Review: "Without Warning" by John Birmingham

Guest review by Chris Nuttall.

What if the United States went away?

John Birmingham, according to his own statements, was inspired to write Without Warning after hearing students claiming that the world would be a better place without the United States. I do wonder if he was inspired by a timeline from pre-2000 that had as its starting point the complete disappearance of all Americans, but I digress. Without Warning is a strange mixture of military adventure, alternate history and social-political commentary. It is very definitely a fascinating read.

It’s 2003 – and the United States is on the verge of invading Iraq. American and British soldiers are gathering in Kuwait, protest marches are on the streets and people…are just getting on with their lives. Suddenly, everything changes; a mysterious energy dome has appeared over most of America, killing the entire population. America is not just gone, but utterly inaccessible. The Wave, as it becomes called in the book, is beyond explanation. Anyone who goes into it dies. 99% of America and parts of Canada, Mexico and Cuba are wiped out in a split second. The world has changed beyond belief.

Birmingham mingles a cast of fictional and real-life characters (including Tommy Franks and Linda Lingle) as they struggle to deal with a world turned upside down. An American reporter in Kuwait finds himself recording stories that no one will ever hear. A crew of smugglers find themselves caught up in the chaos, trying to find safe haven. A civil engineer in Seattle struggles to save what remains of the United States. The CO of Gitmo, right on the edge of the Wave, tries desperately to preserve some order as the world collapses into chaos. And an American intelligence agent, lost and alone in Paris, finds herself trying to escape the madness as the city falls into darkness. Birmingham’s understanding of human nature is generally very good and, with one small exception, the cast responds in a believable manner. Very few of them, I do note, sit down to pray.

In a series of rapid-fire chapters, Birmingham charts out the course of the post-US world. Saddam sends his troops into Kuwait, intending to wipe out the remainder of the US presence in the Middle East, while Iran joins the fighting and engages US forces directly in the Gulf. The massive economic collapse across the world spurs on rioting and outright civil war in parts of Europe. Israel, faced with a world without America, launches a pre-emptive nuclear attack all along the Arabian Crescent. And the surviving Americans, lost and running out of supplies, find themselves dependent upon a wide range of nations for survival. It is not a cheerful world. By the end of the book, Russia is a resurgent power, China is collapsing into civil war, India and Pakistan are on the verge of a nuclear war and Europe is becoming a fascist state.

Yet the book is more character-driven than action driven. This is sometimes a good thing, yet there are areas I wish were explored more, such as the situation on the ground in a dozen different places. What is happening in the UK, for example, or inside Iraq or Iran? The war that erupts in the Middle East is seen only through a glass darkly – I wish, really, that there had been more chapters set there. Birmingham has learned his art far better than in the Axis of Time books, but the story is not without problems.

Birmingham also looks into the underlying reasons for the War on Terror – why we fight. We are up against a mindset that believes in a Manichean struggle between good and evil, with anything justified in the name of Allah. He exposes the western peace movement as largely composed of the fools and the blind; one of the characters blithely informs a POV character that they knew what happened to some Muslims at the hands of other Muslims, but America was worse. It is a logic that simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. It is seductive only to those who wish to believe in peace and equality. It is the peace and equality of the grave.

It’s worth noting that the book suffers from two plausibility problems. The first is simple; Puerto Rico and Alaska seem to be completely unmentioned, despite being untouched by the Wave. The second is more complex; I could buy a major period of civil unrest in France easily, but not outright civil war and certainly not what Birmingham portrays. (His logic isn’t bad, but it doesn’t apply to real life.) I know that the French seem to have a tradition of summer riots in Paris every year these days, but Birmingham takes it well over the top.

But leave those points; Without Warning remains an impressive and ambitious read.

[Editor's Note: See my review of the sequel After America - Mitro]

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Chris Nuttall blogs at The Chrishanger. His books can be found on Amazon Kindle.

“Inglourious Basterds” meets “Dawn of the Dead” in "By the Blood of Heroes" by Joseph Nassise

From the press release.

With the critical and box office success of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, the rise in the popularity of steampunk fiction and fashion, and the influx of zombie-themed TV shows (Walking Dead), books (World War Z), and movies (Zombieland), BY THE BLOOD OF HEROES (on sale from Harper Voyager May 1, 2012; ISBN 9780062048752; $14.99; e-ISBN 9780062048776; $9.99) taps into some of today’s coolest alternative trends. International bestseller Joseph Nassise takes readers on a wild ride through a zombie-filled World War I, complete with some of its most celebrated and most notorious figures.

The Great War progressed as wars normally do—armies fight, soldiers die, battles are won, ground is lost, and nowhere is an end in sight—until 1917, when the Germans discover T-leiche, or “corpse gas” and everything goes to Hell for the good guys. The Germans employ corpse gas on the fallen, ally and enemy alike, to raise them from the dead and turn them into “shamblers,” mindless, flesh-eating machines under their direct control. The Allied forces can now do no more than hold their ground and pray their scientists, including the legendary Nicola Tesla, find a way to combat this seemingly unbeatable weapon.

When Major Jack Freeman, the American Ace, and poster-boy for the American War effort over in France, is downed over enemy lines and taken captive, a man from his past, veteran Captain Michael “Madman” Burke, is the only man brave and foolish enough to accept the mission to recover Freeman. Burke assembles a team of disparate members, from Sergeant Moore, his right-hand man during the war, Clayton Manning, to big game hunter turned soldier eager to conquer this new, dangerous beast, to professor Dan Richards, one of Tesla’s top men and the resident authority on all things supernatural.

Using an experimental drilling vehicle to infiltrate enemy territory, the team faces incredible danger as they struggle to reach the prison camp. From ruthless smugglers who betray them to the Germans, to marauding bands of the undead, to the ultimate enemy Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, they find risk and peril at every turn. It is only when they arrive at the prison camp that the true importance of their mission is unveiled. While in captivity, Freeman has discovered the enemy’s deepest secret - how they control the ravenous army of the undead!

Editor's Note

Harper Voyager was kind enough to send me a review copy, so expect a review in the near future.  In the meantime you can check out Joseph Nassise's website, Facebook and Twitter pages.

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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.

Weekly Update #47.2

Editor's Note

Sorry about that links only post yesterday.  Real life can be pretty demanding, but I hope you all enjoyed Chris' Draka review.  I promise to have more content heavy posts coming up this week, including an Airship Update, some interviews and some advice on self-publishing.

Some good news, just beat our monthly page view record again.  That makes it six months in a row, but I want to break 6000 page views this month and if we continue at the pace we are going, it is extremely likely to happen.  By the way, please, please, please like us on Facebook.  We are just one fan away from 100!

