Name this book/story, SF division

December 31, 2013 5:58 PM

All I remember is the macguffin is time travel, and the setting is a time period that I think may be similar to the few generations before and after the Roman occupation of Gaul. There may have been a murder mystery thrown in. The book was in English, I suspect by an American author.

I'm reading "The Discovery of Middle Earth: mapping the lost world of the Celts" by Graham Robb.

In a nutshell, he's talking about how the Celts in Gaul got a bum rap from Caesar and the rest of the Romans (read: the winner writes the history books) and it's a fascinating, well written exploration of Celtic culture based on some recent discoveries and some of his own theorizing about stuff.

Anyway, it's reminded me of a book/story I dimly remember reading years ago, at least a decade, probably two or maybe more.

Any ideas?

posted by qurlyjoe to Writing & Language (9 answers total)

I don't remember the title, but I remember a novel about a man who was born in the golden age of Rome who had the ability to "sleep" while frozen in ice with the aid of a special antifreeze potion - part of the book takes place in a Roman territory. The antifreeze potion which enables some people to travel forward in time - which is kind of like time travel - is sought after by some faction in the novel, I think. I vaguely remember that some people are after the protagonist because he was framed for murder - but I'm not sure, at all. Anyway, it's what your question reminded me of, and though again I don't remember the title of the author, someone else might think of it.
posted by Rinku at 6:17 PM on December 31, 2013

Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove?

Or Caesar's Bicycle by John Barnes?
posted by exceptinsects at 7:14 PM on December 31, 2013

I think the book Rinku is thinking about is The Centurion's Empire, by Sean McMullen.
posted by leahwrenn at 7:30 PM on December 31, 2013

Red Shift?
posted by Oxydude at 9:10 PM on December 31, 2013

Lest Darkness Fall, L. Sprague de Camp? "American archaeologist Martin Padway is visiting the Pantheon in Rome in 1938. A thunderstorm arrives, lightning cracks, and he finds himself transported to 6th century Rome (535)."
posted by zadcat at 10:44 PM on December 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

Hmm.

Watching Trees Grow, by Peter F. Hamilton?
posted by Quilford at 5:18 AM on January 1, 2014

Sounds like Lest Darkness Fall to me.
posted by raisindebt at 5:53 AM on January 1, 2014

Response by poster: None of those titles ring a bell, but I'll look them up and see what I find. Thanks.
posted by qurlyjoe at 1:44 PM on January 1, 2014

FWIW, it doesn't sound at all like Lest Darkness Fall to me. The time period is off by several hundred years, and it's about the Ostrogoths, not the Celts.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:47 PM on January 1, 2014