# Good parallel universe stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143 "2008-09-18T14:05:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/21 "2008-09-19T06:32:21Z")
[_Hominids_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominids_(novel)) by Robert J Sawyer. On a parallel Earth, _Homo neanderthalensis_ won out over _Homo sapiens_. As technologically advanced as we are – although they never developed agriculture – they’ve built an experimental quantum computer in the same nickel mine that the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory is located in our world. A glitch causes a rift between the two universes, and one of their researchers is suddenly in the middle of the heavy water tank of the the [detector](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sudbury_Neutrino_Observatory.artist_concept_of_detector.jpg). Neanderthal society is quite different than ours and it is a fascinating look at the contrasts. The other two stories of the Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, _Humans_ and _Hybrids_ are not as good. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/22 "2008-09-19T10:02:00Z")
Stephen Fry’s _Making History_ was a good read. It begins with the question of what would happen if you could prevent Hitler’s birth. If you’ve read Fry’s autobiography (_Moab is My Washpot_), I’m pretty sure the hedgehog incident is the inspiration for _Making History_’s denouement. And another vote for the _Lord Darcy_ books. ---
**Author:** ![First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/First_Amongst_Daves)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/23 "2008-09-19T10:20:36Z")
Thanks all. I will check out “He Walked Around the Horses” online: I’m actually familiar with the 1809 event from some unsolved mystery book or another I read as a teen. Not sure about the Lord Darcy books: magic annoys me. > [@LurkMeister](#): > > That would be his Worldwar tetralogy, which was then followed by his Colonization trilogy. > > Alternate histories are very popular, and I found a good source for information on them is [www.uchronia.net](http://www.uchronia.net), which has frequent updates on both fiction and nonfiction and lists of works by author and date of divergence. That’s excellent, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/24 "2008-09-19T11:09:13Z")
Two I’ve enjoyed fairly recently are _Cowboy Angels_ by **Paul McAuley** , which has government-controlled portals between various similar worlds, but it’s written as a thriller with shady organisations running black ops between the worlds… And _Resonance_ by **Chris Dolley**. A lowly office messenger is apparently an obsessive-compulsive; he believes if he doesn’t ‘maintain order’ through repitition that the world will change. Then he meets another person with a different psychological problem… It’s also fairly thriller-ish. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/25 "2008-09-19T13:05:19Z")
Obviously with a high level of fantasy involved there is the novel _Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell_ by Susanna Clarke. It’s set in a parallel version of Georgian England where there is magic (but not much) which has a fairly significant past to ours (yet, oddly enough, ends up mirroring our own version of Georgian England fairly closely). In a similar vein but written for a slightly younger audience (although I enjoyed them immensely) is the Bartimeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud - however that book is set in the modern day in a parallel world with magic/demons. I enjoyed the original 4 world war Turtledove books although the Colonization trilogy that came after was pretty poor in comparison, in my view. Also there is a little gem of a book I once read called _The Iron Dream_ by Norman Spinrad. It’s the fictional novel Adolph Hitler wrote in the parallel world where he didn’t go into politics and moved to America instead. The novel explores his Nazi and racial supremacist views in a sci-fi setting whilst in itself being in a world different to ours due to the absence of Fascism (with an interesting epilogue by the “editor” of the book). Finally the Northern Lights trilogy by Pullman is very much about parallel worlds too, the first book being set in one and the second and third dealing with a universe populated by them. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/26 "2008-09-19T13:31:01Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Another good choice is “The Coming of the Quantum Cats” by Fred Pohl Ugggh! I thought it was really good for about the first 3/4 of the book. Then it seemed like the author didn’t know where to go with it, pulled a _Deus ex Machina_, and collected his paycheck. Needs an alternate ending. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/27 "2008-09-19T14:26:39Z")
Another vote for _Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell_. Don’t be alarmed by the size of the book… the plot moves along quite swiftly and there’s a very engaging quality about the Victorian-style prose. And just because I can’t possibly recommend this book often enough, _The Yiddish Policemen’s Union_ by Michael Chabon is another great pick for alternate histories. It’s a classic noir detective novel set in an alternate universe where the Jews are driven out of Israel (errr… Palestine) in 1948 and settle down in Alaska instead. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/28 "2008-09-19T14:35:22Z")
