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Vilcabamba
Harris Moffatt III, President of the Free United States and Prime Minister of Canada, has never seen Washington, D.C.; it belongs to the Krolp now, along with ninety percent of everything. All he can do is try to keep the rest of it out of their hands, in Harry Turtledove's Vilcabamba.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
31 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 3, 2010
12 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Harry Turtledove
569 books1,987 followersDr Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced a sizeable number of works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 1, 2019
Away from Hollywood soda-pop movies where alien invasions are thwarted by a united humanity, Turtledove instead takes us to a world where the earth has been colonised by ferocious aliens (Krolps) and the remaining human population is subjugated to atrocities and live sombre lives in fear.
The major theme is how a more powerful race easily grinds a lesser one to the ground, erasing it's value system, culture and identity. Turtledove livens it up with references to Spanish conquest of the Incas (Vilcabamba, Peru), US military intervention in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan etc.
The writing is good, and the mood is really depressing. The story can be summed up in a nutshell as, the surviving United States which is a patch of land between the Rocky mountains and Wasatch range, tries to stand up to alien atrocities and miserably fails. The human and alien characters are very well developed often with a detailed backstory. The first sentence of the story struck a chord with me, "Washington, D.C., remained the de jure capital of the United States."
This is my first reading of Turtledove, and I do wish to read more of him.
Why 3 stars? The story doesn't lead to anywhere, it is a testament of how power influences our destiny.
The major theme is how a more powerful race easily grinds a lesser one to the ground, erasing it's value system, culture and identity. Turtledove livens it up with references to Spanish conquest of the Incas (Vilcabamba, Peru), US military intervention in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan etc.
The writing is good, and the mood is really depressing. The story can be summed up in a nutshell as, the surviving United States which is a patch of land between the Rocky mountains and Wasatch range, tries to stand up to alien atrocities and miserably fails. The human and alien characters are very well developed often with a detailed backstory. The first sentence of the story struck a chord with me, "Washington, D.C., remained the de jure capital of the United States."
This is my first reading of Turtledove, and I do wish to read more of him.
Why 3 stars? The story doesn't lead to anywhere, it is a testament of how power influences our destiny.
February 17, 2011
I've got a deep amateur interest in the story of the Incas...particularly the story of the Spanish Conquest and downfall of the Incas. So the title of Turtledove's short story, "Vilcabamba" caught my eye.
Vilcabamba is Andean jungle hideaway of the last rules of the Inca nation who were holding out against Francisco Pizarro and his Conquistadors. Turtledove's story paints a parallel portrait of a future America overrun by aliens. Like the Incas, humans weren't completely obliterated as soon as the aliens arrived. They hid (sometimes in plain sight), and some chose to try and get along with their new rulers. They even led their own government in their isolated mountain fiefdom.
Turtledove's story follows a similar path. The President of the Free United States is trying to find ways to fight back against a vastly superior fighting force. There aren't many options beyond coordinated guerrilla tactics.
The story was fun...and at only about 20 pages long, Turtledove did a terrific job fleshing out a couple of key characters which would make for a strong start to a longer form work in this Universe. At only $.99, it's totally worth the download.
Vilcabamba is Andean jungle hideaway of the last rules of the Inca nation who were holding out against Francisco Pizarro and his Conquistadors. Turtledove's story paints a parallel portrait of a future America overrun by aliens. Like the Incas, humans weren't completely obliterated as soon as the aliens arrived. They hid (sometimes in plain sight), and some chose to try and get along with their new rulers. They even led their own government in their isolated mountain fiefdom.
Turtledove's story follows a similar path. The President of the Free United States is trying to find ways to fight back against a vastly superior fighting force. There aren't many options beyond coordinated guerrilla tactics.
The story was fun...and at only about 20 pages long, Turtledove did a terrific job fleshing out a couple of key characters which would make for a strong start to a longer form work in this Universe. At only $.99, it's totally worth the download.
October 27, 2022
Nice little vignette that serves as a metaphor for the Spanish colonization of South America. In the story, set in the 22nd century, the U.S. has been subjugated by an advanced alien race, who basically do to it what the Spanish did to the South Americans centuries before. The U.S. tries to rebel and launch an ill-fated uprising due to the aliens' plans to strip-mine North America into oblivion, which would effectively destroy whatever is left of U.S. lands. Although the rebellion causes a bit of a ruckus at first, it is ultimately brutally crushed by the aliens.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2025
The last President of the United States watches his country fall into the possession of fierce alien invaders.
