The Sterkarm Handshake by Susan Price
For many years, the Sterkarms have pillaged the Scottish-English border. Unexpected visitors who identify as Elves demand that the Sterkarms cease their aggressive behaviour. Time travellers from the 21st century known as the Elves have discovered a route to the 16th century and intend to conduct their own pillage of the rich natural resources of the region. The only error they made was to stupidly underestimate the Sterkarms.
All of this is irrelevant to Andrea Mitchell, an anthropologist researching the Sterkarms. She’s never felt such happiness in her own time, falling in love with Per, a young Sterkarm warrior, and being praised as a stunning Elf-May.
The Sterkarm Handshake by Susan Price
Amazon.com
However, Andrea’s choice to save Per by transporting him into the twenty-first century after he sustains a fatal injury has dramatic consequences. Per makes a vow to banish elves from his kingdom permanently after seeing their power and deadly potential. And in the ensuing violent conflict, Andrea must ultimately decide which side she will support. Susan Price, a skilled storyteller, tells a moving account of a clash of two cultures in The Sterkarm Handshake.
It’s a time-travelling science fiction book, but it also qualifies as historical fiction because the sections that take place in the 16th century seem incredibly authentic and, in my opinion, were thoroughly researched. Everything feels incredibly real, from the dialect they use to communicate to the politics of the Scottish border clans during the time. Science fiction is created by futuristic researchers who seek to extract essential minerals from ancient places and even run a historical tourism enterprise utilizing time travel to loot the past.
