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Crosstime Traffic #4
The Disunited States of America
Time travel doesn't work. You can't go backward or forward; you're stuck at "now". What you can do is travel sideways, to the same "now" in another timeline where history turned out differently.
So far, only our home timeline has figured out how to do that. We use Crosstime Traffic to conduct discreet trading operations in less advanced timelines, selling goods just a little bit better than the locals can make. It's profitable, but families who work as Time Traders have to be careful to fit in, lest the locals become suspicious.
Justin's family are Time Traders. The summer before he's due to start college, he goes with them to a different Virginia, in a timeline where the American states never became a single country, and American history has consisted of a series of small wars. Despite his unease, he accompanies Randolph Brooks, another Time Trader, on a visit to the tiny upland town of Elizabeth, Virginia. He'll only be away from his parents for a few days.
Beckie Royer thanks her stars that she's from California, the most prosperous and advanced country in North America. But just now she's in Virginia with her grandmother, who wants to revisit the tiny mountain town where she grew up. The only interesting thing there is a boy named Justin--and he'll be gone soon.
Then war between Virginia and Ohio breaks out anew. Ohio sets a tailored virus loose on Virginia. Virginia swiftly imposes a quarantine, trapping Becky and Justin and Randolph Brooks in Elizabeth. Even Crosstime Traffic can't help. All the three of them can do is watch as plague and violence take over the town.
It's nothing new in history, not in this timeline or any other. It's part of the human condition. And just now, this part of the human condition sucks.
So far, only our home timeline has figured out how to do that. We use Crosstime Traffic to conduct discreet trading operations in less advanced timelines, selling goods just a little bit better than the locals can make. It's profitable, but families who work as Time Traders have to be careful to fit in, lest the locals become suspicious.
Justin's family are Time Traders. The summer before he's due to start college, he goes with them to a different Virginia, in a timeline where the American states never became a single country, and American history has consisted of a series of small wars. Despite his unease, he accompanies Randolph Brooks, another Time Trader, on a visit to the tiny upland town of Elizabeth, Virginia. He'll only be away from his parents for a few days.
Beckie Royer thanks her stars that she's from California, the most prosperous and advanced country in North America. But just now she's in Virginia with her grandmother, who wants to revisit the tiny mountain town where she grew up. The only interesting thing there is a boy named Justin--and he'll be gone soon.
Then war between Virginia and Ohio breaks out anew. Ohio sets a tailored virus loose on Virginia. Virginia swiftly imposes a quarantine, trapping Becky and Justin and Randolph Brooks in Elizabeth. Even Crosstime Traffic can't help. All the three of them can do is watch as plague and violence take over the town.
It's nothing new in history, not in this timeline or any other. It's part of the human condition. And just now, this part of the human condition sucks.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2006
34 people are currently reading
648 people want to read
About the author
Harry Turtledove
564 books1,970 followersDr Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced a sizeable number of works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
August 6, 2011
Beckie is on a trip with her grandmother to visit old friends in Virginia. Justin is on a trip to Virginia to gain information he can parlay into a college scholarship. When Ohio unleashes a mutated virus that begins a race war in Virginia, the two teenagers are trapped in small town Virginia, longing to be back home.
Set in an alternate universe of the late 21st Century North America, this is a love story/coming of age drama masking as a time travel adventure. In this North America, there are many alternates that exist in dimensions reachable by the advanced civilization in the "home timeline". In each alternate, history has taken a different turn. In the alternate where Beckie lives, each state is an independent country with laws and customs unique to the state. Justin lives in the home timeline, but is visiting this alternate to study its history. Crosstime Traffic strictly controls travel between universes. When they are trapped by the quarentine, they strike up a friendship. Will it last past the crisis? Can Justin take Beckie back with him? Will Justin stay with Beckie?
This is apparently the fourth in the Crosstime Traffic series. Perhaps that's why I found it somewhat confusing and tedious. Beckie is constantly complaining about her grandmother and whining about how Virginia is not like California. Justin is constantly complaining about how backward Virginia is, and they both spend an inordinate amount of time explaining how racist this Virginia is. Between their conversations and the narrator's explanations, it became very tiresome. The premise is great and I can see much potential. Once the storyline of the virus kicks in and the pair are trying to figure out a way to get home, the action picks up. But, truly, by that time I didn't really care. The ending is a big letdown, but in spite of this, it will probably appeal to teens who are fans of distopian societies and spy novels.
Set in an alternate universe of the late 21st Century North America, this is a love story/coming of age drama masking as a time travel adventure. In this North America, there are many alternates that exist in dimensions reachable by the advanced civilization in the "home timeline". In each alternate, history has taken a different turn. In the alternate where Beckie lives, each state is an independent country with laws and customs unique to the state. Justin lives in the home timeline, but is visiting this alternate to study its history. Crosstime Traffic strictly controls travel between universes. When they are trapped by the quarentine, they strike up a friendship. Will it last past the crisis? Can Justin take Beckie back with him? Will Justin stay with Beckie?
This is apparently the fourth in the Crosstime Traffic series. Perhaps that's why I found it somewhat confusing and tedious. Beckie is constantly complaining about her grandmother and whining about how Virginia is not like California. Justin is constantly complaining about how backward Virginia is, and they both spend an inordinate amount of time explaining how racist this Virginia is. Between their conversations and the narrator's explanations, it became very tiresome. The premise is great and I can see much potential. Once the storyline of the virus kicks in and the pair are trying to figure out a way to get home, the action picks up. But, truly, by that time I didn't really care. The ending is a big letdown, but in spite of this, it will probably appeal to teens who are fans of distopian societies and spy novels.
May 6, 2011
Well, I can't really say this book was bad, but it wasn't very good.
The premise had so much promise, and then... it was really boring. I mean, I finished it, but I wasn't particularly happy about it.
The only things I actually liked about it were 1) Justin, the main character, uses the term "stephenkinging" to describe his (possibly justified) paranoia about being a stranger in a small town during a war, and 2) when discussing George Herman, the best rounders player who ever lived (in the "alternate" timeline), Justin says he must have been a "ruthless" player, and the other traveler with him (who got the pun on Babe Ruth), nearly chokes to death, mystifying the people around them.
Alternate universe/time travel books should always have injokes, because otherwise it's just a fantasy world, not a different version of ours.
Also, alternate universe books/books where a civil war breaks out should convey some urgency or fear or excitement. Justin spent more time worrying about what would happen if he used the wrong slang than what would happen if he got shot. Buddy, if you use the wrong slang, the guy sitting next to you will think you're weird and then move on with his life. Just like we all do, everyday.
It turns out that this is actually the 4th book in a series, which I didn't know until I started writing this review, as this was indicated exactly nowhere in the story or on the book itself. This implies to me that you don't have to read the other books in the series to understand this one, which means that there should not have been nearly as much clunky exposition as there actually was.
So.
This one gets two stars because at no point did I care enough to want to throw it across the room.
The premise had so much promise, and then... it was really boring. I mean, I finished it, but I wasn't particularly happy about it.
The only things I actually liked about it were 1) Justin, the main character, uses the term "stephenkinging" to describe his (possibly justified) paranoia about being a stranger in a small town during a war, and 2) when discussing George Herman, the best rounders player who ever lived (in the "alternate" timeline), Justin says he must have been a "ruthless" player, and the other traveler with him (who got the pun on Babe Ruth), nearly chokes to death, mystifying the people around them.
Alternate universe/time travel books should always have injokes, because otherwise it's just a fantasy world, not a different version of ours.
