The House at the Crossroads

Although there are other times, places, and people involved, basically this novel traces over the course of centuries the history of an inn, then a hotel, located at Seven Dials in London (near Covent Garden), and secretly serving as a portal for time travellers. In particular, the story of the people who get it started, and the various generations of people who manage it thereafter.

It makes a good story and I enjoyed reading it. Incidentally, it takes you on a journey through the history of England.

It would be a better story if I didn't have to suspend my disbelief to enjoy it. The whole process of getting the inn and the portal started is seriously implausible. An inexperienced young couple are sent back from the far future to Rome in the 11th century (without knowledge of any useful language), and stranded there without help or resources, with the mission of travelling to England and starting the inn and the portal. Realistically, I doubt that they would ever have reached England, let alone managed to build the inn or activate the portal (which had to be at the future location of Seven Dials to work at all). And the story of activating the portal involves a chain of further implausibilities.

This novel has a larger cast of characters than the previous novels I've read by the same author, but as in the other novels characterization is rather weak: he rarely gives them distinguishing features of appearance or personality.

As in the other novels, the characters display no interest in sex; although in this one some of them get married and have children, so they're presumably not sexless. I have no objection to a sex-free novel, but I mention it because it's a bit unusual.