Revisions [Mass Market Paperback]

Julie E. Czerneda (Editor), Isaac Szpindel (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2004

Fifteen original tales of "what if"

Some of today's top science fiction writers explore the futures that might have been, including original stories from Julie E. Czerneda and other great names in the genre.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The 15 alternate histories in this anthology consider what would have happened if scientific and technological breakthroughs--and challenges--occurred long before they did in real history. Editor Czerneda's "Out of China" portrays the discovery of a cure for plague during the Black Death. In John G. McDaid's "The Ashbanzu Effect," the Sumerians invent printing, and in Geoffrey Landis' "The Resonance of Light," a particularly decisive invention prevents World War I. Several stories weigh alternate environmental scenarios, and the notion that religion is entirely a manifestation of electrochemical brainstorms pops up more than once. Robin Wayne Bailey's "The Terminal Solution" imagines the Victorians reacting to AIDS. Dorranna Durgin's "A Call to the Wild" envisions a world in which only one animal hasn't been tamed--the dog. Lots of fresh alternative-history thinking on view here. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: DAW (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756402409
• ISBN-13: 978-0756402402
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,265,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Anthologies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful New Alternate History Shorts..., April 8, 2005

By 

Amerigo Vespucci (Fairbanks, Alaska) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Revisions (Mass Market Paperback)

Unlike most alternate history anthologies, ReVisions consists of all new and original stories, a great change from the constantly re-hashed collections. All of the stories in ReVisions deal with some sort of technological, social, or anthropological change. There's everything from Nikola Tesla inventing the laser to the Sumerians creating the printing press, to what might have happened if dogs had never been domesticated or if Da Vinci's inventions had actually been put into effect.

The stories themselves, while creative and original, do not seem to have been edited as well as they might have been, keeping me from giving ReVisions a full five stars. It's a new release, and so you probably won't find it in used bookstores. That being said, I have no regrets about spending the full price to buy from Amazon.

The topics featured for diversion are best-suited for scientific and engineering types, but there are a few to satisfy those preferring socially-based or even anthropological stories.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, February 4, 2007

By 

Midwest Reader (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Revisions (Mass Market Paperback)

These are not your typical, predictable "what if someone went back in time and gave General Lee machine guns?" type of historical revision tales. Instead, they are based in real science, and speculate about how real, historical (or scientific) events could have changed the world if they happened in a just slightly (and realistically) different way. Brilliantly written, and very fun to read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent alternate history anthology. Recommended., August 23, 2008

By 

Esther Schindler (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Revisions (Mass Market Paperback)

I have an uneasy relationship with short story anthologies. On the plus side, they give me a cross section of stories about a topic or premise in which I'm interested. And I can read one or two of stories before I conk out at night, which is good for time management.

But by definition, anthologies are a mixed bag. I have come to expect that I'll find a few great stories, several that are decent, and a few time-wasters. I also expect that I'll have read at least a few of the stories before because the premise of any given anthology will usually bring one "classic" to mind. That's not bad, but it does mean that I'm paying for a story I already own.

I'm happy to report that ReVisions breaks the rules -- in the best way. The premise is excellent, the stories are all new to the anthology, and I didn't find a single clunker.

ReVisions is an alternate history anthology with a tiny twist: in which scientific breakthroughs were made in a different time or place. How would history have played out differently if the printing press were created by the Sumerians or if the laser was developed 50 years earlier? (I stole those examples off the back of the book, so they aren't quite spoilers, or anyway no more so than it would be for you when you picked it up yourself. It's hard to be specific here because I don't want to spoil your pleasure in figuring out the scientific difference in each tale.) It's a great idea, and it works well.

The 15 short story authors are excellent, too, and I found this book when I was searching for more from some of my favorites. I'm sure they're familiar to you, too: Julie Czerneda, Isaac Szpindel, Geoffrey Landis, Laura Anne Gilman, Kage Baker, Doranna Durgin, James Alan Gardner, Robin Wayne Bailey, Kay Kenyon, Mike Resnick, Susan R. Matthews, Cory Doctorow, Charles Stross, Jay Caselberg, Peter Watts, John G. McDaid. None of them are in the universe(s) for which the authors are most famous (i.e. this isn't a "Company" story from Kage Baker) so you get to see the writers doing something different.

And they do it well. Several of the stories are truly great, and most of the rest are a solid "good." I confess that I was ho-hum about "Unwirer," by Doctorow and Stross, and about Caselberg's "Herd Mentality," but you might disagree. Besides, if the worst in this collection is "okay," that's far better than most anthologies.

I'm really glad I took the time to read ReVisions. I heartily recommend it to any fan of alternate history, or anyone who likes these authors.