Oracle

Ian Watson

An interesting book this one, really appeals to the inner historical re-enactor that many people have but don't nesicarily nurture.

A scientific experiment in a top secret facility for a change instead of going wrong actually works too well, and attempt to look into the distant past actually plucks a Roman Centurion from his time into the present day.

A Translator on the way home from a conference stops to pick up a roman re-enactor who looks a little lost, seems to have gotten drunk and wandered off from the encampment. The re-enactor only speaks Latin and it turns out that he is infact our time traveling Centurion.

The translator takes the Centurion home and introduces him to his sister. They take the Roman to a Historical re-entment convention (not in costume) and he flips out at the Roman encampment, this leads to a media circus, and eventually a tangled mess involving the IRA, MI-5, MI-6 and the SAS.

The story is highly enjoyable, the cover art however is not, the green and purple combination is somewhat nausiating, perhaps this is representative of the feeling of being dragged nearly 2000 years through time.

****Update****: I have just been informed that the buttons on my page are purple and green so the previous comments about the colour scheme don't make much sense. It is the particular shades of the two colours used and the manner that they have been used in that is the problem with this cover, just thought that should be cleared up.