THREE BILL WILLIAMSON STORIES

Reviewed by Steven H Silver

As the title suggested, Three Bill Williamson Stories contains the three short stories focusing on Bill Williamson written by Harry Turtledove. The character is a sasquatch who is the governor of the state of Jefferson, carved out from northern California and southwestern Oregon. Set over a period of months in late 1980 and early 1981, the stories, which can almost be classified as tall tales, look at three incidents during Williamson's governorship and the strange world in which this different forty-ninth state exists.

The first story, "Something Fishy," introduces the complexities of the state of Jefferson, with a seemingly small population of sasquatch who are accepted by the little people to the extent that Williamson is the state's second saasquatch governor, to the native American tribes to mermaids living off the coast in the Atlantic. In "Something Fishy," the later two groups find themselves at odds over fishing rights, with the mermaids closing off salmon's access to the Klamath River, thereby depriving the Karuk people from access to the fish in their traditional fishing grounds. Williamson visits with the parties involved and negotiates an agreement which nobody is entirely happy with, but can live with. A lot of the story is focused on introducing the world to the reader and in some ways is reminiscent of the different world Turtledove created in his Atlantis series, although drawing more from Pacific Northwest mythology. Bill Williamson is a likable character with a sense of humor who tries to do his best for the people he governs.

In "Always Something New," Williamson receives a call from a game and fish warden about the discovery of a fish long thought to have been extinct in the Rogue River. Setting off to learn the truth of the situation, Williamson meets brings along an ichthyologist from a local college to help corroborate the find. The lack of security around the governor as he travels through the state alone, and, as Turtledove points out, unmissed despite being away from the capital for a couple of days, seems odd in this time of security and large entourages, but it helps solidify Williamson as a man (sasquatch?) of the people. The story also gives Williamson a chance to play to a larger stage, with national reporters descending on Jefferson. However, the story does seem to end rather abruptly.

The final story in the collection, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon," is set following the release of the hostages taken by Iranian revolutionaries. In Bill Williamson's world, one of the hostages was a sasquatch, Mark Gordon. Upon his return to Jefferson, he is treated like a celebrity and befriended by Williamson, who offers him an ear that is neither a relative nor a reporter. Williamson also helps serve as a gatekeeper for Gordon. After the two are seen having lunch together, other restaurateurs seek their custom and they wind up at an Indonesian restaurant. As with the other stories in the collection, the tension and conflict is understated with the primary focus on the similarities of the people whether they are human, sasquatch, or Indonesian.

While the Bill Williamson stories are entertaining with a focus on a likable main character, they give the feeling of being slight, throw-away stories. Entertaining, but leaving the feeling that they are unfinished or leading up to a larger whole that has not yet been revealed. It will be interesting to see if Turtledove continues to return to the character and setting, eventually fulfilling its promise.

---

Something Fishy

Always Something New

Tie a Yellow Ribbon

---

Purchase this book
	Kindle

---

---

Return to

Return to

Thanks to for webspace.