In High Places

October 31, 2005
Alternative history maestro Turtledove deals a tad heavy-handedly with the issue of slavery in his third Crosstime Traffic novel (after 2004's Curious Notions
). In one alternative time line, the Black Death continued far longer than it did in the "home" time line with the result that Muslims occupy much of Europe, which is made up of small, insular principalities and kingdoms. When bandits in this medieval world capture 18-year-old Annette Klein (aka Khadija the oil merchant's daughter), she's separated from her parents, with no way to return to the home time line from which she and her family originate. Worse, the bandits are slavers who send people into another alternate time line where they're forced to work in miserable conditions. Turtledove convincingly portrays the conflict between Christians and Muslims, but takes less care in depicting male-and-female relationships. Didactic pronouncements on slavery notwithstanding, the book should satisfy its target audience of younger readers.

December 1, 2005
Jacques, a young messenger in an alternate time line in which the Black Death has kept civilization at medieval or, at best, Renaissance levels of accomplishment, is sent to spy on some mysterious Muslim merchants. Unfortunately for him, they are Crosstimers; that is, employees of a company that dispatches traders to different time lines for the sake of financial gain. More unfortunately, their caravan is attacked by bandits. Jacques and Annette Klein end up slaves in Madrid and, soon after that, even farther away when the corrupt minions of a Crosstime slave-trading ring carry them off. By this time the two teenagers are friends and allies, and Jacques helps Annette escape and inform on their captors, while he plays a leading role in a slave rebellion. Although the last third is a bit jumbled, this is the best Crosstime Traffic yarn to date (the others: " Gunpowder Empire, " 2003; " Curious Notions" , 2004), featuring, besides two engaging protagonists, extensive exploration of the ethical issues of slavery. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)