Meanwhile, we got our first reader from Vietnam. Welcome!

And now the news...

The Company of the Dead Reviews

The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski has gotten some press lately since being released in the United States and it has been good.  Sally Hughes at We Love This Book said that the novel is "fast-paced and...delivers an exciting read which raises some fascinating philosophic question."  Meanwhile Marleen at More Than a Reading Journal praised the novel by saying "I have to conclude that this is an original, fascinating and almost impossible to put down book." Then there was the review at Falcata Times which said that the story "delivered everything I wanted, gave me pause for thought and wondered what else David will have in his imagination for future releases. A great debut all in and one that will make one hell of a film."

Those interested in learning more about The Company of the Dead can check out my review of the novel and stay tuned for my interview with David Kowalski, who has graciously consented to be interviewed.

Dissecting Worlds

Those needing a new podcast should check out the guys at Geek Syndicate who have a series called Dissecting Worlds.   The upcoming season of Dissecting Worlds will be alternate history themed. Here is a proposed list of episodes:

• Plague!: The Years of Rice and Salt and The Grand Flow of History
• Nazis!: The Age of World War (1914-1949)
• Romans!: Ancient and Classical Alternates.
• Americans!: War of Independence and American Civil War
• Illuminati!: Secret Histories and the Conspiracy Novel
• Victorians!: Steampunk and the Age of Imperialism
• Conclusions.

I highly recommend that you subscribe because you will get the chance to hear me be a guest on the episode about Americans.  The episode should appear sometime in July or August.  In the meantime, go follow Dissecting Worlds on Twitter.

Upcoming Films

Last week was full of movie news for alternate historians.  Here are some highlights:

• Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment are looking to bring George Orwell's 1984 back to the big screen. Yes I know it is not exactly alternate history, but it is certainly a novel beloved by fans of the genre, just look at the most viewed article on this blog.
• Chronicle director Josh Trank is slated to direct an adaptation of Christian Gossett's The Red Star, which is set in an alternate history where the Soviet Union is alive, growing, and using magic on a day-to-day basis.
  
• Wired ran a long article on the upcoming big-budget time travel film, Rome Sweet Rome, which is about an American Marine unit that is sent back in time to golden age of Rome.  Enjoy.

Links to the Multiverse

Online Alternate History

1636: The Kremlin Games – Snippet 15

Games

Unrelenting War in an Alternate History by Dust Warfare at Fantasy Flight Games.

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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.

Review: The Draka Series

Guest post by Chris Nuttall.

As I have noted in previous reviews, lack of plausibility alone is not a good reason to dismiss an alternate history book. The best of the genre teach us about history and people as well as telling a good story. It is impossible to describe the Draka books as plausible, but they do teach us, if nothing else, just how lucky we are to live in such a decent world. The world of the Draka is the dark reflection of our own world.

The core idea behind the series is that refugees from British North America settle South Africa (captured in the war) instead of Canada. This tiny band of refugees (and assorted immigrants, including refugees from the Confederate States after the end of the American Civil War) grows into a great nation to rival the United States. But there is a major difference between the two nations, one that defines the struggle that eventually ends in book 3. The Draka are the ultimate Master Race, a bare 1% of the population. Everyone else in their territory is a serf, a slave by any other name.

I believe that Stirling based the Draka at least partly on the society of Ancient Sparta (which is a fascinating area of history and well worth some study.) The Draka themselves are trained savagely almost from birth, with those who are defective isolated from the rest of the race and forbidden to breed, until even the merest Draka is a deadly enemy. Their military has a large reserve of manpower to call upon, one that compensates for its numerical weakness by being a raving meritocracy. Skilled Draka soldiers get heavily promoted; incompetents face barrack room justice. They are deadlier than the most dangerous units of Nazi Germany. Women serve on the front lines as equals to the men. The Draka cannot afford to apply gender prejudice to their war-fighting.

The serfs, by contrast, live highly restricted lives. They are legally nothing more than property (shades of Ancient Rome) and can be treated as their masters please. While overt sadistic behaviour is supposed to be controlled by social disapproval, the truth is that the serfs are permanently at the mercy of the citizens. The lucky ones farm or work in mass production workshops; those who dare to rebel are impaled or sent to death camps to be worked to death. Being a male-dominated society, the Draka have no qualms about their young men having sex with serf women. Unlike western culture, young women chase men, competing with slave girls who literally can't say no. (Women are forbidden from sleeping with slave men until reliable contraception is developed. Lesbian love affairs are very common among the Draka.)

Most of the serfs are deliberately kept ignorant of the world around them. The principle exception are the Janissaries, serfs armed and trained to serve as a bludgeon force for Draka expansion. They are the most atrocity-prone force in history – indeed, atrocities are keenly encouraged except when they might interfere with combat operations. You’d think that they would rebel, but they never do. The Draka have managed to keep a vast number of humans trapped in permanent bondage.

Stirling deserves credit for creating a truly strange culture, one that traps both slave and free population in its claws. There are ‘good’ Draka, including some characters that are more sympathetic than they should be, but even the ones who admit that there are flaws in their society are powerless to change it. Some of the serfs are effectively domesticated and don’t even think to question their position, others are all-too-aware that it could have been worse. One odd scene contrasts the treatment of a serf wench (serfs are referred to as wenches or bucks, further dehumanising them and separating them from the overlords) with the treatment of women in Afghanistan. I don’t see much difference between the two, really.

The first book in the Draka Series, Marching Through Georgia, introduces us to the Draka by sending them into war against Nazi Germany. This alternate Germany is led by Hitler and has already beaten Soviet Russia, becoming overextended in the process, allowing the Draka to stab them in the back by invading up from OTL’s Iran. In many ways, this is the best book of the series, with the neat small-unit action against the Germans.

Following on, Under the Yoke looks at an alternate France – occupied by the Draka, who are literally enslaving the entire population. By far the most harrowing of the books, it follows the lives of a handful of characters forced to watch helplessly as France is crushed below the feet of its new masters. There is limited ground for optimism as the Draka face the Alliance for Democracy, an American-led analogue of NATO, that is attempting to slip supplies to the resistance against the Draka. But the small victory they produce in no way impedes the assimilation of Europe.

