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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Greece, The British Empire, Gothic Carthage and Tombstone..., July 11, 2002
When I first picked up "Worlds That Weren't", I was expecting an alternate-history version of "Legends", the 1998 fantasy anthology in which prominent fantasy authors wrote novellas based in worlds that they were best known for in the fantasy genre. My guess was partly right. Two of the stories - S.M. Stirling's "Shikari in Galveston" and Mary Gentle's "The Logistics of Carthage" do in fact take place in universes the authors have previously explored. Each about a generation before the main action of the novels (or series), Stirling's story revolves around the father of Athelstane King (the hero of "The Peshawar Lancers") and Mary Gentle's deals with the 'parents' of Ash from "Ash: A Secret History". The other two, though, seem to be independent works. Harry Turtledove's explores what would've happened had Socrates gone with Alcibiades to Syracuse (in Sicily) and if Alcibiades would not have fled following his summons back to Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Without giving too much away, he reenvisions Alcibiades as a possibly less-successful Alexander the Great a full 80 years before Alexander's time. Walter Jon Williams, on the other hand, takes a look at a Tombstone, Arizona to which Friedrich Nietzche had been medically exiled. He had Nietzche (sort-of) joining the Clantons against the Earps at the famous O.K. Corral shoot-out and creates a much different legacy for the Old West. All four novels are well done and each author knows his or her territory well (and, more importantly, provides details about the real-world events in their respective afterwords), but some succeed better than others. Turtledove has problems resisting the temptation of having characters dwell on alternate fates (i.e., events as they actually happened). Stirling's Neobritish Empire has all the hallmarks of good action on a broad, fascinating canvas, but ends up reading more like a James Bond story than as alternate history. Even his afterword comes out much that way where he talks about the creative process more than the dynamics of his world (much of which, admittedly, you can get in the appendices of "The Peshawar Lancers"). Gentle's and Williams' works seem to fair better, but I am much less familiar with their work than with Turtledove's and Stirling's. On the whole, though, all four stories are very well done. The book represents a couple of days worth of diverting, fun reading and it's not always necessary to be familiar with the authors' worlds (or the history involved) to enjoy the stories. Nonetheless, though, for people reading the books for their historical merit, you may wish to read the afterwords before the stories to refresh the given histories. Most of them do not give away the stories turn out (Turtledove's being a partial exception). I would still like to see a "Legends"-line anthology of alternate history stories, but, in the mean time, this will hold me over.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing in Common but Too Expensive, September 12, 2002
Since this is a collection of four unrelated alternative history novellas I first discuss them separately: The piece about Alkibiades becoming an earlier Alexander of Macedon shows Harry Turtledove at his best: a good idea, credible story but still solid history and (unusual bonus for this author) short. S. M. Stirling's story about a hunting party in an America after the fall described in his "Peshawar Lancers" universe is a somewhat odd mixture of post-nuclear expedition a la "The Postman", a western revenge movie and gothic horror-story. A good summer read. Mary Gentle's story is the low point of the book: it gives the distinct impression of something put together from earlier, discarded material just to meet a deadline. It is unclear to the end what the story really is about and as a teaser or introduction into the "Ash" universe it fails miserably. But the book as a whole is saved by its last piece: William's story about Nietsche in Tombstone is a rare gem. Crazy and funny (imagine: Nietsche as a gunman and gambler!), but still accurate. Just great. My opinion about the book: the stories have nothing in common beyond the fact that they are all taking place in alternate histories. That wouldn't be a problem in a bigger anthology or in a magazine, but for a hardcover with just four stories it adds up to too expensive. So read it, but don't buy.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Four very varied tales..., March 16, 2007
Four 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.
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