Down in the Bottomlands

by Harry Turtledove, Victor Bevine (Narrator)

In the Hereditary Tyranny of Tartesh, what was once a vast sea basin is now a dried-out, unforgiving desert. When the kingdom's enemies try to shake down the Barrier Mountains and let the ocean in, Trench Park tour guide Radnal vez Krobir must stop them or be destroyed along with everything he holds dear.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

5 pages, Audible Audio

First published January 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

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterful work, fully deserving of the Hugo Award for Best Novella it won in 1994. I thought I'd written it up, and I'll look for my notes. In the meanwhile, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_in... has the details. CAUTION: SPOILERS. There's a free copy online at https://web.archive.org/web/200702021...

For me this was a 4.5 star read, pretty near perfect. I'm planning a reread in the near future, and will come back to this then. I've read it at least twice so far. One of Turtledove's very best. Not to be missed!

[Gabriel Benitez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una entretenida novela de ciencia ficción que vale la pena leerse.
En un mundo donde los neanderthalensis no desaparecieron, y donde la cuenca del Mediterráneo nunca se inundó, Radnal gez, un biologo que hace de guía de turistas en las tierras del Fondo —o sea, en la cuenca vacía y desierta del Mediterráneo, a dos kilómetros bajo el nivel del mar— se encontrará en medio de una intriga internacional que amenaza no sólo al parque del Fondo y a sus visitantes, sino a la seguridad del mundo entero.
El relato perfecto para quienes nos gusta la geológia, pues prácticamente uno acaba formando parte de los turistas quienes vemos y oímos interesados como era el Mediterráneo 6 millones de años atrás, cuando África y Europa no estaban separados.
Muy buena.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-El argumento, visto de una u otra manera con anterioridad; el trasfondo, muy original en su momento y ahora.-

Género. Novela corta.

Lo que nos cuenta. El libro En las Tierras del Fondo (publicación original: Down in the Bottomlands, 1993) nos lleva hasta la Tiranía Hereditaria de Tartesh, en concreto al Parque Foso de las Tierras del Fondo, donde un grupo de turistas está a punto de iniciar una excursión. Su guía, un tarteshano Cejas Fuertes llamado Radnal gez Krobir, maneja con soltura al grupo de turistas, que incluye Cabezas Altas, hasta que tiene lugar un asesinato.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining short novel. Very well presented in Audible format. A bit stilted in some places, and a bunch of themes which could be more fully explored in another book (or a full-length novel), but it had a decent plot, clearly presented characters, and some cute riffs on modern society.

[Ender Rojas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Va rápido. Una ucronía con neandertales, un país en una especie de Atlantropa y un clímax con similitudes a la Guerra Fría y la amenaza nuclear.

[Daniel Máscolo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ganadora del premio Hugo....
Dios mio.
40 minutos de mi vida que nunca podré recuperar.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wished to enjoy this novella. I had spent a night previous reading on the Zanclean flood event, the filling of the Mediterranean Basin with ocean's water millions of years past, enamored with the possibilities of what may-have-been. Ignoring the "alternative-history as bunk" hammered into my head from years of schooling, I eagerly began reading thinking of the Minoans and the Greeks of the Aegean and the Romans which dominate consensus-historical thought. With no Mediterranean these civilizations would have no jug-handle to grip, and what of the Nile River? No delta, no Pharaohs, but surely there must be some grand waterfall descending into the deepest pit of the basin.

I loved the concept and months after reading still remember parts fondly. However, I do not remember how the story finished, how the plot found it's conclusion.

I suppose I just didn't enjoy the plot. I had expected a Tolkien-dense world but only read the flatness one finds on top a mesa. The characters spoke and acted like caricatures found today, far from what I had hoped to read.

[Eduardo Martínez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harry Turtledove, considerado el maestro de la ucronía, ganó en 1994 el premio Hugo a la mejor novela corta por esta historia de intriga política ambientada en una tierra alternativa tan exótica, como plausible. Un mundo donde el Mar Mediterráneo quedó aislado del Océano Atlántico durante el Mioceno, y el homo neanderthalensis jamás se extinguió, conviviendo con el homo sapiens.
Aprovechando este escenario tan particular Turtledove teje una narración breve en la que, con su estilo conciso y directo, consigue atrapar al lector de primera a última página, narrando una historia cercana al género de espionaje. Lectura agradable y más que recomendable para cualquier amante de la ciencia ficción.