The Stone Dogs takes a twist from the first two books in being spread out over several decades, as the Alliance and the Draka prepare for the final conflict. Both sides are developing superweapons and militarising space as fast as possible. The Draka are engaged in an effort to turn themselves into superhumans, while the Alliance concentrates on an antimatter-powered generation ship to take a small number of refugees to the nearest star. But rogue players on both sides trigger the final war. It probably is no great spoiler to note that the Draka win the war, bringing about the end of history. Some have claimed that Stirling cheats by allowing the Draka to win, but it is the logical end result of the series.

DrakonDraka superhumans is accidentally thrown across the timelines into our own universe. She is effectively a different form of life altogether from humanity and promptly starts trying to take over, opposed by a cop and a time-traveller from Samothrace, the world settled by the Alliance at the end of the previous book. The more interesting parts of the story are the bits set in the Draka home timeline, where we see the end result of the Final Society. The former serfs have been genetically engineered into servitude, turned into a race that is literally born and bred to serve the Draka. At first glance, their world seems idyllic, but it isn't long before the reader realises just how warped and evil they are.

The Draka series introduced many of the tropes in alternate history, making the series more influential than most AH books out there. Massive armed airships, eternal empires and stable societies came from the Draka world. Stirling has a fair claim to being more influential than Harry Turtledove, even though Turtledove serves as most people’s introduction to AH.

Stirling does a good job of humanising the Draka (despite their evil) and of outlining his characters from the Alliance and Draka serfs. However, the same cannot be said for the Draka timeline itself. There are – thankfully – a number of issues with it, which have been outlined elsewhere. However, I will take a moment to mention a handful.

First and foremost, the Draka have an extraordinary run of luck, gestating down in Africa while the rest of the world runs along historical tracks. No one attacks the Draka; no one even seems to realise the threat they represent until the end of the alternate World War Two. States tend to react to threats, even potential threats from states that are historically friendly. The mere presence of the Draka should warp the geopolitical structure of their world. By 1850, perhaps earlier, states should be forming defensive alliances against them. The idea that Hitler would allow them to occupy Italy in 1941 is absurd. Hitler would know that they’d be a knife pointed at the heart of his world.

Second, the Draka are supremely competent, capable, and developed. They have weapons that are better than their opponents (Nazi Germany, the people who maintained technical supremacy until the end of WW2), better doctrine and even luck. Stirling does note that the Draka are historically weak in the pure sciences; instead of being ahead of the curve, they should be behind it. Their society is somehow able to make use of serf ingenuity without provoking serf revolts when the educated serfs realise how badly they’re screwed in the system. Soviet Russia couldn’t compete with the US; the Draka will be even less capable of staying in the race.

Third, the Draka expand far too quickly. Their population expands at awesomely high levels and they take large swaths of Africa which were historically lethal to Europeans until certain diseases were defeated. This rapidly becomes absurd – they leap forward and take Egypt during the Napoleonic Wars, and then refuse to leave...

Which leads neatly into the fourth point. Britain, the same state that banned the slave trade and did the most to stamp it out, tolerates the Draka treating their captive populations in ways that would make the worst of the CSA blanch. The Draka have extraordinary freedom right from the start.

Fifth, and most significant, the Draka are capable of holding literally millions of people in bondage and transplanting their society on top of occupied territories. This isn't the easiest thing to do even if one is prepared to be utterly ruthless...and yet the Draka steadily grind down two-thirds of the entire world. The communist bloc and, to some extent, Iran’s regime tried hard to keep the population down and the price they paid for it was losing the willing cooperation of people who benefited from their own work. And in the end they fell apart. The Russians talked about the ‘Soviet Man.’ The Draka actually created a new form of human life.

And yet, there is something about the Draka series that makes it compelling. Stirling set out to create an anti-America, a state and a world where all the freedoms we take for granted are stamped out of existence – and eventually become unthinkable. Just as the Alliance slowly lost sight of why it existed, of why they had to stand up to the Draka, the West lost sight of why the Soviet Union needed to be opposed, or why the Taliban had to be fought, or why it is so important to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Evil wins in the Draka series because no one tried to stop it until it was too late.

Which is really the point, isn't it?

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Chris Nuttall blogs at The Chrishanger. His books can be found on Amazon Kindle.

Weekly Update #47.1

Editor's Note

Don't you just hate it when real life prevents you from posting the alternate history news of the week?  Sorry to do this again but I promise to make a more substantial post either by tonight or tomorrow.

In the meantime enjoy some links...

Links to the Multiverse

Interviews

24 Questions for Artist Jim Shaw by Chloe Wyma at Blouin Artinfo.

Articles

Hitler Bunker In Los Angeles: Murphy Ranch Reveals An Alternate Universe by Anna Almendrala at The Huffington Post.

Identifying a Potential Steampunk Reader by Jessica Miller at The Hub.

Michael Healey reads from his controversial political play by J. Kelly Nestruck at The Globe and Mail.

Ojukwu and Shagari and Nigerian counterfactuals by Okey C. Iheduru at Business Day.

Books

Maeve Alpin reviews Gail Carriger’s Timeless by Suzanne Lazear at Steamed!

Review of The Pillars of Hercules by David Constantine done by Dros Delnoch.

Online Alternate History

The Afrikanerverse According to Korsgaard: Another Guest Post on The World According to Quinn.

Dreams of Another Time: A 1983: Doomsday Tale by mdc1957.

Theater

Review of Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War by Dan Venning at Cuny Graduate Center Advocate.

Merchandise

Want Some "Coil Gun" Merchandise? on The World According to Quinn.

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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.

Review: "In The Country of the Blind" by Michael Flynn

Guest post by Chris Nuttall.

A concept that has fascinated readers and writers since Asimov is a science that can predict the behaviour of human beings – call it psychohistory, to borrow the Asimov term. Hardly anyone with an interest in science-fiction can avoid reading the Foundation series, where a genius historian has created a plan to reshape the collapsing galactic empire and give birth to another empire.

Michael Flynn, to be fair, is slightly less ambitious. The story opens with the development of the Babbage Society, who managed to get Babbage’s early computers to work and create a genuine science for predicting the future. The secret society, since then, has surfed the tidal waves of history in order to get rich – they’re not out for power, as one character points out. The main plot of the story concerns the accidental discovery of the society, the discovery of sister societies existing in the world, and the struggle against one evil society. In the course of events, we learn about the complexities of history and how actions can sometimes have inevitable, yet unexpected consequences. There are many fascinating points in the book, all of which detract from a bitter truth – the story is simply not very well written.

To be fair to Flynn, the opening sections work very well. The story only goes off the rails in part three, when one of the societies is exposed to the public and another starts out trying to exterminate the remaining societies. The story is part adventure, part mystery, part detective…it never quite settles down into a single plot. I found some of the side plots more interesting than the overall plot at times, while other parts were just tedious. Apparently innocent characters turn out to work for a hornet’s nest of different secret societies.

