Harry Turtledove 40212 224367553 2008-07-08T15:22:44Z Zombie Hunter Smurf 6154510 /* The Atlantis Series */ {{unreferenced|date=April 2008}} {{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] --> | name = Harry Turtledove | image = Harry Turtledove 2005.jpg | caption = Harry Turtledove at [[Worldcon]] 2005 in [[Glasgow]] | pseudonym = Dan Chernenko, Eric G. Iverson, Mark Gordian, H.N. Turteltaub | birthdate = {{Birth date and age|1949|6|14|mf=y}} | birthplace = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] | deathdate = | deathplace = | occupation = Novelist, short story author, essayist, historian | genre = [[Science fiction]], [[Fantasy]], [[Alternate history|Alternate History]], [[Historical fiction]], [[History]] | movement = [[Alternate history|Alternate History]], [[Science Fiction]] | notableworks = ''[[Timeline-191|Southern Victory]]'' | influences = [[L. Sprague de Camp]], [[Poul Anderson]] | influenced = | website = http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/turtledove }} '''Harry Norman Turtledove''' (born [[June 14]] [[1949]]) is an American historian and novelist who has written [[historical fiction]], [[fantasy]], and [[science fiction]] works. He is probably the best-known and most popular author of the genre of [[alternate history]]. ==Life== Turtledove was born in [[Los Angeles, California]]. After dropping out during his [[student#years|freshman year]] at [[Caltech]], he attended [[UCLA]], where he received a Ph.D. in [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] history in 1977. His [[dissertation]] was entitled ''The Immediate Successors of [[Justinian I|Justinian]]: A Study of the [[Iran|Persia]]n Problem and of Continuity and Change in Internal Secular Affairs in the Later [[Roman Empire]] During the Reigns of [[Justin II]] and [[Tiberius II Constantine]] ([[anno domini|AD]] 565–582)''. In 1979, Turtledove published his first two novels, ''[[Wereblood]]'' and ''[[Werenight]]'', under the [[pseudonym]] "Eric G. Iverson." Turtledove later explained that his editor at [[Belmont Tower]] did not think people would believe the author's real name was "Turtledove" and came up with something more [[Nordic countries|Nordic]]. He continued to use the "Iverson" name until 1985, when he published his "Herbig-Haro" and "And So to Bed" under his real name. Another early pseudonym was "Mark Gordian." Turtledove has recently begun publishing historical novels under the pseudonym "H.N. Turteltaub" (''Turteltaube'' means [[turtle dove]] in [[German language|German]]). He published three books as Dan Chernenko (the Scepter of Mercy series). Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Turtledove worked as a technical writer for the [[Los Angeles County]] Office of Education. In 1991, he left the LACOE and turned to writing full time. From 1986 to 1987, he served as the Treasurer for the [[SFWA|Science Fiction Writers of America]]. He has written several works in collaboration, including ''The Two Georges'' with [[Richard Dreyfuss]], ''Death in Vesunna'' with his first wife Elaine O'Byrne, ''Household Gods'' with [[Judith Tarr]], and others with [[Susan Shwartz]], [[S.M. Stirling]] and Kevin R. Sandes. He is married to mystery and SF writer [[Laura Frankos]]. His brother-in-law is fantasy author [[Steven Frankos]]. Turtledove won the [[Homer Award]] for Short Story in 1990 for "[[Designated Hitter (short story)|Designated Hitter]]," the [[John Esten Cooke Award]] for Southern Fiction in 1993 for ''[[The Guns of the South]]'', the [[Hugo Award]] for Novella in 1994 for "Down in the Bottomlands." "Must and Shall" was nominated for the 1996 [[Hugo Award]] for Best Novelette, the 1996 [[Nebula Award]] for Best Novelette and received an honorable mention for the 1995 [[Sidewise Award for Alternate History]]. ''[[The Two Georges]]'' also received an honorable mention for the 1995 Sidewise Award for Alternate History. The [[Worldwar]] series received a Sidewise Award for Alternate History Honorable Mention in 1996. In 1998, the novel ''[[How Few Remain]]'' won the [[Sidewise Award for Alternate History]]. He won his second Sidewise Award in 2003 for the novel ''[[Ruled Britannia]]''. On [[August 1]], [[1998]], Turtledove was named honorary [[Kentucky Colonel]] while Guest of Honor at Rivercon XXIII in [[Louisville, Kentucky]]. Turtledove served as the toastmaster for [[58th World Science Fiction Convention|Chicon 2000]], the 58th World Science Fiction Convention. He has