Against the Tide of Years

Lore & Background

Against the Tide of Years is set approximately 8 to 10 years after the events of the first book, Island in the Sea of Time. In that earlier novel, the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts was transported by an unknown phenomenon called 'The Event' on March 17, 1998, at 9:15 P.M. EST back in time to the Bronze Age circa 1250s BC, corresponding to the late Heroic Age of the Trojan War. The plot of Against the Tide of Years follows the Republic of Nantucket as it confronts renegade ex-Coast Guard lieutenant William Walker, who has fled the island to exploit Bronze Age peoples of Europe and the Middle East using gunpowder and iron-forging.

Reader's Guide

Against the Tide of Years is significant as the middle volume of S. M. Stirling's Nantucket trilogy, bridging the initial time-displacement and the final confrontation. The novel expands the scope of the series by depicting Nantucket's military buildup—including a deep-water navy and a Marine Corps—and its two-pronged campaign against Walker's empire centered in Achaea (Greece). The story also introduces North American colonization of Long Island, anticipating by thousands of years the 17th century colonization of the same area. A sneak attack on Nantucket by the nation of Tartessos, led by an ally of Walker, unites the Republic's factions behind an all-out effort to topple Walker's growing empire. The novel's legacy lies in its detailed exploration of the consequences of modern knowledge imposed on an ancient world, a theme that resonates throughout the series.

Did You Know?

• The novel was released in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on May 1, 1999.
• The story takes place approximately 8 to 10 years after the first book's events.
• The antagonist William Walker is a former Coast Guard lieutenant.
• The Republic of Nantucket forms alliances with Babylon and the Hittite Empire.

Publication and Place in the Series

Against the Tide of Years is a science fiction novel penned by Canadian-American author S. M. Stirling, occupying the second slot in his Nantucket trilogy of alternate history fiction. The book hit shelves simultaneously in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on May 1, 1999, giving readers in all three countries the same day to dive into the escalating saga. As the middle volume, it picks up roughly eight to ten years after the events of the first installment, The Island in the Sea of Time, in which the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, was yanked by an unexplained phenomenon—dubbed "The Event" in the series—back to the Bronze Age around the 1250s BC, a period corresponding to the late Heroic Age of the Trojan War. By the time this second book opens, the islanders have had nearly a decade to adjust to their impossible new reality, and the stakes have shifted from mere survival to the question of whether their small republic can hold its ground against a far more dangerous and ambitious threat now spreading across the ancient Mediterranean world.

The Threat of William Walker

The driving antagonistic force in Against the Tide of Years is William Walker, a former Coast Guard lieutenant who abandoned Nantucket and set out to dominate the Bronze Age civilizations of Europe and the Middle East. Walker is portrayed as both highly capable and deeply callous, leveraging technologies that the ancient peoples perceive as sorcery—gunpowder, iron-forging techniques, and the spinning jenny—to construct a sprawling personal empire. His ambitions are not merely regional; the narrative makes clear that his ultimate goal is world conquest. For Nantucket's leadership, the situation has become a stark strategic dilemma: their earlier policy of isolationism, while protecting the island from direct conflict, has inadvertently handed Walker a free hand to consolidate power. The only viable countermeasure, as the Republic's leaders come to understand, is to assemble a credible army, a fighting navy, and a network of foreign alliances capable of projecting force far beyond the island's shores and taking the war directly to Walker's stronghold.

Military Buildup and the Two-Front War

By the time Against the Tide of Years unfolds, the Republic of Nantucket has poured considerable resources into constructing a deep-water navy and a dedicated Marine Corps, yet a significant portion of the island's population remains more drawn to commerce and exploration than to the prospect of waging war against Walker. The turning point that shatters this internal division is a surprise assault on Nantucket itself, carried out by the nation of Tartessos under the command of one of Walker's allies. This unprovoked attack galvanizes every faction within the Republic behind a unified, all-out military effort. The resulting strategy is a two-pronged offensive: one arm strikes directly at Tartessos, while the other opens a second front in the Middle East through a carefully negotiated alliance with Babylon, the Hittite Empire, and Mitanni. Walker's empire, centered in Achaea in what is now Greece, thus faces simultaneous pressure from multiple directions, forcing him to split his considerable military resources and stretching his reach to its breaking point.

Colonization and the Rewriting of History

Beyond the central military conflict, Against the Tide of Years weaves in a quieter but equally significant thread: the Nantucket islanders' foray into North American colonization, with particular focus on Long Island. In the real historical timeline, European settlement of that region would not begin until the seventeenth century, yet in Stirling's alternate world the islanders are establishing a foothold there thousands of years ahead of schedule. This colonization effort underscores the broader premise of the Nantucket series: a small, technologically advanced community dropped into the Bronze Age circa the 1250s BC—roughly the era of the Trojan War's Heroic Age—must now reshape the ancient world on its own terms. The original displacement, known simply as "The Event," occurred on March 17, 1998, at 9:15 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, a precise timestamp that anchors the fantastical premise in a specific, real-world moment. By the second book, the islanders are no longer merely surviving in a foreign era; they are actively rewriting the trajectory of human history across two continents.