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A Bit of Luck: Alternate Histories in Honor of Eric Flint
"Twenty SFF authors reimagine famous moments from history in this anthology of what might have been." —Publishers Weekly
History may be written by the victors, but it is not always written in stone. Often the difference between a win or a loss comes down to the smallest moment, the smallest shift. A bit of luck.
This anthology of twenty alternate history short stories revisits several of those pivotal moments and imagines what might have happened if things had gone just a little bit differently. The authors have drawn upon the whole timeline of history to tell stories of Scottish kings and Russian czars who lived instead of died, of wars whose outcome hinged on one person's single choice, and of inventions that might have changed the world.
The collection is filled with familiar figures—including Billy the Kid, Vlad Dracula, and Jack the Ripper—as well as stories exploring two very different fates of the Roman Empire. The anthology also includes an alternate history from the fictional world of The Great Gatsby. Some stories look at events that have not yet happened, and a few blur the meaning of time itself. History can be surprisingly malleable if we simply look at it in a new light.
A Bit of Luck is the ninth anthology edited by Lisa Mangum and published by WordFire Press. Profits support the Don Hodge Memorial Scholarship fund for the Superstars Writing Seminars.
"This anthology is a must for lovers of fast-paced short stories with a historical and fantastical bent." —Booklist
History may be written by the victors, but it is not always written in stone. Often the difference between a win or a loss comes down to the smallest moment, the smallest shift. A bit of luck.
This anthology of twenty alternate history short stories revisits several of those pivotal moments and imagines what might have happened if things had gone just a little bit differently. The authors have drawn upon the whole timeline of history to tell stories of Scottish kings and Russian czars who lived instead of died, of wars whose outcome hinged on one person's single choice, and of inventions that might have changed the world.
The collection is filled with familiar figures—including Billy the Kid, Vlad Dracula, and Jack the Ripper—as well as stories exploring two very different fates of the Roman Empire. The anthology also includes an alternate history from the fictional world of The Great Gatsby. Some stories look at events that have not yet happened, and a few blur the meaning of time itself. History can be surprisingly malleable if we simply look at it in a new light.
A Bit of Luck is the ninth anthology edited by Lisa Mangum and published by WordFire Press. Profits support the Don Hodge Memorial Scholarship fund for the Superstars Writing Seminars.
"This anthology is a must for lovers of fast-paced short stories with a historical and fantastical bent." —Booklist
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2024
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52 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Mangum
27 books897 followersLisa Mangum has loved and worked with books ever since elementary school, when she volunteered at the school library during recess. Her first paying job was shelving books at the Sandy Library. She worked for five years at Waldenbooks while she attended the University of Utah, graduating with honors with a degree in English. An avid reader of all genres, she has worked in the publishing department for Deseret Book since 1997.
Besides books, Lisa loves movies, sunsets, spending time with her family, trips to Disneyland, and vanilla ice cream topped with fresh raspberries. She lives in Taylorsville, Utah, with her husband, Tracy. She is the author of the Hourglass Door trilogy and After Hello.
Besides books, Lisa loves movies, sunsets, spending time with her family, trips to Disneyland, and vanilla ice cream topped with fresh raspberries. She lives in Taylorsville, Utah, with her husband, Tracy. She is the author of the Hourglass Door trilogy and After Hello.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 21, 2024
Those of you who have been reading my reviews for any length of time know that reviewing anthologies or collections is a challenge for me. I want to review, in detail, every piece of fiction
in a book, and that just can't happen. There are reviewers out there who are really good at it, and I do try to emulate them when I can. Imagine, if you will (with apologies to Rod Serling, I guess), me trying to review an anthology dedicated to the memory and works of an author I've never read in a subgenre that I've not paid much attention to.
Like I said, it's a challenge.
From a personal standpoint, I met Eric Flint several times at conventions. He was always pleasant to talk to, and I discovered along the way that he lived in the same town in which I was born.
That particular tidbit led to several minutes of conversation outside of a party one night at one convention or another. And, as I said, I've never read any of his work.
Probably the closest I've come (that I can remember) to reading alternate history is Michael Chabon's Hugo Award winning THE YIDDISH POLICEMAN'S UNION.
So why read this book? The premise - alternate histories where a bit of luck is involved - was interesting to me. Additionally, in order to be included in this volume the authors had to have
attended one of the Superstars of Writing Seminars. That implied, to me, that there was going to be a decent level of quality to the stories, and, for the most part, that was true.
