Help me find a short story about time travellers killing Kennedys.

February 24, 2008 5:24 PM

Kennedy assassination time traveller short story - anybody know who wrote it or what it was called?

I read a short story several decades ago with the premise that the Kennedy assassinations were carried out by time travellers from a future where America was an oppressive dictatorship led by future Kennedys. They couldn't get near their own leaders, so they figured out a way to kill their grandparents.

I think it was published in Asimov's, sometime in the '80s. I have no idea who authored it or what the title might have been. Does anybody here remember this story too?

posted by joannemerriam to writing & language (9 comments total)

Sounds a lot like Red Dwarf... series VII, Tikka to Ride.

I also think they used the plot in one of the books (they often did), but I'm not sure which.
posted by Helga-woo at 6:42 PM on February 24

Ahh, but maybe not, as your 'they' is referring to the time travellers, not the Kennedy's.
posted by Helga-woo at 6:43 PM on February 24

Definitely not Red Dwarf - I read it in a magazine.
posted by joannemerriam at 8:50 AM on February 25

Sounds alot like something Spider Robinson would write.
posted by jkaczor at 9:38 AM on February 25

I'd go with John Varley before Spider; I don't think Spider published a lot in Asimov's, did he? Anyway, I have no specific title for you... sorry...
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 11:59 AM on February 25

Not completely unrelated, but check out Time Quest if you liked that kind of time travel stuff. It went the other way where a time traveler came back to prevent the assassination, not because he cared about the President, but he fell in love with Jackie and wanted her to never have to suffer that loss.
posted by TheDukeofLancaster at 12:15 PM on February 25

You might want to check out the anthologyAlternate Kennedys (ed: Michael Resnick). I don't specifically remember that story, but it may be in there.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:02 PM on February 25

it may be in there

No, I don't recall it (and I would've, fer sure).
Unfortunately, don't have that book anymore (and really, the cover was the best part).
posted by Rash at 3:26 PM on February 25

Maybe this
http://www.amazon.com/Landscapes-Stories-Kevin-J-Anderson/dp/1594144761/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203983160&sr=1-7

I agree with the commenter's opinion about the one dimensional characters and heavy foreshadowing and stopped reading the book. But the Alternitech stories were along that line.
posted by andreap at 3:49 PM on February 25