Also, alternate universe books/books where a civil war breaks out should convey some urgency or fear or excitement. Justin spent more time worrying about what would happen if he used the wrong slang than what would happen if he got shot. Buddy, if you use the wrong slang, the guy sitting next to you will think you're weird and then move on with his life. Just like we all do, everyday.
It turns out that this is actually the 4th book in a series, which I didn't know until I started writing this review, as this was indicated exactly nowhere in the story or on the book itself. This implies to me that you don't have to read the other books in the series to understand this one, which means that there should not have been nearly as much clunky exposition as there actually was.
So.
This one gets two stars because at no point did I care enough to want to throw it across the room.
October 26, 2013
My first read by Turtledove, and quite likely my last. I tired quickly of Terry Goodkind's objectivist polemic, even though mildly sympathetic to some of the relevant ideals; with Turtledove'a Disunited States, the preachiness factor is turned up to eleven and frankly there are no redeeming factors. The story is boring, the characters are one-dimensional and entirely predictable, the setting is straight out of a Rachel Maddow rant,* and the sci-fi premise is barely delved. Turtledove ignores the possibility that a less-nationalized United States of America could have turned out (or could still be) much like the current European Union, which most would consider to be a remarkable success. There would be no more reason for Ohio to invade Virginia than for France to invade Belgium. Oh, and the slavery thing, which Turledove correctly decries? Historically, several northern states were quite happy to welcome escapees from southern states, a fact conveniently ignored by Turtledove. It was the federal government that empowered "slave catchers" to operate in northern states, legitimizing human trafficking. I'd love to learn that Turtledove wrote another crosstime variant of "Disunited" where the enslaved people of the southern states escaped en masse to Ohio and New York and Wisconsin, and, like what happened historically in Brazil, human slavery in North America ended not because of war, but because there was simply no legal way for slavers to get their purported "property" back. I'm not holding my breath for that, though. It flies in the face of (ridiculous) modern dogma that states rights = slavery.
* I do like Maddow's rants sometimes, though often they are less well-considered than I would expect or hope from her.
* I do like Maddow's rants sometimes, though often they are less well-considered than I would expect or hope from her.
February 23, 2015
According to his author bio, Turtledove has a PhD. If he talks like he writes, I hope he hasn't actually taught.
That's because this is a curiously slow-moving, preachy novel. Turtledove constantly goes back over the same lite philosophical ground about slavery, race relations and the challenges of moving between parallel universes.
As a longtime sci-fi reader, I get that some authors throw too many concepts at readers for them to grasp; this is the opposite. He repeatedly has characters go over the basics:
The protagonists are in an alternate history where the US is in several small entities;
California is different than Virginia;
There is slavery and interstate warfare;
The locals are suspicious types;
The action takes place in a really, really small, rural town;
The character Gran is an enormous pain in the ass.
All of that repeated background slows things down compared to most sci-fi, which tends to throw readers in the deep end and expects them to sort out the critical bits of time travel or hyperdrive or teleporters or undead cocktail waitresses with attitudes (see Terminal Café).
Turtledove has carved out a substantial niche doing this, so there's clearly a market for it. It just doesn't happen to include me.
That's because this is a curiously slow-moving, preachy novel. Turtledove constantly goes back over the same lite philosophical ground about slavery, race relations and the challenges of moving between parallel universes.
As a longtime sci-fi reader, I get that some authors throw too many concepts at readers for them to grasp; this is the opposite. He repeatedly has characters go over the basics:
The protagonists are in an alternate history where the US is in several small entities;
California is different than Virginia;
There is slavery and interstate warfare;
The locals are suspicious types;
The action takes place in a really, really small, rural town;
The character Gran is an enormous pain in the ass.
All of that repeated background slows things down compared to most sci-fi, which tends to throw readers in the deep end and expects them to sort out the critical bits of time travel or hyperdrive or teleporters or undead cocktail waitresses with attitudes (see Terminal Café).
Turtledove has carved out a substantial niche doing this, so there's clearly a market for it. It just doesn't happen to include me.
April 6, 2017
The Disunited States of America is another in Harry Turtledove's 'Crosstime Traffic' series. This series posits a future world in which people have discovered the ability to travel to parallel timelines, somewhat like the TV show 'Sliders'. They have used this tech to exploit resources from other worlds and fix a few problems at home, as well as explore. It's a fun little conceit that lets Turtledove explore a variety of 'What-ifs', with commentary on various social dynamics.
The point of historical divergence in this book is some-time in the early history of the United States. The US constitution is never ratified, and the states are stuck with the Articles of Confederation. Without a stronger centralised state, disagreements between the states cause the functional dissolution of the 'United States' by some point in the early 19th century. The history of North America then is a history more similar to Europe; a collection of varying small states, some large and power, others small, competing with one another. Technology isn't as advanced and the duplication of resources has an odd effect. Language isn't as uniform as different accents are never subsumed under a national set of standards. Without the Civil War, race relations are worse; a variety of states have 'Good' relative race relations, many more have suffered functional race-wars. Missisipi is functionally a 'black' state after a succesful slave revolt, so shades of Haiti there. Small wars occur on a regular basis, and all in all, the States of North America are more fractured and life is 'worse'.
The story of the book follows a young citizen of California as she, along with her grandmother, travel to visit some relatives. War breaks out between Virginia and Ohio and they end up trapped. What would be, in our timeline, a relative uneventful thing, becomes potentially disastrous? She encounters a young man from the 'home' timeline who also becomes trapped because of the War.
The book is interseting in its examinations of history, of the underlaying political assumptions of Americans, and some really interseting bits about the minute history of North America. With no over-riding federal state, each state becomes acountry un to itself, served by it's own sets of nationalism, pride and history. The issue of Race relations and the observation that stronger federal authority has favoured equality is another interesting observation. Like most of his works I sometimes have quarrels with Turtledove's tendency to keep things the same that aren't central to his story. This one brought up hosts of issues for me; No European state worked to gain a foot-hold in North America without the USA and the Monroe doctrine? How did the existance of a plurality of states effect things like the rise of Japan(no Commodore Parry surely)? How did the plurality of states interact with the unequal treaties of China and the conflicts that followed? How about the rise of Socialism and Communism. All interseting questions, but because they aren't athe focal pointfor Trutledove's piece tey are unanswered. Ultimately like similar works I found Turtledoves story hung well on he framework his alternate history provided.
The point of historical divergence in this book is some-time in the early history of the United States. The US constitution is never ratified, and the states are stuck with the Articles of Confederation. Without a stronger centralised state, disagreements between the states cause the functional dissolution of the 'United States' by some point in the early 19th century. The history of North America then is a history more similar to Europe; a collection of varying small states, some large and power, others small, competing with one another. Technology isn't as advanced and the duplication of resources has an odd effect. Language isn't as uniform as different accents are never subsumed under a national set of standards. Without the Civil War, race relations are worse; a variety of states have 'Good' relative race relations, many more have suffered functional race-wars. Missisipi is functionally a 'black' state after a succesful slave revolt, so shades of Haiti there. Small wars occur on a regular basis, and all in all, the States of North America are more fractured and life is 'worse'.
The story of the book follows a young citizen of California as she, along with her grandmother, travel to visit some relatives. War breaks out between Virginia and Ohio and they end up trapped. What would be, in our timeline, a relative uneventful thing, becomes potentially disastrous? She encounters a young man from the 'home' timeline who also becomes trapped because of the War.
The book is interseting in its examinations of history, of the underlaying political assumptions of Americans, and some really interseting bits about the minute history of North America. With no over-riding federal state, each state becomes acountry un to itself, served by it's own sets of nationalism, pride and history. The issue of Race relations and the observation that stronger federal authority has favoured equality is another interesting observation. Like most of his works I sometimes have quarrels with Turtledove's tendency to keep things the same that aren't central to his story. This one brought up hosts of issues for me; No European state worked to gain a foot-hold in North America without the USA and the Monroe doctrine? How did the existance of a plurality of states effect things like the rise of Japan(no Commodore Parry surely)? How did the plurality of states interact with the unequal treaties of China and the conflicts that followed? How about the rise of Socialism and Communism. All interseting questions, but because they aren't athe focal pointfor Trutledove's piece tey are unanswered. Ultimately like similar works I found Turtledoves story hung well on he framework his alternate history provided.
January 31, 2024
Great addition to the series. Turtledove continues to take large human issues and distill them down to appropriate levels for young adults. This book specifically tackles race relations post-slavery, and does it very well.
February 2, 2017
I purchased the Crosstime Traffic series many years ago and am just aiming to finish them. This installment was the 4th in the series of 6 by the author.
He's known for his alternate history work but in this series he aims for the young adult audience. Let's just say, a gateway book into the addiction that is science fiction. I picked these up because I remember my days of being that age and reading the Heinlein "juveniles."
They are quick reads where the protagonist is a teen. I do enjoy Mr Turtledove's world building. A time where our world in the future can travel to alternate timelines. In this one, the states remained separate countries, so there is no "United States."
The setup among all the books is that families set up shop to monitor these worlds. See if they are near learning the secret of this technology. Also to gather resources that the home world may not have.
I find interesting the bigger story hinted at but never fully explored. Worlds where man never arose, so those worlds are mined, or used for farming on a large scale; the minor interference that will occur to nudge a world a certain direction.
As these are aimed at the younger readers, it was jarring where the story would have an adult swearing or using offensive language but we the reader have it filtered as the main character thinks, (an example with my wording, not quoted from the book) "...the words spoken were actually worse, but they implied an offensive term we would never use in the home timeline..."
It would be interesting if the author wrote a more adult version telling the story of the organization using this technology and without the filter.
Otherwise this book is a fun read. Justine gets trapped behind the lines when Ohio and Virginia go to war. With a family friend, another from his world, they need to keep their secret as they seek help to get back to their extraction point.
This series is a good entry point of the sub-genre Alternate History for a young reader that may show an interest in science fiction. For an older reader, if you can handle a simple story as a way to revisit one's youthful readings, this can be a book to be finished in a day.
He's known for his alternate history work but in this series he aims for the young adult audience. Let's just say, a gateway book into the addiction that is science fiction. I picked these up because I remember my days of being that age and reading the Heinlein "juveniles."
They are quick reads where the protagonist is a teen. I do enjoy Mr Turtledove's world building. A time where our world in the future can travel to alternate timelines. In this one, the states remained separate countries, so there is no "United States."
The setup among all the books is that families set up shop to monitor these worlds. See if they are near learning the secret of this technology. Also to gather resources that the home world may not have.
I find interesting the bigger story hinted at but never fully explored. Worlds where man never arose, so those worlds are mined, or used for farming on a large scale; the minor interference that will occur to nudge a world a certain direction.
As these are aimed at the younger readers, it was jarring where the story would have an adult swearing or using offensive language but we the reader have it filtered as the main character thinks, (an example with my wording, not quoted from the book) "...the words spoken were actually worse, but they implied an offensive term we would never use in the home timeline..."
It would be interesting if the author wrote a more adult version telling the story of the organization using this technology and without the filter.
Otherwise this book is a fun read. Justine gets trapped behind the lines when Ohio and Virginia go to war. With a family friend, another from his world, they need to keep their secret as they seek help to get back to their extraction point.
This series is a good entry point of the sub-genre Alternate History for a young reader that may show an interest in science fiction. For an older reader, if you can handle a simple story as a way to revisit one's youthful readings, this can be a book to be finished in a day.
July 5, 2017
3.5 stars
Another book in the Crosstime Traffic series, The Disunited States of America follows Crosstime Traveler Justin Monroe and his mother as they travel from the home timeline in 2091 to an alternate reality where the United States was never united. Instead there are several smaller countries and Justin and his mother are going to Virginia.
Also in Virginia is Beckie Royer, a citizen of the nation of California, visiting the small town of Elizabeth, VA with her Grandmother who is a Virginia native. Virginia and Ohio have never gotten along, and Beckie and Justin wind up stranded together in Elizabeth as Ohio unleashes germ warfare on Virginia while Virginia’s black population revolts for more rights. The two need to get out of Elizabeth and back to Charleston for their own safety, though the journey itself is perilous.
The idea of Crosstime Traffic is fascinating, and Turtledove does an excellent job keeping the plot moving along. A part at the end takes a surprising dark turn that makes this book even better, and gives the reader qualms in the way of sympathizing with one protagonist. It’s a sign of a great book, though, when the actions of a protagonist make a reader feel uncomfortable.
Review crossposted here: https://bitesizebookreviews.tumblr.co...
Another book in the Crosstime Traffic series, The Disunited States of America follows Crosstime Traveler Justin Monroe and his mother as they travel from the home timeline in 2091 to an alternate reality where the United States was never united. Instead there are several smaller countries and Justin and his mother are going to Virginia.
Also in Virginia is Beckie Royer, a citizen of the nation of California, visiting the small town of Elizabeth, VA with her Grandmother who is a Virginia native. Virginia and Ohio have never gotten along, and Beckie and Justin wind up stranded together in Elizabeth as Ohio unleashes germ warfare on Virginia while Virginia’s black population revolts for more rights. The two need to get out of Elizabeth and back to Charleston for their own safety, though the journey itself is perilous.
The idea of Crosstime Traffic is fascinating, and Turtledove does an excellent job keeping the plot moving along. A part at the end takes a surprising dark turn that makes this book even better, and gives the reader qualms in the way of sympathizing with one protagonist. It’s a sign of a great book, though, when the actions of a protagonist make a reader feel uncomfortable.
Review crossposted here: https://bitesizebookreviews.tumblr.co...
February 23, 2022
I read this because my 15 year old recommended it and said it was really interesting. I enjoyed the premise of what would have happened has the United states not worked, but found the story trite and simplistic. I can understand why my son enjoyed and would pass it on to other teens.
October 9, 2017
It was okay. I did not enjoy the writing style and I didn't think it was a very good book.
November 2, 2020
Wished for a little more world building outside of Virginia and Ohio but a good read!
December 14, 2021
A story about the universal evils of man and the internal struggles of morality versus conformity.
December 28, 2023
Science fiction suitable for middle school and older readers only because of the ages of the protagonists. Standard idea that the USA would be a worse place to live without the Constitution.
April 30, 2012
This is actually the fourth book in the CROSSTIME TRAFFIC series but I didn't know that when I took the book on for review. No worries though since it read pretty much as a standalone. I'm going to take a leaping guess here and assume that book one actually explains the whole concept of crosstime traffic and why Justin's home timeline thinks they're the only ones special enough to be able to travel across time. That whole concept just read really wrong to me. That only Justin's timeline had those capabilities and they kept altering other timelines for the "good" of that timeline, and to prevent them from traveling across time, again for the "greater good." Talk about playing god. This is where I might be missing something from other books and since the whys aren't explained in THE DISUNITED STATES OF AMERICA I'm kind of left wanting in that area. But my bad for picking up a series at book four.
As for the story within the greater CROSSTIME TRAFFIC story, it was, meh, okay. The voice did little for me as it was more omniscient and a bit schizophrenic at times. Becky's voice especially, in my opinion, kept changing and she would say things, like little sayings, that just didn't seem genuine to her character. It was kind of jarring. Justin was pretty constant in voice and development which leads me to believe that the author might have had a better time writing in either limited third or first via Justin as opposed to omniscient third. It just didn't really work out too well when he was in Becky's voice. The phrases were a little too kitschy and a lot of the times she sounded like what the author probably thought a teenage girl from California sounded like, in 1966. She was just really artificial in her structure to me.
The story itself passed by in a blur and I found myself skimming a lot. There was a lot of thinly veiled moralizing going on about inequality and "what if's" that I was kind of over it. I'm really not into fiction for morals so when I have one pressed at me I tend to zone out. The author also seemed to be really pushing the backstory of this particular timeline just as much as he was trying to push the story forward. There were a lot of info burps going on that were creating the cornerstone for this particular world and they always seemed to happen when there was a lull in the plot, which was often.
Not much really happened to the characters until the end of the story. The invasion itself didn't happen until at least two thirds of the way through and up until then it was a lot of talks in the back yard (seriously, every time Justin and Becky got together it was clunky storytelling in the backyard with fizzes, aka soda) and stuff happening on TV and the radio but nowhere near. And it doesn't play out like what the blurb, I think, insinuates. Or even by what the cover would intone. Once the fecal matter smacks against the rotating device Justin and Becky's paths deviate and they get where they need to go on their own. So the package was a bit deceptive because there wasn't much of a collaborative effort on their part.
All the blurbs in the book were raving about how awesome of an alt-history writer Turtledove is but what I saw was a really scattered plot, a piecemeal world and awkward writing, more often than not telling instead of showing. I felt relatively little for any of the characters and really the only redeeming part for me was when Justin had to step into the shoes of a soldier in order to get to his destination. That was really the only instance of suspense and true action I felt in the entire book. That was the only place where I actually got to SEE Justin as more than the author's puppet. Everything else was just yak, yak, yak and complain and coins. It felt empty.
I do like how it's a different take on the whole dystopian front. You know, instead of being an actual dystopian it's an alt-history that thus alters the present and future. It's a breath of fresh air in that regard. But outside of that I was unimpressed. Maybe if I'd started the series from the beginning I'd feel differently, with more background information on the home timeline and Justin's world but I'm really not sure how good that would do. I seem to have the most problems with the author's writing style. A bit harder to change.
Read THE DISUNITED STATES OF AMERICA if you're looking for something different than the standard dystopians out there. It really is a good break in that regard. Just be cognizant of the writing. It's not all that phenomenal.
As for the story within the greater CROSSTIME TRAFFIC story, it was, meh, okay. The voice did little for me as it was more omniscient and a bit schizophrenic at times. Becky's voice especially, in my opinion, kept changing and she would say things, like little sayings, that just didn't seem genuine to her character. It was kind of jarring. Justin was pretty constant in voice and development which leads me to believe that the author might have had a better time writing in either limited third or first via Justin as opposed to omniscient third. It just didn't really work out too well when he was in Becky's voice. The phrases were a little too kitschy and a lot of the times she sounded like what the author probably thought a teenage girl from California sounded like, in 1966. She was just really artificial in her structure to me.
The story itself passed by in a blur and I found myself skimming a lot. There was a lot of thinly veiled moralizing going on about inequality and "what if's" that I was kind of over it. I'm really not into fiction for morals so when I have one pressed at me I tend to zone out. The author also seemed to be really pushing the backstory of this particular timeline just as much as he was trying to push the story forward. There were a lot of info burps going on that were creating the cornerstone for this particular world and they always seemed to happen when there was a lull in the plot, which was often.
Not much really happened to the characters until the end of the story. The invasion itself didn't happen until at least two thirds of the way through and up until then it was a lot of talks in the back yard (seriously, every time Justin and Becky got together it was clunky storytelling in the backyard with fizzes, aka soda) and stuff happening on TV and the radio but nowhere near. And it doesn't play out like what the blurb, I think, insinuates. Or even by what the cover would intone. Once the fecal matter smacks against the rotating device Justin and Becky's paths deviate and they get where they need to go on their own. So the package was a bit deceptive because there wasn't much of a collaborative effort on their part.
All the blurbs in the book were raving about how awesome of an alt-history writer Turtledove is but what I saw was a really scattered plot, a piecemeal world and awkward writing, more often than not telling instead of showing. I felt relatively little for any of the characters and really the only redeeming part for me was when Justin had to step into the shoes of a soldier in order to get to his destination. That was really the only instance of suspense and true action I felt in the entire book. That was the only place where I actually got to SEE Justin as more than the author's puppet. Everything else was just yak, yak, yak and complain and coins. It felt empty.
I do like how it's a different take on the whole dystopian front. You know, instead of being an actual dystopian it's an alt-history that thus alters the present and future. It's a breath of fresh air in that regard. But outside of that I was unimpressed. Maybe if I'd started the series from the beginning I'd feel differently, with more background information on the home timeline and Justin's world but I'm really not sure how good that would do. I seem to have the most problems with the author's writing style. A bit harder to change.
Read THE DISUNITED STATES OF AMERICA if you're looking for something different than the standard dystopians out there. It really is a good break in that regard. Just be cognizant of the writing. It's not all that phenomenal.
November 14, 2017
The Disunited States of America describes a world in which the Constitution was never ratified and the United States broke up into different countries. Turtledove does a good job explaining the current state of things, but doesn't go into the history very much. We are led to believe that the states were broken up by the early 1830s, but California is still a country even though it was before the Mexican Cession. The story, though, is very interesting. Two teenagers, one from Disunited California, the other from Virginia as we know it, are stuck in a rural town during a war between Ohio and Virginia. There is a disease going around, and they are trying not to catch it. Justin, the Virginian, has to pretend that he is from Disunited Virginia. Beckie, from Disunited California, struggles with the racism
in Virginia. It's a good read that can get preachy, but is satisfying in the long run.
in Virginia. It's a good read that can get preachy, but is satisfying in the long run.
June 30, 2011
Justin and his mother work for the Crosstime Traffic Corporation and spend their time traveling to different alternate universes from the home timeline of the late 21st century. In this fourth installment of Turtledove’s Crosstime novels, Justin and his mother travel to an alternate timeline in which the Constitution is never written and the Articles of Confederation failed to work. Each North American state has become like their own country and not all of the states are so friendly with each other.
Becky is stuck with her eccentric grandmother as they take a trip from their liberal California home to the backwoods Elizabeth, Virginia. If the racial injustice wasn’t enough for Becky, the war that rages between Ohio and Virginia as keeps Becky in Elizabeth, fearing for her life, as Ohio unleashes a deadly virus.
The two teenagers find each other as Justin travels to Elizabeth with another Crosstime traveler posing as his uncle. Both fear the senseless war and want a United States, but one of them is too afraid to admit that to the other and is hoping that they live long enough to get out of Elizabeth.
Turtledove has built an alternate reality that is not only imaginative, but hauntingly realistic. His character’s experiences in their surroundings literally put the reader into the story and feel what the characters are feeling. It’s a good choice for anyone that likes speculative fiction or American history.
Release date: April 26, 2011
Page Count: 288
Genre: Dystopian Young Adult
Similar to: N/A
Recommended for: Boys and Girls 12 and up
Stars: 3/5
The Good:
*Turtledove’s world building skills are beyond superb. He has been noted as the master of alternate realities and I can see why. The alternate timeline highlighted by this book is so realistic that if you think about it, could actually be a plausible reality. He was able to build a world focused around what the characters were feeling. In one scene Turtledove describes Justin’s reaction to shooting a gun and it made me see what Justin was seeing on the streets just by his reactions.
*Having two different main characters gave the story a more three dimensional take. You could see what the scene would look like to someone from a different timeline and then what it was like to someone who actually lived in that timeline. Becky and Justin’s reaction to the injustice of the states were so similar and yet so different that you could separate these two characters, but at the same time really grasp onto their experiences together.
The not-as-good:
*The voice of this novel seemed more adult than YA to me. There were descriptions and situations that both characters dealt with that just didn’t feel young adult at all. Times have changed with YA literature using more adult themes, which this did, but it didn’t keep that fresh, YA voice that I have read in other novels.
*The beginning was a little slow moving for me. The real action and war didn’t start until close to the end of the book. I guess that there did have to be some world and character building to build up to that, but it was just a little harder to get through the first 100 pages because of it.
All in all, with this being my first experience with Turtledove's alternate realities, I have to say that it was a pretty decent one. I would consider looking into his other Crosstime novels and would advise anyone that is into dystopians or speculative fiction to do the same.
Becky is stuck with her eccentric grandmother as they take a trip from their liberal California home to the backwoods Elizabeth, Virginia. If the racial injustice wasn’t enough for Becky, the war that rages between Ohio and Virginia as keeps Becky in Elizabeth, fearing for her life, as Ohio unleashes a deadly virus.
The two teenagers find each other as Justin travels to Elizabeth with another Crosstime traveler posing as his uncle. Both fear the senseless war and want a United States, but one of them is too afraid to admit that to the other and is hoping that they live long enough to get out of Elizabeth.
Turtledove has built an alternate reality that is not only imaginative, but hauntingly realistic. His character’s experiences in their surroundings literally put the reader into the story and feel what the characters are feeling. It’s a good choice for anyone that likes speculative fiction or American history.
Release date: April 26, 2011
Page Count: 288
Genre: Dystopian Young Adult
Similar to: N/A
Recommended for: Boys and Girls 12 and up
Stars: 3/5
The Good:
*Turtledove’s world building skills are beyond superb. He has been noted as the master of alternate realities and I can see why. The alternate timeline highlighted by this book is so realistic that if you think about it, could actually be a plausible reality. He was able to build a world focused around what the characters were feeling. In one scene Turtledove describes Justin’s reaction to shooting a gun and it made me see what Justin was seeing on the streets just by his reactions.
*Having two different main characters gave the story a more three dimensional take. You could see what the scene would look like to someone from a different timeline and then what it was like to someone who actually lived in that timeline. Becky and Justin’s reaction to the injustice of the states were so similar and yet so different that you could separate these two characters, but at the same time really grasp onto their experiences together.
The not-as-good:
*The voice of this novel seemed more adult than YA to me. There were descriptions and situations that both characters dealt with that just didn’t feel young adult at all. Times have changed with YA literature using more adult themes, which this did, but it didn’t keep that fresh, YA voice that I have read in other novels.
*The beginning was a little slow moving for me. The real action and war didn’t start until close to the end of the book. I guess that there did have to be some world and character building to build up to that, but it was just a little harder to get through the first 100 pages because of it.
All in all, with this being my first experience with Turtledove's alternate realities, I have to say that it was a pretty decent one. I would consider looking into his other Crosstime novels and would advise anyone that is into dystopians or speculative fiction to do the same.
November 22, 2012
Précis A teenage boy and his mother travel to an alternate timeline via Crosstime Traffic, a provider of this service to anyone willing to pay for the unusual vacation of sorts. They are going to Virginia and in this alternate slavery is still the norm as the Constitution was never accepted and the sates are independent countries.
The boy, Justin Monroe, meets Beckie Royer who is visiting an aunt, who lives in Virginia, with her grandmother who is every granddaughter's worst nightmare. They are from California which, in this timeline, is a powerhouse nation and like many other states has outlawed slavery. Justin and Beckie become good friends and because Justin is supposed to be from the Virginia in this timeline he has difficulties with his attitudes toward slavery being against what the people of this timeline are. Beckie notices that there is something different about Justin and that is why she likes him.
While they are there a war breaks out between Virginia and Ohio. Ohio uses a biological agent which prevents Justin and his Mom from going back to their timeline even if he can find a way back to the town he came in to. Justin does come up with a plan that gets him back to Charleston and he comes up with a plan to return that is acceptable to Crosstime. He leaves a hint of who he is for Beckie but she never knows for sure.
Protagonist Justin Moore
Antagonist The alternate timeline
What I liked The timeline changes were interesting and the clue Justin leaves at the end is interesting.
What I didn’t like The story was very thin, the characters under-developed, the tension never came across and the pace was so-so.
Final Comments This is the first Harry Turtledove I've read and I am disappointed. Granted this is the fourth book in the 'Crosstime Traffic' series - seven books have been published so far - which could account for a mediocre effort since I found the story lackluster and plain. The main problem was the preachy nature of the slavery issue. It, not the story of Justin and Beckie was the driving force for the book. I understand the need to speak out against slavery and racial injustice, but I don't want it to dominate the novel.
Turtledove is a prolific writer and he has won a Hugo for a novella some years back. He is popular and frankly is the best known alternate history writer currently, so this cannot be his best effort. I have a few of his books on the shelf so I will have to pull one down and read it soon to compare. I hope and expect it will be better.
The boy, Justin Monroe, meets Beckie Royer who is visiting an aunt, who lives in Virginia, with her grandmother who is every granddaughter's worst nightmare. They are from California which, in this timeline, is a powerhouse nation and like many other states has outlawed slavery. Justin and Beckie become good friends and because Justin is supposed to be from the Virginia in this timeline he has difficulties with his attitudes toward slavery being against what the people of this timeline are. Beckie notices that there is something different about Justin and that is why she likes him.
While they are there a war breaks out between Virginia and Ohio. Ohio uses a biological agent which prevents Justin and his Mom from going back to their timeline even if he can find a way back to the town he came in to. Justin does come up with a plan that gets him back to Charleston and he comes up with a plan to return that is acceptable to Crosstime. He leaves a hint of who he is for Beckie but she never knows for sure.
Protagonist Justin Moore
Antagonist The alternate timeline
What I liked The timeline changes were interesting and the clue Justin leaves at the end is interesting.
What I didn’t like The story was very thin, the characters under-developed, the tension never came across and the pace was so-so.
Final Comments This is the first Harry Turtledove I've read and I am disappointed. Granted this is the fourth book in the 'Crosstime Traffic' series - seven books have been published so far - which could account for a mediocre effort since I found the story lackluster and plain. The main problem was the preachy nature of the slavery issue. It, not the story of Justin and Beckie was the driving force for the book. I understand the need to speak out against slavery and racial injustice, but I don't want it to dominate the novel.
Turtledove is a prolific writer and he has won a Hugo for a novella some years back. He is popular and frankly is the best known alternate history writer currently, so this cannot be his best effort. I have a few of his books on the shelf so I will have to pull one down and read it soon to compare. I hope and expect it will be better.
June 13, 2008
Overall, I thought that the premise of the book was interesting and the science fiction parts cool. I also got lots of ideas for stories that I want to write.
But, that is about all the good I can say about this book. I found the rest pedantic and simplistic.
Setting: The alternate reality thing was cool. I would have liked to explore it more, but the author didn't do much elaborating and the characters were stuck in a small town for most of the book.
Plot: Again, interesting idea; not executed well. It didn't really feel tied together. There did not seem to be any overarching reason to have this story except for the cool idea. It also didn't meet my expectations. It starts out with Becky as viewpoint character, but the story isn't ever really about her. Sure, it was a cool, attention-getting opening, but the author didn't deliver on the promise of what the story would be about, or of the importance of the character. On other big plot hole was the gift he gives to Becky at the end. How did he get it? With how careful the company seems to be with contaminating alternates and such, there is no way he'd have access to it. Sure, it's nice that he was able to give her that, and it puts some thoughts into her head - but that just points her down the road to discovering alternates too! How stupid was that, when he and the home timeline are so worried about it?
Conflict: Lots and lots of stuff going on. The author used false suspense a couple times (like when the boy gets his plan about getting back to the city, but the author skips telling us), and that really threw me out of the story.
Characters: The author did a pretty good job of creating characters that were somewhat complex, and creating conflicts between them. However, they kept having the same thoughts again and again throughout the story, showing that they weren't learning anything at all. And, while the characters had conflicts, nothing was ever really resolved between them. In fact, I expected Becky to be more important to the story and the alternate reality idea, but then it is basically dropped; no relationship is created.
Text: The author seems to be fond of including little aphorisms that supposedly come from the characters, but there are so many of them that they are rather distracting, and sometimes seem out of place.
But, that is about all the good I can say about this book. I found the rest pedantic and simplistic.
Setting: The alternate reality thing was cool. I would have liked to explore it more, but the author didn't do much elaborating and the characters were stuck in a small town for most of the book.
Plot: Again, interesting idea; not executed well. It didn't really feel tied together. There did not seem to be any overarching reason to have this story except for the cool idea. It also didn't meet my expectations. It starts out with Becky as viewpoint character, but the story isn't ever really about her. Sure, it was a cool, attention-getting opening, but the author didn't deliver on the promise of what the story would be about, or of the importance of the character. On other big plot hole was the gift he gives to Becky at the end. How did he get it? With how careful the company seems to be with contaminating alternates and such, there is no way he'd have access to it. Sure, it's nice that he was able to give her that, and it puts some thoughts into her head - but that just points her down the road to discovering alternates too! How stupid was that, when he and the home timeline are so worried about it?
Conflict: Lots and lots of stuff going on. The author used false suspense a couple times (like when the boy gets his plan about getting back to the city, but the author skips telling us), and that really threw me out of the story.
Characters: The author did a pretty good job of creating characters that were somewhat complex, and creating conflicts between them. However, they kept having the same thoughts again and again throughout the story, showing that they weren't learning anything at all. And, while the characters had conflicts, nothing was ever really resolved between them. In fact, I expected Becky to be more important to the story and the alternate reality idea, but then it is basically dropped; no relationship is created.
Text: The author seems to be fond of including little aphorisms that supposedly come from the characters, but there are so many of them that they are rather distracting, and sometimes seem out of place.
July 23, 2011
In a neat concept for a series, "Crosstime Traffic" is the story of travellers in alternate realities - a logical development for Turtledove, who has built his career around novels set in worlds removed from ours only by one small historical change (or in a couple of cases, by honking great SF twists such as invading aliens or time-travelling South African white supremacists).
Most of my knowledge of Turtledove comes from his fantastic series "Worldwar" (aliens invade in World War 2) and "Great War" (World War 1 in a reality where the South won the American Civil War). Both are sprawling multi-book epics with loads and loads of characters from a variety of races and species. "The Disunited States of America" is a slightly different beast. Revisiting one of Turtledove's favourite alternate history tropes, we get to see an America in which the USA has been broken into smaller parts. *Much* smaller parts in this case: rather than reusing the "South Wins" scenario, we instead see states that never managed to stay together and, by the late 21st Century, have been warring with each other for hundreds of years.
The action largely stays in Virginia (which is at war with Ohio) and follows just two protagonists - a bewildered Californian visiting her Grandmother's relatives, and an American from our reality who must avoid revealing his true identity. This makes for a mostly tight, slick story which restricts Turtledove's unfortunate tendency to ramble and repeat himself, apart from in a few instances (notably, we are continually reminded that white oppression of blacks persists in the Southern States, except in Mississippi where it is reversed. Considering that the plot never visits Mississippi, this becomes annoying). The worldbuilding in the Disunited States varies - much of the slightly-different slang in convincing enough, and rounders and association football being the sports of choice makes sense, but some of the hints about the outside world are a bit questionable and there's a Babe Ruth pun at one point that, while smartly set up, just frickin' hurts.
All in all, I'm not in any particular hurry to check out the rest of the series but it does make for an enjoyable brisk read and I'll probably drop back in at some point.
Most of my knowledge of Turtledove comes from his fantastic series "Worldwar" (aliens invade in World War 2) and "Great War" (World War 1 in a reality where the South won the American Civil War). Both are sprawling multi-book epics with loads and loads of characters from a variety of races and species. "The Disunited States of America" is a slightly different beast. Revisiting one of Turtledove's favourite alternate history tropes, we get to see an America in which the USA has been broken into smaller parts. *Much* smaller parts in this case: rather than reusing the "South Wins" scenario, we instead see states that never managed to stay together and, by the late 21st Century, have been warring with each other for hundreds of years.
The action largely stays in Virginia (which is at war with Ohio) and follows just two protagonists - a bewildered Californian visiting her Grandmother's relatives, and an American from our reality who must avoid revealing his true identity. This makes for a mostly tight, slick story which restricts Turtledove's unfortunate tendency to ramble and repeat himself, apart from in a few instances (notably, we are continually reminded that white oppression of blacks persists in the Southern States, except in Mississippi where it is reversed. Considering that the plot never visits Mississippi, this becomes annoying). The worldbuilding in the Disunited States varies - much of the slightly-different slang in convincing enough, and rounders and association football being the sports of choice makes sense, but some of the hints about the outside world are a bit questionable and there's a Babe Ruth pun at one point that, while smartly set up, just frickin' hurts.
All in all, I'm not in any particular hurry to check out the rest of the series but it does make for an enjoyable brisk read and I'll probably drop back in at some point.
October 27, 2016
My teen son and I read this together and liked it. It was interesting to read one of my late husband's favorite authors, but in a young adult version.
The book tells us what the US future could look like - short on resources but with the ability to secretly travel to alternate timelines where resources are more plentiful. It also tells what the future could have looked like if the US had split into multiple nations in the 1800s.
The two timelines are deceptively similar, and cross-time travellers have to watch what they say to avoid using words, phrases, and facts that don't exist in the timeline they are visiting. But the hardest part is going along with the racist attitudes in the alternate timeline. Appearing to be an outsider could get you killed, or worse, it could result in the "Disunited States" discovering cross-time travel and spreading their warring and biological weapons to other timelines.
The main characters in the book are two teens called Beckie and Justin. Beckie was travelling with her grumpy old grandma (the book emphasized her grumpiness a bit too much) when they got stuck in a sudden war between the nations of Ohio and Virginia. Justin was travelling cross-time to the "Disunited States" and he also got stuck in the war. The book was best towards the end, which was more action-filled.
There is no swearing or racist epithets in the book - the author gets around it by writing for example "he didn't really say 'people'. The word he used was one nobody in the U.S.A. in the home timeline could say without proving he was a disgusting racist."
All in all, it was an interesting book to read in an election year with a lot of hate-mongering.
P.S. At one point, grumpy ol' granny tells Justin's uncle to stop using metaphors and talk so people can understand: "If all writers did that, chances are it would improve ninety percent of them. But it would ruin the rest - and those are the ones we need most.
The book tells us what the US future could look like - short on resources but with the ability to secretly travel to alternate timelines where resources are more plentiful. It also tells what the future could have looked like if the US had split into multiple nations in the 1800s.
The two timelines are deceptively similar, and cross-time travellers have to watch what they say to avoid using words, phrases, and facts that don't exist in the timeline they are visiting. But the hardest part is going along with the racist attitudes in the alternate timeline. Appearing to be an outsider could get you killed, or worse, it could result in the "Disunited States" discovering cross-time travel and spreading their warring and biological weapons to other timelines.
The main characters in the book are two teens called Beckie and Justin. Beckie was travelling with her grumpy old grandma (the book emphasized her grumpiness a bit too much) when they got stuck in a sudden war between the nations of Ohio and Virginia. Justin was travelling cross-time to the "Disunited States" and he also got stuck in the war. The book was best towards the end, which was more action-filled.
There is no swearing or racist epithets in the book - the author gets around it by writing for example "he didn't really say 'people'. The word he used was one nobody in the U.S.A. in the home timeline could say without proving he was a disgusting racist."
All in all, it was an interesting book to read in an election year with a lot of hate-mongering.
P.S. At one point, grumpy ol' granny tells Justin's uncle to stop using metaphors and talk so people can understand: "If all writers did that, chances are it would improve ninety percent of them. But it would ruin the rest - and those are the ones we need most.
December 2, 2010
The Disunited States of America by Harry Turtledove is an alternate history tale in which the Constitution of the United States was never written. The resulting fallout is that the "united states" become the "disunited states", with each state going down its own road. Advances in society, technology, etc. all occur at different rates within each state. Some still have slavery. Others have achieved the relative amount of equality we enjoy ourselves. Still others have reversed the white/black dichotomy altogether; blacks are masters over whites. War amongst the states is frequent. California is one of the most advanced and powerful of the states; no one messes with them.
Beckie lives in this alternate world. Justin, a Crosstime Traffic traveler, is from our timeline, but he comes to this variation of the U.S. with his mother on a sort of educational fieldtrip. Justin and Beckie, both teenagers, meet and hit it off. Chaos ensues as they find themselves mixed up in an escalating war between Ohio and Virginia. For Beckie, it's about surviving so she can return to her family in California. For Justin, it's about getting back to his own timeline.
The Disunited States of America flows along well enough, but for all the premise of travel between alternate dimensions, not much is really done with it. Justin arrives, he has some adventures, he leaves. But it's a quick read, which explains why I finished this novel at all (alternate history is not my usual thing) despite there not really being a lot of science fiction meat to chew on. I almost put it down, but at that point I was so close to the end I went ahead and pushed through.
The novel is the fourth book in Turtledove's Crosstime Traffic series.
This review also at http://www.scottmarlowe.com/post/Book...
Beckie lives in this alternate world. Justin, a Crosstime Traffic traveler, is from our timeline, but he comes to this variation of the U.S. with his mother on a sort of educational fieldtrip. Justin and Beckie, both teenagers, meet and hit it off. Chaos ensues as they find themselves mixed up in an escalating war between Ohio and Virginia. For Beckie, it's about surviving so she can return to her family in California. For Justin, it's about getting back to his own timeline.
The Disunited States of America flows along well enough, but for all the premise of travel between alternate dimensions, not much is really done with it. Justin arrives, he has some adventures, he leaves. But it's a quick read, which explains why I finished this novel at all (alternate history is not my usual thing) despite there not really being a lot of science fiction meat to chew on. I almost put it down, but at that point I was so close to the end I went ahead and pushed through.
The novel is the fourth book in Turtledove's Crosstime Traffic series.
This review also at http://www.scottmarlowe.com/post/Book...
August 21, 2012
I had borrowed Rebecca's E-reader to read A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons. After I was finished with those tomes I went poking around and stumbled upon The Disunited States of America. I start reading and it's semi-interesting. Then I begin to find familiar towns and places: Parkersburg, Wirt County, Elizabeth, Prunty. This is a dystopian alternative future set in West Virginia. I was hooked. The plot moves at a steady pace and it is easy to follow the concurrent story lines until they converge. But honestly - it gets major points for actually writing and setting a book in WV. It loses a large amount for portraying the inhabitants of the hills as racists, backwoods hicks. They do exist, but they are not the majority and that's where this book went wrong with me. The plot is passable and somewhat predictable, but even a book set in the my home state couldn't make up for how negatively the author portrayed us.
September 7, 2012
In a future in which travel between alternate realities is possible – in which changes in historical events make a very different present – two travelers become stranded in an America where the Constitution was never ratified, resulting in fractured city-states and a Georgia where politically mandated racism is alive and well.
I thought this was an interesting idea, though the writing failed to impress. It tried a little too hard at times to be clever and tongue-in-cheek, and some character reactions seemed awkward or understated. In the case of the latter, when war breaks out between Georgia and neighbouring Ohio and the lead character ends up marching on the front lines, I thought his reactions to a confrontation which he doesn’t agree with and the things he sees and does as a result to be quite glossed over, as though he was a common rookie soldier, rather than a pacifist civilian dragged into the atrocities of war. In the case of the former, the same character’s disdainful reference to “grown-ups” irked me. Teenagers don’t call people “grown-ups;” teenagers want to be or believe they are adults. Ignoring that showed a clear disconnect between the author and the type of characters he was writing.
Again, this wasn’t a bad book, but it was really nothing special, and nothing I would particularly recommend.
I thought this was an interesting idea, though the writing failed to impress. It tried a little too hard at times to be clever and tongue-in-cheek, and some character reactions seemed awkward or understated. In the case of the latter, when war breaks out between Georgia and neighbouring Ohio and the lead character ends up marching on the front lines, I thought his reactions to a confrontation which he doesn’t agree with and the things he sees and does as a result to be quite glossed over, as though he was a common rookie soldier, rather than a pacifist civilian dragged into the atrocities of war. In the case of the former, the same character’s disdainful reference to “grown-ups” irked me. Teenagers don’t call people “grown-ups;” teenagers want to be or believe they are adults. Ignoring that showed a clear disconnect between the author and the type of characters he was writing.
Again, this wasn’t a bad book, but it was really nothing special, and nothing I would particularly recommend.
April 25, 2015
This book has all the strengths of the previous Crosstime Traffic novels, and fewer of the weaknesses. An alternate timeline closer to the "home timeline" seems to help the author move things along. More time is spent with characters from the alternate timeline, which helps to breathe life into the alternate.
While the books dealing with more modern timelines seem to spend less time dwelling on the differences, the comparisons are still made more often than necessary. The book uses into many of the formulas employed in the earlier Crosstime Traffic novels, and still underestimates the reader to the story's detriment. The treatment of a still-segregated south in a North America without the United States is still every bit as ham-fisted as the handling of slavery in the first and third books.
Still, this is probably the best of the first four novels in the series (the third may not be far behind, or for some may be better). If you were only going to read two or three books in this series (since each stands alone fairly well, with only minor references between books, and, in at least the first four, some similar background material shared between them), this would not be a bad choice.
