The following two reviews were left on the Amazon site for the book:

#1

This is a review of "The Peace" (read it, you won't regret it!), but more of a review of his whole "World's of the Timestream" series.

Richard Sutcliffe's "Worlds of the Timestream" series stands out vividly in the world of contemporary fiction. He uses the idea of an alternate world, in this case a world where Irish Celtic influence rules, to critique our modern society and to present an alternative worldview. Along with the best of modern Science Fiction (in my opinion), this work explores what it means to be a human being in relation to others. His stories show excellent character development and tell and retell the same events from the different perspectives of those characters (something he calls the "Celtic Knot method"), and which at the same time present mystery on mystery for you to figure out (you almost think you've solved them...and then you're not so sure). When I read the first volume I was not aware that Rick Sutcliffe was a practicing Christian. When I came across some Christian concepts presented in the text I was surprised, and I decided that what the author was writing was a very accurate portrayal of a committed Christian. That was unusual in contemporary fiction, and I was pleased to read something in which a Christian was portrayed positively (but realistically as well). But Christian or not, I think you'll have a great read in them! I especially appreciate how the author deals with so many of the tough issues life (such as the problem of evil, marriage, sexual purity, self-discipline, revenge and violence). Never sappy, never shallow, I have enjoyed reading these books several times already. I recommend this series to all SciFi/Mystery fans that I know, and I recommend it to you.

#2

Very intriguing!

Challenging to follow, since it's design has one hopping time and locations periodically that strain the brain. I was intrigued, and am interested to read the rest of the series.

This review is from The Reference Library, a column by Tom Easton in the May 2001 issue of industry leading Analog magazine.

You can find e-books at a great many places on the Net, and many aren't worth much. But Bookmice.com is worth a visit, judging from Richard J. Sutcliffe's The Peace.

Sutcliffe is a professor of computing science and mathematics at Trinity Western University in British Columbia. His fiction he very aptly calls "Christian Science Fiction with an Irish flavour." The setting is the "Worlds of the Timestream," a handful of parallel Earths separated by important crisis points. One such point was the Crucifixion; in our own Earth, it happened as we believe; in others, Pilate released Jesus, and the people were able to watch the Crucifixion and Resurrection as a sort of very convincing shadow play before the worlds broke all contact. Christianity developed in the latter worlds as well, but with a very different flavor, especially once Ireland came to dominate the world under the High Lord of Heaven. Technology developed centuries ahead of our own schedule, biowars impaired fertility so much that population remained low, and Irish customs of honor came to govern war and politics.

But the scoundrels are ever with us. Lucy and Sally, secret agents in pursuit of atomic secrets on one world, find themselves jumped to another and married to a pair of heroes who should be high in the councils of Tara if the King had not been deposed and his clan banned for sixty years. In the decades ahead, they and their men and others of honor will stymie attempts to spread plague and war even as they build up a web of sworn loyalties that will someday permit their grandchildren to reclaim the throne.

That day remains well in the future, however. The Peace is but the first volume in the Interregnum series, with the sequel yet to come (although you can get the first four chapters of The Friends by visiting the author's home page at http://www.arjay.bc.ca/).

The pace and prose are well up to the standard familiar in paper books, and the convolutions of politics and character are enough to satisfy any fan of epics. It's worth its price, and then some. --Tom Easton. (copied here by permission)

I recently had the opportunity to re-read (yes, for the second time) The Peace. That means I must have liked it the first time I read it. Truthfully, I never have been enamored by the alternate reality scenarios, most often experienced in books by Harry Turtledove. Fortunately, this one absolutely grabbed my attention and I didn't want to put it down. The concept of a modern day religious world, ruled by the king of Ireland, with advanced technology that conducts wars using swords was absolutely fascinating. Combine that with the fact that there are 5 other worlds/dimensions or whatever makes it even more intriguing and opens up the possibility for all sorts of related plots and books. Most importantly to me, the author told a great story. I remained interested the entire time. I grew up on Robert Heinlein, who is my all time favorite. If you like him, you should like The Peace. Different genre, but great story.

Rusty Farabee
6907 Avondale Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73116
mail

Volume I of the Worlds in Time Stream, THE PEACE, is as complex as its name. Encompassing many twists and turns, this political, action, sci-fi/thriller doubles back on itself more than a mountain road. Plots work within plots. Novels within novels.
It begins at the close of WWII, on Earth Prime, with two Irish agents who want to buy back stolen atomic secrets. It moves on to Ortho Earth where the two agents, Sally and Lucy, fall in love and help their new friend's cause. Within all lies a sci-fi Christian theme and a Royalist work on Tara's high throne. Court intrigues and sword play dance lightly between the pages.
Richard Sutcliffe has created an intelligent and encompassing world in his book. The characters are interesting and readable. I was a little lost by the shifting themes in this book at times but I was never bored. This will undoubtedly be a sci-fi classic, Ala Heinlein in his early days.

Joyce Lavene
SharpWriter.com