I've discussed this before, but a plenty of times I really want to listen to a book, but it just won't be available for various reasons. Of course, over the years, my patience has been rewarded in some very big ways. Case in point, the book we're going to be reviewing today. We're going to be taking a look at

by Harry Turtledove.









A Different Flesh is a collection of short stories set in the same universe. In the world of A Different Flesh, the ancestors of the Native Americans never crossed the Bering land bridge during the Ice Age. However, Homo Erectus did cross into the Americas. Thus, when the Europeans discover the Americas, they don't find any Native American civilizations, but they do find tribes of Homo Erectus, whom they refer to as sims. Also, the Ice Age megafauna of the Americas never went extinct, so the Europeans also discover a land full of woolly mammoths, sabertooth cats, giant ground sloths, and giant armadillos among other things. is a collection of short stories set in the same universe. In the world of, the ancestors of the Native Americans never crossed the Bering land bridge during the Ice Age. However, Homo Erectus did cross into the Americas. Thus, when the Europeans discover the Americas, they don't find any Native American civilizations, but they do find tribes of Homo Erectus, whom they refer to as sims. Also, the Ice Age megafauna of the Americas never went extinct, so the Europeans also discover a land full of woolly mammoths, sabertooth cats, giant ground sloths, and giant armadillos among other things.





The stories follow the history of the Federated Commonwealths of America, this world's equivalent of the United States of America. Before the start of each story, the mood is set with an excerpt from a book about the history of the FCA. It also provides great details about the history of this world that don't quite make it into the stories. The excerpts also chronicle the relationship between humans and sims.





We're going to take a look at each of the stories individually, but I'm going to give some overall thoughts first. Well, I can most certainly say that this book was well worth the wait. Harry Turtledove says that he got the idea for this series when he read an article by the late great paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould. Gould pondered what might have happened if John Smith and the Jamestown colonists had discovered Australopithecus rather than Native Americans in Virginia. Gould concluded that it would not have ended well for Australopithecus. Turtledove certainly seems to have come to the same conclusion. One thing I think he did well was that, though he wrote the sims as sympathetic, he never made them too anthropomorphized. You can definitely see similarities between humans and sims, as is to be expected, but at the same time sims clearly act and think differently than humans.





The first story is called "Vilest Beast" and is set in Jamestown, Virginia in the year 1610. Without the Native Americans and their corn, the colonists are having an even hard time than they did in our world. Despite this, Edward Wingfield and his wife Anne are making the best of things. Things change when their infant daughter Joanna is kidnapped by a tribe of sims. Edward must lead a search party to get her back.





Given what inspired these stories, it's fitting that the first should take place in Jamestown. Speaking which, we learn how things went with John Smith and the Sims. It ended badly...for John Smith. Apparently, the sims killed him in 1607, and his death was a considerable blow to the moral of the colony. Overall, I would say the way Turtledove portrays the sims still holds up based on what we know about Homo Erectus. There's never called Homo Erectus in any of the stories, but Turtledove has confirmed this is the case in interviews. Also, the excerpt from the text book mentions that sim fossils have been discovered in East Africa, South China, and the island of Java. All of which are places Homo Erectus fossils have been found.





A Different Flesh being published in 1988. I'm guessing it was intended to be short for simians, or something like that. It might come across as a bit silly that they're called sims, but how was Turtledove to know that there would one day be a video game called The Sims? These stories were written between 1985-1988, withbeing published in 1988. I'm guessing it was intended to be short for simians, or something like that.





Also, fun fact, Edward Wingfield was a real person who existed in our world. I've got to admit, this story hooked me from the start. I've always been fascinated by the colonization of the Americas, especially the different ways it often plays out in alternate history. I'm also a big paleontology fan, so this story was kind of a match made in heaven. Really, the whole book was kind of like that. I found it realistic that the colonist struggled more without corn to supplement their diets. It can't be stressed enough what a difference corn made to the early colonization of the Americas. Curiously, later stories make mention of a colony in Massachusetts, which is called Plymouth in this world because Massachusetts got its name from the Native Americans. Obviously, this means the Pilgrims still happened, but without any corn they would have been completely screwed.





Anyway, I loved how the story resolves. Turns out the sims took Joanna because they wanted to learn more about the colonists by studying one of their young. By all accounts, the sims treated Joanna no differently than one of their own young. Edward spends most of the story viewing the sims as nothing more than wild animals, but after this, he starts to realize they aren't so different. He even briefly worries about what's going to happen to the sims as the European continue to colonize the New World. All in all, "Vilest Beast" is a great start to the collection.





A Different Flesh, however, Pepys' diary holds a different significance. He notes that there is a clear link between chimps, Sims and humans. He wonders if there's some process that slowly changes life over time. The next story is called "And So To Bed". It is set in 1661 and is told in the form of the diary of Samuel Pepys. He's a figure from our world, a great English statesman, and the Pepys of our world is indeed famous for his diary. In the world of, however, Pepys' diary holds a different significance. He notes that there is a clear link between chimps, Sims and humans. He wonders if there's some process that slowly changes life over time.





This was one of the weaker stories, but it has some interesting ideas. It makes sense that the Theory of Evolution was developed earlier. Sims are an obvious link between humans and animals. It was also fun to learn about a historical figure I'd never heard of before. Well, anyway, moving right along.





The third story is titled "Around the Salt Lick". It takes place in the year 1691 and follows a scout named Thomas Kenton and his loyal sim companion Charles. Thomas is hunting spearfang cats for their valuable fangs. Spearfang cats have gotten a bit rare in Virginia, so Thomas and Charles have had to push into the frontier to find the bounty. However, things get a bit complicated when they come into conflict with a tribe of wild sims.





This one was maybe not my favorite, but not too bad either. I did find it funny at the end where Charles turns out to be snobby towards wild sims. He views them much the same as humans do. We learn that sims can communicate via sign language, but not vocal speech. The excerpt from the history book provides more worldbuilding hints. Apparently, England adopted the Divine Right of Kings model of government. People who objected to this moved to America in droves. This would suggest that the English Civil War never happened in this world. Well, that or maybe the Royalist won. Also, apparently Spain had a much harder time colonizing the New World without the Aztec and Inca to conquer. By the time of "Around the Salt Lick" they've only got two successful colonies: Argentina and New Grenada.





Argentina makes sense, because it has a fairly European climate, but New Grenada? That was in Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador in our world. Unless it was somewhere else, that makes a bit less sense, especially since it is said Spain struggled to colonize the tropics without any corn. Also, without Aztec and Incan gold and silver, Spain would have a harder time financing their wars in Europe. That would potentially mean the European History took some very different turns. Of course, that might explain what happened in England. Turtledove is mostly focused on stories about the sims, but he's certainly lead tantalizing hints at a wider world.





The fourth story is titled "The Iron Elephant" and is set in 1782. Hairy elephants play a major role in the Federated Commonwealths of America. They haul passenger carriages and freight cars all across the nation. However, this time-honored institution is facing competition from the new invention of steam-powered locomotives. A race has been organized between a team of mammoth drivers and a train engineer. Can flesh and blood triumph over iron and steam?





Yeah, this one is sort of an alternate history retelling of the legend of John Henry. John Henry is my favorite American Folk Hero, so I'm not complaining. We get even more worldbuilding here. Apparently, in order to tame the wooly mammoths, America started importing elephant trainers from India. The protagonist of the story, Premier Chand, is descended from these. Also, the Federated Commonwealths got their independence in 1732, so the American Revolution happened earlier. This story appear to be set in Illinois based on mention of Cairo (pronounced Kay-Roe) and the New Nile is obviously the Mississippi River. Again, no Native Americans, so it isn't called Illinois. I guess that means Chicago, if it exists, is named something else as well. It's kind of amazing how many places in America get their names from the Native Americans.





A Different Flesh. As fascinating as the world of A Different Flesh is, not sure I'd wanted to live there. True, I'd get to see all sorts of Ice Age animals, but it would be a poorer world without the richness of Native American culture. Also, I have a small amount of Native American ancestry, so I would not exist in the world of





It's interesting that this story features sims the least of all the stories in the collection. Oh, but they're not absent from this story. The sims appear towards the end of the story, and they're are the ones who get the last laugh in the big race. Without giving too much away, I can say it shows that sims are smarter than they are given credit for. "The Iron Elephant" is another great story in the collection.





