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Harry Turtledove Trivia

Harry Turtledove Trivia Quizzes

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Harry Turtledove's specialty is alternative history, as exemplified in the series known alternatively as 'Southern Victory' or 'Timeline-191', which explores a world in which the Confederacy won the American Civil War.
6 Harry Turtledove quizzes and 95 Harry Turtledove trivia questions.
1.
  Harry Turtledove - "Timeline 191" Characters   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
What would have happened if General Lee's Special Order 191 wasn't lost? This series answers that, beginning with "How Few Remain" in 1997 and lasting ten years until "In At The Death" was published. This quiz is about its characters.
Average, 20 Qns, Doug_from_NZ, Mar 30 19
Average
Doug_from_NZ
Mar 30 19
286 plays
2.
  Counting Up, Counting Down    
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
This collection of Harry Turtledove's short stories is unusual in that the first and last stories are the same person's perspectives of the same adventure, but at different ages. This quiz is about its two main stories "Counting Down" and "Counting Up".
Average, 20 Qns, Doug_from_NZ, Jan 04 08
Average
Doug_from_NZ
216 plays
3.
  The Great War Trilogy    
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
Harry Turtledove, unofficial master of Alternative History, wowed us all with an alternative history of World War One. The point of divergence? The CSA wins independence in 1862 and history changes from there. How much do you remember?
Average, 20 Qns, ljofa, Sep 06 08
Average
ljofa
367 plays
4.
  Guns of the South    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Have you read this Harry Turtledove Civil War book? The Confederates are on the verge of defeat when some strange men sell them AK-47s. This quiz is about Robert E. Lee, his army and their submachine guns.
Average, 10 Qns, Doug_from_NZ, Feb 10 08
Average
Doug_from_NZ
361 plays
5.
  A World of Difference    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Have you read this book about the Solar System's fourth planet - Minerva - a world roughly the same size and atmosphere as Earth? If so, this quiz is for you.
Average, 15 Qns, Doug_from_NZ, Jul 26 08
Average
Doug_from_NZ
193 plays
6.
  "How Few Remain"    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
"How Few Remain" is an alternate history of the Second Mexican War by Harry Turtledove. How much do you know about this novel?
Tough, 10 Qns, ljofa, Nov 18 07
Tough
ljofa
279 plays
trivia question Quick Question
What are Minervan females commonly called?

From Quiz "A World of Difference"




Related Topics
  Science Fiction [Literature] (216 quizzes)


Harry Turtledove Trivia Questions

1. What is different about this story's Solar System?

From Quiz
A World of Difference

Answer: Mars doesn't exist

Harry Turtledove himself says at the start "Mars is boring. Turns out it's too small. But what if it weren't...?" And this book is the answer. Intelligent life, a breathable atmosphere, strange animals, and much much more.

2. In which year of the American Civil War does this novel begin?

From Quiz Guns of the South

Answer: 1864

It is now six months since the south lost the Battle of Gettysburg. General Lee's faithful depleted Army of Northern Virginia now stands on the defensive in Virginia, but everyone knows there is little hope of victory.

3. How old is Justin the protagonist?

From Quiz Counting Up, Counting Down

Answer: Both these ages

At 40, Justin uses his remarkable computer skills to program his laptop to take him back in time. When he succeeds, he contacts his 21 year old self to try to change his past.

4. Frederick Douglass has a speaking engagement in St Louis. Which famous character does he have a short conversation with at the end of his speech?

From Quiz "How Few Remain"

Answer: Ulysses Grant

Former US General Grant, who still seems to have a fondness for alcohol in this alternate history, attended the speech and expressed his regret for the USA losing the second war of secession.

5. What is Jefferson Pinkard's wife called?

From Quiz The Great War Trilogy

Answer: Emily

The other three feature in the novels. Anne Collerton is a plantation owner, Fanny Cunningham is the wife of Jefferson's best friend and Nellie Semproch is the owner of a coffeehouse in Washington DC.

6. How many cosmonauts are aboard each spaceship, Russian and American?

From Quiz A World of Difference

Answer: 6

Six people are on each, though it's unclear if that was intentional or not. Three married couples inhabit the US ship, while five Soviet men and one woman are aboard the other. The woman is arguably the most popular of the USSR crew!

7. Where do the men who sell AK-47s to the Confederate Army live?

From Quiz Guns of the South

Answer: Rivington, North Carolina

Rivington is a small town the author made up. But the mysterious men calling themselves "America Will Break" do not sound like North Carolinians at all. In fact they do not even sound American; they all have strange not-quite-British guttural accents that remind some of Dutchmen. They also wear strange uniforms of green that seem to be designed to blend in with bush and trees.

