Civilizations: A Novel

Summary

Freydis is the leader of a band of Viking warriors who get as far as Panama. Nobody knows what became of them . . .

Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is sailing for the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. Even after he is captured by the Taínos, his faith in his superiority and his mission is unshaken.

Thirty-nine years after that, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in Europe. What does he find? The Spanish Inquisition, the Reformation, capitalism, the miracle of the printing press, endless warmongering between the ruling monarchies, and constant threat from the Turks. But most of all, downtrodden populations ready for revolution. Fortunately, he has a recent guidebook to acquiring power—Machiavelli's The Prince. It turns out he is very good at it. So, the stage is set for a Europe ruled by Incas and for a great war that will change history forever.

Laurent Binet's Civilizations is a wildly entertaining counterfactual novel from one of Europe's most exciting writers, about the modern world, colonization, empire, and the eternal human quest for domination.