Re: CHAT: Turtledove (was: RE: Nov 11th)

And Rosta wrote:

> (because "try Harry Turtledove" was
> what I got when I solicited a recommendation of books to read from an
> august conlanger).
C'est mich, and I apologize for not replying sooner in more detail:
the matter has been on my queue, but just hadn't gotten unshifted to the
front.

There are three flavors of Turtledove's uchronias: sf-flavored (_Worldwar_,
_A World Of Difference_), fantasy-flavored (the Videssos and Krispos books),
and neither (_Guns of the South_, _The Great War_).  Which you like, I suspect,
depends on your tastes in other respects.

I agree that _A World Of Difference_ is very weak; I had actually forgotten
about it when I gave you the blanket recommendation, and was at first
confusing it with _A Different Flesh_, which is much better (about the
survival of *Homo habilis* in the New World; the Pepys pastiche is
priceless).

> This sounds like _How few remain_, which I bought but haven't read. Is
> _The Great War: American Front_ a sequel, or what?
It is. _The Great War_ will, when complete, be a continuous four-volume novel
about the alternate WWI, primarily from an American perspective, with
_How Few Remain_ as its prequel.

> BTW, the best Alternative History/Uchronian work for *conlangers* I've
> come across so far is _For want of a nail_ by Robert Sobel.
I agree.

> I am surprised Sobel's book (1973) found enough of a
> readership to remain in print.
It was in fact out of print for many years.  The current edition is
a by-product of the ongoing revival of uchronian fiction.

--

John Cowan      http://www.reutershealth.com            jcowan@reutershealth.com
Schlingt dreifach einen Kreis vom dies! / Schliess eurer Aug vor heiliger Schau
Den er genoss vom Honig-Tau / Und trank die Milch vom Paradies.
                -- Coleridge (tr. Politzer)