Saturday, August 3, 2019

The Yorkshire Mammoth, by Harry Turtledove

[Clarkesworld]
★★★☆☆

(Alternate History) In an alternate England where the ice sheets still come down to Yorkshire, a veterinarian gets a call from a farmer whose mammoth has broken a tusk. (7,390 words; Time: 24m)


"," by (edited by Neil Clarke), appeared in issue 155, published on .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Review: 2019.437 (A Word for Authors)

Pro: In an odd way, this tale of dentistry on a mammoth scale is actually a hard SF story, since the plot revolves around the technical challenge of fixing a broken tusk. From the technology and other references, this is set in the late 1930s.

Con: There’s no real challenge in the story. George encounters no serious problems at any stage.

The alternate history is a bit sloppy. If Scotland is covered with ice, how was there a James I? It’s as though there were a major change to history (i.e. the ice sheets didn’t retreat as fast) but then the rest of the events of history occurred anyway and at the same dates.

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