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A Different Flesh
This novel by the New York Times–bestselling “master of alternate history” explores an America reshaped by a twist in prehistoric evolution (Publishers Weekly). What if mankind’s “missing link,” the apelike Homo erectus, had survived to dominate a North American continent where woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers still prowled, while the more advanced Homo sapiens built their civilizations elsewhere? Now imagine that the Europeans arriving in the New World had chanced on these primitive creatures and seized the opportunity to establish a hierarchy in which the sapiens were masters and the “sims” were their slaves. This is the premise that drives the incomparable Harry Turtledove’s A Different Flesh. The acclaimed Hugo Award winner creates an alternate America that spans three hundred years of invented history. From the Jamestown colonists’ desperate hunt for a human infant kidnapped by a local sim tribe, to a late-eighteenth-century contest between a newfangled steam-engine train and the popular hairy-elephant-pulled model, to the sim-rights activists’ daring 1988 rescue of an unfortunate biped named Matt who’s being used for animal experimentation, Turtledove turns our world inside out in a remarkable science fiction masterwork that explores what it truly means to be human.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 1988
133 people are currently reading
492 people want to read
About the author
Harry Turtledove
562 books1,953 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 47 reviews
July 27, 2021
I haven't read many alternative history books before. But I loved this one. The premise that the Homo Erectus had survived and lived along side us all this time. They were called "Sims" in this book and sadly wasn't treated as equals, but as Slaves. The book is made out of short stories and normally I don't enjoy that but this worked well for me. It was gripping, fascinating and I got so angry at the abuse the "Sims" got.
July 4, 2017
Reread July 2017 for my SF Group. Just as good the second time around!
A very thoughtful and well-thought-out book!
A Different Flesh is actually a linked series of stories about an alternate history in which homo erectus survived and peopled North America. Although each story stands on its own and can be enjoyed on that basis, they get increasingly sophisticated in exploring the philosophical issues involving treatment of a species that is not quite human. As ever, historian Turtledove also does a wonderful job imagining how the presence of the "sims" might change human history.
Some reviewers have complained that Turtledove does not come to a conclusion and treat this as a flaw. Unfortunately, issues like this rarely have simple, pat answers. It is to the author's credit that he portrays the problem convincingly but does not offer a solution that might make readers feel good until they realized that it just wasn't credible. Instead, he makes the reader think and make his or her own decision.
A very thoughtful and well-thought-out book!
A Different Flesh is actually a linked series of stories about an alternate history in which homo erectus survived and peopled North America. Although each story stands on its own and can be enjoyed on that basis, they get increasingly sophisticated in exploring the philosophical issues involving treatment of a species that is not quite human. As ever, historian Turtledove also does a wonderful job imagining how the presence of the "sims" might change human history.
Some reviewers have complained that Turtledove does not come to a conclusion and treat this as a flaw. Unfortunately, issues like this rarely have simple, pat answers. It is to the author's credit that he portrays the problem convincingly but does not offer a solution that might make readers feel good until they realized that it just wasn't credible. Instead, he makes the reader think and make his or her own decision.
November 21, 2015
Outstanding alternate history. In short stories Turtledove creates an alternative history populated by believable characters and events which also examine historic and current practices in our culture. The titular characters are Homo Erectus-like subhumans who inhabit the New World instead of the native humans actually found there. The altered natural and cultural impacts are explored.
Samuel Pepys is so well drawn that he was recognized, by one who’d read his diary, before revealed. His development of the transformational theory of life exemplifies ideas and technologies accelerated by the different conditions found in North America than in our timeline.
The reader is challenged (in a good way) to unravel Turtledove’s alternate names for North America cities and governmental titles. (Example, the Federated Commonwealths adopted Roman forms of governance and naming, resulting in Via LXVI.)
Having all critical plot points fall favorably gives the book a Mary Sue or Gary Stu quality. The short stories repeat much information because most were first published independently.
A more serious critique might be lodged against his uneven accelerated technology. For example, steam locomotives debut in 1782, but flintlock, smooth bore muskets are still used for hunting in 1812. Removing the flints render the muskets unusable. Percussion caps debuted in the 1820s. Of course, the acceleration would be uneven, but more accurate rifled muskets were used in late-seventeenth century hunting and warfare in North America.
