The High-Tech Knight

Conrad Stargard #2

by Leo Frankowski

Alternate cover edition for ISBN10 #0345327632 ISBN13 #9780345327635

Somehow, Conrad Stargard, faithful Roman Catholic and stalwart Socialist of the Peoples Republic of Poland, 20th Century, had been marooned in Poland, A.D. 1231.

Somehow, Conrad found himself under investigation by the Inquisition, got himself knighted, was granted his own fief, and made a few enemies.

Somehow, he had to round up a few vassals, build himself a city, and figure out how to survive armed combat against the Champion of the Teutonic Knights, one of the Toughest Men Alive.

Then he'd have time to worry about the Mongols . . .

Genres: Science Fiction, Time Travel, Alternate History, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Military Fiction

247 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 13, 1989

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I should not even be attempting to review this book. I read it for...you guessed it...a challenge. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the writing or the topic...IF you are into sci-fi, which I am 10,000% NOT. This was ten million miles out of my element. I did find the character of Conrad very brave and actually smarter than some of the characters in other genres that I've recently read. At least he wasn't messing up good relationships or hob-knobbing with possible serial killers. I even found myself rooting for him several times. I could easily see some of my friends eating this up and asking for more. I gave it 3 -stars because, while I can't say that I actually liked it...I didn't hate it either and I felt that was only fair to Leo Frankowski for the effort that he put into producing this. I haven't seen my name gracing the cover of a book recently.

[Matthew Esham · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, don't take it too seriously.
I don’t believe that you grade every work on the same scale, you grade them based on what they were intended to be. This book wasn’t written to be compared to Stephen King or Shakespeare (depending on which end of the scale you tend to fall to) – it was written to be enjoyed. I have a feeling that if Leo were alive he’d tell you he had a ball writing this series, and leave it at that.
The basic premise is the same as the first book. Conrad is stuck in 13th century Poland, and is fighting to survive, knowing that in nine years the Mongols will be invading. His long range plans of defending his homeland get a bit more complicated however when he sets free a group of slaves only to find out the Knights of the Cross were doing something legal.
The last half of the book is Conrad waiting for his trial by combat to decide how the slaves and other loot will be distributed from the caravan he assaulted. Everyone around him thinks he’s done for it, which I found a little hard to believe given how he handles everything else in that time, but they do at least provide an explanation about how his poor lance work will be his undoing.
In the process of practicing, Conrad discovers a bit more about Anna, his horse, who I love as a character. I get the impression that Leo was a very religious guy. The theme of casting good will out only to have it returned to him tenfold is a pervasive underlying premise. But it resonates with me at least.
My only complaint is that these books are available on the kindle and I had to purchase from Baen’s website and fight with the file formats to read them on my e-reader. What a joke. I’m sure it is all so they can get a few extra pennies per copy.
Overall, a great second novel. I especially love the end fight, where every desperate action Conrad takes is interpreted completely differently by everyone else present. Just something about that fight scene always makes me smile.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The High-Tech Knight is the second book (though a prequel appeared some years later, which I suppose makes this one the third) in a series about a man who's swept back in time from the present to 1231, ten years before the Mongol invasion. Conrad Stargard got drunk in a bar and passed out in the storeroom, which happened to be a time machine. It's similar to de Camp's Lest Darkness Fall and Flint's 1632 universe and, heck, Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. This one picks up right where the first one, The Cross-Time Engineer, ended. Conrad has resolved to save Poland and Europe from the Mongols but keeps getting sidetracked by the Vatican Inquisition and Teutonic knights and other such impedimenta. Some of Conrad's plans and developments are quite clever, and the plot is well thought-out and interesting. For example, he develops shock-absorbing armor for jousting, and his horse, Anna, is bio-engineered and is many ways smarter than he is. (Shades of Stasheff's Fess, Rod Gallowglass's companion.) The character's character reveals him to be something of an insufferable and smug pedophile, though Frankowski presents him as a charming rogue. He does free a bunch of slave children this time. Frankowski wasn't a great writer, but it's an interesting series for history buffs.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

as good as the first - on to the third

[Brentman99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book two of the series picks up where the first one left off, in that Conrad continues to make the best of a bad situation and continues to develop a long term plan to deal with the upcoming Mongol invasion.

