Noninterference

by Harry Turtledove

The bureaucrats of the Survey Service try to cover up one of their agent's unauthorized interference on the planet Bilbeis IV

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy

213 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

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

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

YES! YES! YES!

One of the best Turtledove books I've ever read - and Lord knows I've read a ton of them.

David Ware did one thing the Federacy Survey Service prohibited - he interfered. Just a little.
1,500 years later when the Survey Service returned, it discovered just what Ware's meddling had done.
And that's when the Chairman ordered the cover up. Reports destroyed, filed erased, 18 days (not 18 1/2 minutes) were 'lost' and then people began to be eliminated.

Written back in 1985, Turtledove took a bit of Star Trek (Prime Directive: no interference with the social development of a planet), a bit of Watergate (one nasty cover-up) and mixed in an immortal priestess.

And I believe he pulls it off in grand style.

It was a quick read; a fun read. I highly recommend it.

[Tad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story concept has stayed with me for decades, even though I had forgotten the author and title, because the core plot is compelling. A survey team with a noninterference rule breaks it to save a benevolent Bronze Age queen, accidentally granting her immortality and setting off centuries of consequences. That idea alone is strong enough that I still remembered it long after the details faded.

This book isn’t as broad or as complex as much of Turtledove’s other work, and I think that’s where a lot of the criticism comes from. If you go in expecting one of his big, sprawling alternate-history epics with a huge cast and elaborate subplots, this will feel comparatively small and straightforward. But taken on its own terms, it’s a good, easy read with a clear, focused plot.

Some of the character development isn’t what it could be, especially among the humans and side characters, but the book sensibly keeps its focus on the queen and the long-term results of that one well-intentioned intervention. Watching her grow in wisdom and power over the centuries, steering her world toward higher technology so she can someday seek out the mysterious visitors who changed her fate, is genuinely interesting.

I had actually forgotten about the cover-up part of the plot, and that’s where the book’s optimism runs into reality: good intentions, unintended consequences, and then the very human instinct to bury the mess. Even so, it was a fun read, and it has stuck with me enough that I’ve kept my copy while purging hundreds of other books from my shelves over the decades. The combination of a memorable central idea, a focus on consequences across time, and a surprisingly hopeful tone despite the compromises makes Noninterference an easy four-star book for me.

[gadabout · Rating 2 out of 5]

Classic pulp literature. Stunted dialogue and a frightening amount of sex that is never described or given purpose. It has its phrases and is built around a very interesting concept, but it ultimately isn't very memorable or timeless.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this sci-fi novel that followed in Star Trek's footsteps. The plot was exciting and interesting, the characters were good if a little cliched and the writing was quality. I will definitely be moving more of Turtledove's books up my TBR pile. 4/5 stars.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting early book by Turtledove. You can see the echoes of his later works. That being said the story was kind of choppy and very predictable.

[Michael Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first thing you’ll think of reading this very minor novel is “Prime Directive,” even though it has nothing to do with Star Trek. The Survey Service keeps an eye on pre-technological civilizations, with a strict hands-off policy, but a member of one team takes pity on the personable ruler of a Sumer-like culture and gives her something to cure her cancer. Unfortunately, when the next survey team comes back 1,500 years later, they find the queen is still alive and her kingdom is far ahead of where it reasonably ought to be. The Survey Service has political enemies who would like to see it shut down, and this is all the ammo they would need. And at that point, this turns into a lightweight version of a John Grisham chase story, with a bloodyminded bureaucrat committing mass murder to protect her budget. Speaking as a professional semi-bureaucrat myself, the author is way over the top on this one. I didn’t find it believable at all, not even on its own terms.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the first Turtledove book that I have read that is not alternate history, it is definitely the oldest of his books that I have read. I really enjoyed the the even if the cover image didn't make any sense until the end of the book.

I really liked the way the story was broken up into a sort of pre-prologue if you will, then a prologue, then the bulk of the book being the main story. The second section certainly caught me off guard, I didn't expect what I read at all based on the first part and that was a good thing.

The characterization was not bad although there wasn't really any world building to speak of. I was definitely more invested in the characters than the setting. For a good old fashioned sci-fi story with a bit of crime thriller thrown in I highly rcommend it.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noninterference is the first Harry Turtledove novel I've ever read, and I'm not sure in someways if it was the best place to start. The politics within the plot are things I've seen done to death and yet it was still very enjoyable. The characters definitely could have been more fleshed out, but I feel this more of a case where the event took the forefront over characterization. I found at times this book very difficult to read due to Turtledove's dense writing style, and it's certainly a harder form of science fiction than I'd enjoy. Still the political aspects of the story and how it flowed certainly engaging enough to complete, however I really don't know if this is a novel I could easily recommend to anyone.

[Lori Wilkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. I like the fact that Turtledove seems to really think his stories out. People may be more or less the same, regardless of the planet they're on, but he remembers that the physiology and culture will be a bit different. What works for us may not work for others.

[Nicholas]

I read it when I was a kid. I enjoyed it, and the experience of being put in the place of a visitor on an alien world. Don't recall much beyond that and the cover of the book, which stayed with me (for reasons I cannot identify.)

[Tome Addiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesteting tale of the unknown and unmeasurable impact of interfering with other cultures.
Harry Turtledove is a master of weaving a deeper message into a entertaining yarn of interesting characters, political cover up, and a twist ending.

[Jeff Crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some pretty good ideas here about what Star Trek calls the prime directive.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has all the usual Turtledove details one has come to expect with his alternate history stories. Basically a government conspiracy thriller told from both sides of the point in question.

[Brentman99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story that Turtledove does a great job of writing. I love the idea that one small error at one point in time can have such an impact later on. I enjoyed the book.

[Scott Gardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book

[Michael Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad. Sort of a Prime Directive/political thriller combination: the best kind!

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of short SiFi stories by one of my top 5 favorite writers. Highly reccommended