Counting Up, Counting Down

Rating:
Summary: Different, but enjoyable
Review: I am a big fan of Turtledove's alt.history work, so I was a bit nervious picking up this book, which is a collection of Turtledove's short stories, of which only a few are alt.history.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised. A few stories dragged, but the majority of the pieces were entertaining and skillfully written. Turtledove shows in this collection that he has some additional skills and insights beyond alt.history. I especially enjoyed the "Counting Up" and "Counting Down" stories; they were very humane and entertaining.

"Goddess for a Day" is another neat little tale with a twist at the end. There is also some fantasy here, and a couple alt.history stories such as the excellent "Must and Shall" which positis a world where the North won the civil war and rather then reconstructing the South, occupied and oppressed it for generations.

Anyway, if you are a Turtledove fan, check this book out. Even if you like only half the stories, it is a bargain in paperback.

Rating:
Summary: Mostly OK
Review: I found this collection a pretty mixed bag. I liked the idea of the title stories that bookended the collection, but didn't think it worked as well as it could have, as the closing story didn't add all that much to the beginning story. Better if it had spent more time showing how the results of what happened in the first story led to the changes in the character's life.

Really, none of the stories really blew me away, but I was at least entertained by the alt-history stories. Out of the stories outside of that area, I probably most enjoyed "Deconstruction Gang," but I work in higher ed, which may explain it.

The Greek/Roman themed stories did very little for me. I will also admit to not reading the Videssos stories, as I've not read any of that series.

Overall, it's worth a look, but keep your expectations in check.

Rating:
Summary: Mostly OK
Review: I found this collection a pretty mixed bag. I liked the idea of the title stories that bookended the collection, but didn't think it worked as well as it could have, as the closing story didn't add all that much to the beginning story. Better if it had spent more time showing how the results of what happened in the first story led to the changes in the character's life.

Really, none of the stories really blew me away, but I was at least entertained by the alt-history stories. Out of the stories outside of that area, I probably most enjoyed "Deconstruction Gang," but I work in higher ed, which may explain it.

The Greek/Roman themed stories did very little for me. I will also admit to not reading the Videssos stories, as I've not read any of that series.

Overall, it's worth a look, but keep your expectations in check.

Rating:
Summary: A Little Disapointing. Not Up to His Usual Standards
Review: I love short stories and have been fond of much of what i've read by Harry Turtledove in the past both novels and short fiction. Thus I was disapointed by this book. Virtually none of the stories were of the alternative history variety which is Turtledove's specialty. Moreover, many of the plots were dull and plodding. A few of the stories I had trouble getting through. There were a few good ones in the collection but not enough to make me glad I purchased the volume. This collection is not up to other Turtledove works....

Rating:
Summary: A Little Disapointing. Not Up to His Usual Standards
Review: I love short stories and have been fond of much of what i've read by Harry Turtledove in the past both novels and short fiction. Thus I was disapointed by this book. Virtually none of the stories were of the alternative history variety which is Turtledove's specialty. Moreover, many of the plots were dull and plodding. A few of the stories I had trouble getting through. There were a few good ones in the collection but not enough to make me glad I purchased the volume. This collection is not up to other Turtledove works....

Rating:
Summary: Recycling is generally good, but not in literature.
Review: This is a collection of short stories from the alternate history writer Harry Turtledove. He considers it a collection of stories that were not published in other works, but I found that all were recycled with the exception of the title story, which is actually two stories, one at the beginning and the other at the end of the collection. They each tell a different point of view in a universe where a man travels back through time to meet his younger self and save a marriage that his younger self doesn't even know exists, let alone that it was in trouble. The twin points of view were interesting, but they were the sole saving grace in a book that was dull otherwise. Think of a sawdust cake with delicious vanilla icing.