Alternate Empires

What Might Have Been #1

by Gregory Benford (editor)

THE UNIVERSE NEXT DOOR What would have happened if history had been different...if the major events that shaped our times had occured in a different way...or had not occurred at all? In this stellar anthology collection, twelve of science fiction's most imaginative minds have altered the past to reveal a present of astonishing and startling possibilities, a rare glimpse of what might have been.
From a Germany that won the war to a modern exodus from Egypt, from the death of ancient Greece to the true secret of the Soviets, these bold excursions in time depict bizarre new worlds, oddly familiar, disturbingly different.
Contents:
* Introduction (Alternate Empires) • essay by Gregory Benford
* In the House of Sorrows (1989) / novelette by Poul Anderson
* Remaking History (1988) / short story by Kim Stanley Robinson
* Counting Potsherds (1989) / novelette by Harry Turtledove
* Leapfrog (1989) / novelette by James P. Hogan
* Everything But Honor (1989) / novelette by George Alec Effinger
* We Could Do Worse (1988) / short story by Gregory Benford
* To the Promised Land [Roma Eterna] (1989) / short story by Robert Silverberg
* Bible Stories for Adults, No. 31: The Covenant [Bible Stories for Adults • 31] (1989) / short story by James Morrow
* All Assassins (1989) / short story by Barry N. Malzberg
* Game Night at the Fox and Goose (19789) / short story by Karen Joy Fowler (variant of Game Night at the Fox & Goose)
* Waiting for the Olympians (1988) / novelette by Frederik Pohl
* The Return of William Proxmire (1989) / short story by Larry Niven
.

Genres: Alternate History, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1989

About the author

Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine.

As a science fiction author, Benford is best known for the Galactic Center Saga novels, beginning with In the Ocean of Night (1977). This series postulates a galaxy in which sentient organic life is in constant warfare with sentient mechanical life.

Reviews

[Tomislav]

This is Volume 1 of a four-volume series of alternate history short stories and novellas, especially commissioned by Gregory Benford and Martin H. Greenberg, published from 1989-1992. Each volume is thematically related. Here is the list...

What Might Have Been, Volume 1; Alternate Empires(1989)
What Might Have Been, Volume 2; Alternate Heroes (1990)
What Might Have Been, Volume 3; Alternate Wars (1991)
What Might Have Been, Volume 4; Alternate Americas(1992)

The contents are...
"In the House of Sorrows", by Poul Anderson
"Remaking History", by Kim Stanley Robinson
"Counting Potsherds", by Harry Turtledove
"Leapfrog", by James P. Hogan
"Everything But Honor", by George Alec Effinger
"We Could Do Worse", by Gregory Benford
"To The Promised Land", by Robert Silverberg
"Bible Stories for Adults, No. 31: The Covenant", by James Morrow
"All Assassins", by Barry N. Malzberg
"Game Night at the Fox and Goose, by Karen Joy Fowler
"Waiting for the Olympians" by Frederick Pohl
"The Return of William Proxmire", by Larry Niven

I have long been a fan of alternate histories. They come to life so much more vividly that true history, and I've read so many of them, that sometimes I fear my own confusion regarding what is the truth of certain lesser known historical events. In any case, on reading this volume, I was struck by two things. First, the better alternate histories are the longer ones, where the author is able to develop more about the time and place. The short stories tend too much towards "tomato surprise" endings, and an absence of historical research by the author. Secondly, in this volume, religion (as a social force) often plays a pivotal role in the historical turning points and consequences thereof. That may be just how this selection of science fiction writers tended to view things relating to the designated theme of alternate empires, but I suspect it also reflects the importance of religion in actual history.

[Tomislav]

This is Volume 4 of a four-volume series of alternate history short stories and novellas, especially commissioned by Gregory Benford and Martin H. Greenberg, published from 1989-1992. Each volume is thematically related. Here is the list...

