Lord Protector begins with a 21st century professor taking advantage of a little-known anomaly that allows time travel between two points that are slightly more than 500 years apart in time. An expert on the Wars of the Roses, he travels back to 1498 to investigate the deaths of the Princes in the Tower. He comes in conflict with Margaret Beaufort, mother of reigning king Henry VII of England. A battle is set off among the characters for their personal futures and the future of the world, for they are in no way fixed.

The alternate future world, interestingly, is not a barren wasteland or a soulless tyranny. I think that a significant number of people, although probably not among science fiction readers, would prefer it, if they got to substitute their own religion/culture as dominant. The arguments among the characters over which of the two is better, and the struggle to square their consciences with what is expedient or wise adds considerable interest to the story. I found myself somewhat surprised by the character that I most admired in the end.

There are a number of “spell-check” errors, for example “taught” for “taut”, but I found myself gripped by the story. I understand that there is a sequel “Restorer of the World.” ( )