The fifth story is titled "Though Heavens Fall" and takes places in 1804. From the textbook excerpt we learn that Americans used sims as laborers on plantations and farms. This blunted the Transatlantic Slave Trade to a large extent, but didn't completely prevent it. Africans were brought to America as slaves, but most of them wound up as house slaves. Sims make terrible housekeepers, apparently. The story follows a slave named Jeremiah. He's got a pretty good life on the Gillen plantation in Virginia. Still, he dreams of the day he saves up enough money to buy his freedom. Unfortunately, the sims have recently come down with an illness, and Jeremiah gets sends to the fields to supplement the work force. After a day of hard labor he decides to make a run for it try his luck in Portsmouth, Virginia. He takes up residence with lawyer Alfred Douglas, and together they set out to put the institution of slavery on trial. The outcome of the trail will impact not just Jeremiah, but Black Americans as a whole.





I think this was possibly my favorite story of the bunch. Well, "Vilest Beast" was pretty good too, but it is tied with "Though Heavens Fall". I think the way slavery was depicted made sense. Slavery has existed as far back as Ancient Mesopotamia, and I don't think sims would completely element it. The Greeks and Romans believed in human-like creatures such satyrs, cyclopes, and centaurs, yet they still had slavery. Still, as is noted in the story, people would have to recognize that a white person has far more in common with a black person than with a sim.





Even before the trails you can kind of see that the characters have kind of figured this out. Mr. Gillen treats Jeremiah almost like an employee rather than a slave, and seems almost apologetic when he has to send Jeremiah to the fields. Still, the overseer makes it clear that he has nothing but contempt for Jeremiah, and black people as a whole. Moreover, Jeremiah is under no delusions that he is anything other than a slave. On the flip side, I enjoyed how Jeremiah and Alfred's relationship developed. They start off as employee and employer, but soon develop a genuine friendship with one another.





We also get a glimpse into the legal and political system of the Federated Commonwealths. Apparently, courts use three judges, one senior judge and two junior judges, for trials. Two of the three judges must agree for a verdict to pass. Also, the government of the Federated Commonwealths is bi-cameral legislature divided into the Popular Assembly and the Senate. Popular Assembly is directly elected by the people, while the Senate is made of former governors and censors who serve lifetime terms. At the top of the government are the two censors. They are elected by the people and serve a single five-year term. The thinking is that they'll keep each other in check, especially if they're from opposing parities. As you can see, the Conscript Fathers of the Federated Commonwealths modeled the nation very closely on the Roman Republic.





I also noticed some similarities to British Parliament, but that makes sense. We know that America got a lot of political refugees after England adopted the Divine Right of Kings. That means that ideas of parliamentary government were floating around in America. Some of those ideas probably got incorporated into the he fabric of the Federated Commonwealths. It also turns out that sims can speak, but it takes a considerable amount of effort, and they can only say like one or two simple words at a time. This is why they use sign language.





A Different Flesh. There's a really great scene at the end where Jeremiah is mean to sim that bumps into him on the street. He knows he's being kind of a dick, but he also knows that blacks would be at the bottom of society if the sims didn't exist. All in all, a really great addition to





The penultimate story is titled "Trapping Run". It is set in the Rocky Mountains in 1814 and follows a trapper named Henry Quick. During a trapping run he gets attacked by a bear, but fortunately, a tribe of sims find him and nurse him back to health. Quick has always though to the sims as nothing more than animals, but spending so much time with them allows Quick to see them as something almost human.





This one took me a but to get into, but I did enjoy it once it took off. I guess you could say that Quick was really having some Dances with Sims after his leg healed. Also, from this story we learn that sims and humans can indeed have hybrid children. I really did enjoy how Quick came to view the sims as more human as the story went on. He apparently goes on to become the founder of the Sims Justice Movement. As we learn in the next story, Henry Quick became quite famous among the sims because of this. Well, I think that's enough for this one, let's move on.





The final story is called "Freedom" and is set in 1988. Over the years, sims have been used in all sorts of scientific research, including AIDS research. The story follows a sim named Matt. He's a teat subject at the AIDS research center in Terminus, Georgia. Overall, he's got a pretty cushy life with plenty of food, females, and regular injections of HIV inhibitor than suppress his symptoms and make him feel like he doesn't have HIV at all. Maybe he's not technically free, but he's not complaining. However, a group of sims rights activists disagrees and decide to kidnap him to set him free. Of course, as they soon discover, this is easier said than done.





A Different Flesh is about what it means to be humans. Sims are far more intelligent than most animals, but aren't quite at human levels of intelligence. This certainly creates a moral conundrum about their place in society. Even the sims rights activists acknowledge that sims will never, for example, be elected to public office. Before we get to anything else, let's address the city name. Terminus is the A Different Flesh version of Atlanta, Georgia. But, well, why? Of all the cities in America, it would be among those least effected by the changes to history, having a name based in Classical Mythology. It just seems odd. The collection began on a strong note, and it certainly ends on a strong note as well. A recusing theme throughoutis about what it means to be humans. Sims are far more intelligent than most animals, but aren't quite at human levels of intelligence. This certainly creates a moral conundrum about their place in society. Even the sims rights activists acknowledge that sims will never, for example, be elected to public office. Before we get to anything else, let's address the city name. Terminus is theversion of Atlanta, Georgia. But, well, why? Of all the cities in America, it would be among those least effected by the changes to history, having a name based in Classical Mythology. It just seems odd.





Anyway, the Sims Rights activists kind of reminded me of certain more extreme animal rights groups. I'm talking PETA and their ilk. Given that this was written in 1988, I can't help but wonder if Turtledove had that in mind. The activist are certainly well intentioned, but they clearly didn't think things through, and you know what they say about the road to hell. They have a hard time convincing Matt not to have sex with other sims, lest he give them HIV, and they don't bring nearly enough HIV inhibitor. So, in the end, they have to return him to the AIDS research center.





From the excerpt we learn that sims were used as slave labor in factories, and that many displaced factory workers lead sims rights movements. However, they did this less because they cared about sims, and more because they didn't like that the sims were taking their jobs. It's interesting that they helped the sims, but not necessarily for altruistic reasons. Also, apparently the FCA equivalent of NASA used sims to test their spacecrafts.





Another theme in this story is about how a freedom is relative and subjective. The activist think they're freeing Matt, but they're way more restrictive and stifling than the institute ever was. In the end, Matt's happy to return to the institute. I especially liked the end where the other sims ask him what it was like outside. He says that it isn't like on TV, and that the activist are like all the other humans; they only care about sims when it serves their personal goals. The story ends on a bittersweet note. Matt is happy and back home, but the future of sims remains uncertain. True, it is mentioned that there are three major reserves the size of moderate sized states, but the sims are also losing their habitats to development and the continued encroachment of humans. And, as mentioned, there's the question of just how do that fit into society. Both issues have been pretty consistent across all the stories, and I guess it just goes to show that, the more things change, the more they stay the same.





Ending on a bittersweet note seems pretty realistic to me. A lot of times, bittersweet is the best you can hope for in real life. But hey, that's history for you.









Before we wrap things up I've got to talk about the audiobook edition that is here at long last . It is narrated by Paul Woodson. He's equally adept at pulling off both British and American accents. I also closed how he gave the sims a distinct accent of their own. What can I say? The audiobook was worth the wait.





A Different Flesh, and I hope that more classic Harry Turtledove novels get their audiobooks. Hey, we've already got Agent of Byzantium and The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump, things are really looking up for alternate history audiobook lovers. And yes, my review of Agent of Byzantium will be here before you know it. Well, I think that does it for this review. I absolutely loved, and I hope that more classic Harry Turtledove novels get their audiobooks. Hey, we've already gotand, things are really looking up for alternate history audiobook lovers. And yes, my review ofwill be here before you know it.





For now, however, I will see you all next time.