About Doug Hoff's Empty America

[james_davis_nicoll]

I can't seem to find the first entry. What prevented anyone from migrating to the New World before the Vikings?

[Answered in comments: It's not specified in the initial post]

If you prevent anyone from coming over the top of the world it won't prevent the Polynesians from colonizing the Americas (Sweet potatoes got to Polynesia from the New World Somehow). Well, it won't unless you have extremely well aimed butterflies, able to use the secondary and tertiary effects of whatever the barrier to colonization is up north to prevent anyone from using the trans-Pacific route.

Comments

Thanks

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

no specific POD

Hrm.

Whatever it was, it had to prevent, what, at least four different migrations? And whatever it was had to be such that it didn't interfere with migrations in the other direction (No miocene migration of equines into the Old World is going to leave a mark on human history).

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[tomscud.livejournal.com]

Pat Wrede appears to have solved the problem with magic. And possibly dragons. (I know nothing about the book beyond the linked review & comment thread).

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[tomscud.livejournal.com]

Ooh, racefail invaded that thread after the last time I read it.

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[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Anyway, magic is the most boring possible barrier imaginable. Might as well say "wizards did it".

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[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

Magic is always more probable than people of color.

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[kynn.livejournal.com]

Except for American Indians!

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[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

Remember, having Guinevere in the new BBC Merlin not be white is TOTALLY unrealistic. Unlike Merlin performing actual magic, a talking dragon and a unicorn. Those are totes realistic

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[(Anonymous)]

Perhaps she's part Dark Elf? (:))

Hmm. "The effects of Rukhs, pegasi, and flying carpets on human migration." Discuss.

Bruce

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[kynn.livejournal.com]

Suspension of disbelief only goes so far!

When you use it on non-white people, you're abusing it!

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[wemblee.livejournal.com]

Best comment ever.

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[kynn.livejournal.com]

Racefail showed up from the start; the book is creepily racist in premise.

Requisite OSC reference

[avram]

The thread is worth it just for skywardprodigal's comment about halfway down:

Anyhow, it's something when Orson Scott Card sets a better example with a baseline premise for an alternative America than what's on the table for discussion.