This is the second book in the series by Eva St. John about a parallel Earth whose inhabitants can travel to our Earth at set points in time and they use this ability to retrieve precious artifacts just before they are lost or destroyed and display them (or at least holographic images of them) in museums. In this parallel world, Julius Caesar was lost as sea which changed the course of history, meaning the Roman Empire did not flourish and the Greek and Egyptian societies did. The result is that the world view of the people is much more ‘civilised’ at least on the surface and crime is low. A man from our Earth was trapped in this other Earth at the end of the first book, and this book is about how he copes with the culture shock and trying to fit into this new society. As he begins to suspect corruption and foul play amongst high ranking citizens, he meets resistance from those he tells who just can’t fathom that anyone would do that. The book led to some interesting discussion with my husband on our daily dog walk about human nature and why utopian political ideals don’t work in practise because there are always enough selfish or immoral people to mess with the system. Even though the book raised deep questions, it is not a heavy read – it’s fun, similar in feel to the Jodi Taylor Chronicles of St Marys.
Sarah Wray Writer 