Counting Up, Counting Down

By Harry Turtledove

Book Overview

From Harry Turtledove, bestselling author and critically acclaimed master of the short story, comes a classic collection of science fiction tales and what-if scenarios. In narratives ranging from fantastic to oddly familiar to eerily prescient, this compelling volume illustrates Turtledove's literary skill and unbridled imagination.

FORTY, COUNTING DOWN: With the help of his time travel software, computer genius Justin Kloster returns to the past to stop himself from making a terrible mistake-but all actions have their consequences.

THE MALTESE ELEPHANT: A legendary detective finds himself in grave danger when a noir masterpiece takes a stunning new twist.

GODDESS FOR A DAY: Taking a page from history, a young girl dares to challenge the gods-and is richly rewarded for her efforts.

DECONSTRUCTION GANG: Mired in unemployment and despair, an academic finds happiness and intellectual fulfillment in a most unexpected place.

TWENTY-ONE, COUNTING UP: Justin Kloster's college life and romantic dreams are rudely interrupted-and irreversibly disrupted-when forty-year-old Justin arrives from the future to save him from himself.

Plus twelve more thrilling, unforgettable tales of wonder

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345477987
• ISBN13: 9780345477989
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.3" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

What do Unicorns have in common with Bill Clinton ?

This short story collection covers a very wide range of subjects and genres. The first and last stories in the book. "Forty, counting down" and "Twenty-one, counting up" are essentially the same time travel story told from two different perspectives. There are two short stories set in the "Videssos" universe, "The decoy duck" which is a rather sad tale set about 900 years before the events of the "Lost Legion" quartet, and "The Seventh Chapter," an amusing story which is apparently based on a real event in medieval England. Needless to say, there are several alternative history stories in the collection, two of which I had read elsewhere - "The Phantom Tolbukhin" set during the war between the Soviets and Nazis, and "Must and Shall" set in an America where the end of the Civil War had been somewhat different. Other alternative history stories in the book include "Ready for the Fatherland." The ghastly possibility of a Nazi victory in World War II has inspired a host of alternative history stories - including Turtledove's excellent "In the presence of mine enemies" - but here he examines another possibility: what if there had been a stalemate ? "In this season" also relates to people suffering under the nazis, but this one is a tale of the supernatural rather than alternative history. "Ils ne passeront pas" describes the sufferings of soldiers during the battle for Verdun. "Vermin" is a straight science fiction short story. Stories covering ancient Greek mythology in this volume include "Goddess for a Day", a novelised version of a real historical event related by Herodotus, and the hysterically funny "Myth Manners' Guide to Greek Missology #1: Andromeda and Perseus." "Deconstruction Gang" and "The Maltese Elephant" are parodies. There are a couple of fantasy stories - "After the last Elf is dead" is a serious one, "Honeymouth" is a comedy - and you will have to read this one if you want to know in what way Unicorns think like Bill Clinton. I doubt if anyone would like every single story in this book, they are so varied, but most people who like to have their imagination stimulated will like at least some of them.

Different, but enjoyable

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.