WIND OUT OF TIME

A historical time-travel thriller that combines the domesticity of a rom-com and the violence of a medieval epic.

FBI Special Agent Andrea Schilling doesn’t cower in the face of danger, so when she finds herself accidentally launched back in time to the medieval era while pursuing terrorist Abdul Khoury, she takes it in stride. It turns out that a cave on a beach in present-day Cornwall, England, is actually a time portal that sends her and Khoury to an unfamiliar version of medieval times. In this era, the shining castle of Camelot is the grime-encrusted kingdom of Camdhur, the valiant King Arthur is the enigmatic Ardur, and the order of Round Table knights, lauded as paragons of peace and chivalry, are nonexistent. Faced with a crowd of people speaking Old English and ogling Andrea’s modern dress and attitude, she swears to turn the lackluster kingdom before her into the Camelot she knows from legend. Armed with a hidden pistol, years of FBI training, and a distinctly American can-do attitude, Andrea whips the place into shape and quickly lands herself the role of castle cook and draws the interest of the king. As Andrea grows closer to Ardur, they must contend with a host of troubles—among them Arthurian family drama from legend, Saxon invasions from real-life history, and the intimate tension of falling in love and making a family. This irreverent story has some entertaining aspects, and the plot elements robustly draw on history and folklore. However, the book also provides disappointingly rote descriptions of both violent battles and medieval housekeeping as well as occasional unexplained elements, such as a surprise dragon and sudden doppelgängers. In addition, the aforementioned terrorist barely features in the plot at all. The novel feels overlong, especially considering the sketchy character development, and it often picks up and abandons various plot points that, if pursued, might have added more interest.

A sometimes-intriguing but underdeveloped tale of an offbeat Middle Ages.