History's Left Turn: 30 Flash-Fiction Stories of Alternate History

by Ric Waters

"History's Left Turn" is a collection of 30 alternate-history flash-fiction stories that span the globe and make stops at different points in time when some act led to a different outcome and explores the aftermath of decisions made. From an ancient Rome that fell to Hannibal in 218 B.C.E. to an English ship's captain and crew discovering something gruesome in Antarctica to what might have been if U.S. President John F. Kennedy's push to get the United States to the Moon.

140 pages, Paperback

Published September 21, 2016

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way back when my kids were in high school (we homeschooled), one of the topics we worked on for creative writing was something I called "story starters". These were usually just a sentence or two, no more than a paragraph, of an interesting scenario that I created or observed. Their task was to write a story with this phrase somewhere in the plot. My daughter loved the idea, but my son didn't. Different perspective and personality, of course.

This short book of alt-history felt like my story starters: incomplete and leaving this reader wanting more. In almost every case, these "left turns" would be great as a basis for much longer stories or novellas.

[Kevin Bierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent little stories

I enjoyed these short alternate history stories. Most refer to commonly known historical events, however the notes section at the end of the book explains the context for each story.

[Jim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alternate History would be a good book.

Listen, not everyone should be a writer, and I respect Mr. Waters attempt. This book is just plain awful, you get a page or two of an idea for a story. Not only is that bad the ideas show no promise or realism. Just avoid this.