Roads Not Taken: A Collection of Stories

by Bruce McAllister and A.A. Attanasio

Book Overview

Alternate History: The What-If? fiction that has finally come into its own! Shedding light on the past by exploring what could have happened, this bold genre tantalizes your imagination and challenges... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345421949
• ISBN13: 9780345421944
• Release Date: May 1998
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Classic stories...

Roads Not Taken are ten tales of alternate history, most of which have been published before. In fact, all of them have been published before, and this book is like a flashback of my early reading of science fiction. The stories such as Aristotle and The Gun or We Could Do Worse are stories I have enjoyed before. But some of them, such as The West Is Red or Must And Shall, are totally new to me and I enjoyed them very much. I would suggest this for any sci-fi fan, as a gift or just an addition to their private library.

What if???

Some people who have reviewed this book seem to have a problem with the way so many of the stories have appeared elsewhere. I suppose that if you are a really hardcore conoisseur of alternate history, that might grate on you a little, but I'm new enough to the genre that the issue didn't come up on my radar.A.A.Attanasio's story is terrific. It is written in the style of Chinese literature, and deals with a man in an America that was originally settled by the Chinese (the United Sandalwood Autocracies -- U.S.A.) A.A., if you read this, please click on my "about me" link right up above and e-mail me. I'm working on a novel that deals with the same premise you use, among other premises. I'd prefer not to be sued to death.L.Sprague de Camp was an early pace-setter in this genre, with "Lest Darkness Fall," and here he proves himself again with "Aristotle and the Gun." "The Forest of Time" by Michael C. Flynn is probably my favorite. Set in a world where the United States never quite came together, it follows the adventures of a cross-world traveller from our world who tells about several other alternate historical timelines, and then gets caught up with his captors in a phildickian (love that word) morass of speculations about the nature of madness, of time, etc.All the stories are interesting, and worth reading. Other reviewers have discussed them in the following pages, however, so let me just say that there is a very good introductory essay by Shelly Shapiro, which I recommend reading carefully. Also -- one story which I wish were in here is "The Sleeping Serpent" by Pamela Sargent, a very cool story set in an America settles by Genghis Khan's hordes, which you can find in "The Way it Wasn't," compiled by Martin Greenberg.To sum up -- I enjoyed this book a lot. Definitely two thumbs up.

Great book that covers all the bases! MUST READ!

WOW! This book rocked. I am a 16 year old who recently discovered the world of alternate history and I love it! This book covers all the bases and then some. First of all, the wide range of authors, writing styles, and subjects kept my interest piqued through the whole book. I finished it in 1 DAY! I loved all of the selections. (Not to say I didn't have a favorite!)Well, my favorite was the last one by Gene Wolfe about the auto race. The whole scenario seems absurd, but by the end, all the subtleties catch up and make it a smashing end to the book. I also liked the one with Aristotle and the one where the 13 colonies never came together. Great research and development went into those, I can tell. I probably learned more from this book than I did in Modern World History class this year!I will definitely read more alternate history because of this book.A DEFINITE MUST-READ!!!

Roads Not Taken - A reading path to be Taken .

First I read the Reviews. Many know Dozois is a very good editor. Many like the big boys, Turtledove, Silverberg, Benford. Many know a weak ending when they see one. This is a Del Ray Book and Del Ray realy does love Alt History. Thus Smitty loves Del Ray. Take the time to search out the Del Ray monthly newsletter, you'll be very glad you did. As for the book, read the reviews, below. 30

This book has something for everyone.

What I liked about this book:It was very well edited with a great introduction to the genre of Alternate History. A great book for someone who has never read any AH as well as a long time AH reader like myself. This book has something for everyone. My favorite story of the collection was Must and Shall by Harry Turtledove