'Liberating Atlantis' by Harry Turtledove - Book Review

Liberating Atlantis is the third in Harry Turtledove’s Atlantis series. The series straddles the border of fantasy and alternative history and centers on events in the large island of Atlantis. Liberating Atlantis concerns a slave revolt in the United States of Atlantis and has obvious parallels to the antebellum United States of America and the American Civil War. The book is an enjoyable yarn, includes fascinating comparisons to the United States of America, and is a fine addition to the Atlantis series.

The first book in the Atlantis series concerns the discovery and settlement of a chunk of land roughly analogous to the eastern US in the Atlantic Ocean between the continents. The second follows an alternative war of revolution and separation from Britain. Liberating Atlantis depicts a slave uprising and alternative civil war.

As usual, Harry Turtledove tells a fun story, but Liberating Atlantis is strongest in its unique comparisons to the United States. The book covers the thoughts, roles, attitudes, and economics of slaves and their masters. Miscegenation including by founding fathers is central. Arguments for and against slavery are analyzed. The split between North and South is considered. Raucous, divided, and ineffectual government is explored. The sort of simmering rebellion endemic to slave societies is portrayed along with a consideration of whether slaves could force their society to free them through conflict. Perhaps the most intriguing question raised is whether the USA could have ended slavery without the Civil War, such as through a negotiated settlement that included compensation of slaveholders.

Liberating Atlantis offers intriguing parallels to the real world USA and its history of slavery and the American Civil War. It is also an entertaining read. Somehow though it fails to achieve true greatness. It is a solid entry in the Atlantis series and a worthwhile read, but it is not completely convincing and does not stand out as a special work...as Turtledove’s best alternative history certainly does.