While the books dealing with more modern timelines seem to spend less time dwelling on the differences, the comparisons are still made more often than necessary. The book uses into many of the formulas employed in the earlier Crosstime Traffic novels, and still underestimates the reader to the story's detriment. The treatment of a still-segregated south in a North America without the United States is still every bit as ham-fisted as the handling of slavery in the first and third books.
Still, this is probably the best of the first four novels in the series (the third may not be far behind, or for some may be better). If you were only going to read two or three books in this series (since each stands alone fairly well, with only minor references between books, and, in at least the first four, some similar background material shared between them), this would not be a bad choice.
February 22, 2016
The Disunited States of America feels like a first draft that didn't quite figure out its story until the final act. Turtledove creates an interesting world--in which the United States has broken up into independent nation states because the Founding Fathers couldn't agree on how to fix the Articles of Confederation, so they simply abandoned the idea of united states--where state-to-state cultural differences are more pronounced and disagreements (major and minor) turn into wars instead of prolonged sessions of Congress.
I can't even say Turtledove fails to come up with an interesting story for this universe. He does--but it only kicks in after 200 pages of wheel-spinning, and as a result feels very rushed and shallow.
Because of the dystopian, fractured-America setting, the violent backdrop, and the teenage protagonists, I couldn't help thinking of The Hunger Games, which did a much better job of tackling a similar theme, of kids forced to grow up quickly after being thrust into a violent situation. Turtledove keeps them removed from the violence for too long, sticks them with adult companions for too long, and doesn't do much to keep the story suspenseful or exciting until, all at once, it kicks into high gear. By then, it's too late.
I can't even say Turtledove fails to come up with an interesting story for this universe. He does--but it only kicks in after 200 pages of wheel-spinning, and as a result feels very rushed and shallow.
Because of the dystopian, fractured-America setting, the violent backdrop, and the teenage protagonists, I couldn't help thinking of The Hunger Games, which did a much better job of tackling a similar theme, of kids forced to grow up quickly after being thrust into a violent situation. Turtledove keeps them removed from the violence for too long, sticks them with adult companions for too long, and doesn't do much to keep the story suspenseful or exciting until, all at once, it kicks into high gear. By then, it's too late.
Read
December 30, 20202020 note: Review originally posted in 2014. May contain statements I no longer agree with... especially the parts where I insult myself? Why was I so mean to myself in 2014?
I have to say, I'm not the biggest science fiction reader. It's just not usually my thing. I don't really have a mind for science and I struggled a bit with it as a kid. And I can tell a lot of that kind of affected my experience reading thing. The kind of writing it was, and sometimes the world-building, was sometimes hard for me to get into and follow. A lot of it just wasn't my cup of tea, but sometimes it was kind of slow, too.
I do think it could be a good book for those kids who tend to skip YA, and go straight to adult ones. Knowing hooligans these days, they'd probably be better able to follow it than me! Read the rest on my blog.
I have to say, I'm not the biggest science fiction reader. It's just not usually my thing. I don't really have a mind for science and I struggled a bit with it as a kid. And I can tell a lot of that kind of affected my experience reading thing. The kind of writing it was, and sometimes the world-building, was sometimes hard for me to get into and follow. A lot of it just wasn't my cup of tea, but sometimes it was kind of slow, too.
I do think it could be a good book for those kids who tend to skip YA, and go straight to adult ones. Knowing hooligans these days, they'd probably be better able to follow it than me! Read the rest on my blog.
December 14, 2019
Great idea. Mediocre writing.
It was a disappointment, that's why I give it 1 star.
It had so much potential because of the premise it has, but the way he write it it's just unbearable towards the end. It becames really preachy and clichéd in the second half. And it's plagued with repetitions. The idea that someone swears so badly that the sensitive ears of the other characters can't deal with it gets used over and over. And the racism is treated as some point on a list the author had to mention, not some actual issue that affects the world of the story. Actually, almost everything is treated like a point on a list.
Towards the end the conflict has to move to another location, so the characters just go there. The context and logic of that action aren't taken into account. Also, one of the biggest problems gets rezolved by a teenager asking a question and all the adults go "wHy dIN'T We THinK oF THat???".
That being said, not the worse book you could ever read in your life.
It was a disappointment, that's why I give it 1 star.
It had so much potential because of the premise it has, but the way he write it it's just unbearable towards the end. It becames really preachy and clichéd in the second half. And it's plagued with repetitions. The idea that someone swears so badly that the sensitive ears of the other characters can't deal with it gets used over and over. And the racism is treated as some point on a list the author had to mention, not some actual issue that affects the world of the story. Actually, almost everything is treated like a point on a list.
Towards the end the conflict has to move to another location, so the characters just go there. The context and logic of that action aren't taken into account. Also, one of the biggest problems gets rezolved by a teenager asking a question and all the adults go "wHy dIN'T We THinK oF THat???".
That being said, not the worse book you could ever read in your life.
January 23, 2008
The Crosstime series is intended for a young adult audience, generally featuring teens traveling between worlds. This fourth volume continues the story with yet another example of things going wrong. In this case, Justin is along for the ride when a war breaks out, in a world in which the United States...aren't united. The Constitution was never ratified, the Articles of Confederation were eventually seen as a toothless farce, and the country split apart. Historically, this is perhaps the most forced premise of the series, as it fails to explain many unlikely things, including how California became a separate, powerful republic without any united push from the east.
The action part of the story is the heart of the matter, and that is well written, as Justin is forced to confront several moral and social issues while trying to get home.
The action part of the story is the heart of the matter, and that is well written, as Justin is forced to confront several moral and social issues while trying to get home.
December 22, 2016
3.75 stars would be a more accurate rating, but this is the best Turtledove book I've come across in some time. Rather than following a million different characters with indistinguishable names going through the exact same circumstances (just in different places), he gives us two perspectives (to show us the two main angles of this cross-time story) and while they are somewhat stereotypical teens, that is the point. They are normal, albeit from two different timelines.
Still, Turtledove cannot shake his writing of needless repetition. We get it, Gran is habitual complainer that no one likes to hang around and who doesn't listen to Beckie. You don't have to repeat this every time she displays such tendancies. We know the situation they are in. This is a simple concept that a professional writer would avoid, but with few exceptions Turtledove keeps this flaw.
Still, Turtledove cannot shake his writing of needless repetition. We get it, Gran is habitual complainer that no one likes to hang around and who doesn't listen to Beckie. You don't have to repeat this every time she displays such tendancies. We know the situation they are in. This is a simple concept that a professional writer would avoid, but with few exceptions Turtledove keeps this flaw.
December 25, 2014
I did enjoy this story, but not so much that I couldn't put it down. In fact I took a bit break and read another book before finishing it.
There are times when the reading experience becomes ‘work’ because of a certain unwieldy feeling to the writing style. Most of the characters also have a superficiality to them that leaves one uninvolved with their experiences.
Perhaps this reflects how the author felt while writing it; I did not realise until I logged on to goodreads that it was one in a series. That could account for some of the inconsistencies that bothered me about it.
It would be a two star for me if it had not included passenger pigeons and other extinct birds. Spot the zoologist eh?
There are times when the reading experience becomes ‘work’ because of a certain unwieldy feeling to the writing style. Most of the characters also have a superficiality to them that leaves one uninvolved with their experiences.
Perhaps this reflects how the author felt while writing it; I did not realise until I logged on to goodreads that it was one in a series. That could account for some of the inconsistencies that bothered me about it.
It would be a two star for me if it had not included passenger pigeons and other extinct birds. Spot the zoologist eh?
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