Departures

by Harry Turtledove

What if history had taken a different path, made a detour, and deviated just a little bit from the road it chose? Here, Harry Turtledove explores such "what ifs" in twenty alternate-history stories ranging from ancient times to the far, far-different future.
Persia has conquered Greece; Athens is in ruins. Yet even under Persia's rule, the power of the people can never be completely broken. . .
A werewolf boy tears through Cologne's medieval stretts in search of sanctuary from the angry mob. But who will shelter a creature so hated and feared?
A student from the far-off future sets off on a field trip to study Genghis Khan -- and finds him in the twentieth century?
And many more!
"He's one of the finest explorers of alternate histories ever." -- Locus

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

342 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1993

About the author

Dr 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.

Reviews

[Jeff Crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to like Harry Turtledove more than I do. His ideas are fascinating, but I find most of his novels either dense, profane/vulgar, or protracted. His shorter works, such as Crosstime Traffic and his short stories are another matter altogether. This is a strong collection of short stories. Most are alternate history, and a few are space opera. Some of the latter remind me of stories by Murray Leinster. This is one of the better anthologies I've read in recent years.

[Hank Hoeft · Rating 3 out of 5]

Departures doesn't contain much "sense of wonder" or much action or suspense, but it is a collection of quietly entertaining stories, mostly--but not all--alternate history.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

All around great stories. He doesnt just explore alternate historical or political tracks, but different ways societies might have evolved, or might evolve. In other words, he captures what it would feel like to live in that society, doesn't just redraw borders in an interesting way. In my opinion, that is a prerequisite for being a great alternate history writer and Turtledove nails it.

[MH · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of dialogue-heavy science fiction short stories from the 1980s, about half of them alternate histories. The alternate histories tend to be about ambassadors or emissaries visiting an outpost and entering into lengthy negotiations (where the reader learns about the changed history); the science fiction stories tend to be about people discussing the implications of a new technology - it all gets kind of tedious, and even when there's some action (violence at the Space Olympics!) there's a lot of talk around it (sportscasters explaining the effects of low gravitation on the Space Olympics). When Turtledove occasionally tries something new or breaks from his talky pattern, his stories can be fun (a mystery involving time travelling criminals versus Roman detectives; an epistolary story about a baseball player and a vampire), but for such a solid writer I'm afraid these stories are mostly pretty dull.

[JD Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author of historical speculations presents about a dozen short stories. One takes place in a monastery in the days of the declining Byzantine Empire. There is a young monk there who is not only a poetic speaker but stirs up the spirit of the brotherhood. There is one where the Jews somehow keep going on with their practices in Germany even when Hitler won the war; it also features a werewolf. The last story is short but has a good punchline about a biological war weapon that failed. The author tends to be direct and maybe too graphic in describing war casualties, for example. Much of his writing, I feel, is rather colloquial; it works well with the dialogs in many of the stories.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love alternate history, and Harry writes some great stuff. My favorite story in this one, "Nasty, Brutish, and ..." (the very last one in the book), I remember reading years ago and is great to see in this collection. It is one of the best of the "spaceport bar" genre of stories that are always so much fun. His approach to the stories throughout makes the "alternate" nature of the environment seem very natural and real - guess that's why he has such a reputation for writing this type of fiction. Well worth reading!!

[Luka Novak · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of short stories. While it's advertised as "alternative history" it's not just that. There is some sci-fi, futuristic stuff, fantasy, dystopia and stuff that really can't be properly labelled. Alternative history stories don't focus too much on how and why history changed and are more concerned about people living in this alternative time.

As it's always the case with such collection you will likely like some stories, hate some and be ambivalent about the rest. And the "bad" stuff shouldn't distract from the good.

[Helle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find short stories always difficult to rate. First of all because I often think they are lacking the depth of a full novel, but also because they can be so different to make it hard to rate as one book. In this case, overall I had a pretty good feeling about most stories, some of them providing interesting food for thought. Unfortunately also some I really did not like (especially those about Mouamet).

[Kaushik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't quite get through this. This is a compendium of various alternative history stories, some are good, some not so much...the quality was pretty inconsistent and at some point it became a slog.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

the subtitle is "Stories of Alternate History," but a large majority of these short stories are not alternate history. They're mostly science-fiction/fantasy, setting up a false expectation from the start. My favorites were "Counting Potsherds" and "Islands in the Sea."

[Mark Moxley-Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent collection of shorts from Turtledove. All alternative history, but some very surprising. Enjoyable, thought-provoking. I was, as always, sad when it was over.

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection of early Turtledove stories, of which many are in the alternate history genre. I found this copy used and it was worth the price. Recommended.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few stories I didn't particularly and some that I can't get out of my head. Pretty typical for me and a book of short stories.

[Cameron Turnbull · Rating 3 out of 5]

Counting Potsherds - 4/5
A little slow to start but it does start to develop into an interesting story. Setting a ‘what if’ so far in the past is an intriguing idea and one played out in a very fun way

Death in Vesunna - 5/5
A whodunnit in the Roman Empire. This story played with my expectations brilliantly. Not one to describe but rather a one to experience

Departures - 3/5
A story I finally ‘got’ after it concluded. I found myself following along for the most part and enjoyed learning about Monastic life. I was unaware that it was part of the ‘Agent of Byzantium’ series until after I read it

Islands in the Sea - 3/5
Not really one I can describe that well, though it is a mixed bag

Not All Wolves - 1/5
It just wasn’t good

Clash of Arms - 4/5
I enjoyed this story quite a lot. Arguing over coats of arms is something I never thought would be fun to read. The ending was truly fantastic too!

Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire - tbc
This is part of the ‘Agent of Byzantium’ series. I have not read that series so I didn’t read this one

Report of the Special Committee on the Quality of Life - 2/5
Creating a report set in the alternative past sounds like it would be up my alley. However this was just really, really boring

Batboy - 2/5
Done in a style resembling Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’. There were a few good moments throughout but overall this was not for me as I don’t understand baseball (and given this is a short story there is no time to explain it)

The Last Reunion - 5/5
A reunion of Confederate soldiers is not something I thought I would really be interested in. However this story really grapples with lost cause mentality, old soldiers and the idolisation from youth. A perfect ending

Designated Hitter - tbc
Due to ‘Batboy’ I did not read this story. Baseball is not something I understand and reading this would be like a fantasy reader given a book on sci-fi. Maybe I will read it later but I doubt it

Gladly Wolde He Lerne 1/5
A teacher seeking promotion. Nothing else.

The Barbecue, the Movie, and Other Unfortunately Not So Relevant Material - 5/5
A rather humorous tale about a man travelling back in time to meet Genghis Kahn… just to meet up with the wrong one in the 20th century. I really enjoyed this one and I think anybody else that reads it would also.

In the Presence of Mine Enemies - 4/5
You can understand why this was eventually turned into a standalone novel of its own. The idea is very rich and whilst the story is slow it does offer an incredible emotional heartbeat.

The R Strain - 4/5
After the previous emotionally draining story, this was tonal whiplash. A comedy over whether a certain pig is kosher or not, and it is incredible. One to experience.

Lure -2/5
The story is a little interesting at times, though it feels like Turtledove made a pun and built the entire story around that

Secret Names

Les Mortes D’Arthur - 5/5
A whodunnit set in the future at a Ski Resort? Not something I thought I would sign up to, but I did! Wonderful world building that was integrated with the plot. It went at a concise pace and one of the better stories here

Last Favour - ?/5
I cannot remember a single thing about this story

Nasty, Brutish, and… -?/5
Same with the previous story. I cannot remember a thing

[Brentman99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love alternative history and Turtledove is one of the undisputed masters of the genre. Turtledove covers a lot of ground in his short story books. From space, early Greece, to Nazis, he explores them all. I love the versatility and characters. If you like his series books, you have to read his short stories.

[ANNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good friend recommended Harry Turtledove's books. I chose this one because it is a short story collection and might give me a better idea of his talents.

The stories in this collection are set in a variety of time periods. Some made me think. Some made me giggle. All were well written.

I'm adding more of his books to my to-be-read list. Can't wait to get started.

[Kristopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, somewhat uneven. About 1/3 of the stories interested me, most of them weren't in areas of history I was interested in. The story about the time travelers who are looking for rare plays was good, as was the one about 'Genghis Khan'.

[Rebel Rider · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few short stories were good, but I found some to be quite dull. Maybe I'd have enjoyed them more if I was a historian.