The Dancer from Atlantis

Challenging myself to read a dozen time travel books this year - Poul Anderson is always a good fit. In this novel, four people though history are "caught" in a faulty time machine and deposited near the Mediterranean, a year before the Minoan eruption of Santorini (or in this book, Atlantis).

Anderson's historical research comes out in the novel; the time and place are well described. The reactions of 3/4 of the characters to this time and environment is also interesting speculation - the early Mongol discussions of cavalry warfare and the Slav's comparisons between river warfare and early open sea boats. The events of the novel are also well done, though the timed closing feels a little rushed.

The story is really told from the main character's point of view. He doesn't throw many comparisons to his background (a 1970s Seattle architect) and acknowledges that the Minoan civilization is literally ancient history. I wanted to read some comparisons of building styles, alas. His character and that of love interest (and bull dancer) Erissa are fairly well expanded; the other two are quite shallow.

This is a fairly quick read, and I liked it. For a book that's now 50 years old, it holds up pretty well.