What Might Have Been, Volume 1; Alternate Empires(1989)
What Might Have Been, Volume 2; Alternate Heroes (1990)
What Might Have Been, Volume 3; Alternate Wars (1991)
What Might Have Been, Volume 4; Alternate Americas(1992)

The contents are...
"Report of the Special Committee on the Quality of Life", by Harry Turtledove
"Ink from the New Moon", by A. A. Attanasio
"Vinland The Dream", by Kim Stanley Robinson
"If There Be Cause", by Sheila Finch
"Isabella of Castile Answers Her Mail", by James Morrow
"Let Time Shape", by George Zebrowski
"Red Alert", by Jerry Oltion
"Such a Deal", by Esther M. Friesner
"Looking for the Fountain", by Robert Silverberg
"The Round-Eyed Barbarians", by L. Sprague deCamp
"Destination Indies", by Brad Linaweaver
"Ship Full of Jews", by Barry Malzberg
"The Karamazov Caper", by Gordon Eklund
"The Sleeping Serpent", by Pamela Sargent

I bought and read this book in June 1993.

[Nadienne Williams]

This was a most excellent collection of various alternate history/speculative fiction stories. Some where completely mundane, and some were quite fantastic. An occasional interest twist appears, such as our current world being the third incarnation of someone messing with their own timeline. And more than one takes place in a world in which a version of the Roman Empire straddles the entire planet (a seemingly interesting idea that crops up almost as often as the Nazis winning WW2). There is also the occasional lament of a world made far better than our own by allowing those on the left to take charge. Some of these alternate worlds were created by actions of the protagonists and some just evolved naturally.

I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in either alternate history or science fiction as it seems to straddle both.

[D J Rout]

Rather than bore you all with a review, here's a list of the stories:

INTRODUCTION
Gregory Benford
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE
Harry Turtledove
INK FROM THE NEW MOON
A a Attanasio
VINLAND THE DREAM
Kim Stanley Robinson
IF THERE BE CAUSE
Sheila Finch—my personal favourite
ISABELLA OF CASTILE ANSWERS HER MAIL
James Morrow—more of a cute exercise than a good story
LET TIME SHAPE
George Zebrowski—more involved with the time machine than the alternate history
RED ALERT
Jerry Oltion—a lesson for modern times in this one
SUCH A DEAL
Esther M. Friesner
LOOKING FOR THE FOUNTAIN
Robert Silverberg
THE ROUND-EYED BARBARIANS
L Sprague de Camp
DESTINATION: INDIES
Brad Linaweaver
SHIP FULL OF JEWS
Barry Malzberg—nice sense of humour in this one
THE KARAMAZOV CAPER
Gordon Eklund—"even the backward and pitiful English"
THE SLEEPING SERPENT
Pamela Sargent

Alright, there's a bit of review in there. The Finch kind of makes up for the rest of the stories not being that good, and the anthology as a whole is brought down by the Zebrowski, which spends more time on the gimcrackery than the alternate history.

It's a pity that this series wasn't continued. Stories written where the story is the most important thing are far better than stuff written which gets all the technical aspects right and would get you an 'A' in your MFA, which is what makes anthologies of this period so good. But I would like to see something like 'Alternate Europes' or 'Alternate Englands' (although you can get that last one, kind of, in 1066 Turned Upside Down.

[Charlie Eckhaus]

Report of the Special Committee on the Quality of Life by Harry Turtledove: Lightweight but amusing report-format satirical piece of the kind I enjoyed in the 60s Analog/my early sf-reading.

Ink from the New Moon by AS Attanasio: Mildly interesting take on New World discovery, employing creative language.

Vinland the dream by Kim Stanley Robinson: An intriguing conclusion elevates the story.

If There Be Cause by Sheila Finch: Spaniards vs Native Americans, unusual point-of-view.

Isabella of Castile Answers Her Mail by James Morrow: Correspondence-format (with you-know who) suggesting possible modern concerns of parties involved.

