From Harry Turtledove, bestselling author and critically acclaimed master of the short story, comes a classic collection of science fiction tales and what-if scenarios. In narratives ranging from fantastic to oddly familiar to eerily prescient, this compelling volume illustrates Turtledove's literary skill and unbridled imagination. Forty, counting down: With the help of his time travel software, computer genius Justin Kloster returns to the past to stop himself from making a terrible mistake -- but all actions have their consequences ... The Maltese elephant: A legendary detective finds himself in grave danger when a noir masterpiece takes a stunning new twist ... Goddess for a day: Taking a page from history, a young girl dares to challenge the gods -- and is richly rewarded for her efforts. Deconstruction gang: Mired in unemployment and despair, an academic finds happiness and intellectual fulfillment in a most unexpected place. Twenty-one, counting up: Justin Kloster's college life and romantic dreams are rudely interrupted -- and irreversibly disrupted -- when forty-year-old Justin arrives from the future to save him from himself.
