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| Review Summary |
This anthology is a nice break from Turtledove's ultra-long novels and series'. It is a hard collection to categorize, because the stories cover a _lot_ of ground. Some are fantasy, some are science fiction, some are alternate historical, some don't fit easily into any of these categories. Some covers themes, such as baseball or Judaism (one amusing little story asks whether a genetically engineered cud-chewing pig would be kosher). Some are totally wacky, some are dead serious. This diversity is most definitely a good thing. The stories are of high quality, and make you think and smile at the same time.
Jeph Gord, Resident Scholar
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| Detailed literary breakdown of Departures: Stories of Alternate History |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book
- very upbeat
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story
Yes
Plotlets:
- exploring a wondrous planet or phenomena
- generally friendly contact with alien(s)
- surviving a post environmental/nuclear disaster
Spying & Investigations
Yes
What is main char. doing?
- spying/espionage in enemy territorry
- finding a killer (criminal)
Political power play
Yes
Repressive society story
Yes
Repressive because:
- kills without good reason
Tech./$$$/Info hunt
Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying
- info about lifeform(s)/society/phenomena
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's a slave/repressed?
- humans are slaves of other humans
Main Character
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Earth setting:
- 20th century
- general past
- near future (later in 21st century)
- medium future 22-24th century
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body:
- humans in a primitive/fantasy society
- neutral aliens
- primitive aliens
- very controlled society
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Planet outside solar system?
Yes
Not Earth, in Solar System?
Yes
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- a lot of techical jargon
How much dialogue?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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