Written in 1988, but reads better after thirty years than some contemporary alternate histories.
Well conceived and well written.
What makes us human?
Samuel Pepys is so well drawn that he was recognized, by one who’d read his diary, before revealed. His development of the transformational theory of life exemplifies ideas and technologies accelerated by the different conditions found in North America than in our timeline.
The reader is challenged (in a good way) to unravel Turtledove’s alternate names for North America cities and governmental titles. (Example, the Federated Commonwealths adopted Roman forms of governance and naming, resulting in Via LXVI.)
Having all critical plot points fall favorably gives the book a Mary Sue or Gary Stu quality. The short stories repeat much information because most were first published independently.
A more serious critique might be lodged against his uneven accelerated technology. For example, steam locomotives debut in 1782, but flintlock, smooth bore muskets are still used for hunting in 1812. Removing the flints render the muskets unusable. Percussion caps debuted in the 1820s. Of course, the acceleration would be uneven, but more accurate rifled muskets were used in late-seventeenth century hunting and warfare in North America.
Written in 1988, but reads better after thirty years than some contemporary alternate histories.
Well conceived and well written.
What makes us human?
January 22, 2013
This is one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read. This is not a single novel, but rather a series of short stories on a single theme. That theme is a species of primates discovered in America, which are just called, "Simps."
The first story begins with the English beginning to colonize America in the 1600's. Much to their suprise, they discover a species of ape which walks on it's two hind legs, covered with short hair, and is very gentle. It looks almost human, but does not speak, and cannot understand speech. Still they seem highly intelligent and some are soon trained to perform simple tasks around the camp. Soon the question is raised, "Are the Simps human, or animals?" And that is the question which is raised in each chapter. The development of this country closely parallels our own American, each chapter moving forward a century or so. And as society develops and changes, does their relationship to the Simps, into the 21st century, when mankind has learned the Simps can be taken into the house, and used as servants to perform simple chores.
This book stimulates your grey cells so much it is almost painful. What is a human, and what ultimately defines us?
The first story begins with the English beginning to colonize America in the 1600's. Much to their suprise, they discover a species of ape which walks on it's two hind legs, covered with short hair, and is very gentle. It looks almost human, but does not speak, and cannot understand speech. Still they seem highly intelligent and some are soon trained to perform simple tasks around the camp. Soon the question is raised, "Are the Simps human, or animals?" And that is the question which is raised in each chapter. The development of this country closely parallels our own American, each chapter moving forward a century or so. And as society develops and changes, does their relationship to the Simps, into the 21st century, when mankind has learned the Simps can be taken into the house, and used as servants to perform simple chores.
This book stimulates your grey cells so much it is almost painful. What is a human, and what ultimately defines us?
April 18, 2019
What an amazingly thought provoking interesting book. The story of an alternate America where those who landed at Jamestown in 1607 did not find Native American humans, but homo erectus, otherwise known as Sims. These hairy "sub-humans" have no power of speech, no chins and no foreheads. They communicate with grunts and hoots and use only sharpened rocks as weapons. In the subsequent short stories from 1610 to 1988, we learn about how the absence of Native Americans as we know them, and the presence of Sims drastically alters the USA we know in this world.
The book was written in 1988 and has some problems that we in 2019 would find possibly offensive. In this made up world, black slavery is outlawed a good 50 years earlier than it was in the real world. Steam engines also made an appearance about 50 years earlier. The USA is based on the Roman Republic with two censors instead of one president. In 1988, Sims are used as test subjects for AIDS cure experiments, being deliberately exposed to the virus first, something we would only allow in animals now, certainly not human beings, but are Sims human beings? That's the question the book wrestles with throughout.
The book was written in 1988 and has some problems that we in 2019 would find possibly offensive. In this made up world, black slavery is outlawed a good 50 years earlier than it was in the real world. Steam engines also made an appearance about 50 years earlier. The USA is based on the Roman Republic with two censors instead of one president. In 1988, Sims are used as test subjects for AIDS cure experiments, being deliberately exposed to the virus first, something we would only allow in animals now, certainly not human beings, but are Sims human beings? That's the question the book wrestles with throughout.
