There Was a Trilogy From Nantucket

Primary Sources

The Nantucket Trilogy

Written by S.M. Stirling

Published by Roc

The Nantucket Trilogy, by S.M. Stirling, consists of the books Island in the Sea of Time, On the Oceans of Eternity, and Against the Tide of Years. These books are one of the best sources for those interested in time travel or interdimensional gaming. This review will describe the plot in broad outlines, with only minor spoilers, then will move to gaming applications.

In these books the island of Nantucket is transported, through unexplained means, to the year 1250 B.C. The repercussions of this, and how the inhabitants handle it, forms the plot of the story. The Nantucketers (called "Eagle People" by the natives of 1250 B.C.) first have to deal with the psychological shock of being separated from all they know and then the even more pressing matter of how to feed themselves. Stirling manages to handle the psychological element in an interesting manner by making the reader an observer of the shock's outcome, rather than slowing the pace of the story by focusing on someone's inner pain.

The search for food brings the Eagle people (on the Coast Guard sailing ship the Eagle, which was also brought along to the past) to England, to trade for grain and animals. This trip eventually draws them into the politics of the Old World. It does this by planting ideas into the head of a Coast Guard officer, William Walker, who eventually leads away a small group of Nantucketers to found a European . . .

This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.



Article publication date: December 16, 2005

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