three daughters: Alison, Rachel and Rebecca. == "The Master of Alternative History" == Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternative History". Within that genre he is known both for creating original [[Alternate history|alternative history]] scenarios such as survival of the [[Byzantine Empire]] or an [[alien invasion]] in the middle of the [[World War II|Second World War]] and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by many others, such as the victory of the South in the [[American Civil War]] and of [[Nazi Germany]] in the Second World War. A recurring theme in Turtledove's fiction is the realistic description of war from the point of view of ordinary soldiers. Turtledove's soldiers are usually depicted sympathetically, though far from uncritically — with the same character who perpetrated acts of appalling cruelty in one episode shown under different circumstances to be capable of compassion and generosity. The above is true also for soldiers fighting for the side which is the clear villain of the piece, such as [[Nazi Germany]] and its numerous [[alternate history]] and [[Fantasy]] analogues in Turtledove's fiction. His depiction of war often includes civilians whose life is affected as well as soldiers on the battlefield itself. Even manifest arch-villains, such as people involved in [[genocide]], are hardly ever cardboard villains in Turtledove's books. In some series the reader can follow, step by step from book to book, the slippery slope by which an originally decent character gets to the point of committing mass murder. In a passage of the "Darkness" series a character, going in disguise into the camp of his arch-enemies which he had hitherto known only as cruel oppressors, is surprised to see that among themselves they behave much as he and his friends behave, and observes that "no one is a villain in his own story" (which does not stop him from continuing to fight and kill them). This clearly seems to reflect Turtledove's own attitude. Turtledove's books are almost invariably written in the third person, and the omniscient author is always present to a degree more characteristic of 19th century literature than in most other contemporary works. Turtledove often goes to the trouble of explaining to the reader details of a historical, linguistic or technological theme which are relevant to the scene but are far from the viewpoint character's mind. (To cite a recent example, in chapter 18 of ''[[Drive to the East]]'', an infantry unit is forced to retreat in a hurry in danger of being surrounded and becoming exposed to [[enfilading]] fire — when above the din of battle Turtledove's professorial voice is suddenly heard remarking that "Taking enfilading fire is like [[Crossing the T|getting your T crossed]] in a [[naval]] battle...") Turtledove is also in the frequent habit of mildly criticizing his characters for exhibiting a prejudice and/or being taken in by propaganda, such criticism typically prefaced by the words "It did not cross his [or her] mind that..." When the characters' English dialogue is meant to represent another language, Turtledove makes an effort to give the flavour of the original — whether an actual language or an invented one. For example, French-speaking characters say "You have reason" — a literal translation of the French "''vous avez raison''" meaning "You are right". And in the "Darkness" series, Kaunian characters — speaking their language which is described as particularly precise — invariably address each other in every sentence of their conversation as "My Grandfather", "My Granddaughter " (or whatever else the relationship might be). In ''[[Between the Rivers]]'', this takes the form of many phrases repeated three times, as ofen happens in the poetry of the [[Sumer|Sumerian]] period which the setting emulates. Much of Turtledove's work consists of long series with multiple point of view characters, all going through the same major experience (mostly a big war), and whose parallel experiences and occasional meetings and clashes with each other serve to draw a wide canvas. A greater realism is achieved by Turtledove's habit of occasionally killing off a viewpoint character — sometimes a sympathetic one which the reader has gotten attached to. Deaths of such prominent protagonists sometimes occur in a meaningless accident or trivial skirmish (which often happens in a real war and in real life in general, but much less often in literature), abruptly and without warning in the middle of the book. A similar technique was used by [[John Brunner (novelist)|John Brunner]] in ''[[Stand on Zanzibar]]'' and outside the field of science fiction, by [[Herman Wouk]] in the novels ''[[The Winds of War]]'' and ''[[War and Remembrance]]'' and even earlier in [[John Dos Passos]]'s ''[[U.S.A. trilogy|U.S.A.]]'' Trilogy — considered the major work of that author. == List of Books and Series == === Elabon === * ''Wereblood'' (1979) — using Eric Iverson pseudonym * ''Werenight'' (1979) — using Eric Iverson pseudonym * ''Prince of the North'' (1994) * ''King of the North'' (1996) * ''Fox and Empire'' (1998) === The ''[[Videssos]]'' Books === Fantasy series about a world that is analogous to the [[Byzantine Empire]]. *The ''Videssos Cycle'' **''The Misplaced Legion'': One of [[Julius Caesar]]'s legions is transported to a world with magic. (1987) **''An Emperor for the Legion'' (1987) **''The Legion of Videssos'' (1987) **''The Swords of the Legion'' (1987) *The ''Tale of Krispos'' Series **''Krispos Rising'' (1991) **''Krispos of Videssos'' (1991) **''Krispos the Emperor'' (1994) *The ''Time of Troubles'' Series **''The Stolen Throne'' (1995) **''Hammer and Anvil'' (1996) **''The Thousand Cities'' (1997) **''Videssos Besieged'' (1998) *''The Bridge of the Separator'' (2005) === [[Tosev timeline|''Worldwar'' & ''Colonization'' Series]] === Sci-Fi/Alternate History — Aliens invade in the middle of World War II *''[[Worldwar]]'' Tetralogy **''[[Worldwar: In the Balance|In the Balance]]'' (1994) **''[[Worldwar: Tilting the Balance|Tilting the Balance]]'' (1995) **''[[Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance|Upsetting the Balance]]'' (1996) **''[[Worldwar: Striking the Balance|Striking the Balance]]'' (1996) *''[[Colonization (series)|Colonization]]'' Trilogy **''[[Colonization: Second Contact| Second Contact]]'' (1999) **''[[Colonization: Down to Earth| Down to Earth]]'' (2000) **''[[Colonization: Aftershocks| Aftershocks]]'' (2001) *''[[Homeward Bound (novel)|Homeward Bound]]'' (2004) === The ''Southern Victory'' or ''[[Timeline-191]]'' Series === [[Image:How Few Remain Front Cover.jpg|thumb|The cover of ''[[How Few Remain]]'', the first book in the [[Timeline-191]] series]] Alternate History — The South has won the [[American Civil War]]; this posits what would then happen over the next century. (The series consists of several smaller series and has no official title) *''[[How Few Remain]]'' (1997) *[[Great War (Harry Turtledove)|The ''Great War'']] [[Trilogy]] **''[[The Great War: American Front|American Front]]'' (1998) **''[[The Great War: Walk in Hell|Walk in Hell]]'' (1999) **''[[The Great War: Breakthroughs|Breakthroughs]]'' (2000) *[[American Empire (Harry Turtledove)|The ''American Empire'' Trilogy]] **''[[American Empire: Blood and Iron|Blood and Iron]]'' (2001) **''[[American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold|The Center Cannot Hold]]'' (2002) **''[[American Empire: The Victorious Opposition|The Victorious Opposition]]'' (2003) *[[Settling Accounts (Harry Turtledove)|The ''Settling Accounts'']] [[Tetralogy]] **''[[Settling Accounts: Return Engagement|Return Engagement]]'' (2004) **''[[Settling Accounts: Drive to the East|Drive to the East]]'' (2005) **''[[Settling Accounts: The Grapple|The Grapple]]'' (2006) **''[[Settling Accounts: In at the Death|In at the Death]]'' (2007) === ''[[Harry Turtledove's Darkness|Darkness]]'' Series === A fantasy series about a world war between nations using magic as weapons. Many of the plot elements are analogous to elements of [[World War II]], with countries and technologies that are comparable to the events of the real world, while the writing style is similar to his [[Timeline-191|''Southern Victory'']]. *''Into the Darkness'' (1999) *''Darkness Descending'' (2000) *''Through the Darkness'' (2001) *''Rulers of the Darkness'' (2002) *''Jaws of Darkness'' (2003) *''Out of the Darkness'' (2004) === ''War Between the Provinces'' Series === A reversed fantasy version of the [[American Civil War|US civil war]]. The industrial south is fighting the rural north over the blond serfs. <!-- Attention editors. The end of the above sentence should read 'over the blond serfs', not 'bond serfs'. It is not a typo. Please stop changing it to 'bond serfs'. Thank you --> *''Sentry Peak'' (2000) *''Marching Through Peachtree'' (2001) *''Advance and Retreat'' (2002) === ''[[Hellenic Traders]]'' Series === A historical fiction series about two cousins who are traveling merchants in the fourth century BC Mediterranean. The novels were written under the H.N. Turteltaub pseudonym. *''[[Over the Wine Dark Sea]]'' (2001) *''[[The Gryphon's Skull]]'' (2002) *''[[The Sacred Land]]'' (2003) *''[[Owls to Athens]]'' (2004) === ''[[Crosstime Traffic]]'' Series === This series is based on the premise that travel between parallel universes is possible. This is a series for young adults. Turtledove makes sure not to use any profanity or racial slurs in this series. *''Gunpowder Empire'' (2003) *''Curious Notions'' (2004) *''In High Places'' (2006) *''The Disunited States of America'' (2006) *''The Gladiator'' (2007) *''The Valley-Westside War'' (2008) === The ''Infamy'' Duology === Alternate History — The Japanese have gained the initiative in the Pacific War by invading and occupying Hawaii. *''[[Days of Infamy]]'' (2004) *''[[End of the Beginning]]'' (2005) === The ''Atlantis'' Series === An as yet unfinished trilogy of books which describes a world where the American eastern coast from the tip of [[Florida]] to [[New Brunswick]] breaks away from the mainland millions of years in the past and has an island [[biota]] similar to [[New Zealand]]'s. Discovered in 1453 and named [[Atlantis]], this eighth continent becomes a focal point in a gradually diverging timeline. At least two short stories, "Audubon in Atlantis" and "The Scarlet Band" have been set in this milieu. *''[[Opening Atlantis]]'' (2007) *''[[United States of Atlantis]]'' (2008) === The Gap === *''[[Beyond the Gap]]'' (2007) - Inhabitants of an [[Iron Age]] empire explore a land uncovered by a receding glacier *''[[Breath of God (novel)|Breath of God]]'' (2008) - continuation of the ''Beyond the Gap'', forthcoming in October 2008 === Stand-alone Books === *''[[Basil Argyros|Agent of Byzantium]]'' (1987) — Imperial Byzantine special agent Basil Argyros is sent on various missions in an alternate universe where [[Muhammad]] became a Christian saint. *''[[A Different Flesh]]'' (1988) — a related set of short stories spanning the 17th to 20th centuries set in a universe where the ancestors of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] never crossed into the [[New World]], only ''[[Homo erectus]]''. *''[[Noninterference (novel)|Noninterference]]'' (1988) — A human interstellar survey team violates a directive to avoid interference with alien civilizations, with disastrous long-term consequences. *''Kaleidoscope'' (1990) — short story collection *''[[A World of Difference (Harry Turtledove)|A World Of Difference]]'' (1990) — In this alternative history story, the 4th planet of our solar system is larger and named [[Minerva]] instead of [[Mars]]. The [[Viking]] space probe of the 1970s sends back one picture — that of an alien creature swinging a stick — before losing contact. A USA mission and a USSR mission are sent to explore the planet; these two missions start separately but later have to cooperate. *''Earthgrip'' (1991) *''[[The Guns of the South]]'' (1992) Sci-Fi/Alternate History — [[Confederate States of America|The Confederate Army]] is supplied with [[AK-47|AK-47's]] by early-21st century [[White supremacy|white supremacist]] [[South Africa]]n [[time travel|time-travelers]]. *''[[The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump]]'' (1993) — EPA agent David Fisher battles displaced magical powers in a very creative sorcerous equivalent to late-20th century Los Angeles. He follows the evidence to a toxic spell dump, where dangerous remnants of industrial sorcery are stored. *''Departures'' (1993) — short story collection *''[[Down in the Bottomlands]]'' (1993) — At the end of the [[Miocene]] period, the [[Mediterranean Sea]] [[Messinian Salinity Crisis|stays dry]] to the present day. The dry sea basin is a large canyon containing a national park, and the hero must race to stop villains from letting in the Atlantic and flooding the area. *''[[The Two Georges]]'' (1995) Alternate History/Mystery, co-authored with [[Richard Dreyfuss]] — Set in the year 1996 of an [[alternate timeline]] where the [[American Revolution]] was peacefully avoided. The painting that symbolizes the union between North America and Britain is stolen by terrorists, and officers of the Royal North American Mounted Police must find it before it is destroyed. *''[[Thessalonica (novel)|Thessalonica]]'' (1997) — Early Christians in the Greek city of [[Thessalonica]] deal with barbarian invaders on both a physical and metaphysical level. *''[[Between the Rivers]]'' (1998) — Taking place in an equivalent to ancient [[Mesopotamia]], city-states ruled by different gods fight for dominance. *''[[Justinian (novel)|Justinian]]'' (1998) — using H.N. Turteltaub pseudonym *''[[Household Gods]]'' (1999) — co-written with [[Judith Tarr]] Sci-Fi/Alternate History — A modern female lawyer finds herself in the [[Roman Empire]] of [[Marcus Aurelius]]. *''Counting Up, Counting Down'' (2002) — short story collection *''The Daimon'' (2002) - A novella included in the alternate history collection ''[[Worlds That Weren't]]''. It describes a world where the Greek philosopher Socrates aids the Athenian general Alkibiades in defeating the Spartans, allowing him to unite the city-states of ancient Greece and contemplate war on the Persian Empire. *''[[Ruled Britannia]]'' (2002) Alternate History — The [[Spanish Armada]] conquers England and forces [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] to write a play about [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]]. At the same time he is secretly writing a play for the English [[underground resistance]] about [[Boudica]]'s rebellion, with Boudica meant to be analogous to the imprisoned [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]]. *''[[In the Presence of Mine Enemies]]'' (2003) Alternate History — Follows the struggles of a family of [[Crypto-Judaism|secret Jews]] in [[Berlin]] two or three generations after a [[Nazism|Nazi]] victory in [[World War II]]. The events in the story follow a common theme of Turtledove's work, transplanting one set of historical events into another setting (the most prominent example being Timeline-191 moving European history onto the American continent). In this case, the decline of the Soviet Union in the 1990s is translated to the Third Reich in the 21st century. *''[[Conan of Venarium]]'' (2004) a [[Conan the Barbarian]] pastiche. *''[[Every Inch a King]]'' ([[ISFiC Press]]) (2005) An acrobat becomes king of a small country. Although set in a fantasy world, it is analogous to the real world, this time in the Balkans, between the first and second [[Balkan War]]. Shqiperi is modeled on [[Albania]], and the story itself is modeled on the story of [[Otto Witte]]. *''Fort Pillow'' (2006) - Historical retelling of the [[Fort Pillow|Battle of Fort Pillow]]. * ''[[The Man With the Iron Heart]]'' (2008) - Planned novel, dealing with a German [[insurgency]] at the end of WW2. == External links == * [http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/turtledove.html Official Harry Turtledove website]: A complete bibliography of Turtledove's work, including a list of his various series. * [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/videssos/ Official Turtledove YahooGroup] * [http://turtledove.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Turtlewiki] * [http://www.harry-turtledove.com Unofficial Harry Turtledove website] * [http://www.iblist.com/author.php?id=864 Harry Turtledove page on the Internet Book List] * {{isfdb name|id=Harry_Turtledove|name=Harry Turtledove}} * {{hour25|Harry Turtledove|http://www.hour25online.com/Hour25_Previous_Shows_2001-8.html#harry-turtledove_2001-08-29}} {{Harryturtledove}} <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{Persondata |NAME= Turtledove, Harry Norman |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Dan Chernenko, Eric G. Iverson, Mark Gordian, H.N. Turteltaub |SHORT DESCRIPTION= American novelist, short story author, essayist, historian |DATE OF BIRTH= [[June 14]], [[1949]] |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Turtledove, Harry}} [[Category:1949 births]] [[Category:Alternate history writers]] [[Category:American fantasy writers]] [[Category:American historical novelists]] [[Category:American science fiction writers]] [[Category:California writers]] [[Category:Conan the Barbarian writers]] [[Category:Hugo Award winning authors]] [[Category:Jewish American writers]] [[Category:Literary collaborators]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Sidewise Award winning authors]] [[Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni]] [[bg:Хари Търтълдоув]] [[de:Harry Turtledove]] [[es:Harry Turtledove]] [[fr:Harry Turtledove]] [[it:Harry Turtledove]] [[nl:Harry Turtledove]] [[ja:ハリイ・タートルダヴ]] [[nn:Harry Turtledove]] [[pl:Harry Turtledove]] [[ru:Тертлдав, Гарри]] [[fi:Harry Turtledove]] [[sv:Harry Turtledove]]