2004; 272 pages. Book #2 of the "Crosstime Traffic" series. New Author? : No. Genre : Alt-History, YA (kinda). Overall Rating : 4½*/10.
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In the late 21st century, our timeline learns how to dimension-hop into parallel wotlds. Which is good, because we are suffering from an acute food shortage. So we buy produce and grain in alternate timelines, while selling them technology that is outmoded to us (VCR's, cassette tape decks, etc.), but slightly more advanced than what they have.
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Lawrence Gomes and his teenage son, Paul, run one of the Crosstime buy/sell fronts in an alternate San Francisco, where Germany won WW1 and now rules the world, including the USA. But the Crosstime operation is put in jeopardy - indeed, the whole dimension-hopping process is at risk - when the German occupiers start wondering where this 2-bit family shop is getitng all of its amazing gadgets.
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What's To Like...
The whole idea of parallel worlds (but all at the same point in time) is a typical Turtledove brilliancy. He postulates that a new world is formed at every critical juncture in history. So there are hundreds of alternate universes out there.
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I found the storyline to be believable. There's more action in Curious Notions than there was in the first book, Gunpowder Empire, reviewed here. And although this #2 in a series that now has about 6 books, each one appears to be a stand-alone story.
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Turtledove also made this a G-Rated book. There are no drugs, sex, death, blood, gore, or cussing. The parents of the two teenage protagonists are called "Dad" and "Mom", and although we the readers can see love budding between the kids, there isn't so much as a peck on the cheek. Even the interrogation sessions are ridiculously clean. 'If you don't talk, I'm going to shine this really, really bright light in your eyes.'
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Kewl New Words...
Only one, and it's a bit of an inside joke. Fasarta. Good luck on finding it defined anywhere. It appears to be a nonsense techno-geeky word from Robert Heinlein's Door Into Summer. Harry Turtledove reportedly is a big fan of Heinlein's, and this is his way of giving Heinlein a tip of the old hat.
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Excerpts...
People in San Francisco sold anything that moved. If you stepped away from your shadow for a minute, they'd pry it off the sidewalk and try to sell it back to you. (pg. 27)
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"You would do well not to make the Kaiser's government suspect you," the big Feldgendarmie man said. "Next time, you may not be so lucky."
"But I didn't do anything," Lucy's father said.
"If you had not done anything, we would not have arrested you." The German sounded just as sure as if he'd said the sun would come up in the morning. "Just because we cannot prove it does not prove a thing." He also sounded sure he made sense. (pg. 70)
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...this wasn't his San Francisco. For the USA in this alternate, it was a first-rate city. But this USA was a second-rate country, and this San Francisco felt second-rate to him. The town he was used to bounced. This one ... lurched. (pg. 209)
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He was, in a word, bored. In two words, very bored. (pg. 209)
Turtledove wrote Curious Notions to be a YA novel, but I think it should be classified as "Juvenile Fiction". If you know a tweenager who likes Alternate History, this may be a great read for him. But if he's in 8th Grade or higher, he'll likely find this book too dumbed-down and repetitive. Adults should probably avoid this series entirely. 4½ Stars.
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