Yansuf Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories D'oh, forgot those! Very good, aren't they? There were the Svetz stories too - 'Flight of the Horse' up to 'Rainbow Mars' Based on the premise that since time travel is fantasy, if you travel far enough to start running into unicorns, werewolves, and Well's Martian Tripods. A few alternate realities too, such as the one where they accidentally disintegrate the prototype Model T and then have to deal with the Roc eating the elephant in the exhibit next door. All the ones he went to were alternates. We found that out in the last story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaJoe3 Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories The characters in Sluggy Freelance dimension hop sometimes. The worlds usually aren't parallel, but alternate-universe analogs of the main characters do exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawangaKid Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories I'm working up some materials on extra-dimensional stories, and while I have more than adequate non-fiction resources I'm in need of movies and (to a lesser extent) novels with the feature of parallel worlds. For any recommended novels, please cite some feature that either well exemplifies the concept or does something very different. Does the Amber series count as mystical, because it also involves our world? That being said, there's a series of novels by Charles Stoss known as the Merchant Princes series that deals with trade across alternate histories by bloodlines who are capable of such travel. Also, Jane Jensen (author of the series of Gabriel Knight games) came out with a semi-mathematical/mystical novel titled Dante's Equation. As for anthologies, there are many. You may wish to check out Sideways in Crime by Lou Anders (ed.) (Solaris, 2008) which includes Chris Roberson's fun, but somewhat rushed short story "Death on the Crosstime Express". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted September 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories I hadn't considered the Amber series. I'd classify it as somewhere on the border between mystical and scientific, but in any event the way parallel worlds are used in the storytelling makes it worth at least a couple of mentions. I'll take a look at Merchant Princes and Dante's Equation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories There's John Whitbourn's novels 'A Dangerous Energy' and England, 1967: ruled by the power of the Catholic Church, as it has been since the failure of the Protestant Reformation. In this England there are steam trains, but no internal combustion engine; rifles but no electricity; heresy but no democracy. And in this England, magic works. Some fun ideas with demonology, and some wonderfully appalling lead characters. His Down's Lord trilogy also fun Oh, no, a country where Spain reimposed Catholicism! It would be full of stuffy people with strange accents drinking dark beer, medieval universities, coal mines and factories! No, wait, that's Belgium. "If the Armada had won, England would be a nightmare"=stupidest alternate reality ever. For Heaven's sake, look across the Channel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yansuf Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories "If the Armada had won, England would be a nightmare"=stupidest alternate reality ever. For Heaven's sake, look across the Channel! Agreed. What has that to do with the post that you you quoted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories Agreed. What has that to do with the post that you you quoted? Well, obviously you can get to "England is backwards 'cuz it's still Catholic" with scenarios other than the Armada winning, but the point remains that it's stupid. It's not that there's an argument to be made, via Merton and Weber, just that Belgium kinda refutes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yansuf Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories Well' date=' obviously you can get to "England is backwards 'cuz it's still Catholic" with scenarios other than the Armada winning, but the point remains that it's stupid. It's not that there's an argument to be made, via Merton and Weber, just that Belgium kinda refutes it.[/quote'] But the scenario was the "failure of the protestant reformation." You don't think that could (not would, COULD) have made any difference to the world's technological advancement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories But the scenario was the "failure of the protestant reformation." You don't think that could (not would, COULD) have made any difference to the world's technological advancement? In a word, no. Not in itself. The modern world was quite sufficiently determined the day Columbus got back to Spain --if not before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories 1632 (novel) 1632 The premise involves a small American town of three thousand sent back to April 1631, in an alternate Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yansuf Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories In a word' date=' no. Not in itself. The modern world was quite sufficiently determined the day Columbus got back to Spain --if not before.[/quote'] We'll have to agree to disagree on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drhoz Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories Oh, no, a country where Spain reimposed Catholicism! It would be full of stuffy people with strange accents drinking dark beer, medieval universities, coal mines and factories! No, wait, that's Belgium. "If the Armada had won, England would be a nightmare"=stupidest alternate reality ever. For Heaven's sake, look across the Channel! Nope, Armada not involved - Guy Fawkes successfully blew up Parliament ( and was canonised for it. ) and oddly enough, the Catholic England WAS full of stuffy people with strange accents drinking dark beer, medieval universities, coal mines and factories! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SvZurich Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories 1632 (novel) I love this series. Came on the CDs included with some of my Honor Harrington hardcovers. In short, in a coal mining town in West Virginia circa 2000, as a wedding is occuring, that town is suddenly exchanged with a burned down German village from 1631 under unknown natural circumstances. Now, stuck in the past and creating an alternate future, these former citizens of the United States of America are gonna bring freedom and democracy to Europe and do their best to stop the genocide between nominally Protestant and Catholic forces. Sadly, someone gave Cardinal Richelou some of the history books from the American's school. Richelou has united English and Spanish forces to stop that future from happening at all costs, and to preserve the power of the monarchy. Fortunately, Sweden allies with the newly formed United States (Town plus German provinces that join a Federation). Sweet series. Kudos also for remembering The Apprentice Adept series. Loved the Rovot Adept and Piers Anthony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories Turns out Unshelved have just done a summary of The City and The City Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories Robert Adams "Castaways in Time" series also deals with multidimensional stuff. It's also a bit of fun "alternate history". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted October 6, 2009 Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories Robert Adams "Castaways in Time" series also deals with multidimensional stuff. It's also a bit of fun "alternate history". Does anyone know the publishing history of that book? It seemed like a weird fix-up to me, even more disjointed than some of Van Vogt's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drhoz Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories the second-most-recent Dresden Codak certainly made me guffaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted October 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories Right now I'm a bit overloaded on stuff on hand... I'll get to more stuff as time allows. Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! Do keep them coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grymour Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories I would also check out The Cross-time engineer series by Leo Frankowski. "From Wikipedia... Cross-Time Engineer series The Conrad Stargard series, in which a twentieth-century engineer travels back in time to thirteenth-century Poland." Very good read in my honest opinon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories This is the link to the AU page at TV Tropes, Bob. They have lists of stuff read or watched. CES tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlternateUniverse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted October 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories The City and The City by China Mieville.Just finished this one. While fairly well written, I really don't see much in the way of "parallel universes," except for the artificially-enforced separation of two cities occupying the same physical space. (Of course, there may be more to it; the ending left room for a sequel.) However, I'm resurrecting the thread largely to mention that I'm at a point where any magazine or journal articles anyone knows about would be well received. Also, of course, any movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories Just finished this one. While fairly well written, I really don't see much in the way of "parallel universes," except for the artificially-enforced separation of two cities occupying the same physical space. (Of course, there may be more to it; the ending left room for a sequel.) However, I'm resurrecting the thread largely to mention that I'm at a point where any magazine or journal articles anyone knows about would be well received. Also, of course, any movies. The Matrix triology can fit in for movies. Maybe the Labrynth. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories Just finished this one. While fairly well written, I really don't see much in the way of "parallel universes," except for the artificially-enforced separation of two cities occupying the same physical space. (Of course, there may be more to it; the ending left room for a sequel.) However, I'm resurrecting the thread largely to mention that I'm at a point where any magazine or journal articles anyone knows about would be well received. Also, of course, any movies. No, it's more a study of how societies would function if there was some interchange between alternate dimensions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted October 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories The Matrix triology can fit in for movies. Maybe the Labrynth.I'm not sure those would fit' date=' really. The Matrix triology [i']could[/i] warrant a mention for "cyberspace as an alternate reality" (and is sometimes cited as a watered-down example of the theory that our entire universe is an alien civilization's computer simulation), but Labyrinth (IIRC) is more of a mystical world rather than scientific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 Re: Interdimensional stories I'm not sure those would fit' date=' really. The Matrix triology [i']could[/i] warrant a mention for "cyberspace as an alternate reality" (and is sometimes cited as a watered-down example of the theory that our entire universe is an alien civilization's computer simulation), but Labyrinth (IIRC) is more of a mystical world rather than scientific. The only other ones I can think of are time travel movies and I don't think they match what you want. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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