Independence Day

Today is Independence Day in the United States of America, marking the day, 240 years ago, when the thirteen American colonies signed the Declaration of Independence, announcing themselves to be free of the yoke of . . . well, us*, actually.  Still. No hard feelings! And to prove it, we’d like to highlight an alternative history of Anglo-American relations: The Two Georges by Harry Turtledove and Richard Dreyfuss.

A precious and historic painting has been stolen by terrorists – radical separatists who will stop at nothing to shatter the union. Colonel Thomas Bushell, the government’s most fearless agent, is the only man who can stop them.

But this is not our world. For the stolen painting depicts a treaty of peace between George Washington and King George III – a treaty that has kept America under British rule for two centuries. And the terrorists, who call themselves the “Sons of Liberty”, want America to be free . . .

You can find more of Harry Turtledove’s work via his Author page on the Gateway website and read about him in his entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.

* The British Empire, not SF Gateway.  We have yet to establish colonies anywhere – yoked or otherwise.