Lord Kalvan of OtherwhenBy H. Beam Piper
Anybody who has done a little bit of reading in the genre of science fiction knows the idea of alternate universes. This is the idea that whenever somebody or something makes a choice, two universes are formed: one where the person made the chose one thing, and one where a person chose the other. Lord Kalvan is an alternate universe book, but to the extreme level. A group of people, known as the Paratime, are able to travel through the thousands of alternate universes that there are, and they have taken it up upon themselves to keep order within these universes. One time, on accident, a Paratime trooper accidentally encounters a Pennsylvania policeman, Calvin Morrison. Morrison shoots the trooper, but is accidentally transported to another universe, which Morrison refers to as Otherwhen. Calvin, known as Kalvan in Otherwhen, becomes a powerful leader in the Otherwhen kingdom of Hostigos. The story revolves around the Paratime trying to track Kalvan, the wars between Hostigos and other kingdoms, and Kalvan trying to bring down the over-powerful house of Styphon, a religous group with the only knowledge of gunpowder. Although much of the story is politics and war strategy rather than action, the book has an interesting concept and plot. One of the most interesting things the book brings up is the reorganization of language and territory in eastern North America.
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