back in time. The Roman empire is at its strongest, but not for long. The first of many aggressive northern tribes and the last good western Roman emperor will combine to bring western Rome down in around a hundred years. But three men and two women, all scholars of Roman history, will find themselves transported back to that time. Another S. M. Sterling master story telling that you cannot put down.
August 11, 2024
Very Very Good
This isle of his best novels to date. If you have readL Sprague DeCamps "Lest Darkness Fall" you will find "To Turn the Tide" a superb sucesor. Higher países I cannot give.
This isle of his best novels to date. If you have readL Sprague DeCamps "Lest Darkness Fall" you will find "To Turn the Tide" a superb sucesor. Higher países I cannot give.
August 4, 2026
This is a fun, but uneven, time travel tale, apparently the first in a series. The author is quite good at writing the history and technology. He is much worse at writing characters, and they are two dimensional at best. The 5 central characters are politically correctly diverse: 3 men, 2 women; a black, an Asian, a gay, a nerd, and a former soldier (somebody has to lead and actually get things done). The women try to bring feminism to the Roman empire (wait, wasn't the mission to prevent Rome’s fall, not accelerate it?). The author is even worse at writing romance and should just skip it.
History and Technology – 4 to 4.5, Settings and Combat – 3.5, Plot – 3, Characters – 2, Romance – 1. Overall - 3.3.
History and Technology – 4 to 4.5, Settings and Combat – 3.5, Plot – 3, Characters – 2, Romance – 1. Overall - 3.3.
July 30, 2025
I'm a huge fan of books set during the period of the Roman Empire and Time Travel. This novel scratches both of those itches.
I've studied the culture, customs, beliefs, and technology of the period--and a little Latin. The details Stirling weaves into the setting, and the presentation of local attitudes ring true to me. It's very hard for one or a few people to change a culture--much more likely that a small party of advanced interlopers will simply be absorbed along with their innovations. Stirling very plausibly provides his group of time travelers the resources and the expertise to have an impact, as well as the luck of immediately falling in with a local who can introduce them to the local elites.
My only quibble is that there are no significant reversals. There are some tight situations, but no disasters, no real failures. However, I've read reviews of the sequel, and it looks like the next novel will give the protagonists an adversary that matches them in strength and capability. That should be very interesting.
I've studied the culture, customs, beliefs, and technology of the period--and a little Latin. The details Stirling weaves into the setting, and the presentation of local attitudes ring true to me. It's very hard for one or a few people to change a culture--much more likely that a small party of advanced interlopers will simply be absorbed along with their innovations. Stirling very plausibly provides his group of time travelers the resources and the expertise to have an impact, as well as the luck of immediately falling in with a local who can introduce them to the local elites.
My only quibble is that there are no significant reversals. There are some tight situations, but no disasters, no real failures. However, I've read reviews of the sequel, and it looks like the next novel will give the protagonists an adversary that matches them in strength and capability. That should be very interesting.
September 9, 2025
An excellent portal fantasy featuring Marcus Aurelius and the legions of Rome.
October 21, 2024
One of the best "time travel" books I have ever read. The first 20 or so pages set the stage for what is about to happen and why it is necessary to travel to the past in order to preserve the future. Hopefully a different future then what is happening right now-- global thermonuclear war has broken out and the 5 time travelers must leave immediately.
An Austrian scientist has finally figured out time travel. He has also recruited a group of 4 graduate students, two women and two men, all of whom are fluent in second century Latin. Each is also an expert in fields ranging from agriculture to wood working to metallurgy to medicine to military science. The leader is a history professor who earlier in life was an Army Ranger......
To say much more could spoil the arc of the story. I will say that although the characters are all fluent in 21 century Latin, no one alive today has ever heard 2nd century Latin spoken which does cause a few problems, humorous and otherwise.
Yes, Latin is scattered throughout the story but the author does a an excellent job of incorporating it seamlessly. I have to admit it was nice to see my years of reading Cicero, Virgil, Caesar and a little Marcus Aurelius come in handy.
Like I have said, almost all of the above comes into play very early in the story which in my case, only made me turn the pages faster.
There is no mention of a second book but I am hoping for it as well as a few more books.
An Austrian scientist has finally figured out time travel. He has also recruited a group of 4 graduate students, two women and two men, all of whom are fluent in second century Latin. Each is also an expert in fields ranging from agriculture to wood working to metallurgy to medicine to military science. The leader is a history professor who earlier in life was an Army Ranger......
