- Hardcover: 292 pages
- Publisher: Congdon & Weed (April 1988)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0865531986
- ISBN-13: 978-0865531987
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 680 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,465,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Turtledove specializes in carefully researched alternate histories involving the Roman and Byzantine empires. This time, though, he applies that expertise to a more striking premise. What if homo erectus (called "sims" here) had lived on in America while homo sapiens elsewhere developed into the European civilization we know? The sims, a living missing link of limited intelligence and half-human, half-simian appearance, challenge traditional ideas of humanity's special, God-given place in the world. With an eye for historical turning points, Turtledove develops his thesis through vignettes from 1610 to 1988. The later, longer chapters become increasingly involving and intricate as the issues grow more complex, from slavery to (all but human) guinea pigs for scientific research. One of the best entries in the "Isaac Asimov Presents" series.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In seven stories the author of Agent of Byzantium explores a world in which homo erectus survives alongside humankind. Whether recounting the Jamestown colonists' first encounter with "sims," describing a race between a steam-powered locomotive and a mammoth-drawn wagon, or depicting the "simian" rights movement of the 1980s, Turtledove's gift for historical speculation is always provocative. JC
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
I just finished reading an unfinished book, Sep 15 2001
By A. Bresette - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Different Flesh (Paperback)
Intrigued with the alternate history scene and learning that Harry Turtledove is the "grandmaster" of it, I read "A Different Flesh" with high hopes of inspiration & imagination. Boy, was I let down.The idea of the book is great. Instead of finding the Indians, the early explorers find "sims"...a shorter way of saying Neanderthal caveman. The book goes through several short stories with very likeable characters and intriguing plot lines.
However, the plot goes from the 1600s to the 1800s at a good pace and then all of a sudden jumps to 1988 and then that's the end. I feel that Turtledove only had to write x amount of words for the publisher and that's exactly where he stopped.
What about all the years between the 1800s and 1988?
Why not explore future years past 1988? I realize that would have been predicting for the author, but that is the fun of science fiction.
The ending of the book did not wrap anything up...the sims go to either medical research or reservations. And?!? Then what?!? Turtledove could have easily turned this into a 400-500 page epic novel and connected many loose ends while stabbing at greater philosophical, political, religious and social issues.
Overall, a let down at the end after a promising start.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great premise, no follow-up, July 12 2001
By Joel Bass - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Different Flesh (Paperback)
I was intrigued with the premise of the book long before I located a copy. Reading it, I was disappointed to find that there wasn't much more to it than that. It's written as a series of vignettes, starting with early American colonists encountering the Sims, and continuing forward through time to the present day, with Sims being used as medical test-subjects. I liked that approach at first, but now I'm wondering if a novel would have worked better. None of the characters are very well fleshed out (excuse the pun), and the alternate-reality world of the sims seems disappointingly similar to our own. I'd love to see a different writer work from the same starting point - the results could be fascinating.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"A Different Flesh" by Harry Turtledove, Feb 18 1997
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Different Flesh (Paperback)
"A Different Flesh" shows an extremely likely outcome of the world's history if one simple factor in history had changed; namely, the arrival of modern man via the Alaskan land bridge. In this carefully written book, he explores several periods of Americal history where the Native American has been replaced by Homo Erectus, and the resulting theological, historical, judicial, moral, practical, and political changes worldwide. He uses his Ph.D in history and the resources of the universities we works at to carefully extrapolate the future from a different past, and his writing experience to create colorful, realistic, and deep characters
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