"Hexagons" is a 2003 alternate history short story by American writer Robert Reed. It was first published in the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction.
Synopsis In 1933 in a world where the Roman Empire never fell but converted to Christianity, and India, China, and the Aztec Republic became the world's dominant technological powers, twelve-year-old Samuel Dunlop watches as his father tries to run for office.
Reception "Hexagons" was a finalist for the 2004 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.2004 Hugo Awards , at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved June 14, 2018
Io9 has noted that, unlike many stories in which the Roman Empire did not fall, "Hexagons" is not "explicitly dystopian".Great moments in alternate history: the non-fall of the Roman empire, by David Daw; published June 6, 2010; retrieved June 15, 2018
Tangent Onlines Chris Markwyn considered it to be a "compelling" story that is "well-told but fairly conventional", and observed that the contraband history-simulator owned by Samuel's friend's grandfather "undercut" the story's ability to "assert its own reality"; Markwyn further noted that Reed's choice of villain — a "blue-eyed, small-mustached, table-pounding ultra-nationalist who blames his country's problems on the Jews", who is "obviously an analogue of a historical figure" — results in an emphasis on the "artificial, game-like nature of [Reed's] scenario", ultimately detracting from readers' suspension of disbelief.Asimov's, July 2003 , reviewed by Chris Markwyn; at Tangent Online; published July 11, 2003; retrieved June 14, 2018
References
External links Text of the story