As ever, Turtledove's imagined history is internally consistent and appears to have a depth far exceeding the pages of this story.
As ever, Turtledove's imagined history is internally consistent and appears to have a depth far exceeding the pages of this story.
February 4, 2015
I found humor in the Capital of the good ol' USA being in the small town I grew up in - the 1st sentence had me laughing. Much like in the Hunger Games - the capital is described as fairly close to there as well. I guess GJ will survive in the dystopian future.
Beyond that...
This is a dark story. It is a story about a lack of hope. About oppression. About fighting even when you know there is no way you can win.
And it does it's job well.
(ended a bit quickly, but it IS a short story)
Beyond that...
This is a dark story. It is a story about a lack of hope. About oppression. About fighting even when you know there is no way you can win.
And it does it's job well.
(ended a bit quickly, but it IS a short story)
October 27, 2017
I'm pretty sure that Harry Turtledove had the Millennials in mind when he wrote this short story. Growing up with everyone getting rewarded with a participation trophy no matter how they performed, Millennials would find it truly horrific to read a story where there is no chance of winning.
I just find it sad.
I just find it sad.
December 8, 2020
I liked this, but it is sort of based on an erroneous premise. There's been a lot of new theories about why the Inca Empire fell, and it wasn't necessarily for the reasons traditionally thought of. So, I found my eyes rolling a little bit while reading this story because of that.
November 5, 2019
Decent short story about a collapsing occupied gov't.
April 15, 2020
Woof, that was Dark.
September 20, 2022
É aquela coisa: por um lado, numa história de aliens x humanos, eu geralmente torço para os humanos. Por outro lado, muito daquela sensação de "pra você ver o que é bom pra tosse". Sóbrio.
September 30, 2022
Not much to this, more like a writing class exercise than a decent short story.
September 16, 2024
Three Miles Down . The Aliens that appear in his recent novel are featured in this short. Enjoyable , Dark, and Sadly Realistic
January 9, 2026
Vilcabamba by Harry Turtledove
In the sixteenth century, Vilcabamba was a remote Peruvian village that became the last capital of the Incan Empire after the arrival of the overwhelming power of Spain.
In the near future, the overwhelming power of the Krolp arrives on Earth, and the president has re-established America in a small city in the Rockies.
This is a short story by Harry Turtledove. It is not an optimistic story but it a fine example of how Turtledove can tell a story.
In the sixteenth century, Vilcabamba was a remote Peruvian village that became the last capital of the Incan Empire after the arrival of the overwhelming power of Spain.
In the near future, the overwhelming power of the Krolp arrives on Earth, and the president has re-established America in a small city in the Rockies.
This is a short story by Harry Turtledove. It is not an optimistic story but it a fine example of how Turtledove can tell a story.
May 29, 2011
A good story, though not excellent.
I think it has good potential but some flaws.
In any case, Turtledove's ability for unveiling the characters' psychologies through act & speech is noteworthy.
And then... aren't centauroids just lovely?
By the way, "centauroids" is what Europeans would probably have looked like to Native Americans. Cheeky Harry...
I think it has good potential but some flaws.
In any case, Turtledove's ability for unveiling the characters' psychologies through act & speech is noteworthy.
And then... aren't centauroids just lovely?
By the way, "centauroids" is what Europeans would probably have looked like to Native Americans. Cheeky Harry...
August 30, 2011
A very short story drawing a parallel between the conquered Inca of our past and a refugee rump American government half a century in the future. It's rather too short: Turtledove did not exploit the full possibilities of the storyline.
February 14, 2015
Another Tor.com short story.
Too Dark, didn't like it. Kept hoping there would be some way to buy respect or something, but there wasn't.
Too Dark, didn't like it. Kept hoping there would be some way to buy respect or something, but there wasn't.
March 2, 2013
Interesting but don't understand the point of the story or the point of the name
September 26, 2014
Nice alien invasion quickie. The title is classic Turtledove: grab a past event and dress it up with a future context.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews