Bring the Jubilee (Millennium Fantasy Masterworks S.) - Ward Moore

A good alternative history

If you like reading about late 19th century America (in the style of the age) then you will like this book. It is not really science fiction, more of an alternative history that has a story woven into it. It probably appeals to American readers more for that reason.
I enjoyed it, but if you are after SciFi this may disappoint.
However, if you liked Huckelberry Finn you may like this - the story line is kind of similar (a young man's journey).

Interesting? Yes. Masterpiece? No.

This is an alternate history of a U.S. where the South won the Civil War and the North is its vassal/client-state-which results in the industrial revolution never occurring. Set in the 1930s to 1950s, the story follows a young boy growing up in rural Pennsylvania who moves to New York (which is still "the big city") where he does a little growing up. Unfortunately, too much time is spent in his head, and not enough detailing the alternate world around him. He becomes a autodidact Civil War scholar and eventually is accepted in a sort of academic commune. Moore concentrates a bit too much on showing how things might have been, and pounding the fickleness of history into the reader's head, at the expense of a decent story. It's somewhat interesting to see how the hero develops, but he's kind of frustrating character, and in the end you know what he's going to do. The book is OK, but not as special as it's made out to be.

Heavy on words, low on action

I always enjoy reading the 'What If?' scenarios of alternative histories, and this book eventually proved to be no exception, although it was a close call. The pace is very calm and slow, and at the end of the day, nothing much takes place, beyond the discussion of a few philosophical points about reality and destiny. This book is not for you if you want to read about events, rather than theories.

My only big complaint is that the author hasn't done much to flesh out the alternative routes his world has taken. A brief mention of a talented captain called 'Eisenhower' is about as much as we get - I would have liked to read more along these lines, if only for the novelty value of recognising familiar objects in an alien setting.

An interesting foray into the world of alternative history, but by no means the best.

slight but good

this is one of the better alternate history stories that i have read but the problem with all of these stories is the seemingly unstoppable desire to show how this alternate history is created. to be sure it is an engaging book and perhaps i have just read too much but the ending was oh so obvious.

but it was a good if quick read, in my opinion not as good as dick's 'man in the high castle' but better then robert's 'pavane' cos at least i understood the ending of this one! defintely deserving of the rather backhanded compliment on the inside cover of "...minor classic". to me that's about right.

A true SF Masterwork

While this story takes place during the American civil war, its message is universal. And like other great SF alt-histories(Man in the High Castle, Anibus Gates) this story is timeless. Imagine you could change the present by changing the past? What implications would you bring about? Would you really change things for the better? I can't reccomend this book highly enough...

A good alternative history

If you like reading about late 19th century America (in the style of the age) then you will like this book. It is not really science fiction, more of an alternative history that has a story woven into it. It probably appeals to American readers more for that reason.
I enjoyed it, but if you are after SciFi this may disappoint.
However, if you liked Huckelberry Finn you may like this - the story line is kind of similar (a young man's journey).

Interesting? Yes. Masterpiece? No.

This is an alternate history of a U.S. where the South won the Civil War and the North is its vassal/client-state-which results in the industrial revolution never occurring. Set in the 1930s to 1950s, the story follows a young boy growing up in rural Pennsylvania who moves to New York (which is still "the big city") where he does a little growing up. Unfortunately, too much time is spent in his head, and not enough detailing the alternate world around him. He becomes a autodidact Civil War scholar and eventually is accepted in a sort of academic commune. Moore concentrates a bit too much on showing how things might have been, and pounding the fickleness of history into the reader's head, at the expense of a decent story. It's somewhat interesting to see how the hero develops, but he's kind of frustrating character, and in the end you know what he's going to do. The book is OK, but not as special as it's made out to be.

Heavy on words, low on action

I always enjoy reading the 'What If?' scenarios of alternative histories, and this book eventually proved to be no exception, although it was a close call. The pace is very calm and slow, and at the end of the day, nothing much takes place, beyond the discussion of a few philosophical points about reality and destiny. This book is not for you if you want to read about events, rather than theories.

My only big complaint is that the author hasn't done much to flesh out the alternative routes his world has taken. A brief mention of a talented captain called 'Eisenhower' is about as much as we get - I would have liked to read more along these lines, if only for the novelty value of recognising familiar objects in an alien setting.

An interesting foray into the world of alternative history, but by no means the best.

slight but good

this is one of the better alternate history stories that i have read but the problem with all of these stories is the seemingly unstoppable desire to show how this alternate history is created. to be sure it is an engaging book and perhaps i have just read too much but the ending was oh so obvious.

but it was a good if quick read, in my opinion not as good as dick's 'man in the high castle' but better then robert's 'pavane' cos at least i understood the ending of this one! defintely deserving of the rather backhanded compliment on the inside cover of "...minor classic". to me that's about right.

A true SF Masterwork

While this story takes place during the American civil war, its message is universal. And like other great SF alt-histories(Man in the High Castle, Anibus Gates) this story is timeless. Imagine you could change the present by changing the past? What implications would you bring about? Would you really change things for the better? I can't reccomend this book highly enough...