The Road Not Taken

by Harry Turtledove

"The Road Not Taken" is a science fiction short story by American writer Harry Turtledove, in which he presents a fictitious account of a first encounter between humanity and an alien race, the Roxolani. It is a prequel to another Turtledove short story entitled "Herbig-Haro".
First published in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact magazine, November 1985 issue.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Literature

28 pages

First published November 1, 1985

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

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Great concept, not the biggest fan of the writing style but it was fun. Clever ending.

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, truly liked several of the stories in here. I read my way through it without looking at who the authors were though and then when I saw that some of it started to make sense. I mean, THE ROAD NOT TAKEN was great right out of the gate, first one in, and it was Harry Turtledove.

Then was THE EFFICIENCY EXPERT, another great one but this time I didn't know the guy, someone named W.R. Thompson. But then as soon as that's done you get SECOND HELPINGS which might have been my favorite, and it was by a young guy some people might recognize now, 36 years later, by the name of George R. R. Martin.

Can't recommend this particular edition enough.

[Matt Shepker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read this for The Road Not Taken by Harry Turtledove. Great story.

[mark propp · Rating 4 out of 5]

at first, i thought this was obvious & a bit silly even, but i was really won over by the last few pages, & ended up thinking it was a great read & even a bit profound.

[Neal Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun short read, I enjoyed the ideas posited and enjoyed the read in general. It’s free online and takes like half an hour to read, so hard to not recommend.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect size for the moral it was trying to teach and the story it was trying to tell. Turtledove did a lot with a short story.

[Pyro Avok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humanity Fuck Yeah before 4chan, tumblr, and reddit.

[Ernst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty funny.

[M4rk Nado · Rating 3 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed the premise of this story and really liked the Twilight Zone or Black Mirror vibe I got while reading it. My struggle was more with the actual writing. It’s a short story, but it felt choppy, and I couldn’t imagine reading a full novel written in the same style of dialogue and narration. That said, I’ve read it a couple of times and still enjoyed it. My enjoyment came from the concept and story, not necessarily the execution. Fantastic idea and overall story.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This particular novella describes the Roxalani "conquest" of Earth.
The viewpoint switches between the Roxalani and humans as the invaders come towards earth, and their landing at UCLA.

Description: Teddy Bears
Level of Technology: 1600's single-shot firearms

The invasion did not go well for the aliens.

[Mook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've run across this one before, but I'm only just adding it to my goodreads now. Interesting short piece about aliens coming to Earth and trying to conquer it.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Interesting sci fi short story. Not the best writing or plot but good enough to make you think.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quality short story on a fun premise!

[Patrick Sidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun and entertaining read... leads to a followup novel series that I am excited to start, Worldwar.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice short read with a twist on the usual alien invasion story.

[inkforge · Rating 2 out of 5]

read 'The Road Not Taken' by Harry Turtledove