To say much more could spoil the arc of the story. I will say that although the characters are all fluent in 21 century Latin, no one alive today has ever heard 2nd century Latin spoken which does cause a few problems, humorous and otherwise.
Yes, Latin is scattered throughout the story but the author does a an excellent job of incorporating it seamlessly. I have to admit it was nice to see my years of reading Cicero, Virgil, Caesar and a little Marcus Aurelius come in handy.
Like I have said, almost all of the above comes into play very early in the story which in my case, only made me turn the pages faster.
There is no mention of a second book but I am hoping for it as well as a few more books.
January 1, 2026
I give it 3.5/5 stars.
I haven't really sat with the story to process my feelings on it, mainly because I knew I would have dropped it if I didn't force myself to finish the book as quickly as possible. This was basically since chapter 5.
This story just felt like it was the author flexing their Latin and Roman history knowledge. I'm not a history buff, so I just didn't care much, but the story was very much hyperfocusing on the Latin and Roman history.
The setup for the antagonist/conflict was just slow and didn't really properly raise the stakes. Nobody even really considered why they were helping the Roman's instead of someone else and the characters just felt far too quick to dismiss groups of people as barbarians. And the characters were far too ready to invent weapons. I feel like most scientists, including myself, would be horrified and struggle knowing that they contributed to the slaughter of people. Atleast, this is how most physicist I know would feel on the matter.
I also think there were many missed opportunities to develop thought-provoking themes, and I think the story could have benefited more from less focus on the language and history aspects and more on the interpersonal dynamics and conflict.
I just also don't like having multiple protagonists that a story follows. I couldn't get interested in any character because we kept changing to a different pov. Plus, I just couldn't relate to these characters, I'm a physicist and just wouldn't want to work with any of the time-traveling grad students/professor.
Everyone works with slaves and is complicit with allowing slavery. One of the characters thinks about beating the slaves but refrains because hes worried about what the others will think of him. Another character has "consenting" sex with the slaves, which, a person can't be consenting in a slave-master dynamic. Though, to be fair, one of the other characters does ask the question if a slave can truly be consenting, but the story just isn't focused on exploring these complex problems and interpersonal relationships. So it just feels mishandled to me, and it makes many of these characters irredeemable in my eyes.
I can't help but compare this to other stories in the genre of "scientists/engineer time travels to the past", and I find this story to be seriously lacking. It is unique in its focus on Latin and other languages, aswell as its focus on Roman history, but I feel like there isn't much else unique about it. Other reviews for the book highly rate it, so I guess this story just isn't for me.
I haven't really sat with the story to process my feelings on it, mainly because I knew I would have dropped it if I didn't force myself to finish the book as quickly as possible. This was basically since chapter 5.
This story just felt like it was the author flexing their Latin and Roman history knowledge. I'm not a history buff, so I just didn't care much, but the story was very much hyperfocusing on the Latin and Roman history.
The setup for the antagonist/conflict was just slow and didn't really properly raise the stakes. Nobody even really considered why they were helping the Roman's instead of someone else and the characters just felt far too quick to dismiss groups of people as barbarians. And the characters were far too ready to invent weapons. I feel like most scientists, including myself, would be horrified and struggle knowing that they contributed to the slaughter of people. Atleast, this is how most physicist I know would feel on the matter.
I also think there were many missed opportunities to develop thought-provoking themes, and I think the story could have benefited more from less focus on the language and history aspects and more on the interpersonal dynamics and conflict.
I just also don't like having multiple protagonists that a story follows. I couldn't get interested in any character because we kept changing to a different pov. Plus, I just couldn't relate to these characters, I'm a physicist and just wouldn't want to work with any of the time-traveling grad students/professor.
Everyone works with slaves and is complicit with allowing slavery. One of the characters thinks about beating the slaves but refrains because hes worried about what the others will think of him. Another character has "consenting" sex with the slaves, which, a person can't be consenting in a slave-master dynamic. Though, to be fair, one of the other characters does ask the question if a slave can truly be consenting, but the story just isn't focused on exploring these complex problems and interpersonal relationships. So it just feels mishandled to me, and it makes many of these characters irredeemable in my eyes.
I can't help but compare this to other stories in the genre of "scientists/engineer time travels to the past", and I find this story to be seriously lacking. It is unique in its focus on Latin and other languages, aswell as its focus on Roman history, but I feel like there isn't much else unique about it. Other reviews for the book highly rate it, so I guess this story just isn't for me.
