Roswell, Texas (Paperback)

~ L. Neil Smith (Author), Rex F. May (Author), Scott Bieser (Illustrator), Jennifer Zach (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

From straight outta Round Rock's own Big Head Press comes this rollicking and thoroughly Texalicious misadventure involving spies, counterspies, extraterrestrials, cowboys, commandos, and bikini-clad sorority girls from the galaxywide territories of the University of Texas. Say what?

Say: It's an alternative history that begins with Davy Crockett surviving the battle of the Alamo, Texas remaining an independent republic, an alien spacecraft crashing in Roswell, and things getting weirder from there. Much, much weirder, with all manner of cameos from celebrities from our reality e.g., John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Gene Roddenberry, Marie Curie figuring strongly, in new guises, in an outlandish narrative that'll appeal to any pop-culture fans who like a bit of conspiracy theory sprinkled on top of their flakes of sci-fi goodness. Scott Bieser and Jen Zach's artwork, classic comic book rendering, effectively nails the tone and the times to each grayscale panel.

--Wayne Allen Brenner, The Austin Chronicle

The old cliché that it has to be seen in order to be believed definitelyi applies to this novel. As we learn in the opening pages, after Santa Ana was shot at the Alamo, history takes a vastly different turn. A hundred years later, something has happened in Roswell, TX. The President of Texas, Charles Lindbergh Jr., sends Wild Bill Bear to investigate with three Texas Rangers.

The United States, California, France, and Mexico also send agents, including pink-wearing Nazis, Madame Curie, and a host of other characters. The Pope is involved, an internal spy group in Texas keeps tabs on most of the players, and the mystery deepens when Bill Bear encounters the rancher in Roswell where events took place, a drop-dead gorgeous brunette from Tennessee, called Bettie.

... Historical characters blend seamlessly with fictional ones, and this has to be one of the funniest, most enjoyable alternative histories I have ever read.

--Anders Monsen, PROMETHEUS

Product Description

In an alternative universe, Davy Crocket survived the 1836 siege at the Alamo, and Santa Ana did not. As a result, Texas remained an independent republic and never joined the United States.

In 1947, Texican President Charles A. Lindbergh learns that a flying saucer has crashed near the far west Texas town of Roswell. He dispatches his best friend, "Wild Bill" Bear, and three of his best Texas Rangers, to investigate. Our four heroes find themselves in a race against agents from the United States, the Franco-Mexican Empire, the California Republic, and the Third-and-a-half Reich, to find that crashed saucer and learn its secrets.

And when they do, they will change the course of history, again.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Big Head Press (June 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974381454
• ISBN-13: 978-0974381459
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #438,776 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun with Alternate History, June 8, 2008

By	Albert Perez (El Paso, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Roswell Texas is a spin off from L. Neil Smith's Probability Broach series.
It combines both historical (and hysterical) figures and fictional characters to create a story that is amusing, thought provoking and just great fun. If you share Mr. Smith's political ideals you will love this book. If you don't, the adventure, humor, and just plain fun of this book will still make it worth your time.
By me this book's only fault is that it is a graphic novel instead of a text novel. Perhaps if enough of us buy this book it will convince some publisher to release a text version.
You will notice I emphasize the word fun in describing this book. It is in fact more than thirteen dollars worth of enjoyment. Any serious thought this book may provoke is value added to the fun offered. A perfect summer book (and winter, spring, fall book.)
enjoy

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great libertarian work from L. Neil, June 23, 2008

By	Michael R. Brown (Tamarac, FL) - See all my reviews

Quick note: this story is NOT set in the North American Confederacy, but in yet another alternate world.

A fun series (I read it on-line) which tells of an Earth were Davy Crockett lived and Santa Ann didn't. And which Texas never joined the United Stated, but became a free proto-libertarian republic.

Many real people are used as the basis for several characters, as the agents of several foreign governments (US, Canada, Third and a half Reich, Vatican-in-exile, Rep of California, Franco-Mexican Empire, etc) invade Texas to find out what crashed there. Part of the fun is figurating out who is who in this story.

Hope at some point they publish a full color reprint, instead of gray scale, prehaps with added info on who is who...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars L Neil is King of Libertarian Alt. Hist. SF, October 14, 2008

By	Derek A. Benner (Citrus Heights, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Imagine an Earth where Texas stayed out of the Union, where California truly became a "Magical Kingdom" - complete with President Walt Disney - where it was Laurence of Albania, not Arabia, where Malcom X stay Malcom Little - and became a Texas Ranger. Yes, in Roswell, Texas, all this happens! And we find out the source of the Grays as well as just who was piloting the Roswell Saucer.

Don't miss this read!