Let Time Shape by George Zebrowski: Shares several ideas with the Robinson, but I'm not convinced.

Red Alert by Jerry Oltion: Powerful Native Americans in a world where technology came early (I think.) Well-written cold-war-resonating story.

Such a Deal by Esther M. Friesner: Confused here, but mildly amused. Columbus wearing thin by now.

Looking for the Fountain by Robert Silverberg: Excellent substantial piece that does NOT feature Columbus (tho he is name-dropped). Mysterious Florida inhabitants greet Spaniards.

The Round-eyed Barbarians by L. Sprague de Camp: Indians handle Europeans. Capably-written.

Destination Indies by Brad Linaweaver: Humorous approach to Columbus journey

Ship Full of Jews by Barry Malzberg: More Columbus (enough already!) Interesting characterization(s) but fell flat.

The Karamazov Caper by Gordon Eklund: Violently gruesome piece in Russian-dominated America (?) with theological overtones.

By now this is seeming more like a mosaic novel than an ordinary themed anthology - common ideas seem to be tossed into the narratives.

The Sleeping Serpent by Pamela Sargent: Too many allegiances (Khan, natives, English, Dutch, French, et al ?) involved but still highly readable

Lack of variety and zing sink this anthology.

[Benjamin Thomas]

This is the first volume in a four-book set that collects short stories relating to alternative history. I’ve long been a fan of this sub-genre of science fiction, especially when done right, so when I saw this one in a used book store, I grabbed it right away.

What do I mean “when done right”? I think it is too easy for many authors to write stories with obvious alternate history themes. The first several times I read stories about Hitler’s Germany winning World War II it was pretty interesting but after a while that grew stale. Same with the South winning the Civil War or John F Kennedy surviving the assassination attempt. I need variety and creativity in these stories. I love it when great authors offer up truly original ideas and that’s just what is contained in this book. Actually there is one story in here about a victorious Germany in WWII but it is so cleverly done and in a unique way that it was a joy to read.

It’s hard to find a more impressive collection of science fiction masters in a single volume such as this. Every one is a rock star, including such names as Frederick Pohl, Kim Stanley Robinson, James P. Hogan, Robert Silverberg, and, of course, the biggest name in alternative history, Harry Turtledove. Even the editor, Gregory Benford has a story included. My favorite of the batch is probably the last one, written by Larry Niven as a fun and thought-provoking homage to Robert A. Heinlein, who, sadly, was to pass away shortly afterward. All of the stories in this volume were written in 1988-89 and several were obviously influenced by world events at that time.

[Jeffrey Thomas]

Entertaining alternate histories of varying verisimilitude and quality. I read volume3 (Alternate Wars) & Volume4 (Alternate Americas) of this series.
Presentations that I found interesting: Busby's story "Tundra Moss" about an obscure communications post in Alaska during WW2; Benford's "Manassas,Again" posits a dystopian future war against robots; and a fascinating, evidently genuine essay by Winston Churchill(!) "If Lee had not won the Battle of Gettysburg"
Volume 4 includes a cute parallel universe of an American Indian Air Force, in "Red Alert".
Friesner's "Such a Deal" has a few fun plot twists and puns in a story about Aztecs (and Jews) in 1500 Spain. deCamp's "Round-eyed Barbarians" proposes a Chinese-settled west coast: great fun! But Sargent's "The Sleeping Serpent" was the masterpiece of the volume, calling up a great spirit of Iroquois meeting Mongols, slaughtering the English colonists of Connecticut and New York.

[Paul Trembling]

A short story collection that's been sitting on my shelf for a long while, though I think I've read it a couple of times over the years.

A lot of big names came together for this collection, and it shows in the quality. So much alternative history tends to focus on a few themes - such as what if Germany had won the Second World War, or if the Confederates had won the American Civil War. But there's so much more than could be looked at. To take some examples from this book: what if Germany had won the First World War? What if the Jews had never returned from the Babylonian Exile? And so on. No more spoilers - half the fun is in guessing just where it was that history took a different route!

