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Series · science fiction
Time's Tapestry
The Time's Tapestry series by Stephen Baxter has 4 known books (4 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Emperor (2006).
- Books
- 4 known books (4 novels)
- Published
- 4
- First published
- 2006
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Science Fiction
- Last checked
Start here: Emperor (2006) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Emperor
The first entry in the Time's Tapestry series, Emperor was published in 2006 and runs 448 pages. Set in Roman-occupied Britain, it follows a family across generations as fragments of the prophetic Weaver's Tapestry first surface and reshape the province's relationship with Rome.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Emperor - Book 2:
Conqueror
Released in 2007, Conqueror sits between Emperor and Navigator in the Time's Tapestry reading order, jumping forward to the Viking and Anglo-Saxon period. The same recurring Weaver's Tapestry artifact connects it to Emperor, its prophetic fragments still rippling forward into a new era and cast.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Conqueror - Book 3:
Navigator
At 496 pages, Navigator is the longest entry in Time's Tapestry, appearing in 2007 and moving the story into the era of the Crusades and the Norman conquest. Like the rest of the series, it treats prophecy and historical knowledge itself as the disruptive force reshaping England's diverging timeline.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Navigator - Book 4:
Weaver
Weaver closes out the published run of Time's Tapestry to date, following Navigator in 2008 at 432 pages. Set in the aftermath of the Spanish Armada, it arrives in an England whose entire history has by this point been repeatedly bent away from our own by the recurring Tapestry's prophecies.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Weaver
About the Time's Tapestry series
Time's Tapestry is an alternate-history series built on a single premise: a fragmentary cache of prophetic writings, the Weaver's Tapestry, has been circulating and being reinterpreted for two thousand years, and in various eras characters who act on its warnings inadvertently change the course of history -- creating divergent timelines that ripple forward from each disruption. Emperor opens in Roman-occupied Britain, following a family across generations as the Tapestry's fragments first surface and reshape the province's relationship with Rome. Conqueror jumps to the Viking and Anglo-Saxon period, Navigator to the era of the Crusades and Norman conquest, and Weaver to the aftermath of the Spanish Armada in an England whose entire history has, by this point, been repeatedly bent away from our own.
Rather than time travel in the conventional sense, the series treats prophecy and historical knowledge itself as the disruptive force -- people who read the Tapestry and act to prevent or hasten what it predicts are the ones who create the divergence, a self-fulfilling-prophecy structure that lets Baxter examine several distinct periods of British history while asking what a society does with unearned foreknowledge of its own future.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in Stephen Baxter's Time's Tapestry series?
Four: Emperor (2006), Conqueror (2007), Navigator (2007), and Weaver (2008).
Is Time's Tapestry a time-travel series?
Not in the conventional sense. Its central device is a set of prophetic writings, the Weaver's Tapestry, that different generations of characters interpret and act on, and their actions -- not literal time travel -- are what diverge history from our own timeline.
Do the Time's Tapestry books follow the same characters?
No. Each book is set centuries after the last, with a new cast in a new historical period, connected by the recurring Tapestry artifact and the cumulative divergent history it creates.
What historical periods does Time's Tapestry cover?
Roman Britain (Emperor), the Viking/Anglo-Saxon era (Conqueror), the Crusades and Norman period (Navigator), and the aftermath of the Spanish Armada (Weaver).
Is Time's Tapestry connected to Stephen Baxter's other novels?
No. It's a standalone alternate-history series, distinct from Baxter's science-fiction series like the Xeelee Sequence, NASA Trilogy, or Long Earth, all tracked separately on this site.
If you like the Time's Tapestry series
Reading order last verified .