June 19, 2025
I pre-ordered the paperback, so it should come as no surprise that I loved the book. It is classic S. M. Stirling, and you can recognize the patterns right away. The voice of the main character, the battle scenes, all feel familiar to someone who has read and re-read Stirling's work. What really makes 'To Turn the Tide' different from the 'Change' and 'Nantucket' series, is the absence of a great evil foe. I can't tell you how refreshing that is. I just hope another too-evil-to-be-true enemy doesn't present itself in the sequels!
I speak Latin fluently, which is unfortunate in that it means that the bad Latin in the book was glaring to me. However, I am not at all an expert, or even very familiar with Roman culture, especially Roman martial culture, so if there were errors in that, they went completely unnoticed. I will say that at times Stirling felt almost to cross into Harry Turtledove territory, by which I mean certain scenes (wedding cough cough) felt more like a self-indulgent history dump than a part of the story. The same could be said about engineering. At times it was really a bit too much. Overall I could have used even more history and engineering, just in a wider, less intense way, rather than the occasional deep plunges.
Another thing that was different about To Turn the Tide in a refreshing way, was the modernity of it. AI and smartphones are ubiquitous. There were references to Netflix and Amazon, for example, although they were presented as 'throwbacks' since the present in the book was in the 2030s. I thought that was clever, and refreshing. Especially in comparison to Gabaldon's Highlander or Butler's Kindred, where the 'present' feels almost more strongly like the past than the 'past.'
Overall, I am thrilled with the direction Stirling is going with this book. My only real disappointment is that the sequels are not available now and that the author, who is one of my favorites, is not getting any younger.
I speak Latin fluently, which is unfortunate in that it means that the bad Latin in the book was glaring to me. However, I am not at all an expert, or even very familiar with Roman culture, especially Roman martial culture, so if there were errors in that, they went completely unnoticed. I will say that at times Stirling felt almost to cross into Harry Turtledove territory, by which I mean certain scenes (wedding cough cough) felt more like a self-indulgent history dump than a part of the story. The same could be said about engineering. At times it was really a bit too much. Overall I could have used even more history and engineering, just in a wider, less intense way, rather than the occasional deep plunges.
Another thing that was different about To Turn the Tide in a refreshing way, was the modernity of it. AI and smartphones are ubiquitous. There were references to Netflix and Amazon, for example, although they were presented as 'throwbacks' since the present in the book was in the 2030s. I thought that was clever, and refreshing. Especially in comparison to Gabaldon's Highlander or Butler's Kindred, where the 'present' feels almost more strongly like the past than the 'past.'
Overall, I am thrilled with the direction Stirling is going with this book. My only real disappointment is that the sequels are not available now and that the author, who is one of my favorites, is not getting any younger.
January 2, 2026
Wooden characters and basically a technical dump
To Turn the Tide by S. M. Stirling has an interesting alternate history premise: modern historians sent back to the Roman Empire to change the future. Unfortunately, the book spends far more time explaining how things work than telling an engaging story.
Large sections read like lectures or technical briefings. The pacing suffers because the narrative keeps stopping so the author can explain logistics, strategy, or historical mechanics. It often feels like reading background notes rather than a novel.
The characters are the weakest part. Most of them feel wooden and interchangeable, existing mainly to deliver exposition. There’s very little emotional depth or tension, which is especially disappointing given the ethical stakes of altering history.
If you enjoy alternate history primarily for the mechanics and thought experiments, this may work for you. If you’re looking for strong characters and forward momentum, this one is a slog.
To Turn the Tide by S. M. Stirling has an interesting alternate history premise: modern historians sent back to the Roman Empire to change the future. Unfortunately, the book spends far more time explaining how things work than telling an engaging story.
Large sections read like lectures or technical briefings. The pacing suffers because the narrative keeps stopping so the author can explain logistics, strategy, or historical mechanics. It often feels like reading background notes rather than a novel.
The characters are the weakest part. Most of them feel wooden and interchangeable, existing mainly to deliver exposition. There’s very little emotional depth or tension, which is especially disappointing given the ethical stakes of altering history.
If you enjoy alternate history primarily for the mechanics and thought experiments, this may work for you. If you’re looking for strong characters and forward momentum, this one is a slog.
April 7, 2025
It's no Island in the Sea of Time.