Wow, we got this far and no-one mentioned S. M. Stirling’s _The Domination_. After the American revolution, loyalists shove off to South Africa and found a highly militaristic slave-owning society named after Francis Drake, for some reason. They play both ends against the middle in WW2 and come out of it ruling half the planet, and the final conflict between them and the Free World is played out in the third book. By this time they’re genetically engineering their next generation and also some useful near-human servants/soldiers, and also biologically brainwashing the rest of humanity to _like_ being their slaves. Chilling stuff, and the threat is of cross-universe contamination, with the Draka entertaining notions of muscling in on our reality. Apologies for any errors or omissions in this 5-cent summary, there are a few other posters hereabouts who are well able to chime in. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/29 "2008-09-19T14:53:24Z")
> [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](#): > > Robert Heinlein’s _“The Number of the Beast”_ has British/Russian antipathy from the Great Game continuing on Mars: American independence never evolved and Australia belongs to the French. Regrettably Heinlein never fully played this out: it was a very ancillary scene in the book. > > Any others anyone can recommend? S M Stirling is either loved or hated on this board but if you do like his style I’d strongly recommend _The Peshawar Lancers_. Set in the early 21st century in a world where a comet has hit the earth in 1878, destroying most of Europe and the East Coast of the USA (from a “nuclear winter” type change in the climate). The British government and a large chunk of the population migrated to India where a hybrid Anglo-Indian Raj remains the strongest power on the planet but is locked in a struggle with the evil minions of the Czar. With the destruction of Germany and the US - and without the impetus of two world wars - technology is significantly behind our universe. Generally the impact of the change is well thought through and, most of all, it’s a ripping yarn 😃 ps Just previewed and seen the mention of Stirling’s Draka books. Have to say, although a Stirling fan, I hated these. Found them thoroughly unpleasant. If you want an alternate universe series from Stirling go for the \*Island in the Sea of Time \*trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/30 "2008-09-19T15:38:54Z")
I second the WorldWar and the Colonization series, lots of fun. My all-time favorite (or should that be _alt-time favorite_, thanks, I’ll be here all week) has got to be [The Two Georges](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Georges) by science fiction author Harry Turtledove and Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss. I’ve read it about half a dozen times. A real ripping yarn. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/31 "2008-09-19T16:24:18Z")
There’s also the South African/Canadian TV series _Charlie Jade_. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/32 "2008-09-19T16:36:12Z")
Kieth Robert’s _Pavane_ is interesting, though some find it’s character driven stories a little slow. The Spanish Armada is victorious and the Reformation never happens, nor does the Scientific revolution. There’s a twist ending. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/33 "2008-09-19T16:49:29Z")
I’ve read some of the Turtledove tomes and I’d recommend skipping them. While his story’s set-ups and settings are brilliant, his writing and story-telling are both repetitive and lumbering. Glaciers move faster than his storylines and I think he got paid per word used. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/34 "2008-09-19T17:25:41Z")
> [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](#): > > Thanks all. I will check out “He Walked Around the Horses” online: I’m actually familiar with the 1809 event from some unsolved mystery book or another I read as a teen. > > Not sure about the Lord Darcy books: magic annoys me. > > That’s excellent, thanks. Minor point – Lord Darcy doesn’t exactly have _magic_. It is more like psionics. In this timeline a monk made discoveries in mind powers as significant as Newton’s insights into physics. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/35 "2008-09-19T17:26:01Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > I’ve read some of the Turtledove tomes and I’d recommend skipping them. While his story’s set-ups and settings are brilliant, his writing and story-telling are both repetitive and lumbering. Glaciers move faster than his storylines and I think he got paid per word used. Are you saying that Sam Cartsen needs sunscreen? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/36 "2008-09-19T17:35:30Z")
Just about every alternate-history novel or story ever written in or translated into English is listed [here.](http://www.uchronia.net/) ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/37 "2008-09-19T20:36:24Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > I’ve read some of the Turtledove tomes and I’d recommend skipping them. While his story’s set-ups and settings are brilliant, his writing and story-telling are both repetitive and lumbering. Glaciers move faster than his storylines and I think he got paid per word used. Thank you. Ugh. I don’t want to poop on the thread, but it takes an effort for me to keep quiet when people recommend Turtledove. I’ll go away now. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/38 "2008-09-19T20:47:57Z")
> [@MarcusF](#): > > S M Stirling is either loved or hated on this board but if you do like his style I’d strongly recommend _The Peshawar Lancers_. Set in the early 21st century in a world where a comet has hit the earth in 1878, destroying most of Europe and the East Coast of the USA (from a “nuclear winter” type change in the climate). The British government and a large chunk of the population migrated to India where a hybrid Anglo-Indian Raj remains the strongest power on the planet but is locked in a struggle with the evil minions of the Czar. > > With the destruction of Germany and the US - and without the impetus of two world wars - technology is significantly behind our universe. Generally the impact of the change is well thought through and, most of all, it’s a ripping yarn 😃 > > ps Just previewed and seen the mention of Stirling’s Draka books. Have to say, although a Stirling fan, I hated these. Found them thoroughly unpleasant. If you want an alternate universe series from Stirling go for the \*Island in the Sea of Time \*trilogy. Also good by Stirling is _Conquistador_, which posits a universe in which Alexander lived quite a long time. The alternate reality is discovered by a returned US soldier, and is accessed through a “gate” hidden in Oakland, CA. Preety good yarn, for a once-off. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/39 "2008-09-20T01:21:12Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Ugggh! I thought it was really good for about the first 3/4 of the book. Then it seemed like the author didn’t know where to go with it, pulled a _Deus ex Machina_, and collected his paycheck. > > Needs an alternate ending. 😉 True enough - the ending was pretty weak. ---
**Author:** ![Buran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Buran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buran)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143/40 "2008-09-20T09:16:50Z")
> [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](#): > > I then read a very disappointing novel involving the Cuban Missile Crisis, in which General Curtiss Le May launched a strike on Cuba and the USSR, in bare retaliation for which the USSR destroyed Washington Dc and Florida. The story slowly revolved around the idea of an “anschluss” with England. It was fragmented and badly written. I can’t even remember the title. > > I’ve since read _The Difference Engine_ by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson which entertaingly postulated the rise of computers in steampunk Victorian England. > > Robert Heinlein’s _“The Number of the Beast”_ has British/Russian antipathy from the Great Game continuing on Mars: American independence never evolved and Australia belongs to the French. Regrettably Heinlein never fully played this out: it was a very ancillary scene in the book. > > Any others anyone can recommend? I believe I’ve also read the novel you mention regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis going hot, unfortunately I’m not at home so I can’t check my bookshelf. I agree that it was weak in a lot of respects, especially towards the end, but it did have some memorable scenes. I’m thinking of the young man working in the office whose mind has been shattered by being part of a US bomber crew who vapourised a Russian city and the nice touches such as the protestors refusing to help clear up the radioactive debris still left behind after the war, “Hell no! We won’t glow!” ‘Hitler Victorious’ is a nice collection of short-stories concerning a Nazi victory in WW2, some are better than others and most are fantastical rather than realistic but worth reading for that. My favourite has the oddest premise, ‘Thor Meets Captain America’. I didn’t like ‘The Difference Engine’ at all but then I’m not much of a fan of steampunk and ‘Number of the Beast’ is one of the very very few books I’ve failed to finish after starting. It was the first Heinlein work I read and very nearly put me off trying the rest of his work. Larry Niven’s ‘All the Myriad Ways’ is a good short story, if one with a depressing conclusion. A slightly different twist on this topic are ‘future history’ books written some time ago, I find it interesting to see what people believed the future would hold. Its also strange to read a book set in the early 21st century and featuring the Soviet Union. I’ve actually just started ‘Apocalypse 2000’ BY Peter Jay and Michael Stewart, written in 1987 it depicts a global economic meltdown in the 1990’s. Lets just hope the authors didn’t simply get the decade wrong! ‘Total War 2006’ is definitely worth a read. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-parallel-universe-stories/464143.md?page=3)