Monday, January 23, 2012

Weekly Update #38

Editor's Note

So I have started reading Hitler Invades England by George Crall.  Its definitely not one of your usual Operation Sea Lion alternate histories, the POD is earlier then you think.  Whether the book holds up though remains to be seen.  Check back next week for the review.

I have been having a case of writers block lately, both with this blog and my own stories.  I hope to change that around very shortly, so expect to see some new articles on how OTL nations are portrayed in alternate history and a new Airship Update.

Good news, Weekly Update now has their own sub-reddit!  Look for updates on reddit /r/adwupdate.

And now the news...

Shattered World now an e-book!

Shattered World by Bobby Hardenbrook is an epic alternate World War II timeline that starts with the Soviet Union invades Poland in 1936.  It has been one of my favorite online alternate history, but as of late it has only been updated sporadically.

Yesterday, however, Bobby announced that the first 29 segments of Shattered World, the "Eurasian War" period and the "Between the Wars" period, will be published for $0.99 as e-books on Amazon. These parts of the timeline can no longer be found on the Internet, so you have to buy the e-books if you want to enjoy this excellent timeline.

6-Commando

Found a new online graphic novel called 6-Commando by Mathieu Moyen.  Set in the 1990s, here is a more detailed description of this alternate history:

The state of the world in the year 1997 is unstable, at best. Early in the century, a Great War lasting over a decade bled the world white, and culminated in revolutionary bloodshed in Russia, China and Eastern Europe. The great powers realized that a second direct confrontation of that kind would mean the end of civilization, and that the only answer was to establish a balance of power to forestall such a conflict for as long as possible.

Thus, three gigantic superblocs developed, divided by ideology and geography. The UNA, an alliance of Western nations, calls itself the defender of the world’s Democratic ideals. The FSR, a conglomerate of Socialist states, claims to be struggling for the liberation of the world’s underprivileged classes. The Nonaligned Movement, dominated by the South American Coalition and the Arab League, is a loose confederation of states that claim to want no part of the Cold War.

Between these states lie areas of constant political and social upheaval called Disrecognized Zones. In these areas, the three power blocs fight out their disputes by proxy, with little regard for the misery inflicted upon the hapless inhabitants of these perpetual warzones. For eighty years, this has allowed the three alliances to defuse many political and ideological tensions, but recent developments threaten to upset this delicate balance of power.

Katanga, India, UNITA, and other newly-formed nation-states in Africa and Asia have grown weary of the constant devastation of their lands, and are starting to rise up and take their place as independent countries. As their buffer zones shrink, the superstates are beginning to confront each other directly for the first time since the Great War, and the threat of all-out conflict on a truly global scale has suddenly become very real.
A cursory look at the graphic novel tells you that this world is more advanced then ours.  Several characters are wearing power armor and there are other sci-fi weaponry scattered through the pages.  Should be interesting, keep an eye out for a review.  In the meantime you can check out 6-Commando's Facebook page.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate history lessons for children's fiction by Imogen Russell Williams at The Guardian.

Mark Wahlberg could have stopped 9/11, according to Mark Wahlberg by Sean O'Neal at AV Club.

Poe's Birthday by Russell Scott at TimeDonors.

Thoughtful Thursday: Alternate History by Justin at Fantasy Literature.

Online Alternate History

The Case of the Small-Minded Medium by Benjamin Jacobson at SteampunX.

Video Games

Steampunk Batman Game: Why Hasn’t This Happened? by Caitlyn Muncy at gamefront.

Media

How the West Wasn't Won: Powell's Water-based States by Frank Jacobs at Strange Maps.

"What if..." Movies reimagined for another time & place... by Peter Stults at Behance Network.

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Mitro is founder, editor and contributor of Alternate History Weekly Update. When he is not busy writing about his passion for alternate history, he spends his time working as a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois and dreams of being a published author himself one day.

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