This is a fairly bog-standard time travel novel. A group flees nuclear war to return to the Roman Empire during Marcus Aurelius's reign, just before the Marcomannic wars. The main problem here is that the group is very, very well prepared, with plenty of era-appropriate money and a ton of books and scale models so they can introduce pretty much any technology the locals can understand.
This means that, compared to most similar time travel books, there's no need to struggle or improvise. Usually the protagonists in such books, including Stirling's own earlier novels, are short on resources and have to work hard to establish themselves. If they want to introduce technology, they have to remember how to make primitive tools, instead of having books spelling everything out for them.
In short, they have it much, much too easy.
This is a fairly bog-standard time travel novel. A group flees nuclear war to return to the Roman Empire during Marcus Aurelius's reign, just before the Marcomannic wars. The main problem here is that the group is very, very well prepared, with plenty of era-appropriate money and a ton of books and scale models so they can introduce pretty much any technology the locals can understand.
This means that, compared to most similar time travel books, there's no need to struggle or improvise. Usually the protagonists in such books, including Stirling's own earlier novels, are short on resources and have to work hard to establish themselves. If they want to introduce technology, they have to remember how to make primitive tools, instead of having books spelling everything out for them.
In short, they have it much, much too easy.
August 26, 2025
This book’s premise is downright shaky: a handful of modern historians—including a former Ranger turned professor and 4 grad students—flee a looming nuclear apocalypse via time machine and land in 165 CE, during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Their mission? To “save civilization by saving Rome.” Huh?
Where’s the character development? Where’s the struggle, the tension, the conflict that makes time-travel stories so gripping?
Compared to one of my favorites, Island in the Sea of Time, this book falls flat. Instead of the rich world-building, adventure, and bold “what if” ideas about time travel, we get long stretches that feel more like textbook descriptions of Roman history. It reads less like a story and more like an excuse to showcase his research.
Where’s the character development? Where’s the struggle, the tension, the conflict that makes time-travel stories so gripping?
Compared to one of my favorites, Island in the Sea of Time, this book falls flat. Instead of the rich world-building, adventure, and bold “what if” ideas about time travel, we get long stretches that feel more like textbook descriptions of Roman history. It reads less like a story and more like an excuse to showcase his research.
May 22, 2025
I absolutely love Stirling and the way he tells stories. His sea of time books are some of my all time favorites and getting to read another time travel book from him is great. Just like those earlier books the action here is mingled with interesting characters and vivid locales. My only regret is the lack of a firm antagonist for the heros but this is a story DeCamp would have enjoyed.
September 4, 2025
The summary tells you everything you need to know about this book.
This is a typical time travel/alt. history trope. Near future. Total, global nuclear annihilation. Time travel for a handful. Rome before the Barbarian invasions. Save the empire and establish Pax Romana to change the future and prevent a future nuclear disaster.
A great light read if you are looking simply for entertainment.
This is a typical time travel/alt. history trope. Near future. Total, global nuclear annihilation. Time travel for a handful. Rome before the Barbarian invasions. Save the empire and establish Pax Romana to change the future and prevent a future nuclear disaster.
A great light read if you are looking simply for entertainment.
October 17, 2024
Eghh
This was a good story with simple characters. However, the descriptions and filler absolutely drove me. Nuts. We don't need descriptions of every little thing. And I felt like it was being written by a history teacher and this was not really science fiction. But science fiction mixed with history lessons.
This was a good story with simple characters. However, the descriptions and filler absolutely drove me. Nuts. We don't need descriptions of every little thing. And I felt like it was being written by a history teacher and this was not really science fiction. But science fiction mixed with history lessons.
September 4, 2024
B great story....need many more sequals!
Love the story. Pretty plausible and without too much hand wringing for the future and changes! Very cool on how little things change big things. Looking forward to next one!!!
Love the story. Pretty plausible and without too much hand wringing for the future and changes! Very cool on how little things change big things. Looking forward to next one!!!
January 4, 2025
Loved the book. Interesting cast of characters and the details of history are fantastic. Can't wait for the next installment.
July 25, 2025
Not Stirling’s best work. Felt rushed.
February 14, 2026
I lost my joy after the push of the L.G.B. stuff. I would have enjoyed the story a lot more if the sexuality of the main protagonists had not been a focus. I did like the overall story ideal.
November 9, 2024
It's OK. Not very good, but not bad. Serviceable escapist time travel to the 2nd century Roman Empire.
