"Great alternate history anthology"
This is a terrific alternate history anthology that
centers on taking a pivotal moment in the life of an
influential individual from the past and showing his or
her (yes females can prove critical too especially outside
the west) fragility of the time stream with a minor twist
or two. The key players are a wide grouping from Philip
of Macedonia to John Wayne, LBJ and Mao and many major
points in between. The stories are well written, but what
grips the audience is how easily history could have been
different if some mostly minor event (and some critical
real happenings) never occurred as we know it. This 'what
if' drill works cleverly and brilliantly as the audience
will ponder similar happenings involving diverse crowd
from JFK to Hitler to Alexander. Think if Philip failed
to unite Macedonia where does that leave Alexander or if
Hitler had no air war over England how would he plan his
invasion? The key to this collection written by some of the leading
science fiction lights of today is that the tales take the
audience down one speculative path but leaves readers
wondering about other possibilities. Perhaps editor Pamela
Sargent should consider a contest for many readers will
have their own ideas for Conqueror Fantastic II after this
fantastic compilation. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted March 10, 2004
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