8. Why does Justin want to travel back in time so desperately?

From Quiz Counting Up, Counting Down

Answer: His marriage failed

He'd married a girl he'd been with since age 21. But eventually their marriage fell apart and she'd wanted nothing more to do with him. Years later he realised she was his only hope of ever being happy. He knew he had to travel back in time and stop himself from ruining the relationship.

9. Which character survived The Great War to become an equivalent of Hitler?

From Quiz Harry Turtledove - "Timeline 191" Characters

Answer: Jake Featherston

In 1917, after the CSA have lost to the USA (for once), the C.S. capital Richmond is in ruins. Semi-anarchy, soldiers patrolling the streets, bomb-wreckage everywhere and thousands of frustrated unemployed ex-soldiers wandering round. Frustrated about having fought a war for nothing. Jake is one of them, but then he finds out about a small radical political party called The Freedom Party. He decides to join, not least because they insist it is time for a new revolution and a new government.

10. The looting of which US mining town persuaded Apache chief Geronimo to join Jeb Stuart in the war out west?

From Quiz "How Few Remain"

Answer: Contention City

It was decided that this city should be attacked because of the silver and gold production there which would help the Confederate War effort. Geronimo showed a very astute understanding of the situation and wanted to give the USA a couple of licks.

11. What incident in 1976 prompted the governments of both superpowers to send exploration spaceships 13 years later?

From Quiz A World of Difference

Answer: Images from the Viking Probe

In our world, the Viking space probe came back safely with pictures of a barren rocky landscape and no sign of life. But the Viking probe in this world not only sent back a picture of an alien (a Minervan), it never returned because that alien proceeded to smash it to bits! It turns out the Minervan was (and is) head of the local tribe and he kept the probe in his ice castle for years, calling it "the strange creature". He later apologises to the Americans when they reveal what it really was. He is quite flattered to learn millions of humans have been studying a photo of him for years!

12. Who is leader and spokesmen of the new guns' suppliers?

From Quiz Guns of the South

Answer: Andries Rhoodie

Rhoodie makes his appearance in General Lee's camp at the beginning of the story. He is demonstrating a new gun he's "invented" and the southerners are astonished at its lethal firepower. They are even more astonished when Rhoodie claims he can supply as many AK-47s as they'd like - for next to nothing! Robert E. Lee is reminded of a passage in the bible when the devil offers somebody the whole world in exchange for worship.

13. What finally becomes of Abraham Lincoln?

From Quiz Harry Turtledove - "Timeline 191" Characters

Answer: We are not told

In the 1880s he has decided to teach socialism to exploited miners and factory-workers across what's left of the USA. He is 71 years old (and clean-shaven) and many blame him for the existence of the CSA, but he travels regardless.

14. What is Reggie Bartlett's profession before the war breaks out?

From Quiz The Great War Trilogy

Answer: Pharmacist

He's based in the Confederate capital in Richmond and sneaks away during the lunch hour to hear Woodrow Wilson speak.

15. Which soldier is the protagonist in the Confederate Army?

From Quiz Guns of the South

Answer: Nate Caudell

The book has two protagonists, Lee and Caudell. Lee's point of view is for the upper echelons of the army and government, and Caudell's point of view is that of an ordinary solider and later an ordinary Confederate citizen.

16. What year does Justin travel back to?

From Quiz Counting Up, Counting Down

Answer: 1999

The story begins in 2018 when Justin has just turned 40 and he wants to go back to 1999 when he was 21.

17. Which army officer is given the unfortunate job of adjutant to grumpy 75-year-old General Custer?

From Quiz Harry Turtledove - "Timeline 191" Characters

Answer: Major Abner Dowling

Dowling eventually becomes a general himself after Custer dies of old age. I suppose the message here is that if you stay in the army long enough and put up with the crummy jobs, you will eventually be promoted. To be honest, I expected Dowling to die of a heart-attack at the end of the series - he was beyond obese!

18. Alfred von Schlieffen was part of the German attaché to the USA. Who was his French counterpart, a fellow Franco-Prussian war veteran?

From Quiz "How Few Remain"

Answer: Foch

The two acknowledged each other at a diplomatic meeting just after the outbreak of hostilities. Foch was declared persona non grata at the meeting owing to the pro-CSA tendencies of France together with the British military attaché who deigned not to attend. Schlieffen said that the Germans could arrange for their transportation out of the country, which I'm sure gave him perverse pleasure.

19. What is Nellie Semproch's nickname dating from her time in the demi-monde?

From Quiz The Great War Trilogy

Answer: Little Nell

This was given to her by Bill Reach, a journalist she despised because he always took undue liberties and now that she's respectful, he has the potential to unravel everything.

