Most Popular Books by Harry Turtledove

As they faced one another in a duel of survival, the Roman tribune Marcus Scaurus held the spell-scribed sword of a Druid priest, and the Celtic chieftain Viridovix held a similar sword, bespelled by a rival Druid sorcerer. At the moment they touched, the two found themselves under a strange night sky where no stars were familiar and where Gaul and Rome were unknown. They were in an outpost of the embattled Empire of Videssos--in a world where magic and dark sorcery would test their skill and courage as no Roman legion had ever been tested before. From the Paperback edition.

An epic battle pits three Roman legions against Teutonic barbarians in this thrilling novel of ancient Rome from the New York Times –bestselling author. Publius Quinctilius Varus, a Roman politician, is summoned by the Emperor, Augustus Caesar. Given three legions and sent to the Roman frontier east of the Rhine, his mission is to subdue the barbarous German tribes where others have failed, and bring their land fully under Rome''s control. Arminius, a prince of the Cherusci, is playing a deadly game. He serves in the Roman army, gaining Roman citizenship and officer''s rank, and learning the arts of war and policy as practiced by the Romans. What he learns is essential for the survival of Germany, for he must unite his people against Rome before they become enslaved by the Empire and lose their way of life forever. An epic battle is brewing, and these two men stand on opposite sides of what will forever be known as the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest—a ferocious, bloody clash that will change the course of history. "Turtledove''s searing account clears the cobwebs off this ancient and nearly forgotten disaster, and brings it to vivid and startling life for modern readers." ―Michael Curtis Ford, bestselling author of The Sword of Attila "The fantastic action scenes and taut narrative make this a fine addition to the ancient Roman battles canon." ― Publishers Weekly

In an alternate America that runs on magic, a potential environmental disaster plunges an overworked bureaucrat into a deadly conspiracy of evil gods and darkest sorcery David Fisher pushes paper for the EPA in a world that''s a lot like ours . . . only different. In this California—and throughout the alternate United States—all gods are real, science doesn''t exist, and magic rules everything, running imp-driven computers and creating anxiety-inducing bumper-to-bumper flying-carpet rush hours. Unfortunately, unchecked magic use can leave dangerous residues, creating hours of mind-numbing deskwork for David and his fellow bureaucrats at the Environmental Perfection Agency. Now a leakage at a toxic spell dump in Angels City is about to complicate David''s life in ways he never imagined, unleashing vampires, werewolves, and soulless babies. Even the actual spooks at the CIA concerned. But looking too closely into what might be more than just an accident could have David stepping on the toes of some very nasty deities indeed, imperiling his future on the Other Side . . . and on this one, as well. When it comes to creating alternate histories—and worlds—no one does it better than the great Harry Turtledove. The multiple-award-winning master of the fantastic carries readers on a droll thrill ride through a richly detailed, ingeniously imagined fantasy reality where the impossible is mundane—and absolutely anything can happen.

From New York Times bestselling author Harry Turtledove, the modern master of alternate history, a novel of alien contact set in the tumultuous year of the Watergate scandal. It''s 1974, and Jerry Stieglitz is a grad student in marine biology at UCLA with a side gig selling short stories to science fiction magazines, just weeks away from marrying his longtime fiancée. Then his life is upended by grim-faced men from three-letter agencies who want him to join a top-secret "Project Azorian" in the middle of the north Pacific Ocean—and they really don''t take "no" for an answer. Further, they''re offering enough money to solve all of his immediate problems. Joining up and swearing to secrecy, what he first learns is that Project Azorian is secretly trying to raise a sunken Russian submarine, while pretending to be harvesting undersea manganese nodules. But the dead Russian sub, while real, turns out to be a cover story as well. What''s down on the ocean floor next to it is the thing that killed the sub: an alien spacecraft. Jerry''s a scientist, a longhair, a storyteller, a dreamer. He stands out like a sore thumb on the Glomar Explorer, a ship full of CIA operatives, RAND Corporation eggheads, and roustabout divers. But it turns out that he''s the one person in the North Pacific who''s truly thought out all the ways that human-alien first contact might go. And meanwhile, it''s still 1974 back on the mainland. Richard Nixon is drinking heavily and talking to the paintings on the White House walls. The USA is changing fast—and who knows what will happen when this story gets out? Three Miles Down is both a fresh and original take on First Contact, and a hugely enjoyable romp through the pop culture, political tumult, and conspiracies-within-conspiracies atmosphere that was 1974. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Alternate History is historical fiction that examines the ramifications of a change or changes in known history. Alternate History can use science-fiction devices -- such as time-travel -- to change history, or it can simply pick a point where, had things merely happened differently (for example: Abraham Lincoln decided not to go to the theater that night, or Henry VIII stayed married to his first wife), history might have taken another path altogether.-- Alternate History with Science Fiction.-- The series takes place during WWII and the warring Allied and Axis powers are forced to combine resources in order to combat an invading alien species that threatens to conquer the entire planet. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

From Harry Turtledove, "the Master of Alternate History," comes a tale of minor league baseball set in an alternate Great Depression America full of wild magic Since the Big Bubble popped in 1929, life in the United States hasn''t been the same. Hotshot wizards will tell you nothing''s really changed, but then again, hotshot wizards aren''t looking for honest work in Enid, Oklahoma. No paying jobs at the mill, because zombies will work for nothing. The diner on Main Street is seeing hard times as well, because a lot fewer folks can afford to fly carpets in from miles away. Jack Spivey''s just another down-and-out trying to stay alive, doing a little of this and a little of that. Sometimes that means making a few bucks playing ball with the Enid Eagles, against teams from as many as two counties away. And sometimes it means roughing up rival thugs for Big Stu, the guy who calls the shots in Enid. But one day Jack knocks on the door of the person he''s supposed to "deal with"--and realizes that he''s not going to do any such thing to the young lady who answers. This means he needs to get out of the reach of Big Stu, who didn''t get to where he is by letting defiance go unpunished. Then the House of Daniel comes to town--a brash band of barnstormers who''ll take on any team, and whose antics never fail to entertain. Against the odds Jack secures a berth with them. Now they''re off to tour an America that''s as shot through with magic as it is dead broke. Jack will never be the same--nor will baseball. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The launch of an exciting new series of parallel-world adventure from "the modern master of alternate history" (Publishers Weekly)

Atlantis and Other Places includes twelve amazing stories of ancient eras, historical figures, mysterious events, and out-of-this- world adventures from the incomparable Harry Turtledove.

In Harry Turtledove''s The Disunited States of America, Justin''s having the worst trip ever. He and his mother are Time Traders, traveling undercover to different alternate realities of Earth so they can take valuable resources back to their own timeline. In some of these worlds, Germany won World War I or the world has been destroyed by nuclear warfare. Justin and his mother are in an America that never became the United States: each state is like a country, and many of them are at war with each other. Their mission takes them to Virginia, which is on the verge of bloody violence with Ohio. Beckie is from California, and like the rest of her world, unaware that Time Traders exist. The only reason she''s in small town Virginia is because her grandmother dragged her there to visit old relatives. Beckie is just as horrified by the violence and racism of the alternate Virginia as Justin is, and the two are drawn to one another. But when full-fledged war breaks out between the States, including a biologically designed plague, will either of them manage to get back home? Forget about home: Will they make it out alive? At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A new Conan adventure--from one of today''s most popular writers of fantasy and SF! For decades, millions of readers have thrilled to the adventures of Conan, the barbarian adventurer invented by Robert E. Howard and further chronicled by other fantasy greats, including such notables as L. Sprague de Camp, Poul Anderson, and Robert Jordan. Now Harry Turtledove, one of today''s most popular writers of fantasy and SF, contributes a novel to the Conan saga--a tale of Conan in his youth, in the year or so before he becomes the wandering adventurer we know from the tales of Howard and others. On the verge of adulthood, he lives in a Cimmerian hamlet, caring for his ailing mother, working in his father''s smithy, and casting his eye on the weaver''s daughter next door. Then war comes: an invasion by the Aquilonian Empire. Conan burns to join the fight, but he''s deemed too young. Then, from the border country, comes an unbelievable report: The Aquilonians have smashed the Cimmerian defending forces, and can rule as they please. Soon their heavily garrisoned forts dot the countryside. Their settlers follow after, carving homesteads out of other men''s land. Every Cimmerian longs to drive the intruders out with fire and sword, but they must stay their hands, for the Aquilonians have promised savage reprisals. Then, intolerably, the Aquilonian commander takes a wholly dishonorable interest in the weaver''s daughter -- and he''s not a man to wait, or even ask permission. It''s not a recipe for a peaceable outcome.

