Down in the Bottomlands (And Other Places)

Rating:
Summary: above average Turtledoves - 3 Alternate time line stories
Review: In the title Novella the Mediterranean is cut off from the Atlantic and is thus a below sea level depression like the Dead Sea. Turtledove's hero, a biologist, acting as expedition chief and National Park Ranger, has to solve a deadly puzzle against time. There are two other stories (Wheels of If and Pugnacious Peacemaker) about a Norse American timeline and a US DA who is translated to it. Usual Turtledove characters, if you liked the Fox, you will like these, if you haven't read an Fox book (Wisdom of the Fox, 2 in one just out) try them first.

Rating:
Summary: Allways fun to revisit old friends
Review: The title story is an excellent piece of allohistory, a world in which the Mediterrean Sea never reflooded. A world where Neanderthals (Strongbrows) have not only survived, but hold their own with modern type humans (Highheads) in an atomic age present. A couple of lines in the story make me suspect Turtledove is slipping in a small tribute to Randall Garrett's Gandalara saga, which was about a humanity evolved for the the "Bottomlands". The second story is a classic, de Camp's "The Wheels of If", while the the third is a sequel to 'Wheels' written by Turtledove. A nice salute to a classic, but Turtledove's smooth dialouge clashes oddly with de Camp's two-fisted '30s style speech.

Rating:
Summary: Allways fun to revisit old friends
Review: The title story is an excellent piece of allohistory, a world in which the Mediterrean Sea never reflooded. A world where Neanderthals (Strongbrows) have not only survived, but hold their own with modern type humans (Highheads) in an atomic age present. A couple of lines in the story make me suspect Turtledove is slipping in a small tribute to Randall Garrett's Gandalara saga, which was about a humanity evolved for the the "Bottomlands". The second story is a classic, de Camp's "The Wheels of If", while the the third is a sequel to 'Wheels' written by Turtledove. A nice salute to a classic, but Turtledove's smooth dialouge clashes oddly with de Camp's two-fisted '30s style speech.

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable.
Review: The Turtledove stories here (especially Bottomlands) are excellent, and "The Wheels of If" was like meeting an old friend who has aged very well. DeCamp hasn't stayed in the spotlight as much as many science fiction authors of his era. That's too bad because he was great. I'm glad to see Turtledove keeping his name alive.

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable.
Review: The Turtledove stories here (especially Bottomlands) are excellent, and "The Wheels of If" was like meeting an old friend who has aged very well. DeCamp hasn't stayed in the spotlight as much as many science fiction authors of his era. That's too bad because he was great. I'm glad to see Turtledove keeping his name alive.

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable.
Review: The Turtledove stories here (especially Bottomlands) are excellent, and "The Wheels of If" was like meeting an old friend who has aged very well. DeCamp hasn't stayed in the spotlight as much as many science fiction authors of his era. That's too bad because he was great. I'm glad to see Turtledove keeping his name alive.

Rating:
Summary: A tale of an alternate Earth
Review: This is a good novel of an alternate Earth where the Straits of Gibraltar are blocked by a mountain range and the Mediteranean Sea is smaller and below sea level, allowing mining and petroleum production on the margins of the smaller sea. The hero is a guide in a park down in the bottomlands, and the villains are enemy agents set on flooding the area. It is a well developed tale, and interesting to read.