Counting Up, Counting Down

What it you could go back in time, and speak to your younger self? and maybe, just maybe, arrange things so things would work out with your girl -- the one you've been carrying a torch for all these nineteen years?

Well known for alternate history, and in particular for the amazing The Guns of the South, this volume is Mr. Turtledove's latest collection of alternate history, science-fiction, fantasy, and mixes of the genres. As in his other books, Mr. Turtledove is the Tom Petty of alternate history -- the man is incapable of writing badly. Even so, too many stories feel like filler, and I was wondering when the story would end.

Forty, Counting Down and Twenty-One, Counting Up bookend this latest collection of Mr. Turtledove's short show more stories. Perhaps the time-travel idea is not the most original, but it's well-executed, and the character(s) of Justin live on their respective pages. But stretching it throughout two stories is a little much.

There are gems here. An academic goes to work for a road crew of sorts in Deconstruction Gang, a story that struck a chord at a time when my wife is searching for work. Must and Shall, a civil war alternate history where the North won the war, but Reconstruction did not take place. The South that endures is a conquered possession, a true nightmare to live in. And there is an excellent parable, The Decoy Dock, a tale Mr. Turtledove's "Videssos" universe, that shows the collision of two religions, an analogy of Christian missionaries.

If you can read the few stories I've recommended elsewhere (and most are available as e-books from the author's website), I'd suggest that as the best choice. show less

I'm a sucker for anything that focuses on alternate realities and endings. Turtledove is one of the masters of doing this. His stories are real in character, yet somewhat fantastical in plot and that led me to finishing this one in one sitting.