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REVIEW: Swords and Saddles
John G. Hemry
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
April, 2010, pages 8 to 36
Review by Tom Hamilton
On October 4, 1870 Captain Benton leads a company of U.S. cavalry on a training
mission from Fort Harker, Kansas. But a lightning strike (shades of Martin
Padway!) zaps them into an alternate world where the landbridge across the
Bering never sank beneath the waves. The result is a world about 800 years
behind ours, with the Americas settled by an Indo-European speaking people
(Tocharian influence? the story doesn't delve into this). The
stranded Americans make contact with a friendly city-state, start learning the
language, and learn a few things about cross cultural differences.
The story is great, but begs for more detail. I can't help suspecting that
this is either the first chapter of a forthcoming novel, or will be the first in
a series of related stories to appear in Analog. I certainly hope
they keep up the interest and quality of the opener.
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