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SUMMARY:Sean McMullen, frequent winner of Australia's top science fiction award, the Ditmar, has created a fascinating adventure through time in The Centurion's Empire. From A.D. 71 to 2029, the Roman centurion Vitellan hibernates through the centuries via an elixir made from snow-dwelling insects. Unfortunately, he doesn't possess the antidote for the corrosive substance, so every time he is awakened, his body is more ravaged. His frigidarium is secreted beneath an English village, and as the Danes invade during the Dark Ages, the villagers, in fear for their lives, awaken him. He teaches them Roman martial discipline and they fight off the Danish rabble, but he's so weak that he must return to his cold sleep and await better medicine in the future. He is awakened in 1358 to battle again, this time in France, but it's his next awakening--in 2028--that propels the latter half of the novel into a thrill ride of nanotech-embellished skullduggery, as Illuminati-like factions vie for control of the resurrected hero. The centurion's viewpoint offers both a window into history and a ledge to stand on while peering into the future. Readers who enjoy the juxtaposition of historical novel with science-fiction adventure, as in Ian McDonald's King of Morning, Queen of Day, will appreciate McMullen's expertise in The Centurion's Empire. --Blaise Selby
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