Barnes is also the author of an alternate history trilogy, collected as The Timeline Wars.
  1. Patton's Spaceship -- Mark Strang, an art historian turned professional bodyguard after half his family is killed by a shadowy terrorist group, learns that the terrorists are actually the arm of the Closers, a civilization turning timelines into totalitarian dictatorships. Closers are mysterious but thoroughly evil. Their civilization is based on Carthage. Their enemies, the ATN (Allied Timelines for Nondeterminism), are from an Athenian-dominated timeline. Strang is catapulted accidentally into the 60's in a world where Hitler won WWII, and has to essentially defeat the entire Axis army singlehandedly. The spaceship of the title is a recon craft (piloted by John Glenn) that is launched near the end of the book.
  2. Washington's Dirigible -- Strang, now working directly for the ATN, is sent to a Revolutionary-era America in a timeline where the ATN has boosted technology and prevented the war. Another Mark Strang, a Closer agent, is already there, and Strang is forced to fight himself to save the life of King George III, the best friend the colonies have. The dirigible of the title is the Great George, used near the end to spring the King from prison and reveal the ringer brought in by the Closers.
  3. Caesar's Bicycle -- The climax and finale. The ATN has lost touch with its futures. The cause seems to be a strong new ally, created by an ATN agent working in pre-imperial Rome. But Strang's mission this time, the early assassination of Julius Caesar, doesn't feel right to him. The bicycle is just one piece of technology introduced to the Romans, along with rubber, muskets, and stirrups.
They are nicely researched, and each one has different enough situations to keep you moving through the story. It also ties up neatly at the end -- unlike a lot of the multiverse dross out there these days, Barnes appears to have no plans of setting up a franchise.
Addendum -- I went back and reread the Timeline Wars this week. They are even better than I remember.

John Barnes is a science fiction author. He has written the following novels:

Isaac Asimov Presents:

Sin of Origin
The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky
Orbital Resonance
Kaleidoscope Century
A Million Open Doors
Earth Made of Glass
The Timeline Wars:
Patton's Spaceship
Washington's Dirigible
Caesar's Bicycle
One For the Morning Glory
Mother of Storms
Candle
Finity

Maybe a couple others that I haven't seen or am forgetting. His earlier stuff is pretty straight-up sci-fi. He's got some good ideas, even if his execution isn't always on. Typical themes involve political action and its social consequences.

Mother of Storms is probably his best work. A Million Open Doors is pretty cool too, although the sequel Earth Made of Glass wasn't as good as I'd hoped. One For the Morning Glory is definitely an interesting read. Unlike the rest of Barnes' novels, this one is a fantasy, and he's crafted quite a unique little world and story. Barnes takes elements of fantasy that seem familiar, yet turns them around in the twisted way of someone who intended to only write one fantasy novel. If only other fantasy could be written in this fashion.

As well as being the name of a Sci-Fi writer, John Barnes is also the name of a very talented English footballer. He hit the big time when he scored a fantastic solo goal against Brazil while playing for England in a friendly match at the Maracana. The goal is widely regarded as one of the best English international goals ever scored.

Originally born in Jamaica, his professional football career began when his family moved to England and he signed for Watford FC in the English Second Division. With Barnes's help the team soon achieved promotion to the First Division (now the Premiership), and he was soon signed by the best English team around at that time, Liverpool FC.

Barnes tolerated much racism from idiotic hooligans during his early career, but his unstoppable talent eventually earned him PFA Player of the Year awards and various major trophies with Liverpool. He also had many caps with the England football team, and played a vital role in World Cup: Mexico 1986 and World Cup: Italy 1990.

Once his playing career was over he had a brief stint as player/manager with Glasgow Celtic before settling into a job as a pundit with ITV.

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