What if French forces had defeated the British at the Plains of Abraham? Or if the Louisiana Purchase had gone to Canada instead of the United States? If, if, if. Explore the historical paths not taken with some of Canada's best speculative writers in Arrowdreams, the first collection of Canadian fiction written in the genre of alternate history. Discover whether this Canada is the only conceivable Canada that could exist or whether it is simply a mistake, a mere burp in the geopolitical path of history.

"If only..." French forces had defeated the British at the Plains of Abraham. "If only..." Avro had built its famous aircraft. "If only..." Louis Riel's Red River Rebellion had succeeded and he'd escaped the hangman's noose. "If only..." the Louisiana Purchase had gone to Canada instead of the United States. "If only..." Henderson had missed that heart-stopping goal in 1972.

"If only..." is the elemental force behind all forms of speculative fiction, none moreso than alternate history. It's also virtually a Canadian mantra.Winner of the Aurora Award, Arrowdreams is the first ever collection of Canadian fiction in this genre, exploring the highways and byways of historical paths not taken.

This collection includes some of Canada's best and brightest speculative writers; including Dave Duncan, Michael Skeet, Nancy Kilpatrick, Edo van Belkom, Glenn Grant, Allan Weiss, Laurent McAllister, Eric Choi, Paula Johanson and Derryl Murphy exploring the infinite possibilities of alternate Canadian history.

What If * Louis Riel had escaped the hangman's noose?
What If * Quebec has said YES?
What If * Avro was a great Canadian success story?
What If * Paul Henderson had missed?
What If * the British had been defeated on the Plains of Abraham?
What If * the Catholic Republic of Quebec sent a man to the moon?
What If * a Canadian air ace hadn't shot down the Bloody Red Baron?

Is the Canada we know the only conceivable Canada?

Do we live in the best possible country in the best possible world? Or is Canada a geopolitical accident, a hothouse flower created by a random quirk of history?

Is Canada really the land of the lost opportunity, of the road not travelled? Could we have done far better? Could things be far worse?

Join some of Canada's best speculative fiction authors as they explore the possibilities in Arrowdreams, the first anthology of Canadian alternative history: Eric Choi, Dave Duncan, Glenn Grant, Paula Johanson, Nancy Kilpatrick, Laurent McAllister, Derryl Murphy, Keith Scott, Shame Simmons, Michael Skeet, Edo van Belkom, Allan Weiss.

Mark Shainblum, the former editor and publisher of Orion Magazine, is perhaps best known as the writer and co-creator of several popular comic book features, including Northguard and Fleur-de-Lys, as well as the best-selling Angloman series of political humour books.

John Dupuis is one of Montreal's leading experts on science fiction and fantasy. Co-founder and former chair of Montreal's successful annual Con*Cept science fiction convention, John also writes science fiction criticism for The New York Review of Science Fiction and other publications.

Aurora Award 1999: "Best Other Work in English"