Yes, the frame story of how the Americans got to Roman Pannonia near the boundary with Noricum, somewhere near Vindobona-future-Vienna, makes no sense. That's fine. The frame stories are never supposed to make sense. What is important that five Americans, all experts in Roman history, one professor with extensive military experience and four nerdy graduate students, somehow got to Roman Pannonia near the boundary with Noricum, somewhere near Vindobona-future-Vienna, with a literal metric ton of goodies from the future.
A nice touch is that the metric ton of goodies from the future does not include any firearms. You see, the supplies were put together by a European professor, and, as all Americans know, here in Europe nobody has ever heard of firearms, much less handled one, and in general they are all highly illegal and extraordinarily rare anyway.
A really good detail is that when newly arrived the five Americans speak 'orrible Latin. This I can believe. If you look on the web for video clips for academically educated native English speakers attempting to speak Latin you will agree that they speak it in a way which is barely comprehensible by people who know Latin but are native speakers of Romance languages. I have no idea why this is. Note to American people who learn Latin: it is the direct ancestor of Italian. Speak it as a very old form of Italian, not as some sort of Klingonian.
The Americans improve their pronunciation of Latin very quickly, as one would expect, and we are off to the races. What follows is standard S. M. Stirling military fiction, so you know what to expect in terms of static two-dimensional characters, minimal dialogue, total disinterest for the non-essential aspects of the surrounding world, drastically simplified social structures to the point of caricature, and so on.
But standard S. M. Stirling mil-fic would get four stars. Why only three?
Only three stars because one star was deducted for the callous mistreatment of Latin language. No, one German is not a **Germanii, it's a Germanus; and even two Germans would be Germani with only one i. No, the plural of tormentum is not **tormentii, it's tormenta. No, it's primary meaning is not torturer, it's anything which twists or turns something; from torquere, to twist or to turn. No, two pure spears are not **hastae pura, it's hastae purae. No, one does not expect to see dictionary macrons over random long Latin vowels in running text. And so on. It is jarring to any reader who has even a minimal acquaintance with the language, and there are many millions of us in this world.
Oh, and the Marcomannic Wars were not called the Marconannic Wars by the Romans; as far as the Romans were concerned it was the German and Sarmatian War. Just saying.
Yes, the frame story of how the Americans got to Roman Pannonia near the boundary with Noricum, somewhere near Vindobona-future-Vienna, makes no sense. That's fine. The frame stories are never supposed to make sense. What is important that five Americans, all experts in Roman history, one professor with extensive military experience and four nerdy graduate students, somehow got to Roman Pannonia near the boundary with Noricum, somewhere near Vindobona-future-Vienna, with a literal metric ton of goodies from the future.
A nice touch is that the metric ton of goodies from the future does not include any firearms. You see, the supplies were put together by a European professor, and, as all Americans know, here in Europe nobody has ever heard of firearms, much less handled one, and in general they are all highly illegal and extraordinarily rare anyway.
A really good detail is that when newly arrived the five Americans speak 'orrible Latin. This I can believe. If you look on the web for video clips for academically educated native English speakers attempting to speak Latin you will agree that they speak it in a way which is barely comprehensible by people who know Latin but are native speakers of Romance languages. I have no idea why this is. Note to American people who learn Latin: it is the direct ancestor of Italian. Speak it as a very old form of Italian, not as some sort of Klingonian.
The Americans improve their pronunciation of Latin very quickly, as one would expect, and we are off to the races. What follows is standard S. M. Stirling military fiction, so you know what to expect in terms of static two-dimensional characters, minimal dialogue, total disinterest for the non-essential aspects of the surrounding world, drastically simplified social structures to the point of caricature, and so on.
But standard S. M. Stirling mil-fic would get four stars. Why only three?
Only three stars because one star was deducted for the callous mistreatment of Latin language. No, one German is not a **Germanii, it's a Germanus; and even two Germans would be Germani with only one i. No, the plural of tormentum is not **tormentii, it's tormenta. No, it's primary meaning is not torturer, it's anything which twists or turns something; from torquere, to twist or to turn. No, two pure spears are not **hastae pura, it's hastae purae. No, one does not expect to see dictionary macrons over random long Latin vowels in running text. And so on. It is jarring to any reader who has even a minimal acquaintance with the language, and there are many millions of us in this world.
Oh, and the Marcomannic Wars were not called the Marconannic Wars by the Romans; as far as the Romans were concerned it was the German and Sarmatian War. Just saying.
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