The Undiscovered

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"The Undiscovered" is an alternate history short story by William Sanders that won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History.^[1] It was originally published in the March 1997 issue of Asimov's^[2] and, in addition to its Sidewise Award nomination, was nominated for the Hugo Award,^[3] the Nebula Award,^[4] and the Theodore Sturgeon Award.^[5] It was subsequently reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection,^[6] The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century,^[7] and Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction.^[8]

Plot

The story is narrated by a Cherokee man in the late 16th century. An English immigrant called Spear-Shaker has been captured by the narrator's tribe, and is essentially adopted by them. Spear-Shaker tries to introduce the concept of stage play to the tribe by producing a version of Hamlet for them, but mutual cultural misunderstandings make this very difficult.

References

^ Schmunk, Robert B. (1998). "Winners and Finalists". Sidewise Award for Alternate History. Uchronia. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
^ Sanders, William (March 1997). "The Undiscovered". Asimov's Science Fiction. New York: Dell Magazines. p. 86.
^ "1998 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. WSFS. 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
^ "1998 Nebula Awards". The Locus Guide to SF Awards. Locus. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
^ "1998 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award". The Locus Guide to SF Awards. Locus. 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
^ Dozois, Gardner (1998). The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection. Vol. 15. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 224. ISBN 0-312-19033-6.
^ Turtledove, Harry (2001). The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century. New York: Del Rey. pp. 270. ISBN 0-345-43990-2.
^ Dozois, Gardner (2005). The Best of the Best : 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction. New York: St Martin's Griffin. p. 380. ISBN 0-312-33656-X.

This article about a science fiction short story (or stories) published in the 1990s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Schmunk, Robert B. (1998). "Winners and Finalists". Sidewise Award for Alternate History. Uchronia. Retrieved 2011-06-14.

[2] Sanders, William (March 1997). "The Undiscovered". Asimov's Science Fiction. New York: Dell Magazines. p. 86.

[3] "1998 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. WSFS. 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-14.

[4] "1998 Nebula Awards". The Locus Guide to SF Awards. Locus. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2011-06-14.

[5] "1998 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award". The Locus Guide to SF Awards. Locus. 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-14.

[6] Dozois, Gardner (1998). The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection. Vol. 15. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 224. ISBN 0-312-19033-6.

[7] Turtledove, Harry (2001). The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century. New York: Del Rey. pp. 270. ISBN 0-345-43990-2.

[8] Dozois, Gardner (2005). The Best of the Best : 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction. New York: St Martin's Griffin. p. 380. ISBN 0-312-33656-X.

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