.com Alternate history is the branch of speculative fiction that explores what might have happened if history had taken a different turn. The obvious changes, like the Nazis winning World War II, have filled innumerable novels. Fortunately, the anthology Worlds That Weren't avoids the obvious with its four fine new novellas from four superior authors: Harry Turtledove, S.M. Stirling, Mary Gentle, and Walter Jon Williams. The collection opens with "The Daimon," written by Harry Turtledove, AH's best-known practitioner. In Turtledove's turning point, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates chooses to accompany General Alkibiades to war instead of remaining in Athens, and sets Alkibiades on a triumphant, terrible new course. Set in the British India-dominated alternate history of The Peshawar Lancers, S.M. Stirling's novella is a rousing old-fashioned adventure. "Shikari in Galveston" follows a hunting safari through a regressed American frontier that might have given even Daniel Boone pause. A prequel to her Book of Ash tetralogy, Mary Gentle's novella "The Logistics of Carthage" concerns Christian warriors serving pagan Turks in a North Africa conquered by Visigoths instead of Vandals, and is the strongest story in Worlds That Weren't. The collection concludes with "The Last Ride of German Freddie," in which Nebula Award winner Walter Jon Williams considers what might have happened if the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had taken himself and his superman theories to the Wild West. --Cynthia WardFrom Publishers WeeklyWhat if, in any single moment, history had taken a different turn? In the engaging Worlds That Weren't, bestselling author Harry Turtledove imagines a different fate for Socrates (which he spells Sokrates); S.M. Stirling envisions life "in the wilds of a re-barbarized Texas" after asteroids strike the earth in the 19th century; Sidewise winner Mary Gentle contributes "a piece of flotsam" from her epic Ash a story of love (and pigs) set in the mid-15th century, as European mercenaries prepare to sack a Gothic Carthage; and Nebula nominee Walter Jon Williams pens the tale of Nietzsche intervening in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From BooklistThis hardcover gathering of four alternate-history tales confirms that alternate history is indeed riding high. Turtledove's "The Daimon" is a carefully researched piece featuring the philosopher Sokrates as he considers joining the Athenian expedition against Sicily in 415 B.C.E. The stirring western that S. M. Stirling contributes is set in a Texas that is an outpost of the imperial army of India and has become the center of civilization after the destruction of the British empire. Mary Gentle's anything-but-gentle "The Logistics of Carthage" is about a fifteenth-century female warrior, Yolande, who during a lull in battle is visited by an archaeologist from the far future. Walter Jon Williams' "The Last Ride of German Freddie" is the gunfight at the O.K. Corral--kind of. In it the Earps play minor roles and Doc Holliday, quite the philosopher, is good friends with Friedrich ("Freddy") Nietzsche. All four novellas unfold with almost mathematical precision and are flawlessly executed. Of course, in another way they are all quite mad, and thus hardly for every non-alt-history reader. John MortCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved what is a best selling book Worlds That Weren't
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. One fourth is good.By Marquis A. CrockerThe only reason to buy this book, is the story written by S.M. Stirling, the other three are total crap even though they were written by great authors.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Four very varied tales...By GrahamFour very varied alternative-history novellas:In "The Daimon", Harry Turtledove lets Socrates guide Alcibiades in Athens' wars with Syracuse and Sparta. Well written, with lots of historical details. (Including a cameo by a teen-age Plato.) Definitely the best of the four.In "Shikari in Galveston" S. M. Stirling takes a gallant officer from his Peshawar Lancers through a dashing adventure against cannibals in a post-Fall South-East America. Light, fun, fast reading.In "The Logistics of Carthage", Mary Gentle describes a minor incident in an alternative medieval (Arian) North Africa, which is apparently part of the backplot to her novel "Ash". Unfortunately this rather drags as a standalone story, with a great deal of emotional agonizing and very slow plot movement.In "The Last Ride of German Freddie", Walter Jon Williams gives us Friedrich Nietzsche in the Gunfight at the OK Corral. A little slow, but an amusing look at Nietzsche applying his philosophy in the old West.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. AH Alternate History, what's not to love?By K. SalmonI love alternate history. THough I bought it for the SM Sterling offering, I found all of the stories to be well worth the money.