From Publishers Weekly

A philosophical inquiry with a basic moral point, this literate time-travel tale also thoroughly entertains. In 1921, the ailing, 78-year-old Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin is visited by an "angel," Anchee Mahur, who offers him a mysterious choice. He can either die or resume life as a young man, but in 1999, in Richmond, Va., Kropotkin agrees to a new life, but never loses his distrust of Anchee, a being from a future so far ahead that Anchee claims he could never adapt to it. One has less a sense of reading a story than of following the provocative thinking of the novel's displaced hero and narrator. The quotations that head each chapter from the real-life Kropotkin and such writers as Dickens and Coleridge, as well as Civil War generals and politicians lend insights into slavery, the Civil War and race in America. As Kropotkin copes with, and improves on, the world immediately around him, he tries to understand his purpose. Seemingly chance meetings give him a girlfriend, a job, friends, a place to live and contact with others from the past. Earl, a reclusive doctor and former resident of the Civil War-era prison on Belle Isle, provides more history lessons. As the anarchist becomes more aware of Anchee's manipulations, he finds himself once again with a terrible choice. Does he go along with Anchee's plan or suffer the consequences if he does not? Can he trade personal comfort for humanity's potential slavery? Danvers (End of Days) succeeds in making the reader really care about the answers. (Jan. 2)Forecast: Reminiscent of classic SF tales of the '40s and '50s, such as Asimov's Foundation series, this compelling novel may well become a minor classic in the field.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-This is a novel of ideas, but it is also one of great heart and fabulous personality. As the elderly philosopher Peter Kropotkin lies dying in 1921 Russia, Anchee Mahur, a visitor from the far future, offers to bring him back to life-restored to health, in a future time and place. Peter's curiosity gets the better of him and he soon finds himself in 1999, in Richmond, VA. He is on his own, starting a new life in what, to him, might as well be an alien planet, with no capital but his intellect and a lifetime's wisdom. As the time traveler shares his story, an original and sometimes startling vision of our times emerges through his eyes; to one who lived under czars, this is a world both fantastic in its technology yet all too familiar in its ethics. Peter is part innocent, part sage, wholly charming, and extremely funny. A gregarious fellow, he feels right at home with a diverse population and relates winningly to everyone. He finds romance. He falls in with a group of creative young musicians, artists, and activists who are sure to delight teen readers. And he discovers two more time travelers: a slave and an abolitionist from Richmond's past. Peter's presence has a catalytic effect on a city that still romanticizes its Confederate history, and a new revolution brings a reckoning with the truth of its past. Read as a thoughtful meditation, or simply as a delightful yarn, this is a story and a hero that should find an enthusiastic audience.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.