Different Flesh [Hardcover]

Harry Turtledove (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 1990

An extraordinary novel of an alternate America by the author of The Guns of the South. Can it be called slavery if the slaves are ape-men, little more than animals? Slavery had come to this New World in a manner totally different from our own--but when the Sims learn to speak, matters become more complicated.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Random House Value Publishing (February 26, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517027917
• ISBN-13: 978-0517027912
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,621,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harry Turtledove is the award-winning author of the alternate-history works The Man with the Iron Heart; The Guns of the South; How Few Remain (winner of the Sidewise Award for Best Novel); the Worldwar saga: In the Balance, Tilting the Balance, Upsetting the Balance, and Striking the Balance; the Colonization books: Second Contact, Down to Earth, and Aftershocks; the Great War epics: American Front, Walk in Hell, and Breakthroughs; the American Empire novels: Blood & Iron, The Center Cannot Hold, and Victorious Opposition; and the Settling Accounts series: Return Engagement, Drive to the East, The Grapple, and In at the Death. Turtledove is married to fellow novelist Laura Frankos. They have three daughters: Alison, Rachel, and Rebecca.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I just finished reading an unfinished book, September 15, 2001

By 

A. Bresette (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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 (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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, February 18, 1997

By A Customer

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