May 14, 2014
I enjoyed the book. The (individual) stories (chapters) were well put together, and showed a pattern of progress over time with regard to human rights and sim(homoerectus) rights. Slavery of blacks ended much earlier, and in a more peaceful way in the book, than in our history. The author implied that with another species of less intelligent humans around the differences in our races and cultures are not significant enough to allow people to justify slavery of other humans as long as occurred in our history. I think maybe that is a simplistic view of the issue, but maybe that was for the readers benefit to make the story less complicated. The only thing that really bothered me about the book, was they way each section was written like an independent story. At times reading it i felt like i was reading a group of short stories about the same topic. Im not really a short story person. There were attempts to try the characters together, but they felt added on as an after thought. Plus, I feel that the "hybrids" that are mentioned in several parts of the story should have been flushed out, almost nothing was explained about them. All that being said, i would recommend the book as a good read.
January 22, 2013
I started reading it. Very familiar...I had read this before. What hooked me again were the "cavemen" on the front cover. I've got a whole stack of about a dozen alternate history stories of Mr. Turtledove's under a table, waiting to be dove into. This one has Christopher Columbus and company finding prehistoric ancestors of humankind in the Americas, instead of the indigenous Native Americans that exist in our reality. Because of their lessor hunting skills, the Americas teem with prehistoric creatures like sabertooth tigers, wooly mammoths and giant armadillos. The book skips along in the 400 years between the 17th and 20th centuries. The Sims go from wild and free to slavery to....?
August 14, 2019
So the cover shown here on Goodreads is horrific! I prefer the 1988 cover (the edition I read) or the 2018 reissue cover. Just put your hand over this cover and focus on the words inside.
Inside are seven short to longish stories set out in a chronological fashion that tell an alternative history (what Turtledove is best known for) of humans from Europe encountering not humans in the Americas but another type of proto-humans the universe of this book calls "sims." I say proto-human because as we learn through the stories, interbreeding is possible though we never meet the results (disappointing).
Other than the last two stories, there does not seem to be a strong connection between the sims or the humans from one tale to the next. The collection primarily stays in the USA but there is a different type of government and culture though it is unclear why that would be so.
Three of the stories are set in the 17th century when the English are just forming colonies and encountering older types of animals that had not be hunted by other humans because no other humans were in the "new world." One story is set in the late 18th century and tells of the advent of an earlier than our time line train. Two stories are set not many years later in early 19th century. These stories were the best of the collection because it dug into both human and sim lives in more detail.
Then there was a big gap of time, 176 years, before the final story set in 1988, the year the edition I have came out. While that story was familiar to me from being a teen at that time, I was disappointed that there was such a gap. What else happened in this alternative USA? I want to know!
Inside are seven short to longish stories set out in a chronological fashion that tell an alternative history (what Turtledove is best known for) of humans from Europe encountering not humans in the Americas but another type of proto-humans the universe of this book calls "sims." I say proto-human because as we learn through the stories, interbreeding is possible though we never meet the results (disappointing).
Other than the last two stories, there does not seem to be a strong connection between the sims or the humans from one tale to the next. The collection primarily stays in the USA but there is a different type of government and culture though it is unclear why that would be so.
Three of the stories are set in the 17th century when the English are just forming colonies and encountering older types of animals that had not be hunted by other humans because no other humans were in the "new world." One story is set in the late 18th century and tells of the advent of an earlier than our time line train. Two stories are set not many years later in early 19th century. These stories were the best of the collection because it dug into both human and sim lives in more detail.
Then there was a big gap of time, 176 years, before the final story set in 1988, the year the edition I have came out. While that story was familiar to me from being a teen at that time, I was disappointed that there was such a gap. What else happened in this alternative USA? I want to know!
April 20, 2023
An addicting piece of speculative fiction (alternate history, I guess) composed of short stories that take place in different years. Each story could have been expanded into its own book but I was very glad for the multiple slivers. I was actually disappointed when it jumped from 1812 to 1988; I was really hoping to see how the sims fit into schemes of war or even technology (the 1988 segment I found very disappointing in that regard, although the concept of medical research was worth exploring). I'm very intrigued by the universe created here and I wish there was more to read.
