Alternate Americas

What Might Have Been #4

by Gregory Benford (Editor), Martin H. Greenberg (Editor)

Alternate Americas is an anthology of alternate history science fiction short stories edited by Gregory Benford and Martin H. Greenberg as the fourth volume in their What Might Have Been series. The book collects fourteen novellas, novelettes and short stories by various science fiction authors, with an introduction by Benford.

Contents:
* Introduction (Alternate Americas) • essay by Gregory Benford
* Report of the Special Committee on the Quality of Life (1980) / short story by Harry Turtledove
* Ink from the New Moon (1992) / short story by A. A. Attanasio
* Vinland the Dream (1991) / short story by Kim Stanley Robinson
* If There Be Cause (1992) / novelette by Sheila Finch
* Isabella of Castile Answers Her Mail (1992) / short story by James Morrow
* Let Time Shape [Cliometricon] (1992) / short story by George Zebrowski
* Red Alert (1991) / short story by Jerry Oltion
* Such a Deal (1992) / short story by Esther M. Friesner
* Looking for the Fountain (1992) / novelette by Robert Silverberg
* The Round-Eyed Barbarians (1992) / short story by L. Sprague de Camp
* Destination Indies / short story by Brad Linaweaver
* Ship Full of Jews (1992) / short story by Barry N. Malzberg
& The Karamazov Caper / novelette by Gordon Eklund
* The Sleeping Serpent (1992) / novella by Pamela Sargent
.

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

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Charlie Eckhaus · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[D J Rout · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Thomas R · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The weakest entry in the four volume series of anthologies.