Customer Reviews

Roads Not Taken

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The best thing about this collection is Shelly Shapiro's introductory essay that attempts to define "alternative history". As a historian and a college instructor, I can't really agree with Shapiro that using "alternative histories" is a great way to discuss history -- students seem confused enough about history at least at the earliest levels. Most "alternative history" seems focused on WWII or the American Revolution and thus I've not found it very interesting. I bought this specifically for the variety of time periods covered. However what I discovered was that I either had too much historical knowledge or too little really grasp the stories depending on the period covered. Of the 10 stories included in this book, Robert Silverberg and A.A. Attanasio's work stood out in my mind for their ability to tell a story that seemed worth reading and yet also be close enough to "historical facts" to make sense. Some of the stories are so subtly different that you have to really think to understand what is going on while others seem a bit confused in the telling.

I was really eager to read this book because of all the good reviews.

I love alternate history, when it is plausible and when there is a STORY that plays along the alternate scenario.

So, I was really disappointed. Alternate history may be a minor genre, but nothing justifies reading minor writers.

A good sampling of alternate histories, Gene Wolfe's contribution especially, but not the best out there. I enjoyed it but not enough to keep for myself and passed it on to a friend, prefering other, meatier collections.

A broad introduction to the genre and authors of speculative history writing, where the emphasis here is on speculative events rather than technologies. Several superb stories that touched my emotions include Silverberg's sensitive love story where a modern Roman Imperia backstory is hardly the issue. A disturbing time travel situation in "Colonial" America, leisurely developed by Flynn, has a real feel to it because description of nature gives a solid context for the philosophizing. An hilarious twist on "war games" of every sort by Wolfe (in the vein of the free-associating style of Douglas Adams) is, as with all stories here, the more enjoyable the more you know of history. One of my favorite "alternative" authors, Turtledove's story unfortunately exhibits his stiff dialogue in an academic's leftist view of "fascist" America, as especially does Prof. Benford's trifle about the left's whipping boy, Nixon. Between those alphas and omegas are five other stories among which you are sure to find striking twists and ironies. Also, if you want to get the "feel" of an old "pulp book," this will do fine.

After about 100 pages, I just simply found a lot of the stories hard to follow. I kept asking myself "What happened that led to the events that I'm reading about to occur?" For example, the one what if "What if the South wasn't defeated in the Civil War?" I was wondering the exact sequence of events, and was left hanging. In short, there's better out there.

I normally find a collection of stories from several different authors irritating to read, due to the different styles they write in, fluctuating quality, etc. This book, on the other hand, has solid and entertaining stories from beginning to end. They span a wide range of time frames, from the ubiquitous American Civil War alternative to North America in 1492, Alexander/Aristotle's time, and of course WWII. My only complaint on the scope is that there are too many stories centred on North America, but this is not a serious problem, just a personal dislike.

Favourites include the stories by Greg Costikyan and Michael F. Flynn. GC's story involves an alternate history where Communism is the clear winner in the economic cold war and the western capitalist system collapses. I would urge everyone to read it, especially if you have little sympathy for the plight of the former Soviet republics. MFF's story takes place in a North America where George Washington is killed early in the American Revolution and the colonies end up as several independent states all warring on each other.

These two examples illustrate the diversity and entertainment possible in alternate history fiction, and I recommend this book to anyone who already loves this type of story or anyone that thinks they might like to start reading in the area.

Some people who have reviewed this book seem to have a problem with the way so many of the stories have appeared elsewhere. I suppose that if you are a really hardcore conoisseur of alternate history, that might grate on you a little, but I'm new enough to the genre that the issue didn't come up on my radar.

A.A.Attanasio's story is terrific. It is written in the style of Chinese literature, and deals with a man in an America that was originally settled by the Chinese (the United Sandalwood Autocracies -- U.S.A.) A.A., if you read this, please click on my "about me" link right up above and e-mail me. I'm working on a novel that deals with the same premise you use, among other premises. I'd prefer not to be sued to death.

L.Sprague de Camp was an early pace-setter in this genre, with "Lest Darkness Fall," and here he proves himself again with "Aristotle and the Gun."

"The Forest of Time" by Michael C. Flynn is probably my favorite. Set in a world where the United States never quite came together, it follows the adventures of a cross-world traveller from our world who tells about several other alternate historical timelines, and then gets caught up with his captors in a phildickian (love that word) morass of speculations about the nature of madness, of time, etc.

All the stories are interesting, and worth reading. Other reviewers have discussed them in the following pages, however, so let me just say that there is a very good introductory essay by Shelly Shapiro, which I recommend reading carefully. Also -- one story which I wish were in here is "The Sleeping Serpent" by Pamela Sargent, a very cool story set in an America settles by Genghis Khan's hordes, which you can find in "The Way it Wasn't," compiled by Martin Greenberg.

To sum up -- I enjoyed this book a lot. Definitely two thumbs up.

The book "Roads not taken" constitues a good compilation and introduction to any person, as I myself, interested to know alternate history stories, allowing a first contact with a serie of exemplificative writers of that style.

The stories, in general, are plausible and believable, and some of them, too, are well structured with an indisputable literary value: for example, Robert Silverberg's "An outpost of the empire" (depicting a world where Roman Empire is still at the height of his power in an era corresponding to Renaissance period) or A.A. Attanasio's "Ink from the new moon" (portraying a different reality where America was found and colonized by chinese people and, consequently, converted to Buddhism), fall in that category and, with L. Sprague de Camp's "Aristotle and the gun", are also my favourites.

The last one, more than alternate history, is speculative history, putting an interesting dilemma: if we could change, somewhere in the past, the course of human evenments, would be the future (our present day) a better place to live? Well, as in other matters, the dreams of reason can generate monsters...

I recommend the book, knowing that he gives some hours of light but good reading, a thing which is always necessary.

Although some of these stories are pretty good, the majority are either boring, corney, or even distasteful. I am an avid AH reader and I would not recommend this book to anyone new to AH or even those like me who have read other books on the subject.

If you are serious about AH fiction, you may find a certain sense of deja vu as you read this. Every single story in this collection has appeared before in Mike Resnick's ALETRNATE (fill in title) series or Bedford and Greenberg's WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN series, so if you have every volume of these prior collections you will be simply buyting a second copy of stories you already possess. If you are new to AH, this makes a good intro to the genre, but otherwise the only use you may have for this is to loan out to newbies you wish to introduce to this field if you only trust them with one book at a time.