Ironically, Conrad ends up freeing a bunch of slaves (children) and has to face off against the knight that bashed him on the head in his initial encounter in the first book.

Luckily, Conrad has a plan. With his bioengineered horse, Anna, that is far better at jousting than he is, as well as a set of shock absorbing plate armour that he designed himself, Conrad is well prepared to win a fight that no one but him feels he can win.

I really enjoyed how Conrad sets about developing his own small society that helps him build the pieces that he needs for the longer term battle against the Mongols. The only issue I have with the series is that I think that some sort of early introduction to the Mongols would have helped add imperative as to why he must exert so much effort preparing to fight them.

Overall, I’m still enjoying the series and feel that it is well worth the time spent reading.

[Sean Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I knew why I was so engaged with this series, because objectively it's got flaws. But it's like junk food, I want to keep going!

[Bryan457 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books that take a character and move him out of his time and place such as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, or The Chronicles of Narnia. This is one of my favorites. I love the world building. I could do without all the sex with nubile young women, but I'm not offended by it.
In this one Conrad has to fight a duel with a knight champion, and get his tech base together because the mongols are coming

[Tony Hinde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love that ending.

[Harold Ogle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always interesting to attempt to categorize books for the goodreads reviews, but in cases like this one it's also helpful for the review. On the surface, there are a few tags/shelves I could apply (time travel, historical fiction) that are, on further reflection, not really significant to the story. Yes, Conrad Schwarz travels back in time, but that was in the first book and is really more of a setting detail at this point (1). Yes, it is set in 12th century Poland, but that's a setting rather than anything significant to the plot. In a way, this book (and the entire series in general) is more of a disaster story than anything else. You know the disaster sub-genre, right? Some terrible calamity turns the protagonists' world upside-down, and they must work together to survive, and often rebuild some semblance of community (and sometimes even civilization) from the ashes. It's a survival sub-genre that descends directly from "Robinson Crusoe" that is exemplified in such disparate classics as "The Stand," "The Rift," and "Lucifer's Hammer." The Conrad Stargard's series falls into this category handily, but with a twist: the inciting disaster (the Mongol invasion) is coming at the end of the decade, and the survival effort is all done before the disaster!

It's a compelling premise, and a generally enjoyable casual read. I think men in general are pre-disposed to this sort of story, where the people survive on their wits and, more importantly, craftiness in being able to create and re-purpose technology for novel purposes. It does have some problems, though, and they are particularly apparent in this book, the second in the series.

First of all, the protagonist, Conrad, is a two-dimensional cipher. He's almost entirely cerebral, with little to no emotional variety and no character development. For those unfamiliar with the first book, he's an engineer in his 30s who was backpacking in the woods and suddenly found that he'd jumped back eight centuries. Since then, he's been working to improve the living conditions of the Poles (sanitation, metallurgy, plumbing, agriculture, et cetera) so that he can prepare them to fight off the Mongols. He's something of an engineering robot, which lends some unintended humor to the book at times, as when he is confronted by another character expressing some emotion, and his response is to go off and work for some more weeks on another design. So the only connection with the character is through his actions; you have no sense of him as a person.

The second problem, which didn't bother me when I read the first book as a teenager but which was glaringly obvious to me as an adult, is the character's blase attitude about sex. You have a 20th century man in an era when nobles acted on the droit de seigneur by sleeping with any peasant woman they chose. That should seem repugnant to any modern person, and to his credit, Conrad does express some distaste at the idea...but only because it leads to resentment on the part of the peasant men who love their spouses/sweethearts. Conrad is delighted with his liege lord, however, because he has hit on the "practical" solution of inviting young, attractive, unmarried peasant girls to serve as "ladies in waiting" at his court. That way, no jilted spouses seek revenge, the girls get a formal education and a rise in station they wouldn't otherwise have, and the lord and all his knights get a willing harem of insatiable sex partners to warm their beds every night.

