This e-book is a series of short fictions, by various authors, each based on alternative history outcomes for the events of 1066. The stories were rather variable in quality (the 'Roman' one was particularly silly), and between them they only threw up one good idea (that Harold Godwinsson sent the fyrd home and stopped watching for the Normans because he believed that William's excursion to Dives in a storm had finished his invasion prospects).

I am keen on both alternative history and 1066, so snapped this up in a Kindle daily deal, but I wouldn't have wanted to pay more than the £1.99 I actually did for it. Disappointing. ( )

This collection of stories from published historical novelists imagines alternatives outcomes to the events of the most famous date in English history. It's a thought-provoking reminder at the time of the 950th anniversary of the Norman Conquest how differently the long term history of the country might have been had events turned out differently that year. Some are the more conventional alternatives, where Harold waits a day to allow more of his men to catch up before advancing to face William and defeating him with larger and more rested forces. But among the other scenarios included are more indirect ones where Harold's allies Edwin and Morcar defeat Harald Hardrada at Fulford, thereby freeing King Harold from the need to march up north to face the Norwegian king at Stamford Bridge; or conversely, where Hardrada defeats Harold at the latter battle and then teams up with Edwin and Morcar to confront and defeat the greater threat that they see William as posing, making England part of a longer-lasting Scandinavian empire. Even after Harold's defeat at Hastings, other scenarios were possible: in one here, the young Edgar the Atheling is able to resist William and prevent him from taking London, killing the Duke in the process. An interestingly eclectic collection. ( )