As I've said before, not every story in an anthology is going to affect everyone the same way. And not all the stories will be of the same level of quality - however the reader defines quality. This volume is no exception.
Quite possibly my favorite story in the anthology is "G-Gals", by Kendrai Meeks, in large part because of the surprise (to me, anyway) ending. The titular G-Gals of the story are three women who take on jobs for...well, that would be telling...that are a bit unusual and daring. Membership in the G-Gals changes through time, and in the case of this story with this version of the team, they're having to deal with a former member who got a bit too interested and involved with one of the folks from a prior job that the G-Gals were assigned. It's an excellent, well-written story, and I honestly had absolutely no idea where it was going.
I'm something of a vampire fan (no, not the sparkly ones), but in particular I am enamored of the original DRACULA by Bram Stoker. "A Brother's Oath", by L. Briar, gives us the story of a young Vlad Dracula and his brother. The story is indeed one of brotherly and family love, and something that seems like betrayal but might not be. But what we do get is a narrative of how Vlad (whom we typically call The Impaler) becomes the monster of Stoker's novel. In the end, who was the lucky one? The reader can draw their own conclusions.
Continuing with the theme of the macabre, another favorite story of mine is "Out Of Habit", by Juliet Jones. It's the story of a nun who questions her vows to the sisterhood, not because she doesn't necessarily agree with them, but because she's hunting Jack the Ripper. Yep, you got it, a nun questioning her life choices while attempting to slay one of the most notorious mass murderers of the time. I really enjoyed this one.
An awesome, but particularly short story is "Collateral Loss", by Fulvio Gatti. It's another in a long line of stories dealing with President Kennedy's assassination. While I'm sure there are many stories out there that posit what would happen had Kennedy survived, I don't think there is one quite like this that supposes what the world *loses* if Kennedy lives.
Stace Johnson gives us "Rufus and the Wizard of Wireless" which inventor Rufus T. Owen of Central City Colorado, ends up collaborating with none other than Nikola Tesla on building a powered
submersible for the U.S. military. Owens will build the submersible itself, while Tesla will provide the power for it. The odd thing is that the experiment takes place in Colorado, where no one would expect anyone to be building such a device, so far away from any ocean. As there are two parties in the venture, one experiences bad luck, and the other experiences good luck. It's a nicely done story.
I could try to summarize each of the 20 stories, but I'd be here all night writing this review. Instead, I'll highlight a few more. How about a story involving the American Civil War and Baba
Yaga. You can read "Kutuzov At Gettysburg", by B. Daniel Blatt. Do you want a wild west story about Billy the Kid? There's "The Notorious Lawman Billy the Kid". How about a super secret
agency that fights magical creatures in the modern day but the whole thing is tied up in the King Arthur legend? Try "The Unnamed", by Gama Ray Martinez. A story about a woman named Sam
who finds a way to go back in time to try to save her best friend in high school, and upon succeeding she realizes that she's affected way more than she wanted to (as one does in time travel
stories)? Read "This Was Yur Life (Play It Again Sam)", by Mary Pletsch.
Kevin J. Anderson, of Word Fire Press (and famous for a bunch of other books, including the extended Dune Saga with Brian Herbert), the company which published this volume, caps the book off with the terrific "Entropy Ranch", about a secretive group of Christians who have decided to use their ability to see into the past and perform time travel to try to prevent people from experiencing
tragic events that they don't deserve, using the reasoning that Christians would use this power for good, to help people.
"A Bit of Luck" is a good collection of stories that doesn't require the reader to know anything about Eric Flint or alternate history. What it does require is a reader who is interested in
new and different takes on both fictional and non-fictional events, or even just a reader who wants to read good stories. I've listened to Eric Flint enough to know that he was interested in
telling good stories. The stories in this book definitely honor his name in that regard.
in a book, and that just can't happen. There are reviewers out there who are really good at it, and I do try to emulate them when I can. Imagine, if you will (with apologies to Rod Serling, I guess), me trying to review an anthology dedicated to the memory and works of an author I've never read in a subgenre that I've not paid much attention to.
Like I said, it's a challenge.
From a personal standpoint, I met Eric Flint several times at conventions. He was always pleasant to talk to, and I discovered along the way that he lived in the same town in which I was born.
That particular tidbit led to several minutes of conversation outside of a party one night at one convention or another. And, as I said, I've never read any of his work.