Yes, you read that right. The book never goes into any detail of these dalliances, but just regularly mentions it that some other girl rushes off to entice another knight to a night of little rest and raucous sex. These girls really serve no other purpose in the story but as bed warmers; you never see them depressed or hurt or tired or even just not in the mood. But in a way, that's in keeping with the characterizations of all the characters - much like with Conrad, above, the characters generally don't have much depth to them. But even that's not the most galling part, the thing that provokes cognitive dissonance in the story. Sure, the girls are all 12-14 years old; back in those days, teenagers were considered adults, and the girls would be married with kids by 15. Sure, the ruler has set up this convenient system; it makes a sort of practical sense. Yes, the girls seem outrageously compliant; perhaps the only girls who were accepted as ladies in waiting were the ones with undying, unquenchable libidos. Okay. What is unforgivable is that Frankowski has Conrad - you know, the guy from the 20th century? - happily participate in nightly sex with children. Again, the sex is never described, but the idea that someone from a modern western country would be able to jump into bed with a junior high school kid without any reservations at all is...alarming at the very least. That Conrad doesn't hesitate almost requires that we suspect the sexual orientation of the author, and this becomes even more suspicious because the girls start to fight over Conrad's attentions. It's like the story isn't just a fantasy about a man changing history, it's like it's Frankowski's fantasy of a perfect life: unceasing recognition for consistently successful engineering, ever-increasing wealth and status, and scads of freshly pubescent girls engaging in endless sex with you.

All that said, thankfully it is a very small part of the book: though a constant nagging at the back of the mind, it doesn't intrude too much into the story, primarily because so little time is spent on any human interaction.

What's compelling about the book is the meat of the story, in which we see how Conrad plans the development of his area in order to prepare for the Mongol horde. It's basically a series of engineering exercises documented for our reading pleasure. He wants to make a sawmill, but the technology to make electricity, motors and high tensile steel is unknown in the 12th century, let alone the infrastructure to manufacture said items. So how does he go about it? In some cases he creates the infrastructure, training others to do their work in such a way that they can accomplish his goals. In other cases he devises novel workarounds for situations where he can't fabricate the desired parts/materials. It's interesting stuff, and never presented in too heavy or didactic a fashion. More than an engineering text, in some ways it resembles a whodunit: you keep reading to find out how all the pieces fit together to advance their readiness for the Mongol invasion. There's also an RPG-like advancement element: as he continues doing his work, he is given more status and more responsibility by his liege lord. First, in the first book, Conrad is knighted through a number of circumstances. Then he is given some cash to start some projects, which are so successful that he can expand his work into more projects. In this book, those projects are so successful that his liege grants him land
and a workforce of peasants on that land to work it. Most of this book involves his getting the land, exploring it, and beginning to design, develop and create a thriving settlement on that land. There is also a tension, introduced late in the book, between some crusaders/slavers, that adds a much-needed antagonists and conflict. The resolution of this conflict is a mostly-satisfying respite from the engineering tasks, though an aspect of it is literally Deus ex machina.

In all, The High-Tech Knight is a fluffy, fun read with some glaring problems preventing it from being really good. It can be read within a day, or two if you're particularly busy, which is a saving grace from the issues that would bother the reader more and more if the story were longer, and it stands well on its own, so that you don't need to read the previous or next book to appreciate what is happening.

******************

1 - It does become something of a nagging question in the series, though: how does the incredible, egregious meddling with history that Conrad commits play out in the future? It's not something that you'll see answered in this book.

