I brought several books along on our vacation and I purposely chose a variety of them to suit whatever my mood might be at the moment. I’ve finished the first two, which are “Conquistador: A Novel of Alternate History”, by S.M. Stirling, and “Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany” by Bill Buford.
“Conquistador” is fiction, but not quite science fiction except for one important element. I suppose if you consider the TV show “Lost” to be sci-fi then so is “Conquistador.” The premise is that in 1944 a World War II veteran starting his post-war life in Oakland discovers a gateway to another dimension, the same world we live in now, except North America was never colonized. Naturally (naturally!), he and his Army buddies decide to set up a colony. Flash forward 65 years and now someone is threatening to blow their secret. (Yes, they’ve been keeping it secret.) Now a California Fish and Game Warden special investigator gets caught up in the middle of a civil war from another dimension.
I liked the book, but it wasn’t perfect. For one thing, unless you’re familiar with the geography of California you’re going to want a map in front of you (or, like in my case, Google Earth.) Even then I had a hard time picturing the places Stirling was describing. A map in the book would have been very helpful. (I looked in vain for one online.)
Technorati Tags:alternative history, books, science fiction, Stirling
Many thanks for the h/t—and you’ll like the Changeverse stuff—especially as it goes along. Gets more “Catholic” as it moves forward. And as importantly, it’s a good yarn, with a second trilogy in the works.
As to Conquistador, I can see that criticism. I think, though, it’s inherent in the world-building aspect of the book. I happen to like that sort of thing, too, so that’s a feature, not a bug. Others’ mileage may vary. Any sequels (here’s hoping) would have less of that aspect. It definitely appeals to the CrunchyCon/distributist worldview (sans the unpleasant racism of the early Commonwealth generations). Wouldn’t mind getting a grubstake on the other side of the Gate myself, truth be told.
Oh, and take a look at “The Sky People” too—another straight-shooting alt-hist adventure on a terraformed (by whom?) Venus whose habitable nature was discovered during the Cold War. One more Columbo alert—“The Peshawar Lancers.” Another A-Her, in a British Empire that survived a comet hitting off the shore of North America.
I must confess that I haven’t been able to stomach any alternate history for… gee, about a year after the fad started hitting hard. I’ve always found the concept amusing for conversation and convention panels, or the odd episode of a TV show—but inherently frustrating for novels.
I mean, sure all sf is speculation, but alt-hist is even more so. It is less real; so it has lower stakes because it’s so low on the reality scale. No matter how dystopian or utopian the results, it’s just notional. It can never really be a standalone since it depends so hard for appreciation on knowing the real history. Worse, I constantly feel the presence of the writer and his choices instead of the world; it’s a campaign world and not a story. So basically, I can suspend disbelief for the most unrealistic space opera more than the most well-crafted alt-hist—and I just can’t bring myself to care about any character involved.
I want to read The Sky People, mind you, but it’ll only work for me if I can forget the alt history part.
Gets more “Catholic” as it moves forward.
I’m currently reading the Changeverse novels, I swiped them from Dom before we left. (He’s being very patient waiting for me to finish.
I’m glad to hear they get more Catholic. Frankly, the heavy pagan thing is rather off-putting, though I am enjoying the story and the characters apart from that.
To be clear she started reading the second novel of the trilogy and has gone back to the first meaning that I have to wait for her to finish two books, not one.
Dale, I’ve also got the Islands in the Sea of Time on my list. Nantucket, tall ships… how can I resist? I suppose I should emphasize that I really did like Conquistador for the same reasons you did, but I wanted to be sure to point out what I think others might see as a deficiency. Funny enough, I was kind of getting frustrated knowing I would never be able to experience all that. I know what you mean about the steaks.
Maureen, I don’t usually go for alternate history myself, although I don’t think for the reasons you articulate. Mainly I think it’s because too often they fall into a formula and they often come out cookie-cutter. Same thing with fantasy: too many of them come out like bad copies of Tolkien with no originality.
That said, the few that do break new ground are worth finding and reading.