Saraband of Lost Time

by Richard Grant

An intrepid band of adventurers--the ancient scholar Inbote, a man of vision; the cunning Sergeant Brass; and the frail lovely Wicca--voyage through time to the secret place of the Overmind to save Earth from destruction

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

RICHARD GRANT was born in Norfolk in 1952, attended the University of Virginia, and served in the U.S. Coast Guard. He lives in Rockport, Maine, where he has been a contributing editor of Down East magazine, chaired the literature panel of the Maine Arts Commission, and won a New England Journalism Award for his column in the Camden Herald.

After a 20-year career writing science fiction and fantasy, he turned to historical fiction.

Reviews

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a puzzle. Not about a puzzle, a puzzle itself. We have Wicca, a crippled woman, fierce and angry, almost killed by troops of the vague Emperor Scaeigh. We have Sergeant Brass, seasoned military man, who deserts the Emperor to aid a revolution and finds Wicca and together they travel on a mystical quest to the mythical Sea. And we have the Librarian Inbote, who gouges out his eyes in the belief that a fabled Overmind, which allegedly can control the old machines left behind after the Madness of an ancient technological war will give him new vision. None of this is spelled out - it must be painstakingly plucked from the reams of words, patiently, like removing burrs from a down jumper. Their strange Odyssey epitomises the old truism that it’s the journey, not the arriving, that is the purpose of travel. Taken as a snapshot of a quasi-Medieval future of wagons and airships, with heat-ray weapons and airskiffs and random time slips the puzzle is never quite solved. Richard Grant paints a Picasso but the figure is never seen to be quite right. The ending is as mystical as the journey. I enjoyed travelling in parts unknown and unknowable, but it was hard work.

[BlueBelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grant is an interesting writer. I love books I need a dictionary to navigate. He uses some truly thought provoking turns of phrase.

His characters are intriguing and full of possibility as is their world.

Unfortunately there is no clear path of travel for this story and all the threads are left dangling.

Maybe he was aiming at something Philip k. Dick-like, but it feels disconnected, half-baked, unfinished, and more like a drunken wander/stagger than a progression towards any kind of goal/purpose/end. With Dick you might not have gone anywhere externally but internally you’ve covered a lot of ground. This went nowhere and it’s too bad as it had such amazing potential.

[Geoff Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't care for this book the first time I read it in the 90s. I had read several Grant books by then, and this one, I felt, didn't hit the same emotional heights.

But I was too quick to blow through the book and dismiss it. Rereading has shown me it's more subtle charms:

First, there's no way this book is sold as fantasy of it were released today. It's an allegory, and a clear one at that.

Second, all of the characters are archetypes. The plot isn't always the most active, but it is still an interesting journey.

The book isn't perfect but it's worth a read.

[Tom Britz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Richard Grants first novel. It is a far reaching future tale of environmental changes. However it seemed to be disjointed, to me. It jumped around to different characters as it tried to make sense of this future world.

[Avis Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grant is one bizarre writer, and Sarabande is his best and most (relatively speaking) accessible novel.

[James]

An intrepid band of adventurers--the ancient scholar Inbote, a man of vision; the cunning Sergeant Brass; and the frail lovely Wicca--voyage through time to the secret place of the Overmind to save Earth from destruction