I'm not going to go into any of the political issues as it's sort of characteristic of the genre, especially 35 years of social understanding later. I have to judge it at this point purely on entertainment value and on depth of the worldbuilding. The 'divergent' nature of the USA-ish country becomes more apparent as the chapters go on and I like that. There are a lot of interesting word choices, some pertaining to sci-fi (calling airplanes 'air wagons', and other generic nouns) and some that are so random ('shimpanses'????). And RIP to the megafauna, life seems more interesting with them in it! Anyways, this book was well worth the $2 I spent at the thrift store. I'd be interested in reading another Turtledove in the future!
I'm not going to go into any of the political issues as it's sort of characteristic of the genre, especially 35 years of social understanding later. I have to judge it at this point purely on entertainment value and on depth of the worldbuilding. The 'divergent' nature of the USA-ish country becomes more apparent as the chapters go on and I like that. There are a lot of interesting word choices, some pertaining to sci-fi (calling airplanes 'air wagons', and other generic nouns) and some that are so random ('shimpanses'????). And RIP to the megafauna, life seems more interesting with them in it! Anyways, this book was well worth the $2 I spent at the thrift store. I'd be interested in reading another Turtledove in the future!
March 19, 2019
I'm rounding up about half a star.
I found the idea behind this book intriguing -- and not only because I had thought of writing something not too unlike it. Harry Turtledove does a nice job of laying out the likely implications and results if Homo erectus rather than homo sapiens sapiens had crossed the land bridge from Europe to the Americas. The book ends in a rather inconclusive manner, which may mean that Turtledove hoped this book would become a series. That doesn't seem to have happened, to my mild regret.
The story covers several centuries, and thus has no characters present throughout, but several of the sections do give us plenty of time to get to know some sympathetic and interesting characters before they yield the stage.
I found the idea behind this book intriguing -- and not only because I had thought of writing something not too unlike it. Harry Turtledove does a nice job of laying out the likely implications and results if Homo erectus rather than homo sapiens sapiens had crossed the land bridge from Europe to the Americas. The book ends in a rather inconclusive manner, which may mean that Turtledove hoped this book would become a series. That doesn't seem to have happened, to my mild regret.
The story covers several centuries, and thus has no characters present throughout, but several of the sections do give us plenty of time to get to know some sympathetic and interesting characters before they yield the stage.
September 21, 2025
I really liked this book. The premise is that Homo Erectus, called "Sims" in the novel, survived in the western hemisphere. So when European explorers came to America they found bands of Sims instead of Native American Humans. The Sims are less intelligent than humans, but more intelligent than any species other than humans; intelligent enough to learn sign language and to pick up simple technology from the humans. The book is a series of stories covering the time periods from the time of European explorers until the late 20th century, and focuses on how humans and Sims interacted. Of course, the Sims were not treated well by the Europeans, and some of the chapters are poignant, but they are not depressing. Most of the characters are likeable, some heroic, and all act in ways that are realistic for their time period and circumstances.
June 4, 2021
Food for thought
Turtledove is among the best and this book is no exception. It’s more a series of loosely connected stories than a traditional science fiction or alternate history novel. The advantage is that in our busy times it is easier to read a chapter and put the book down, which both helps with time management and offers a space to contemplate. Each chapter (story) has food for thought and taken together they offer a rich discourse on human nature, human motivations and psychology, the power of perception, and what may (or may not) separate humans from other animals.
Turtledove is among the best and this book is no exception. It’s more a series of loosely connected stories than a traditional science fiction or alternate history novel. The advantage is that in our busy times it is easier to read a chapter and put the book down, which both helps with time management and offers a space to contemplate. Each chapter (story) has food for thought and taken together they offer a rich discourse on human nature, human motivations and psychology, the power of perception, and what may (or may not) separate humans from other animals.
June 25, 2018
The concept was fascinating, but Turtledove had too many POD’s, which made the story less impactful. I cannot imagine that the central POD would cause so many changes in the timeline. A Federation of Commonwealths modeled on Ancient Rome?! That’s another book! I also wish he had tied the sections together more clearly. An incidental character in chapter 2 is a descendent of a central character in chapter 1. But then that storyline disappears. Having said that, i think several of the chapters were quite good and it was an easy one-day read. But it could have been better.
June 13, 2019
Turtledove does something a bit different in this book, but it works out really well. "A Different Flesh" explores the concept of North America being populated not by the Native Americans, but rather, The Sims. Another hominid species that didn't die out. Any one of the stories in this anthology could become a novel in and of itself, from the exploration of the slave who at least consoles himself that he's better than a Sim, to the use of Sims in HIV and AIDS research (much to the consternation of the Sims Rights Movement).