[Emmalyn Renato · Rating 4 out of 5]

My selection for the Reddit Fantasy 2025 'Knights and Paladins' Bingo square (hard mode).

Science Fiction / Time Travel. The further adventures of Conrad Stargard, a Polish engineer who is unwittingly sent back in time to the 13th century where he has to establish himself and cope with various crises. He works to bring Poland into some advanced technology in order to meet the imminent threat of the 1241 Mongol invasion. The main character is a bit of a Mary Sue, but he is also ignorant of many of the ways of the current time, so gets himself into lots of fraught situations. It's not literature, but if you can get past the feudal system, the treatment of women by the nobility and the occasional socialistic preaching, there is a good story in there. The fight sequence near the end was a complete page turner.

(Other 2025 Bingo squares that thing would fit: Published in the 80s; Down With the System; Stranger in a Strange Land; Recycle a Bingo Square (Novel with Fewer than 2500 Goodreads Ratings from 2018)

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. At it's core this is a pretty fun medieval "base building" novel about a time traveller who uses modern engineering and knowledge to build a town and improve the lives of people in 13th century Poland. Sadly the author really ramps the creepiness up to 11 here with the main character spending a lot of time sleeping with a variety of underage girls (despite his devout Christianity being a key plot point).

If you can overlook the weirdness (and there is a lot of weirdness to be overlooked) then there's a decent, fun story underneath. If you can't overlook the weirdness then Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" has a similar premise and has aged a lot better despite being published 100 years earlier.

[Barry Haworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing the story of Conrad Stargard the Cross-Time Engineer, in this story we read of how the hero starts to build a community in the lands granted to him by his Lord at the end of the previous book. He applies 20th century notions of agriculture, metalworking, mining and sanitation, not to mention universal education of his people. The narrative is varied by giving us the viewpoint of Sir Vladimir, a 13th century knight who accompanies Conrad, as well as some commentary from the organisation whose time machine Conrad inadvertently used to travel from the 20th to the 13th century.

In this story we also see Conrad's reaction to, and effect on, the world around him, most notably when he encounters a group of slave traders - an encounter which far reaching consequences.

Like the first book, there is much to like in this book, and one or two things (actually the same things) to dislike. Definitely enough to keep me reading this series.

[Jonathan Palfrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I’m still giving it three stars, I like this one better than the first in the series. Conrad’s plans to transform 13th century Poland are at an early stage but beginning to show some promise. His exercises in engineering are served up in a more digestible form this time. His sex life is still a bit tiresome, but it mostly goes on in the background.

He gets into a feud with the Teutonic Knights, which is generally expected to result in his death. However, as this series continues into further volumes, it’s fairly safe to bet on his continuing existence.

[Molly Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fun read. Conrad is still rising to the top and has now been saved by an act of God (well future historians). Knowing that there are like seven other books takes away any tension from this battle to the death, but it was still fun. Conrad is still the most Mary Sue character of all time! Still wish the women were treated better and handled better as a whole though.

[Rob Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The adventures of Conrad Stargard continues. And if you can get around the very problematic sexual escapades of our intrepid hero, so does the fun. A bit of Edgar Rice Burroughs, a dash of Vancian repartee, and a heap of Ash readying to fight the Army of Darkness, it's hard to keep yourself from picking these up one after another.

[Annemarie Doran-Collijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in the series is just as entertaining as the first. I am very curious to find out what will happen to Conrad in the next book.

I love books that draw you in and you can just enjoy as entertainment.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read My only objection is e every thing always works out still fun though.

[Nelson Glowacki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't wait for the next book. Can't wait to see what Conrad gets himself into next.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish the 13th century characters were not written with the ability to accept and embrace modern ideas at the drop of a hat. There should be much more struggle to get them to accept ideas such as upward mobility or the abolition of slavery. The story is fun, but severely lacking in any historical realism.

[Alejandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The technical feats increase in this book. It is a page-turner as well.
But I'm really struggling to make it past the disgusting treatment of women. There is only so many times I can read about how the knights "make use" of the "eager handmaidens". Ugh. It is kind of sad that the best developed female character here is a horse.

It is exciting to read how Conrad builds up his city and develops technology with what is available, and the duel scenes were fun. However, while the "engineer saves the day" fantasy does appeal to me, the "engineer has sex with a multitude of underage and surprisingly compliant peasants" and "engineer also happens to be skilled in martial arts and fencing and can hold his own against trained knights" and "engineer becomes filthy rich by applying his knowledge and business savy in medieval Poland even though he grew up under communist control" is just too much. There is only so much disbelief I can suspend.

Will I continue? Well, yes, I have to find out if they manage to defeat the upcoming invaders. But it is getting harder and harder to keep going.

I did enjoy the sections at Krakow and Wieliczka - it is cool to be able to visit places that existed so long ago.

[Tomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a solid sequel. That is to say, it has more of the same, with enough change to keep some sense of tension. The book starts off (in a sharp change of pace) from the perspective of a local Polish knight, instead of Conrad Stargard. At the same time as you start to see this "down-timer" perspective, you also get to start to see what sort of society Conrad is trying to engineer - and even if the down-timers tend to idolize Conrad, his limitations become more visible.

There is more Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court; here, the hero (Conrad Stargard) is aimed inevitably towards a confrontation reminiscent of the duel with Sir Sagramore. It's ironic to look back at Twain's original and realize that this is a more realistic treatment of armored combat and engineering.

The "sex" part of the "sex and technological development" romp also continues apace. The average age of the willful and wanton women popping in and out of Conrad's bed increases from the first book, namely by the fact that many of them are the same women.

On the time-travel end, the interludes show that things are starting to go a bit awry. (This won't be fully developed until later in the series.)

I will agree with some other reviewers that the description of the climactic duel by the down-time knight watching it is indeed hilarious compared to Conrad's perspective.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm working my way through this series again and enjoying it as much as I did back in the 1980s, when it was first published.

In the previous book, the author used entries from Conrad's diary to tell the story. In this book, he starts switching back and forth between the diaries of Conrad and Sir Vladimir. This is a great tool for telling two sides of the story. It also allows the author to judge and/or praise Conrad's activities, which wouldn't work well if we just heard Conrad's side.

Interesting Side Comments:
The book references the Salt Mines of Wieliczka. Check out Google Images of this place. It looks amazing and now I want to tour it myself.

I wonder if Frankowski chose Vladimir's name as an inside joke referencing the historical figure, "Vlad the Impaler". I will say no more on this. Read the book and look up Vlad to get my meaning.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. Don’t take it too seriously but I have it very enjoyable. And would like to see how it finishes. This is my series for the year and am going to reread all the books and finish with the two I haven’t read to finish the series up. I don’t remember much of these books that I first read many years ago now, other than the fact I enjoyed them. I’m still enjoying them this second time around.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12669065

So far, I am finding this series enjoyable. I started out reading this completely out of order with The Prequel first and then the third book. I hope Teddy has more of this series in the one box I have left of his books.

If not, I will have to buy more with my own money. (gasp)

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author follows a very set pattern, which is that there's one smart dude in the world, and he wanders around inventing new technologies and gradually becoming rich and powerful. This particular series is about an engineer who time-traveled into the past and is busily carving out his own little empire. Well, I enjoyed it.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off kind of slow but quickly picked back up. Its absurdly unbelievable (not counting the time travel of course) but very enjoyable. I'll compare this to playing Age of the Empires where you completely control society and get to trigger rapid technological advances. Excited to start #3.

[Phil PS · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is a Mary Sue who has some...interesting ideas on how swords and women work, but it is an entertaining alt history read, if a bit fluffy.

[Howard]

14

[Jeff Youngstrom]

My review

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second book in the omnibus ebook edition Conrad Stargard: The Radiant Warrior.