The narrator was fine although I did speed up the rate at which the book was being read. The story is well written, but it just wasn't for me. I felt like I was reading a journal of an explorer that I didn't care about.

"Alternative history" is a rabbit-hole that has swallowed many great writers, and which has tarnished many great ideas. But Binet achieves with <i>Civilizations</i> a sublime combination of history, literature and fantasy.

The most enduring idea that he explores is the deep divisions that ran through Europe between 1531 and 1571, the setting for Atahualpa's conquest of Spain, the primary focus of the book. There were devastating natural disasters, the Inquisition, Protestant vs Catholic, Hapsburgs vs, well, everyone.... Moreover, Machiavelli had written THE how-to guide on gaining power through any and all necessary means.

Europe was ripe for the taking. The Ottomans very nearly pulled it off in 1583. Americans--given the key technologies of iron-making and navigation (thanks to the capture of Christopher Columbus and the impounding of his three ships on his first voyage)--might very well have pulled it off as well. And imagine a Europe where religious freedom occurs 100 years earlier than the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

Binet drops many historical morsels for those well-read on the Renaissance. In <i>Civilizations</i> Michelangelo and Titian paint scenes of the Inca conquerors of Spain. Seville and Bordeaux become capitals for the American invaders (yes, two American superpowers eventually take over huge swathes of Europe). Pissarro makes an appearance, so does Copernicus, whose revelation that the sun is the center of the universe is received here much differently by sun-worshipping Incas than it was by the Catholic Church.

Yes, even in a book where American cultures conquer Europe, there is still some chauvinism. Viking genius brings technology to Cuba and Peru; the Americans don't invent these for themselves. Inca culture isn't deeply explored--beyond religion and the story of Atahualpa. I'm not usually fond of epilogues in fiction, but Binet adds a hilarious "because I can" addendum that follows Miguel de Cervantes, El Greco, and Michel de Montaigne through the years following the Battle of Lepanto to vivid effect.

Still, this book made me smarter, and I'm glad that I listened to a review recording provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The narrator, Gary Tiedemann has an engaging voice, and he nails the Spanish pronunciations.

<i>Civilizations</i> may be my best book of 2021. I will definitely have this high on my gift list this Christmas.

Whoa, what an interesting and innovative book, though it was a little hard to follow all the details of all the cross-civilization diplomatic efforts at the heart of the book. But what a great premise; the final part possibly felt a little tacked on, but the writing is so good that it holds together. Would recommend.

Around the 10th century, Freydis leads her band of Viking explorers on a southward journey through the Americas, making it as far as Panama before history lost track of them. Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus lands in America, confident in his faith and his mission, even as he and his crew get taken captive by the Incas. Thirty years later, Atahualpa, leaves the area after a dispute with his brother in Columbus's restored ship and sails to Europe. He finds a city in chaos due to an earthquake, and as he travels on through the continent, he finds people divided by religion and war. Reading Machiavelli's recent book <i>The Prince</i>, Atahualpa finds a guide for gaining power in Europe.

This was an intriguing alternate universe where the Americans invade Europe instead of vice versa! Some of the changes that occurred in this AU were logical, while others were far-fetched, although real history does have its own unexpected moments of consequence! Many real people from the 16th century show up in this book, so I think those who enjoy history will appreciate this book the most. It was a thoroughly fascinating read.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

This was a very different kind of book for me and I enjoyed it. I love history and was held captive by all the possibilities. What if Columbus had a strong faith in God? And the Incas moved towards the old world? And Christianity played out the same way?
There really is so many possibilities and any one main event could change everything. The king Henry the 8th thing really had me thinking about our history and the way it played out.
I will say that I think you’d have to really appreciate history to like this, AND already know your history to enjoy this. Just my thoughts.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and the narrator was great. It’s 10 hours and 36 minutes.
Thanks Tantor Audio via Netgalley.

Despite the fact that it got a bit into the weeds near the end, this was fantastic and great fun.


Review copy provided by publisher.

I was really hopeful for this book, but I ended up just not enjoying it really at all. There's a chance the things that made it fall flat for me are the same things that will make it a spectacular read for someone else, but I just couldn't get into it. Less of a novelization of historical events, it played out more like a history professor paraphrasing encyclopedia entries to give them a bit more flavor and flair. Extremely short chapters, and the summary really only covers the first 20% of the book because it barrels right through every section. Also, I'm not deducting any points for this, but damn I didn't need a whole (thankfully short) section from Christopher damn Columbus' point of view. Screw that guy.