Traveller Inceptio

I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed Traveller Inceptio throughout the whole book. It clocks in at over 800 pages which is far longer than my usual book choices so I admit that I expected my interest to flag. Instead the combination of superb historical research, an engaging tale and strong characters kept me hooked. The book is a dual-timeline science fiction story in which a time machine is accidentally invented. Its capabilities are limited in that it can only move subjects 1000 years in time, but this results in Shackleford creating a richly detailed portrayal of Saxon Aengland, a time when the Germanic peoples who became the Anglo-Saxon English were struggling for survival against attacks from Danish Vikings. We meet monks and villagers, see authentic daily life in rural communities and in the first tiny towns, and witness how verdant the countryside was before people completely dominated the land. Traveller Inceptio is written with alternate chapters jumping between the historic and present-day storylines, a good device which allows the reader to recognise how different and how similar our cultures are. An Australian author, Shackleford takes the opportunity to leap back in time in Australia as well as England. I loved the vibrancy of Shackleford's writing. History really does come alive in this book!

I wasn't so entranced by the military training storyline although I understand that this aspect is integral to the story. I thought these scenes slowed the overall pace excessively as I wanted to get back to the past! Traveller Inceptio is also let down by hit-and-miss proofreading which is a real shame as errors such as missing words detract from the atmosphere. Overall though, I was able to look past that and to appreciate this novel as wonderfully immersive historical fiction.