“This is state-of-the-art alternate history, nothing less.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) When the Great War engulfed Europe in 1914, the United States and the Confederate States of America, bitter enemies for five decades, entered the fray on opposite sides: the United States aligned with the newly strong Germany, while the Confederacy joined forces with their longtime allies, Britain and France. But it soon became clear to both sides that this fight would be different—that war itself would never be the same again. For this was to be a protracted, global conflict waged with new and chillingly efficient innovations—the machine gun, the airplane, poison gas, and trench warfare. Across the Americas, the fighting raged like wildfire on multiple and far-flung fronts. As President Theodore Roosevelt rallied the diverse ethnic groups of the northern states—Irish and Italians, Mormons and Jews—Confederate President Woodrow Wilson struggled to hold together a Confederacy still beset by ignorance, prejudice, and class divisions. And as the war thundered on, southern blacks, oppressed for generations, found themselves fatefully drawn into a climactic confrontation . . .

Humanity is still locked in a battle for supremacy with the conquering alien invaders, the Race. The German Reich has finally been subdued and the Race believe it only to be a matter of time before the rest of the planet follows suit. However, they underestimate humanity''s desire for freedom and the lengths they will go to gain it. With America and Russia holding the alien invaders off in a technological standoff, the disorganised red armies of Mao Tse-tung''s revolutionaries causing havoc and the ever-increasing dependence of the Race on the addictive substance ginger, the Empire realises that the colonisation of Earth may only be achieved through its total destruction. ''The wizard of If.'' Chicago Sun-Times ''Turtledove the standard bearer for alternate history.'' USA Today

Chronicles the history of the planet''s eighth continent, Atlantis, a land-mass that lies between Europe and the East Coast of Terranova, a world that long has lured dreamers and visionaries from around the globe who are willing to brave the perils of an u

“[A] tour de force of speculative historical fiction. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal In the extraordinary Worldwar tetralogy, set against the backdrop of World War II, Harry Turtledove, the “Hugo-winning master of alternate SF” (Publishers Weekly), wove an explosive saga of world powers locked in conflict against an enemy from the stars. Now he expands his magnificent epic into the volatile 1960s, when the space race is in its infancy and humanity must face its greatest challenge: alien colonization of planet Earth. Yet even in the shadow of this inexorable foe, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany are unable to relinquish their hostilities and unite against a massive new wave of extraterrestrials. For all the countries of the world, this is the greatest threat of all. This time, the terrible price of defeat will be the conquest of our world, and perhaps the extinction of the human race itself. Praise for Second Contact “An exciting, often surprising, story that will not only delight his fans but will probably send newcomers back to the Worldwar saga.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Outstanding entertainment.”—Booklist

"Another solid entry in an entertaining series." -Booklist "Good pacing, a light touch, and a genuine feel for the period."-Kirkus Reviews Menedemos, the young dashing sea captain, and his helper (and cousin) the schola

As the Spanish civil war drags on and the United States fights Japan in the Pacific, Nazi Germany fights Russia in Eastern Europe as new nationalist powers arise.

From Harry Turtledove, the master of alternate history, comes After the Downfall, a novel of magic, epic warfare, and desperate choices. 1945: Russian troops have entered Berlin, and are engaged in a violent orgy of robbery, rape, and revenge. Wehrmacht officer Hasso Pemsel, a career soldier on the losing end of the greatest war in history, flees from a sniper''s bullet, finding himself hurled into a mysterious, fantastic world of wizards, dragons, and unicorns. There he allies himself with the blond-haired, blue-eyed Lenelli, and Velona, their goddess in human form, offering them his knowledge of warfare and weaponry in their genocidal struggle against a race of diminutive, swarthy barbarians known as Grenye. But soon, the savagery of the Lenelli begins to eat at Hasso Pemsel''s soul, causing him to question everything he has long believed about race and Reich, right and wrong, Ubermenschen and Untermenschen. Hasso Pemsel will learn the difference between following orders... and following his conscience.

It is 1939, and the world is overshadowed by the thunder-clouds of war, once again. In this alternate history twist the US fights while across the Pacific Japan is ready to fight again. Once again brother fights brother, friend against friend and the New World is ravaged by all the horrors of modern warfare. This is the first book in a new series on the first global conflict by the modern day master of alternate history. Epic, exciting and incredibly powerful, it deals with relatively recent past so cleverly. This is World War II as it might have been...