Frankly, I find the science a little unbelievable. Human affairs are not those of logic and reason. There’s a joke running through the alternate history community that the original history – real history – is unrealistic. The ability to predict technological advances and even the events of Hitler’s rise to power and spectacular fall would be well beyond any realistic science. Any number of random events would throw their predictions off beyond any hope of repair. Hitler could have gotten a compromise peace as late as 1943, or he could have been bumped off by the German military, or…the possibilities are literally endless.

History, if we accept the premise of the book, is strewn by the Babbage Society’s failures. They started, more or less by accident, the American Civil War. (In part three, this mistake is revealed to be caused by interference from another society, with both societies unaware of the other’s existence.) They played silly buggers with the American educational system to create a nation of sheep. One has the odd picture of a society that has two sides. The promised war between the good guys and the bad guys never really materialises. Flynn might have been making a subtle point about what happens to the best laid plans, but if so, it is really too subtle for the average reader.

Overall, In The Country of the Blind is well worth one read. Just be prepared never to accept anything at face value.

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Chris Nuttall blogs at The Chrishanger. His books can be found on Amazon Kindle.

Review: "The Company of the Dead" by David Kowalski

Grade: B+

Just because something is improbable does not mean it is impossible.  That is a common phrase you will find in David Kowalski's The Company of the Dead.  Originally published in Australia, this award-winning novel is Kowalski first work to be published in the United States and a lot of hype has come with it, including praise from John Birmingham and S. M. Stirling.  So does the novel deserve the attention it has been getting?

The story begins when a time traveler from OTL goes back in time to prevent the sinking of the Titanic.  The result of his efforts is a world where the United States does not enter World War I leading to a German victory.  An increasingly troubled United States eventually splits between a reborn Confederacy centered around Texas and the Deep South, while the rest of country reorganizes itself into the Northern Union.  The Union is later defeated and occupied by Japan, which along with Germany, is one of the world's two superpowers.  By the present day, the two empires have conducted a long cold war with actually fighting played among their proxies.  Meanwhile, culture and technology has stagnated.  Decolonization, women's suffrage and civil rights all failed. There was never a space race (but this world does have giant airships called stratolites that act as airship carriers in the upper atmosphere) and nuclear weapons are a recent discovery.

The setting is the weakest part of the novel.  Despite its ASB point of divergence, the events blossoming out from the changes wrought by the time traveler are not always logical.  The idea that the Germans could be victorious in WWI simply because the United States stayed out of the war ignores the effect of British tanks on the fighting on the Western Front and Germany's own internal problems.  Japan being able to defeat and occupy half of the OTL USA is also given way to much credit to the Japanese Empire, even this alternate one.  On a related note, the book's jacket and promotional material appear to misquote the setting of the novel.  America is described as being split by the two superpowers, with Japan holding the West Coast and Germany holding the East Coast.  In reality Japan occupies the West Coast and New York, with the entire Northern Union being a client state.  The Confederacy, however, is independent and a nominal ally of Germany.  Not sure why that mistake was not caught before publication.

Despite the implausible history of the novel, The Company of the Dead is still a good book.  The meat of the story follows Confederate spy Joseph Kennedy as his plan to restore history to its rightful order unfolds.  By linking the plot with Roswell, Area 51, the sinking of the Titanic and the assassination of JFK; Kowalski managed to write an intriguing spy-thriller with mysteries abound.  More importantly, Kowalski presented an important message that all alternate historians should take to heart: changing the past does not always mean a better future.  This is especially true if your intention is to avoid an historical tragedy.  For example, what if you went back in time and killed Hitler before his rise to power?  Would that lead to a better world?  As bad as the Holocaust was, without it we probably never would have had world nations embrace human rights.  Or something worse could have happened, such as the Soviets invading Europe or someone competent taking charge of Germany.  Do you remember what the road to hell is paved with?

Kowalski's debut American novel is a good story with an important message for fans of the genre, as long as you are not bothered to much by plausibility issues.  You only have to remember that just because something is improbable, does not mean it is impossible.

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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.

Showcase: Protect and Survive

Guest post by Brian W. Daugherty.

Alternatehistory.com has seen numerous excellent timelines posted on its site. The group of timelines that comprise the Protect and Survive universe deserve to be among the best.

The heart of P&S is Protect and Survive: A Timeline, telling the story of the buildup to a nuclear war in February, 1984 and its aftermath, primarily set in Newcastle, England. This storyline was started by AH.com member Macragge1 in August 2010, using lines from the British government's Protect and Survive campaign as a launching point to tell his story.

From the beginning Macragge sought to tell a forthright, if bleak, account of what would happen during such an event. The timeline was influenced by a number of post-apocalyptic novels.  Stylistically, his storytelling takes inspiration from David Peace's GB84, about the 1984 miners' strike in Britain. Macragge's characters are not identified by name for the most part, instead referred to by such monikers as "the Controller" or "the Librarian". This is no ways dehumanizes Macragge's characters; their humanity is very much in evidence, particularly in how they cope with the sudden harshness of daily life, the very difficult decisions they must make just to survive.

In each update, Macragge starts by quoting from the Protect and Survive pamphlet (and later, from other works, like popular 1980s songs), then gives a general view of the world as of that point in the TL. This is where we learn, for example, about the buildup of tension between the U.S. and USSR; the event that triggers the launching of missiles and bombers (here after referred to as the Exchange); how badly Britain gets hit; and news of the rest of the world as the surviving British government receives it.

This is not a timeline where everyone gets hit badly and things get better afterwards. Things can, and often do, go badly; decisions can have both bad short- and long-term consequences. People choose to go on, although their daily lives become harsh. Food and other necessities trump the rule of law; choices that might trigger outright revolt in peacetime are considered after the Exchange as necessary.

Requests from readers soon led to a spinoff storyline, in which the British government sends a team to the United States. Like P&S, the spinoff takes a bleak turn. Not all of the team members get along; the journey across North America is difficult; and, due to the actions of one of the disgruntled Brits, the storyline takes a shocking twist - one that ends badly for a very important player within the TL.

That spinoff led to others based in America, starting with Gen_Patton's Duck and Cover, which follows Macragge's TL stylistically and focuses on Cleveland, Ohio (which somehow managed to not get nuked); Rome, Georgia and Walla Walla, Washington. Gen_Patton tells the story of the war and its aftermath from the standpoint of survivors trying to rebuild the U.S. homeland.

Duck and Cover was followed by Chipperback's Land of Flatwater: Protect and Survive in Middle America, telling the story of the war and its aftermath from the perspective of characters in the state of Nebraska. Here, Chipperback pulls no punches, but diverges from Macragge in two respects.

First, he gives his main characters names and fleshes out their lives so we know them well, and get ideas on how the war affects people at various levels of society: Chip, a young boy from Omaha; Bob Kerrey, the OTL and ITTL governor in 1984; and Tyler Tyles, a man whom would be labeled a domestic terrorist in our time, among the several well-developed characters.

Second, the characters seemed determined not only to survive, but to live (albeit not quite in the same fashion as before). This could be a reflection of the American versus the British mindset; characters in P&S seemed resigned to their fate, accepting that life has become 'short, brutish and hard'; in Land of Flatwater, characters acknowledge their circumstances and seek to rebuild (or, in the case of Tyler Tyles, attain power).

Macragge is not the only creator to set a timeline in Britain, and Europe was not to be ignored in the P&S universe.

The Last Flight of XM594, written by JN1, focuses on a Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan bomber crew tasked with hitting targets in the Soviet Union and its allied countries during the Exchange.

Will Ritson - whom AH readers may know as the creator of the Images of 1984 - Stories from Oceania timeline - also contributes to the P&S universe. There Won't Be Any Illuminations is set in Lancashire, England.

Mario Rossi's timeline, Noi nom ci saremo, is based in Italy, telling the story of the buildup from the perspective of people in the Italian government. It unfortunately seems to have stalled, as there haven't been any updates since late 2011.

DrakonFin tells Finland's story in The Land of Sad Songs. It carries on the stark bleakness of Macragge's TL - perhaps exacerbated by Finland's being sandwiched between the USSR and NATO members Sweden and Norway. In the P&S-verse, the survivors have to deal with the reality of their country having been hit by both sides; Soviet troops try to stay alive, while Finnish commanders go to extreme measures to procure food.

JoHansen tells the story of Norway in his Nothern Wind TL.

No Rest for the Wicked, written by Agentdark, is set in Africa, stretching from Ghana to Libya to southern Africa.

Back to America, Chipperback's TL inspired stalkere to write Don't Turn Your Back on the Wolfpack

Top Hats Daily chose to set his TL, That Damned Bridge, in Minnesota. American and Canadian troops fight to keep the peace along the Minnesota/Ontario border.

GAB-1955's TL, Pro Aris et Pro Focis, is based in New York City, focusing on a National Guard unit trying to keep the peace in America's largest metropolis.

Finally, my own TL, The Last Game, gives the perspective of athletes, administrators and students at the University of Kentucky, among others as the conflict builds towards the Exchange - which comes after the 'last' American major college basketball game to be played, two days before.

Protect and Survive, and its spinoffs, takes the reader through the buildup to an all-out nuclear war, the event itself, and its aftermath as realistically as any story I've ever read. The creators clearly are out to make their storylines as realistic as possible, and also are well-written (both standards which I strive to meet in my own TL).

Readers may be most familiar with the nuclear war concept through the movies The Day After and Threads. Both portrayed the aftermath of their respective events as bleak and hopeless. At least in the case of The Day After, there was a point to this: nuclear war will destroy everyone and everything, with total, utter death and destruction, like the ashen landscape described in Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

Writing such a conclusion may have had its uses in regards to Cold War politics and convincing world leaders that a nuclear war has no true winners. The writers of Protect and Survive have chosen to try to describe the aftermath in a realistic manner - which may not completely agree with Carl Sagan's nuclear winter theory nor with readers who foresee the conclusion of such an event as leading only to total extinction.

In any case, the various timelines have not advanced too far into their futures from the Exchange. In that regard there is much room not only to advance the various storylines, there also is time to build a realistic vision of what a post-nuclear world would look like.

Whatever shape that takes, the creators of Protect and Survive are certain to tell the story in an engaging manner, full of the victories and defeats the characters are certain to encounter, and the blunt reality of their new lives.

• Readers can keep track of the spinoff threads here.
• New submissions are welcomed, although creators are asked to submit a short proposal at When the Wind Blew: a P&S Open Thread. The open thread also serves as a place to discuss the overall TL.
• There are no plans for a Facebook page for the P&S universe. However, it does have a Twitter page.

*     *     *

Brian W. Daugherty is, among other things, a fan of alternate history who got his start in the genre with 1983: Doomsday. He eventually became an administrator at the Alternate History Wikia, and continues to contribute both there and at alternatehistory.com.

Breaking News: Author’s 12 years of research turns into alternate history novel about Vladimir Putin

New York writer Jennifer Ciotta has a unique fascination with Russian President Vladimir Putin. She has researched and studied him for over 12 years, including the completion of a Master’s degree in Russian studies and creative writing from NYU.

Her new book, titled I, Putin, is a captivating story about human interaction, compassion and tough decisions set against the real-life tragedy which occurred in the year 2000 when the Kursk, a Russian submarine, exploded with 118 sailors aboard. Newly elected President Vladimir Putin was at the helm of this crisis and chose unorthodox ways (unorthodox to a Westerner at least) to react. This was one of his first major activities as president.

Ciotta says, “History can be very instructive, even when set to fiction. People have forgotten what happened when the Kursk submarine exploded and sank into the abyss. This is when Putin took total control of the Russian media. His experience with the Kursk tragedy turned him into the leader he is today—it changed him forever. Putin wavered on his decision to rescue the sailors. This response was seen as very Soviet since Gorbachev waited 18 days to address Chernobyl. The Russian media vilified Putin and Russians voiced their anger, but he ended up seizing control.”

Her story offers very credible, timely and important insights into how Putin makes decisions and exercises iron-handed control even today.

Premise

What happens when Vladimir Putin is faced with a decision so harrowing, it changes him forever? 118 submariners spiraling into the abyss, a country in chaos and a president who seems not to care. Through the eyes of a first person Vladimir Putin, and his personal aide Gosha, discover what motivates the man behind Russia. Is he the cold, ruthless Vladimir Putin we know, or is he … human?

About the Author

Jennifer Ciotta spent 12 years writing and researching I, Putin. She received a Master’s degree in Russian studies (with a focus on Putin) and creative writing from New York University. While at NYU, she studied with the Department of Russian and Slavic Studies and completed a thesis on Putin’s KGB Mentality. On the writing side, her short stories have appeared in Del Sol Review and New Voices in Fiction. She was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Estonia—a main setting for the book —from 2000-2002. She was the Editorial Director of Literary Traveler magazine for five years, and currently, she is a book manuscript editor at Pencey X Pages and an advisory editor at Author Salon. She lives in New York.

What People Are Saying

A wonderful blend of fact and fiction from beginning to end. I found myself totally involved with the disaster as it evolved. It had me reading late into the night wanting to know if perhaps the outcome had been changed. More than that, it sent me on a search to read more about Putin especially since he has been in the news so much recently.

Sara Costello, Amazon reviewer

Despite the complex topic, the novel is an easy yet captivating read containing both high quality content and a psychological approach to Putin's persona. The book also focuses around the personal tragedy of the family of the submarine lieutenant who was destined to die in the sunken Kursk. It's impressive Ciotta was able to intertwine Putin's life with the personal stories of other characters portrayed in the book. I, Putin is one of the books you will remember long after reading.

Tatyana Mucci, Amazon reviewer

Editor's Note

Jennifer has been kind enough to send me a review copy, so expect a review of I, Putin in the near future. In the meantime you can check out the novel if you have a Kindle or Kindle app, or wait until April 2012 when it comes out in paperback.  Those wishing to contact Jennifer about the book can reach her at jennifer.ciotta@gmail.com.

Breaking News: Hodderscape Sci-Fi and Fantasy Competition

Hodderscape (follow on Twitter or Facebook), a new community for sci-fi and fantasy fans, has teamed up with Circalit to give writers the opportunity to win free books. All contestants must write and submit a sci-fi/fantasy short story and upload it on Circalit.  The five top-rated short stories will all receive five free books from Hodderscape, including the alternate history tale The Eyrie Affair by Jasper Fforde, the first book of the Thursday Next series.

Besides the requirement that the story be a work of original fiction, the winners will be selected by community voting. Every person submitting a short story must review three other short stories. So good luck to all contestants and remember that as of this post you only have three weeks and five days to submit your story.

Weekly Update #46

Editor's Note

If I can take a moment for some shameless self-promotion: my short story "The Enchanted Bean" has been sent to Echelon Press for review.  Now I am awaiting to hear back from the editor.  In the meantime I have returned to writing my other short story "Diary from Hell" that I plan to submit to Dark Moon Digest for their horror anthology.  Stay tuned.

Remember I am still looking for entries to our Banner Contest.  If you are artistically inclined, please submit your designs for our banner.

The blog got its first readers from Ecuador and the Isle of Man.  Welcome!

And now the news...

New Poll

I have often used Weekly Update to test new ideas that sometimes evolve into their own independent series.  For example, the very popular Showcase series got its start as a segment of a Weekly Update post.  Now I have three new ideas for an independent series, but I am letting you choose which one moves to the big leagues.  Here are the options:

• Submissions Wanted: Where I present opportunities to submit works of alternate history to publishers.
• Coming Soon/New Releases: Where I present new/upcoming alternate history books, comics, games, films and television shows.
• Convention Watch: Where I present info about conventions and other real life events where you can geek out about alternate history.

If you have your own ideas for a new series, please email me at ahwupdate@gmail.com.

More Shattered World ebooks published

Bobby Hardenbrook announced on his blog:

The next two ebooks are now published on the Amazon kindle store. This brings the series up to date with all the existing content from the original timeline. I'll now begin working on the next ebook with new material and I'll post samples on here as I go. I'll eventually be publishing on the nook store as well but I need to wait awhile since my publishing terms with Amazon require that I wait 3 months before publishing anywhere else.

The titles of the news books are Shattered World: Total War and Shattered World: World in Flames. Expect a review of the first ebook in the series from me in the near future.

Links to Multiverse

Articles

Steampunking History by Suzanne Lazear at Steamed!

Interviews

Renowned writer Alan Moore pens huge book based in historic area of Northampton by Nicole Le Marie at Northampton Chronicle.

What Happens on the Titanic Stays on the Titanic: An Interview with David Kowalski at Fantasy Matters.

Books

Baen Teacher’s Guide to 1636: The Kremlin Games by Eric Flint, Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett.

Book Quotes to Find Your Next Read by Candace at She Knows Book Lounge (includes excerpt from The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen).

New Blaylock steampunk novel for Titan by Katie Allen at The Bookseller.

Now recruiting – US-based Sales & Marketing Manager by Marco at Angry Robot.

Comics

Exclusive: DC Comics Releases New "Before Watchmen" Details by Valerie Gallaher at MTV Geek.

Films

Excellent alternate history films by James Clayton at Den of Geek!

Video Games

Gratuitous Tank Battles Pre-Orders Open, Beta Access Details by Gamers Daily News.

Space Dog Fights Soviet Union In Laika Believes by Pete Haas at Gaming Blend.

Media

An alternate history map of North America at Cartophile.

* * *

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.

Review: "Hitler's War" by Harry Turtledove

Guest post by Chris Nuttall.

In the first few pages, Hitler’s War shows remarkable promise. In a new record for Turtledove, that promise is cast away within the first two chapters. I was a third of the way through it when I recognised an ugly truth. I was bored. I didn’t care what happened to the characters. I didn’t want them to live, or to die, or to make babies with their girls. I didn’t care about them in the slightest.

Hitler’s War is based around two promising PODs, rather than one. A famous Spanish Nationalist survives a plane crash that would have killed him. A famous German from Czechoslovakia is assassinated during the Munich Conference. I don’t see how the two of them interrelate, but perhaps it doesn’t matter. Hitler takes the assassination as a chance to start a war with the Czechs. Apart from the moments of “I’m a naughty boy” from Hitler (more akin to Herr meets Hare than real life), it works fairly well. Hitler did want a war with the Czechs and was disappointed when Chamberlain surrendered and let him rape the country. At that point, one chapter in, the story disintegrates.

The Turtledove books that are well remembered focused on a tiny number of characters. The Guns of the South, Toxic Spell Dump and Ruled Britannia only had a small number of main characters. The only book with a vast cast of characters that worked out near-perfectly was How Few Remain. The longer sets of books, particularly the Great War books, dragged on and on and on, with so much repetition that one wonders if Turtledove was writing for someone with poor short-term memory problems. I still have a fond space in my heart for the WorldWar books, but even they were stretched too far. Turtledove is not so much interested in the story as what happens to the people caught up in events. Sometimes this works. It just doesn’t work very often and it really doesn’t work for Hitler’s War.

Turtledove offers us what should have been an interesting cast of characters. There’s a German Jewish girl in Germany. There are soldiers from all sides and nationalities (yes, ALL!) There’s an American woman stranded in Germany. There are Japanese and American soldiers in China. This would be more impressive if they didn’t all blur together after a while into one vast mass of…boring people. None of them rise up to be interesting, or good or bad or whatever. There are few glimpses of what is happening with the overall war. The characters just are.

He does show us intriguing glimpses of his research. Historically, the Poles did sell out the Czechs. At the same time, of course, they were caught between Hitler and Stalin. (This point does get made in the book.) Even so, they passed up their best chance to stop Hitler right there and then. There are moments when he shows the tactics of the alternate war. There are moments when he repeats himself, a problem so excessively bad in his early works that it has spawned derision among the AH community. The book needed an editor. I know someone I could recommend, if Turtledove were interested.

The alternate European War is decidedly odd, to say the least. Germany attacks Czechoslovakia after the peace talks break down. The Spanish Civil War is sidelined, with the nationalists attacking and capturing Gibraltar. The Poles stay neutral. The USSR sends ‘volunteer’ units to fight the Germans. The French launch a tiny offensive that gets nowhere fast. The UK declares war, but otherwise does little. The Czechs lose to Germany. The Germans attack France and bomb England. The Russians take the chance to press demands on Poland, bringing in the Germans on the Polish side (!). The Japanese stab the Russians in the back. The German offensive against France stalls against Paris and is driven back, where it will probably be resumed in the next book.

There’s only one problem with this scenario.

It’s utter nonsense.

The Germans in 1938 were FAR weaker than Turtledove suggests. They had shortages in pretty much every area, and weak in trained cadre. A war of almost any duration would have run the risk of burning through all their stock. They would be attacking a tough opponent dug into the second-strongest defence line in Europe, with tanks and a tough little air force of their own. (The Czechs produced plenty of excellent war machines for Germany after the West abandoned them.) Their tanks were inferior to Western designs. I won’t even go into what happened to the Japanese when they faced the Soviets in OTL. They got their butts soundly kicked.

Turtledove, despite being branded the Master of Alternate History, has a nasty habit of using OTL as a guide to ATL. It never works out very well. He seems to combine World War Two with World War One and failed at both. It would not have worked out that way.

If Hitler really did launch Case Green, there would be a good chance that the Czechs could hold him off themselves, without help. If the French Army came over the border with just a division or two, they’d brush through the tiny force Hitler left to the west, even if they had a McClellan in command. They’d realise pretty quickly that Hitler had been bluffing and keep moving onwards into Germany. The Germans would find themselves caught in a two-front war (three-front if the Poles jump in as well) and running out of supplies. Perhaps some kindly soul would shoot Hitler and put an end to the war, or perhaps Berlin would fall and the allies impose peace.

The really annoying part of this book is that a lot of intriguing ideas are tossed in and then out again. Hitler faces a coup launched by the German military and survives – what happened then? We never get told. How was he so much stronger than in OTL 1938? Chamberlain faces a no-confidence vote and survives, somehow. What happened? Why? There are few overall images of how the war is progressing. Turtledove glosses over vast sweeps of detail that could have transformed the book from an absurdity to an interesting read. In one sense, the book is too long. In another, it is too short. It doesn’t do justice to the vast sweep of ideas, nor does it justify them.

There comes a time, in the life of every best-selling author, when he becomes editor-proof. A Tom Clancy, Stephen King or JK Rowling (and yes, a Harry Turtledove) does not HAVE to listen to an editor when he or she is told that the book needs a rewrite. They can merely threaten to take their name to another publisher to get their way. Their books degenerate into masses of poorly researched and badly-written text, barely showing hints of the great genius they once allowed to flourish. And then they lose popularity and wonder why.

Sic Transit Gloria…

(People interested in a proper look at a WW2 in 1938 would be advised to check out On to Berlin)

*     *     *

Chris Nuttall blogs at The Chrishanger. His books can be found on Amazon Kindle.

Breaking News: "Shattered World: The Eurasian War" available for free for a limited time!

The first e-book in the Shattered World series is available for free right now until the end of this weekend.  So if you have a Kindle or a Kindle app, you can get the first installment of one of my personal online AH favorites.  Author  Bobby Hardenbrook also reports that the book has "hit #9 in the 'war' category on the kindle store and cracked the top 5000 for all kindle books! Wow, talk about massively exceeding all my expectations!"

* * *

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.

Showcase: William Dellinger's For All The Marbles

My dear readers, you are in for a treat today. Of all the showcases I have done for all of you, it is no small thing when I say that what you're reading today may very well be for the next big story of the entire Alternate History. those are not words I use lightly, believe me, and I know everybody and their little brother who have ever penned a work in the genre tend to blanket their work in that claim. For All The Marbles has earned every word of that oft tossed about phrase.

Because For All The Marbles is unlike any other work of alternate history you or I have ever read or seen.

Don't take my word for it though! Please, enjoy the trailer I have prepared for you prior to the main showcase:

INT to a view of paintings, statues and such of various historical figures. Nelson's Column, The Bayeux Tapestry, Washington Crossing the Delaware.

Throughout human history, only a lucky few, through reputation or great deeds, have earned for themselves a name and legacy to withstand the test of time.

You now see brief glimpses of the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Queen Elizabeth I, Julius Caesar and a few other historical figures.

Only the best and brightest of the manifold millions of men escape mortality to live forever as legend. Question is, of these lucky few...

You now see those same faces again, as the camera reveals them all to be standing alongside each other, a hundred fold or more all filled with some of the most recognizable figures in history.

Can they do it twice?

You see before them stands a figure who somewhat resembles Mark Harmon, though shinning with an otherworldly glint in his eyes, who then says 'You may call me Marvin, and let me tell you about the Myox..."

AH.com and William Dellinger present histories greatest figures, together again at last.

Our most refined statesmen

A brief glimpse of what is clearly a cabinet meeting with several figures gathered around a table. We get to see Thomas Jefferson reading off a list of proposals at one end of the table, as the camera pans over we see members include the likes of Otto von Bismark, Winston Churchill, Henry Clay, Adam Smith, Marcus Cicero and a number of others. Rubbing his chin at the head of the table is Charlemagne, along with his wife, Elizabeth Tudor.

Our most cunning strategists

We are given a glimpse into what looks like a general staff meeting, with Dwight Eisenhower pouring over maps with the likes of Julius Caesar, Robert E Lee, Hannibal Barca, and a number of others. In the corner we see a chess match between Niccolo Machiavelli and Sun Tzu, as a figure immediately recognizable as Cardinal Richelieu approaches Machiavelli and whispers something in his ear. A faint smile creeps on his face as the camera pans away.

