The Mists of Time

In the Keep of Time #3

by Margaret J. Anderson

In the twenty-second century in a land that was once Scotland, a group of gentle people, who believe in love, trust, and sharing, encounter several people from the twentieth century and are also invaded by Barbaric Ones from the south. Sequel to "In the Keep Of Time" and "In the Circle of Time."Lara Avara and her people, who have built their world on love, trust, and sharing, refuse to use violence when the Barbaric Ones invade their peaceful land

Genres: Fantasy, Time Travel, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction

179 pages, Hardcover

First published September 12, 1984

Reviews

[Emily Lent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book for 1 dollar in some random thrift store in a random tiny town in PA, so I went in with a very open mind. Though this book did frequently try to hit you over the head with pretty much any point it was trying to make (no need to worry about clues, metaphors, or inferring the wrong thing), I did really enjoy reading it. The concept of the time fluidity was interesting and honestly the world built by Anderson is one that I wish she would write more stories in. Honestly this was a really calming book to read, and I liked that they did not directly try to hammer home that just a peaceful approach or just looking out for yourself and defending yourself was the perfect answer.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's rare that a fantasy/science fiction book this reader struggles to get through & yet with Margaret Anderson's "The Mists of Time" I found myself doing just that. The book is honestly uninteresting with characters that I didn't care about. A lot of times with this novel I found myself simply skimming my way through it because I just wanted it to end. Not exactly a book I'd recommend but then again it also could be one perhaps I choose to read at some point in the future again.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been a good read. A little repetitive in spots because we are telling the tale now from another PoV.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd thought this was the first volume of a trilogy of YA time-travel novels; when it arrived, I discovered it was the third. Damn. Earlier vols are now on order from my long-suffering library . . .

After a collapse of civilization because of climate change, a gentle tribe makes their way from fiery southern zones to settle in what was once the west of Scotland. Now, in AD2179, the girl Lara Avara must establish herself in a world newly rent by an invasion of the Barbaric Ones, who carry much of the tribe -- Lara Avara not included -- off to slavery somewhere further south on the British mainland. The tribe has long held a nearby stone circle in reverence; and it proves that, buried underground where it looks as if there are stones missing from the ring, there are menhirs that have the special property, when handled by sensitives, of opening up time portals -- either for viewing or even for travel. Through such a portal into Lara Avara's time come a pair of 20th-century children, Jennifer and Robert, who bring their own further complications to the future world. All is eventually resolved, of course.

This is a very nicely written book, and I much enjoyed reading it. (I was puzzled, though, by how Robert's and Jennifer's speech was instantly comprehensible by the 22nd-century folk while the speech of the Barbaric Ones was just so much gibberish to them. Surely the two modern dialects would have been closer to each other than to one separated from them by a gulf of 200 years?)

No real mechanism for time travel is offered beyond that it's Yer Mystic. However, there's an interesting notion which, although eventually it's cast aside, shouldn't go unmentioned. Robert is a farmer's son, and his dad is making him follow in the family profession even though the youth really wants to be a painter, and is good at it. A solution to his dilemma is offered: one Robert could remain here in the future, complete with artistic ability and zeal; while another could exist in the 20th century stripped of all painterly yearnings. I can't remember having come across this idea before -- that time travel could be used to allow individuals to fulfil two separate life-plans, as it were. As I say, Anderson discards the concept soon enough, possibly because it'd have brought unwanted complications into her tale; the right decision, but on the other hand a pity.

I'm looking forward to reading the other titles in the series.

[Sena Public · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining story, imaginative details. However, major characters are quite human in petty and whining ways. Not entirely enjoyable as an adult reader, but young readers may overlook these defects to enjoy the book.