Harry Turtleldav is a famous American science fiction writer. Turtleldav was awarded the Sidewise Awards, the Prometheus Awards, and even the Hugo Prize for his works . Do you want to learn more about the life path and work of this writer? Then this article is for you.
Birth and education
The future writer was born in 1949. Harry grew up in a Jewish family with Romanian roots. When Turtledaw grew up, he entered the California Institute of Technology with a degree in electrical engineering. However, humanitarian inclinations soon took their toll. As a result, Harry Turtledav graduated from the University of California (Los Angeles) in 1977 and became a specialist in ancient history. Later, science fiction defended his dissertation on the history of Byzantium and received a doctorate in philosophy. The personal life of our hero also took shape: together with his wife, writer Laura Francos, they raised three children.
The beginning of literary activity
As an upscale historian, Harry Turtleldav turned to literature at a more mature age. The writer published his first novel only in 1979. The book was published under the pseudonym Eric G. Iverson. After all, the publisher believed that the author with the surname Turtldav (translated from English as "turtledove", which means the type of bird) simply would not be taken seriously. Since 1985, Harry is published under his real name. At this time, the science fiction writer writes works of small form, which will later be included in the collection "Kaleidoscope".
Features of creativity
One of the most popular science fiction writers of our time is Harry Turtleldav. Reading his works is very interesting. Want to know more about the creative features of this writer?
Turtledaw's works are very easy to distinguish from the works of other authors. After all, the author has an incredibly expressive style. Because of this, his books are highly appreciated by both ordinary readers and professional critics. The subject of creativity is also quite diverse. In his writings, Harry Turtleldav does not touch upon light and hackneyed topics.
With regard to genre orientation, at the beginning of his career, Harry wrote short stories. The most popular of them are 0 "Fleet invasion", "After the storm" and "Road home". However, widespread fame among readers of Turtldava was brought by his novels in the genre of alternative history. Due to the fact that the author is a professional historian, the books depict in great detail the life of various eras and their alternative variations. Because of this, you really believe everything written. For this he received the nickname "master of alternative history" Harry Turtleldav.
Books that brought glory
Magnum opus Turtldava - a series of historical and fantasy novels called The Lost Legion. It includes three books. All events take place in an alternate Universe in the Videese Empire.
The first book in the series that Harry Turtledaw created is The Time of Troubles. In it, the reader is told about the Mukurana kingdom, which is actively opposed to the Videese empire. All events of the book take place 150 years before the birth of Crispus, who is the protagonist of the cycle.
The second book in the series is Tales of Crispus. The book tells about the son of an ordinary peasant and former slave Crispus. Despite the origin, the main character managed to make a successful career and become an Autocrat. Crisp got out of the mud to riches and gained power. But can he protect her? The answer to this question can be found by reading "Tales of Crispus."
The last book in the series created by Harry Turtleldav - The Lost Legion - completes the story that began in The Time of Troubles. The work takes place 500 years after the events of "Tales of Crispus." The world traced by the author has changed a lot during this time. However, the struggle for power is not even going to subside. Wars, intrigues and coups ... Who will rule the Empire?
Other works
Among other things, Harry Turtleldav is responsible for the emergence of a cycle called "Military Alternative." In it, the writer on public display presents his alternative options for the development of the events of the Second World War. All this is seasoned with fantasy. For example, a series of books entitled World War II: A New Balance tells of the landing of intelligent lizard-like aliens from the planet Tau-Cet to Earth. Alien guests visited the blue planet in the midst of World War II and decided to capture humanity.
The second part of the series entitled "Colonization" tells of the arrival of the Alien Colonization Fleet. The land is almost overrun by the Tau Kitans. However, humanity continues to struggle. People start a war of liberation against the invaders and eventually destroy the planet of the dinosaurs in 1991.
Also, an interesting story happened with the publication of this military cycle in Russia. The rights to the publishing house of the books “World War II: A New Balance” and “Colonization” were acquired by Eksmo in the late 90s. However, only the first part of the cycle was translated and published. Why? It is not known why Eksmo refused to print Colonization. Nevertheless, there are rumors that the book was never published for ideological reasons. Indeed, in the "Colonization" the Soviet Union is not shown in the most favorable light. For example, the author compares the collapse of the USSR with the fall of the Nazi regime in Germany.