Harry Turtledove

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Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove 2005.jpg
Turtledove at the 2005 Worldcon
Born (1949-06-14) June 14, 1949 (age 74)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Pen nameDan Chernenko, Eric G. Iverson, Mark Gordian, H. N. Turteltaub
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • short story author
  • essayist
  • historian
Education California Institute of Technology (dropped out)
University of California, Los Angeles (PhD)
Genre Science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, historical fiction, history
Notable works
Website
www.stevenhsilver.com/turtledove.html

Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed his PhD in Byzantine history. His dissertation was on the period AD 565–582. He lives in Southern California.

Contents

In addition to his birth name, Turtledove writes under a number of pen names: Eric Iverson, H. N. Turteltaub, Dan Chernenko, and Mark Gordian. He began publishing novels in the realm of fantasy starting in 1979 and continues to write in the 2020s.

Early life

Turtledove was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 1949, and grew up in Gardena in Southern California. His paternal grandparents, who were Romanian Jews, had first emigrated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, before they moved to California in the United States. [1] [2] He was educated in local public schools during his early life.

After dropping out during his freshman year at Caltech, Turtledove attended UCLA, where he completed his undergraduate degree and received a PhD in Byzantine history in 1977. His dissertation was The Immediate Successors of Justinian: A Study of the Persian Problem and of Continuity and Change in Internal Secular Affairs in the Later Roman Empire During the Reigns of Justin II and Tiberius II Constantine (AD 565–582). [3] [4]

Career

Turtledove published his first two novels, Wereblood and Werenight, in 1979 under the pseudonym "Eric G. Iverson". He later explained that his editor at Belmont Tower did not think that people would believe the author's real name was "Turtledove" and came up with something more Nordic. [5] He continued to use "Iverson" until 1985. Another early pseudonym was "Mark Gordian".

That year, he published Herbig-Haro and And So to Bed under his real name. In 1998, he began publishing historical novels under the pseudonym "H. N. Turteltaub" (Turteltaube means turtle dove in German). [6] He published three books as "Dan Chernenko" (the Scepter of Mercy series).

He has written several works in collaboration, including The Two Georges with Richard Dreyfuss, "Death in Vesunna" with his first wife, Betty Turtledove (pen name: Elaine O'Byrne); Household Gods with Judith Tarr; and others with Susan Shwartz, S. M. Stirling, and Kevin R. Sandes.

Turtledove won the Homer Award for Short Story in 1990 for "Designated Hitter", the John Esten Cooke Award for Southern Fiction in 1993 for The Guns of the South , and the Hugo Award for Novella in 1994 for Down in the Bottomlands . Must and Shall was nominated for the 1996 Hugo Award and Nebula Award for Best Novelette and received an honorable mention for the 1995 Sidewise Award for Alternate History. The Two Georges also received an honorable mention for the 1995 Sidewise Award for Alternate History.

His Worldwar series received a Sidewise Award for Alternate History Honorable Mention in 1996. In 1998, his novel How Few Remain won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. He won his second Sidewise Award in 2003 for his novel Ruled Britannia . [7] He won his third Sidewise Award for his short story "Zigeuner” [8] and his fourth for his short story "Christmas Truce". [9]

On August 1, 1998, Turtledove was named honorary Kentucky Colonel as guest of honor at Rivercon XXIII in Louisville, Kentucky. His The Gladiator was the cowinner of the 2008 Prometheus Award.

Turtledove served as the toastmaster for Chicon 2000, the 58th World Science Fiction Convention. [10]

Publishers Weekly dubbed Turtledove "The Master of Alternate History". [11] Within the genre, he is known for creating original alternate history scenarios, such as survival of the Byzantine Empire or an alien invasion during the middle of the Second World War. In addition, he has been credited with giving original treatment to alternate themes that had been dealt with by many others, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War or the victory of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. [12]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidewise Award for Alternate History</span> Prize for alternative history novels

The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year.

Justinian the Great (483–565) was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565 noted for his codification of Law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justinian II</span> Byzantine emperor from 685 to 695 and 705 to 711

Justinian II, nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed", was the last Byzantine emperor of the Heraclian dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. Like his namesake, Justinian I, Justinian II was an ambitious and passionate ruler who was keen to restore the Roman Empire to its former glories. However, he responded brutally to any opposition to his will and lacked the finesse of his father, Constantine IV. Consequently, he generated enormous opposition to his reign, resulting in his deposition in 695 in a popular uprising. He only returned to the throne in 705 with the help of a Bulgar and Slav army. His second reign was even more despotic than the first, and in 711 he was killed by mutinous soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiberius II Constantine</span> Roman emperor in 574–582

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<i>The Two Georges</i> 1995 novel by Harry Turtledove and Richard Dreyfuss

The Two Georges is an alternate history and detective thriller novel co-written by science fiction author Harry Turtledove and Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss. It was originally published in 1995 by Hodder & Stoughton in the United Kingdom, and in 1996 by Tor Books in the United States, and was nominated for the 1995 Sidewise Award for Alternate History.