20. What is the situation on Minerva when the two spaceships land?

From Quiz A World of Difference

Answer: Two tribes are on the verge of war

Co-incidentally: the earth spaceships land pretty much as soon as the western leader's eldest son threatens war on the eastern leader. Unless the latter agrees to immediate annexation, which he certainly will not. Not only that, but the earth expeditions land on opposite sides of the gorge (and therefore opposite sides of the brewing conflict).

21. What is unusual about Confederate private Melvin Bean?

From Quiz Guns of the South

Answer: Bean is really female

Melvin Bean's real name is Mollie Bean. Like Robert E Lee and Nathan Caudell she really existed, but Harry Turtledove invents why she joined the army and also her later marriage to Caudell. Later in the novel she is instrumental in finding out the truth about the mysterious gun manufacturers.

22. What is Justin's occupation?

From Quiz Counting Up, Counting Down

Answer: Computer Programmer

He was a computer genius who spent years trying to find a way to go back in time. He ended up combining physics with Virtual Reality and chaos theory. Considering how sophisticated Virtual Reality could be in 2018, this story may be quite plausible in a few years!

23. Who wrote a book with the help of Ernest Hemingway?

From Quiz Harry Turtledove - "Timeline 191" Characters

Answer: Sylvia Enos

Hemingway is referred to as "Ernie" in these novels and his surname never given. But it is safe to assume this man is the same famous writer from our reality. Those who read "The Great War" trilogy for a second time will notice Lucien Galtier help a US ambulance driver called "Ernie" who's just been wounded below the waist. In real life Hemingway was wounded in a similar manner - ending his career as a WW1 ambulance driver. Another parallel to his real life is that he commits suicide, in this series after accidentally shooting poor Sylvia, his partner (in every respect). She'd tried to stop him blowing his own brains out and took the bullet instead. He then shot himself - several decades before doing so in real life.

24. Which Greek god is the U.S. spaceship named after?

From Quiz A World of Difference

Answer: Athena

Funnily enough, the ancient names "Athena" and "Minerva" refer to the same god.

25. What finally compels General Lee to ask Rhoodie how he can do what he does?

From Quiz Guns of the South

Answer: All these things

Lee invites Rhoodie into his tent and offers him some wine. Rhoodie indulges himself but keeps his answers vague and does not offer any further information, much to Lee's dismay. Lee finally decides to ask him point blank how he and his friends can do what they've done to help the southerners so far. Rhoodie smiles and said Lee wouldn't believe him if he told him - thinking he was either mad or lying. Lee said "Madman may babble of wonderful weaponry but they do not, as a rule, PRODUCE them." Rhoodie decides to admit everything. He and his friends come from South Africa - in the year 2014. Readers have guessed as much so far, but assumed present-day not future South Africa. The time periods sound very similar, anyway. Apart from the time-machine America Will Break stole, their technology does not sound notably different from today's. Rhoodie also reveals something that horrifies Lee: the US will win the war in the next year!

26. When 40-year-old Justin arrives in Los Angeles 1999 how does he make contact with his 21-year old self?

From Quiz Counting Up, Counting Down

Answer: Email

As soon as he arrives safely in 1999, Justin gets himself organised. He rents a single apartment, puts half his "travel" money in a bank he knows his 21-year-old self has never used, and gets a second-hand computer with internet. He also procures a stereo, VCR and TV because he intends his younger self to stay at this apartment for a while.

27. Which African-American character in the C.S.A. was named "Cassius"?

From Quiz Harry Turtledove - "Timeline 191" Characters

Answer: Both

In 1914 poor Scipio was forced to join Cassius' revolution after stumbling across its planning. He could either join or be "silenced". As he predicted, the revolt failed miserably and he had to flee, calling himself "Xerxes" from then on. Cassius himself went hiding in the swamps and was later killed by C.S. militia. I was a bit surprised that years later Scipio named his son after someone he didn't exactly consider a friend. Several decades after his namesake died, the younger Cassius came across Jake Featherstone and shot him straight away. He became an over-night hero in the US and went on to give lecture tours in Philadelphia, New York etc.

28. Where is Colonel Virgil Earp captured?

From Quiz "How Few Remain"

Answer: New Mexico

Without his brother Wyatt in this scene, the Colonel falls to a CSA/Apache ambush which all but clears out US forces in New Mexico for the time being and is a great morale boosting victory for the CSA.

29. What is the name of Captain Jeb Stuart's manservant?

From Quiz The Great War Trilogy

Answer: Pompey

Pompey is a closet Red who falls under suspicion of first Jake Featherstone and then Major Potter. However, General Stuart protects his son from from the clutches of intelligence which proves to be a fatal mistake.

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