.
.
by Chester E. Hendrix.
Softcover (6.2×9.2 inches). 677 pages. 2025 version of 2012 book.
At about a quarter million words, or roughly three regular-sized paperbacks, this novel is the equivalent of a “trilogy” in one binding. I read the Foreword after I finished the novel — no need to spoil the unknown with author intents.
Essentially, an eclipse and an explosion sends Roman Optio Titus Hermas and WWI British Corporal George Owen through time to emerge from the same hot springs pool as French Lieutenant Bayard Legard in 1804 France. Boulogne to be precise.
Besides the surprise of finding two other naked guys in the same old Roman pool, the Lieutenant soon discovers his fellow soakers use two different languages. Fortunately, he can speak English and passable Latin and leads the three to his tent, where they see a drawing of Mrs. Legard — who happens to look identical to their own wives. Now comes the quest to discover why they all appeared in 1804 and why each one is married to the same woman…
History buffs will know that Napoleon planned for the invasion of England, so the area is crawling with French troops and English saboteurs. Finding a way to get to Lagarde’s wife in Calais requires guile and action. And away the novel takes us.
And takes us and takes us. Some of it is well written. Other parts, not so much. As a self-published book, this uneven quality is fairly typical.
On the plus side, he’s got the history vibe down. It feels like you’re along for the ride on the way to Calais, complete with bandits, suspicious innkeepers, and skirmishes. I liked the way he wove the three languages into the plot, passing the Roman and Englishman off as Swiss and Irish. The use of allies and enemies, including Napoleon and Fouche, with their own jigsaw pieces of motivations presents a nice puzzle of ambition that gradually comes together.
On the minus side, the Point of View switching (nicknamed headhopping) within each chapter is incredibly distracting. Several times I kept backing up to figure out who was thinking what thought. It is the hardest detail to rewrite in a novel. As for the prose, it could use tightening: again, less in some places and more in other places.
He has a number of non-fatal formatting issues, such as boldfacing 2nd and ship names — presumably it should be italics — and what look like tabs in the middle of paragraphs. Some typos: “ususrper” (p31) should be usurper; “vaguely ate the city” (p295) should be “at”; “orders you…” (p467) likely should be “orders you delivered”; “shadows did not prevented Colonel” (p474) should be prevent.
Some gaffes: a reference to June (p435) when the story takes place in July; Titus gets a Swiss uniform in red while George gets an Irish uniform in green (p86) but later Titus has a deep green uniform and George has deep Prussian blue (p136); and Titus uses “square” sling bullets (p74) which I suppose can be used, but round and oblong were the usual sling ammo. Also, the French 6lber cannon shot grapeshot at 600 yards (p605) — about double to triple its effective range, I believe. And just how did three naked guys run through the rows of tents to get to Bayard’s tent and stumble into “cots” (p44) at 10:15pm without running into any guards or even his roommates? A little neat that one.
Yes, I read the entire novel, although later in the book when the headhopping got too distracting, I shuffled forward a few pages to the next chapter. One point of view per chapter is the golden rule. It’s hard to write 250,000 words into a coherent whole without some goofs and gaffes. And yes, the text can be tightened up by dropping some of the more repetitive aspects of “conference room planning” and different parties concluding the same thing at different times. I also wasn’t a fan of the dozen prologues — info dumps, so to speak.
This book is long and needs trimming, for it will drag as much as thrill. It’s not easy to write a novel, or the equivalent of three of them. I’m still hanging a “ties go to the author” label on an ambitious work.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