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<i>Agent of Byzantium</i> Collection of short stories by Harry Turtledove

Agent of Byzantium is a 1987 collection of short stories by Harry Turtledove, centered on the exploits of Basil Argyros, a Byzantine secret agent. The stories are set in an alternate 14th century, where Islam never existed and the great ancient empires of Byzantium and Sassanid Persia survive.

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<i>Ruled Britannia</i> 2002 alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove

Ruled Britannia is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove, first published in hardcover by New American Library in 2002.

<i>Justinian</i> (novel) 1998 novel by Harry Turtledove

Justinian (ISBN 0-8125-4527-3), was published in 1998 by Tor Books. It is a novel by American writer Harry Turtledove writing under the pseudonym H. N. Turteltaub, a name he used for a time when writing historical fiction.

Hellenic Traders refers to a series of historical fiction books published by TOR and written by H.N. Turteltaub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ino Anastasia</span> Augusta

Ino, renamed Aelia Anastasia was the Empress consort of Tiberius II Constantine of the Byzantine Empire, and Augusta from 578 until her death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia (empress)</span> Augusta

Aelia Sophia was Byzantine empress as the wife of Emperor Justin II. Although never a monarch, Sophia participated in the governance of the empire; she took an interest in economic and financial matters during Justin's reign, and subsequently served as regent during his incapacity from 573 until 578.

<i>Counting Up, Counting Down</i> 2002 short story collection by Harry Turtledove

Counting Up, Counting Down is a collection of short stories by Harry Turtledove, most of which were first published in various fiction magazines in the 1990s. It is named after two of the stories appearing in the book, one called "Forty, Counting Down" and the other named "Twenty-One, Counting Up", which are united by the character of Justin Kloster. The story genres represented include alternate history, time travel, fantasy, straight historical fiction, and more. Two stories, "The Decoy Duck" and "The Seventh Chapter," are set in the Videssos Universe, with the former story being set before any of the other stories and books in that universe. The book was originally published by Del Rey as a trade paperback in January 2002. In the same month, it was brought out as a leatherbound limited edition by Easton Press.

<i>Departures</i> (short story collection) 1993 collection of short stories by Harry Turtledove

Departures is a collection of alternate history stories by Harry Turtledove, first published in paperback by Del Rey Books in June 1993 and reprinted in October 1998; an ebook edition followed from the same publisher in May 2011. The first British edition was published in ebook form by Gateway/Orion in July 2013.

Justinian was a Byzantine aristocrat and general, and a member of the ruling Justinian dynasty. As a soldier, he had a distinguished career in the Balkans and in the East against Sassanid Persia. In his later years, he plotted unsuccessfully against regent and later emperor Tiberius II.

"Zigeuner" is a science fiction short story by Harry Turtledove, first published in the September/October issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in August, 2017. It was reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Fifth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. St. Martin's, 2018. It won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History for best short form work in 2017. It would also be reprinted in Turtledove's short-story collection The Best of Harry Turtledove in 2021.

Lee at the Alamo is an alternate history short story by Harry Turtledove. It was published online at tor.com on September 7, 2011.

Bibliography of science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction and nonfiction writer Harry Turtledove:

References

  1. ↑ Something About the Author: Volume 176. Thomson-Gale (Ktav Publishing House). April 2007. p.  212. ISBN   978-0-7876-8800-4.
  2. ↑ "Harry's War of the Worlds". Sfsite.com. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  3. ↑ The immediate successors of Justinian: a study of the Persian problem and of continuity and change in internal secular affairs in the later Roman empire during the reigns of Justin II and Tiberius II Constantine (A.D. 565–582); Harry Norman Turtledove, Thesis (Ph.D.), UCLA, 1977. Reproduction: University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1979
  4. ↑ Turtledove, Harry (1977). The immediate successors of Justinian: a study of the Persian problem and of continuity and change in internal secular affairs in the later Roman empire during the reigns of Justin II and Tiberius II Constantine (A.D. 565–582) in SearchWorks. Searchworks.stanford.edu (Thesis). Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Interviews". Barnesandnoble.com. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  6. ↑ Richter, Frank. "turtledove: Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)". Dict.tu-chemnitz.de. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Sidewise: Past Winners and Finalists". Uchronia.net. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  8. ↑ "2017 Sidewise Award Finalists". Locus. August 20, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Sidewise: Sidewise Awards for Alternate History". www.uchronia.com. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Chicon 2000, Guests of Honor". July 23, 2000. Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  11. ↑ Hall, Melissa Mia (April 7, 2008). "Master of Alternate History". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  12. ↑ Graeme Blundell (October 18, 2008). "On lowbrow street". The Australian . Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
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