Eclectic in style and approach, the stories are all intriguing in the possibilities they open up.

[TammyJo Eckhart]

12 stories in one of my favorite subgenre, alternative history. I should have been thrilled by this collection, yet I was not. Unlike in other science fiction and fantasy anthologies, there were no introductions to each story or to the authors. The stories didn't seem to be laid out in any particular way either. I thought the worst of the stories was the first one; which would have made me put the book down had I not received it as a gift. I did like the majority of the stories, but I can't say that any really stuck with me beyond a couple of hours. I want these what if scenarios to really make me think, and they all failed to do that.

[Dawn Lofink]

I read this as a part of a two-fer of the What Might Have Been series. Many stories are mediocre, although there are a few gems. It's helpful to have a deep knowledge of the authors other works.

[Mark Moxley-Knapp]

An excellent collection, by masters of the art. What-ifs you've wondered about, ones you've never thought of. Long stories and short ones. Funny ones, scary ones. A joy to read.

[The_J]

80s Quality

[Kitap Yakıcı]

Good anthology for course on religion in science fiction.

Notable stories:

"In the House of Sorrows," Poul Anderson -- a contemporary world with Zoroaster and Mithras instead of Moses and Jesus.

"Counting Potsherds," Harry Turtledove -- What if Athens, and with it the idea of popular government, had been crushed by the Persian armies of Xerxes the Great?

"Leapfrog," James P. Hogan -- also in one of Hogan's anthologies, wherein it is asserted that private industry and the free market are the ideal means for achieving interstellar travel.

"To the Promised Land," Robert Silverberg -- Roman Imperial Egypt, 2700+ years from the founding of Rome, and the Jews are set to follow a new Moses, a new Messiah, into the intersteller Promised Land.

"Bible Stories for Adults, No. 31: The Covenant," James Morrow -- YHWH is an artificial intelligence designed to piece together the shattered tablets of Moses and reveal to the world, for the first time, the Divine Commandments. But then the Son of Rust gets involved, and those simple rules are revealed to be more problematic than you might think.

"Waiting for the Olympians," Frederik Pohl -- another vision of a contemporary, global Roman Empire, in which a struggling science-rom (romance) author explores the notion of alternate history and sketches a world in which Chrestian-Judaenism becomes the dominant ideology.

Some other fun stories too. A solid alternate-history anthology.

[Kevin Basantes]

This book contains 11 alternate history short-stories, most of them good and enjoyable, although some others definitely aren't. However, the time is totally worth since I found 3 really good stories:

1. "Bible Stories for Adults, No. 31: The Covenant" - James Morrow
2. "Counting Potsherds" - Harry Turtledove
3. "Waiting for the Olympians" - Frederik Pohl

"To the Promised Land" by Robert Silverberg would probably be the number 4, but since I already read it in Roma AEterna I won't count it.

[Thomas R]

I have a kind of sentimental attachment to it as, I believe, it's the first anthology I ever bought. I remember liking "Round Eyed Barbarbarians", "Ink from the New Moon", & "The Sleeping Serpent" the best but I'm interested in China.

[Kristin]

Alternative fiction always intrigues me so I was happy to spend time dipping into this book. Some of the stories seemed uneven, or maybe that was just that the topic did not interest me as much as others.

[J.M.]

I read this awhile ago. Unfortunately it didn't really strike a cord with me and I didn't finish it.

[Lord Humungus]

Some truly great alternate history material by James Morrow and F. Pohl

[Ron]

Rereading part of my collection. Certian stories such as In the House of Sorrows and The Return of William Proxmire are worth 5's but not the whole collection. YMMV.

[Robert]

The weakest entry in the four volume series of anthologies.

[Julie Miles]

The closest I have ever been to enjoying a history book :-)