Probably the closest I've come (that I can remember) to reading alternate history is Michael Chabon's Hugo Award winning THE YIDDISH POLICEMAN'S UNION.
So why read this book? The premise - alternate histories where a bit of luck is involved - was interesting to me. Additionally, in order to be included in this volume the authors had to have
attended one of the Superstars of Writing Seminars. That implied, to me, that there was going to be a decent level of quality to the stories, and, for the most part, that was true.
As I've said before, not every story in an anthology is going to affect everyone the same way. And not all the stories will be of the same level of quality - however the reader defines quality. This volume is no exception.
Quite possibly my favorite story in the anthology is "G-Gals", by Kendrai Meeks, in large part because of the surprise (to me, anyway) ending. The titular G-Gals of the story are three women who take on jobs for...well, that would be telling...that are a bit unusual and daring. Membership in the G-Gals changes through time, and in the case of this story with this version of the team, they're having to deal with a former member who got a bit too interested and involved with one of the folks from a prior job that the G-Gals were assigned. It's an excellent, well-written story, and I honestly had absolutely no idea where it was going.
I'm something of a vampire fan (no, not the sparkly ones), but in particular I am enamored of the original DRACULA by Bram Stoker. "A Brother's Oath", by L. Briar, gives us the story of a young Vlad Dracula and his brother. The story is indeed one of brotherly and family love, and something that seems like betrayal but might not be. But what we do get is a narrative of how Vlad (whom we typically call The Impaler) becomes the monster of Stoker's novel. In the end, who was the lucky one? The reader can draw their own conclusions.
Continuing with the theme of the macabre, another favorite story of mine is "Out Of Habit", by Juliet Jones. It's the story of a nun who questions her vows to the sisterhood, not because she doesn't necessarily agree with them, but because she's hunting Jack the Ripper. Yep, you got it, a nun questioning her life choices while attempting to slay one of the most notorious mass murderers of the time. I really enjoyed this one.
An awesome, but particularly short story is "Collateral Loss", by Fulvio Gatti. It's another in a long line of stories dealing with President Kennedy's assassination. While I'm sure there are many stories out there that posit what would happen had Kennedy survived, I don't think there is one quite like this that supposes what the world *loses* if Kennedy lives.
Stace Johnson gives us "Rufus and the Wizard of Wireless" which inventor Rufus T. Owen of Central City Colorado, ends up collaborating with none other than Nikola Tesla on building a powered
submersible for the U.S. military. Owens will build the submersible itself, while Tesla will provide the power for it. The odd thing is that the experiment takes place in Colorado, where no one would expect anyone to be building such a device, so far away from any ocean. As there are two parties in the venture, one experiences bad luck, and the other experiences good luck. It's a nicely done story.
I could try to summarize each of the 20 stories, but I'd be here all night writing this review. Instead, I'll highlight a few more. How about a story involving the American Civil War and Baba
Yaga. You can read "Kutuzov At Gettysburg", by B. Daniel Blatt. Do you want a wild west story about Billy the Kid? There's "The Notorious Lawman Billy the Kid". How about a super secret
agency that fights magical creatures in the modern day but the whole thing is tied up in the King Arthur legend? Try "The Unnamed", by Gama Ray Martinez. A story about a woman named Sam
who finds a way to go back in time to try to save her best friend in high school, and upon succeeding she realizes that she's affected way more than she wanted to (as one does in time travel
stories)? Read "This Was Yur Life (Play It Again Sam)", by Mary Pletsch.
Kevin J. Anderson, of Word Fire Press (and famous for a bunch of other books, including the extended Dune Saga with Brian Herbert), the company which published this volume, caps the book off with the terrific "Entropy Ranch", about a secretive group of Christians who have decided to use their ability to see into the past and perform time travel to try to prevent people from experiencing
tragic events that they don't deserve, using the reasoning that Christians would use this power for good, to help people.
"A Bit of Luck" is a good collection of stories that doesn't require the reader to know anything about Eric Flint or alternate history. What it does require is a reader who is interested in
new and different takes on both fictional and non-fictional events, or even just a reader who wants to read good stories. I've listened to Eric Flint enough to know that he was interested in
telling good stories. The stories in this book definitely honor his name in that regard.
Want to read
August 16, 2025Free for KU subscribers. Just won the 2025 Sidewise Award, for L. Briar, “A Brother’s Oath”
July 5, 2024
The entries fulfilled the Alternate History theme well enough but in not a very interesting way.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews