The years of rice and salt (2002)

What if the Black Death had killed almost everyone in Europe? Robinson follows centuries of development in a world whose major centres of power lie elsewhere, using recurring, reincarnated characters to connect the periods. Science, religion, trade and social movements receive as much attention as rulers. The scale asks for patience, but it offers the widest comparison here: a different balance of power creates new conflicts and possibilities, not merely familiar European history with the names changed.