Fire on the Mountain Terry Bisson 9781459611207 Books
Download As PDF : Fire on the Mountain Terry Bisson 9781459611207 Books
Presenting an alternative version of African American history, this novel explores what might have happened if John Browns 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry had been successful. Chronicling life in a thriving black nation founded by Brown in the former southeastern United States, this dramatic story opens 100 years later, just as Nova Africa is poised to celebrate its first landing of a spacecraft on Mars. The prosperous black state will soon be tested when the granddaughter of John Brown returns from Africa to reunite with her daughter and share with her a secret that will alter their lives forever.
Fire on the Mountain Terry Bisson 9781459611207 Books
What if John Brown had been joined by Harriet Tubman (as planned), succeeded in the raid on Harper's Ferry, and won the ensuing war, establishing the state of Nova Africa?Terry Bisson wrote this 155-page novel in 1988, before the collapse of the U.S.S.R.. He focuses on the experiences of two characters and drops only tantalizing hints as to the full history and context.
The first is a young African-American boy of 12 in 1859 who eventually joins the Army of the North Star and becomes an assistant to John Brown's physician. We get only the story leading up to his recruitment, but nothing of his experience afterward. He grows up to be an M.D. -- Dr. Abraham. The other is his great grand-daughter, Yasmin Odinga, an anthropologist in Nova Africa in 1959.
By 1959 socialism has triumphed throughout the world, not capitalism. A united socialist Africa has led two International Mars Expeditions. After losing territory to socialist Nova Africa and the socialist revolution in Mexico, the backward U.S.A. finally has its Second Revolutionary War in 1948 and becomes the U.S.S.A. I would have liked to see this expanded on, but it's not the novel Bisson wrote.
There are several great little details, like the fact that Yasmin's husband is a cosmonaut, not an astronaut, the Pan African Space Administration replaces NASA, and the periodical Scientific African replaces Scientific American.
Worth reading, but be aware of the limitations. Nova Africa and the united socialist Africa of the novel make for an interesting comparison to Wakanda, the African utopia of the Black Panther comic books and film!
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Tags : Fire on the Mountain [Terry Bisson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Presenting an alternative version of African American history, this novel explores what might have happened if John Browns 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry had been successful. Chronicling life in a thriving black nation founded by Brown in the former southeastern United States,Terry Bisson,Fire on the Mountain,ReadHowYouWant,1459611209,FICTION Alternative History
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Fire on the Mountain Terry Bisson 9781459611207 Books Reviews
I read this book for an english class, and never would have picked it up otherwise. This is spectacular fiction about how life would have been had John Brown and Harriet Tubman successfully raided Harper's Ferry. This book is interesting and engaging, and makes you think about how different life would have been.
I found the book to be disappointing. My expectation was that the author would go into more detail about how the country and society had developed since John Brown's forces won the rebellion. The description of the historical event was adequate enough, but I felt that I never got a good sense of how the subsequent version of America differed from the current one. There were references to several wars that were fought but no explanation of what had precipitated them or who was on which side. There were references to places like Nova Africa, but again I was never clear what that was - was it the entire country or only one part of it. There were hints that the European and African countries had developed very differently, but again it was only hinted at. Those things would have been the most interesting for me - how would America, and the world, look different if the slave rebellions had been successful. I felt I never got a clear picture of that.
This was a really enjoyable read.
One measure of the best scifi is that it makes you think about your own world through a critical lens. By that measure this is certainly some of the best sci-fi ever written. And it is entertaining to boot.
I've always been a fan of alternate history stories and this one was no exception. I enjoyed the author's take on the point of divergence and the lasting impact it has on the new timeline. Including our own timeline as a story within a story was a little cheesy and could have been dropped. I was also a little leery that technology seemed to be far more advanced in the alternate timeline.
Short, fun beach read, you can't go wrong with 99 cents and Utopian revised history.
There are a few things unexplained (precise geography, how technology advanced so fast so quickly, mostly).
Loved the irony of Abe Lincoln, whose mission was to preserve the Union and implement gradual emancipation, has mad him a villain.
Only question for me is why was the mechanic named Elvis Pressley Cardwell (not sure if the last name is correct) - is he supposed to be the "real" Elvis?
Overall, it's an intelligent, fun, interesting read.
A unique experience in alternate history. The story focuses less on the action that many associate with Civil War alternate histores, and instead explores how its various characters relate to history, and how it forms our identity. It also functions to challenge how we understand the characters and the nature of the conflict that America loves to celebrate. Whether it is Lincoln as the Emancipator, Lee as the gentleman soldier, or supposed north-south divide on the issue of slavery, everything is re-examined when the struggle by Africans for Africans is placed in the forefront of the narrative. I would recommend this to anyone as a way of becoming interested in alternate narratives of the Civil War and Reconstruction, as well as a pleasant experience in optimistic speculation on a brighter world that could have been.
What if John Brown had been joined by Harriet Tubman (as planned), succeeded in the raid on Harper's Ferry, and won the ensuing war, establishing the state of Nova Africa?
Terry Bisson wrote this 155-page novel in 1988, before the collapse of the U.S.S.R.. He focuses on the experiences of two characters and drops only tantalizing hints as to the full history and context.
The first is a young African-American boy of 12 in 1859 who eventually joins the Army of the North Star and becomes an assistant to John Brown's physician. We get only the story leading up to his recruitment, but nothing of his experience afterward. He grows up to be an M.D. -- Dr. Abraham. The other is his great grand-daughter, Yasmin Odinga, an anthropologist in Nova Africa in 1959.
By 1959 socialism has triumphed throughout the world, not capitalism. A united socialist Africa has led two International Mars Expeditions. After losing territory to socialist Nova Africa and the socialist revolution in Mexico, the backward U.S.A. finally has its Second Revolutionary War in 1948 and becomes the U.S.S.A. I would have liked to see this expanded on, but it's not the novel Bisson wrote.
There are several great little details, like the fact that Yasmin's husband is a cosmonaut, not an astronaut, the Pan African Space Administration replaces NASA, and the periodical Scientific African replaces Scientific American.
Worth reading, but be aware of the limitations. Nova Africa and the united socialist Africa of the novel make for an interesting comparison to Wakanda, the African utopia of the Black Panther comic books and film!
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