June 9, 2020
An alternate history with an interesting premise. The land bridge between Asia and North America occurred earlier, and it was crossed by Homo Erectus. It then submerged. Modern man evolved in the Old World, but in the new world, Homo Erectus survived. Not having the hunting skills of modern man, mammoths, sabertooth tigers, and other large mammals remained in the New World. The book is about the settling of what we call the United States, the story being told in short stories that combine to tell the history of man and sims.
December 5, 2018
This is an alternative universe novel which examines the question, "What makes a human?" and how do we think about other humans.
I loved this book which imagined that when the Americas were discovered the natives were not Indians, but were Neanderthals. The stories were related, but also stand alone as the country evolved.
Read it. Think about it. How does this relate to race in the real world?
Loved this book.
I loved this book which imagined that when the Americas were discovered the natives were not Indians, but were Neanderthals. The stories were related, but also stand alone as the country evolved.
Read it. Think about it. How does this relate to race in the real world?
Loved this book.
April 23, 2025
3.25 Hard to judge an old book that deals with "race" and what it means to be human, especially when it is based on faulty theories like the overkill hypothesis. But Turtledove treats his subject with care. The ones who are no judged kindly are the humans and even they are hard-pressed. Homo erectus is different after all. The anthology wasn't improved by the fact that the stories were first published separately, but it's still an interesting read.
August 3, 2020
The first five chapters were great, but then it got unnecessarily vulgar and raunchy. The style, content, and language were different enough that I wonder if someone else wrote chapter 6, and I didn't even finish chapter 7. I won't read anymore of Turtledove's works, but I might read some more alternate history because that part was really fun.
January 31, 2021
A fascinating alternate history book from Harry which postulates that N America was populated by Neanderthals and that sabretooth tigers and mammoths roamed the land. In a series of connected stories Harry imagines what life would have been like through 300 years of history from the Jamestown colonists through to the present day. Thought provoking and irresistible.
September 19, 2017
Very alternative
As usual many twists that make you think and go hmmmm. Great writing as usual. Different vignettes in different periods same problems different cast of characters. Very well written.
As usual many twists that make you think and go hmmmm. Great writing as usual. Different vignettes in different periods same problems different cast of characters. Very well written.
May 29, 2018
What if Homo Erectus had made it to the New World in their time and Homo sapiens didn't when the ancestors of our "American Indians" came over, so the Europeans that crossed the Atlantic met up with Homo Erectus. Cute.
October 14, 2018
What if... when Europeans arrived in the Americas, they found a land populated by a different species of human? Australopithecus for example?
This made me think... which is a very good recommendation.
This made me think... which is a very good recommendation.
January 11, 2020
The “what if” nature of the premise is fascinating. The way the author explores the idea through his short stories are well done. Tying them together through family trees is a clever idea.
The book ends on an unhappy ending, which I, personally, didn’t enjoy, but I know that’s a matter of taste.
The book ends on an unhappy ending, which I, personally, didn’t enjoy, but I know that’s a matter of taste.
June 7, 2024
Interesting twist that could been
An interesting twist on how it might have been if any of our precursors had not died out but had been still around in the world. Too bad it ended without humanity reaching where DNA would have eventually shown they were
Humanity's beginnings
An interesting twist on how it might have been if any of our precursors had not died out but had been still around in the world. Too bad it ended without humanity reaching where DNA would have eventually shown they were
Humanity's beginnings
December 22, 2024
Turtledove scrive fantastoria, o storia alternativa. Cosa sarebbe successo se gli europei, arrivando in America, Non avessero trovato gli indiani ma degli scimmioni molto intelligenti? Avventura e fantasia ma anche etica e alcune domande un po' disturbanti
March 23, 2018
An interesting and thought provoking concept. Story was OK.
I have read dozens of Turtledove's books and though the basis of the storyline was intriguing, the story was just average.
I have read dozens of Turtledove's books and though the basis of the storyline was intriguing, the story was just average.
December 30, 2018
Classic Turtledove. The evolutionary implications of the sims will make your head spin.
January 16, 2019
will review at www.fantasyliterature.com
May 16, 2019
Surprising take on ....immigration? civil rights? Thought provoking, if very weird.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews