The Everlasting

In spite of the very positive reviews received for this book by Alix E. Harrow, I couldn't finish it, even after reading a third of the book. Described as " a moving and genre-defying quest about the lady-knight whose legend built a nation, and the cowardly historian sent back through time to make sure she plays her part-even if it breaks his heart..." (book jacket) the story sends historian Owen Mallory back in time where he finds a very different version of Sir Una Everlasting and together they try to rewrite a history that ends with her demise at the hands of a traitor. I made it through the first version of history but just wasn't engaged enough to continue with the next one. Library Journal, however, praised by saying "Her epic worldbuilding balances the intimate lives of remarkable characters to create another immersive novel." And Publishers Weekly calls this a "breathtaking chivalric fantasy..." and concludes "This impressively constructed plot keeps the pages flying on the way to a stunning finale. Harrow remains at the top of her game."  

Here is Kirkus' laudatory review and summary: "A patriotic historian in the grand nation of Dominion is sent back in time to make sure that events play out the way they’re supposed to in Harrow’s ambitious fantasy. As a historian, Prof. Owen Mallory’s area of focus—or, more accurately, obsession—is Una Everlasting, the legendary knight who bravely served Queen Yvanne and helped her form the great nation of Dominion. While working on a manuscript he hopes will get him a fellowship, Mallory receives an old book in the mail. As he translates it from an older version of Dominion’s language, he comes to suspect that it’s a firsthand accounting of Una Everlasting’s death, which, if real, would be an enormously significant finding. Before he can figure out if the book is genuine or who sent it to him, Mallory is summoned to the office of Dominion’s Minister of War, the imposing Vivian Rolfe, who reveals that she sent the book as a test to see if he’d sell it or if he’d respect and protect it. Satisfied with Mallory’s dedication to Una Everlasting (and therefore to Dominion itself), Rolfe asks Mallory a simple question: “Are you the man who will save [Dominion]?” When Mallory answers yes, Rolfe stabs her letter opener through his hand, and as he bleeds onto the book’s pages, he’s sent back in time to Dominion’s ancient past, where he comes face to face with the real Una Everlasting. Mallory realizes that the book is a magical object that can send anyone anywhere in time when they give it their blood. He also realizes that Rolfe doesn’t want him to translate a book about Una Everlasting—she wants him to write it himself. Harrow has set up a complex and deeply compelling world in Dominion, where Mallory’s devotion to his country is complicated by his fixation on the myth of Una—and his growing love for Una as a human being. Una is beautifully drawn as a real person struggling to live up to the weight of becoming a legend, and Rolfe is a great villain; with each appearance, her knavery becomes so much more fascinating and devious that readers will turn the pages just to see what she’ll do next. An epic time-travel fantasy about how stories from the past can shape our future."