Our most brilliant minds

We now see a room with a massive chalkboard with Steven Hawking walking up and down correcting various figures before turning to face his colleagues, which for the moment, includes Issac Newton, Robert Goddard, Wilbur Wright, Archimedes, Werner von Braun and Albert Einstein, the latter of whom smiles and says 'Faster than light travel... wondurbar...'

Our most cultured artists

We see a few books on a table, with unrecognizable titles, but authored by Hemingway, Milton, and a few by Shakespeare, as the camera pans up to see Leonardo de Vinci moving a brush across a wide canvas as Michelangelo looks onward as a vaguely familiar classical tune comes out of a radio. Michelangelo asks 'I can't tell, is that, Mozart or Beethoven?'. Leonardo stops painting long enough to look back and say 'Both'.

Our most courageous soldiers

We see George Patton on Horseback alongside Colin Powell as he unfolds a telegram handed to him by a messenger. We see it reads 'First one to flank the enemy buys the drinks tonight - Erwin Rommel'. A mixture of a smile and a scowl breaks out on his face as he says 'Looks like the drinks are on you tonight, you magnificent bastard', then riding off to rally his troops.

Against our most brutal foes

We get a glimpse from behind of a figure speaking from a balcony in a very fascistic manner, and though we never see his face, we see the seemingly endless formation of black uniformed soldiers before him as they all let loose a deafening war cry as the man thrusts his arm out in an all too familiar salute.

FOR ALL THE MARBLES

Humanity's greatest leaders against humanity's greatest foes.

If you haven't guessed by now, the concept is one both elegant in its simplicity and brilliant in its execution. A cosmic figure (some might call him an alien space bat) known as Marvin is part of an interstellar game with fellow members of his ilk, known as Myox. This game consists of the player taking a number of figures to use as pieces to form an entire civilization from scratch, and then proceed to wage war until control of the planet belongs to one side, with all other players eliminated. While we have yet to see what pieces the other sides had picked, Marvin alone picked out a list of figures that would make almost any history buff drool.

Here, lies one of the biggest draws and strengths of the story. One of the big charms of alternate history has been to allow a writer to write a fictional story from the eyes and perspective of various historical figures, and for the reader to have a familiar window to gaze at an unfamiliar world. It goes without saying that a story like For All The Marbles, which provides us with a story that revolves around the Dream Team of human history would be all the more enticing, let along when written with such skill and passion as it is here. Little details of the figures here and there provide a great deal of both drama and humor in the story - Alexander the Great as he struggles to embrace humility, Steven Hawking's joy to being able to use his legs again, Benedict Arnold tearfully begging forgiveness from George Washington for his treason, Mozart's disgusted reaction to bubblegum pop - all are as wonderful as the tensions and struggles of the group as they establish control over their portion of the planet, and ready for a war that will see them make a play for the rest.

Plus, in addition to the many historical viewpoints, the original characters are just as great, and it is interspersed with references to alternate history culture, AH.com and cameos for various figures and members - Marvin's ship is named the Thande, the various other Myox players are named after the site's Mods, and among the thirty or so cameos, your humble narrator has a role as Shakespeare's apprentice, and I'm very proud of the spot on portrayal of my personality.

While the story itself has advanced only to a little after planet fall, rest assured, you are getting plenty of value. Every update pulls you in fully into the story, and leaves you wanting more with every update. This is a testament to both Dellinger's writing and narrative style, which are both superb and seem to get even better with every posted update. The later updates are each well over 10,000 words, so there's plenty to read, which is one reason for the recent reboot, to beef up the earlier updates.

Overall, it's like I said during my coverage of the Turtledoves - this was the best work of fiction I read last year. Not posts on alternatehistory.com, not alternate history, but fiction period - and given what I read, I hope that says something. It's concept is one of the most brilliant I've come across, and Dellinger's writing abilities are more than enough to handle the story. There is a reason this story has taken AH.com by storm and won at the Turtledove's in landslides. This is the rare kind of TL on AH.com I would pay to read, and in the event this story gets finished and traditionally published, I fully plan on buying a copy. Until then, I will be following devotedly on AH.com has he updates it, and if you haven't read it yet, you need to. The rebooted version is here, but the original is well worth a read too, and not just to tide you over until the next updates.

You heard it hear first folks: For All The Marbles is a masterpiece in the making. Read it now to see for yourself.

Soldier, scholar, writer and web-voyeur, Sean CW Korsgaard has been active in the alternate history community since 2006, and was recently elected to succeed Mitro as President of the Alternate History Online Facebook group. In addition to his contributions at the Alternate History Weekly Update, he writes for several websites, including his own, which can be found here. He is also apprenticed to William Shakespeare, and is playing Macbeth in the latest performance of the play.

Showcase: Napoleon’s World

Guest post by Tbguy1992.

Hello my fellow counterfactual historical thespians! Today I present to you a showcase of one web based source of Alternate History that has been overlooked here on Alternate History Weekly Update, the Alternate History Wikia. And those folks that have been to the Wikia know a bit about this one, Napoleon’s World created by KingSweden.

Napoleon's World in 2010.

Napoleonic Era Point of Divergences have a difficult time seeming plausible at the start, especially when a land power and a naval power go to war, in this case France and Britain. Since the only way for France to defeat England is to either beat them and their allies so much that they have no choice but to give up, or challenge them on the high seas, which is almost suicidal when you consider the state of the French Navy during the brilliant years of Bonaparte’s string of conquests in Europe. And Napoleon’s World is no exception. But this timeline almost seems to delight in the sheer implausibility that is this POD that you can’t help but enjoy it.

The POD takes place in 1813, when Napoleon emerges from his defeat in Russia the previous year and once again destroys everything in his path: starting with Russia, and invading Austria again, Northern Italy, and finishing off the last stragglers of the Peninsular Wars in Spain, and resulting in the death of the Duke of Wellington. By 1814, Napoleon is once again powerful enough to contemplate an invasion of England and defeating the “nation of shopkeepers” once and for all the next year. A string of victories in England climaxing in the second Battle of Hastings that makes Napoleon triumphant over all of Europe at last.

Almost the entire continent except a few small independent states like Spain, Denmark and East Prussia is consolidated in a massive empire that only rivals Rome and Hitler years later for sheer size. The United States goes into Imperialistic mode, and takes over a large chunk of Canada from the moribund United Kingdom. Russia and the Russian people are forced into Siberia, with many then fleeing to Alaska, in a pseudo-realistic view of what the Nazi’s would have done if they had taken over the USSR in the Second World War.

I could go on and on about how ridiculous this idea is, how implausible it is, and how loony it could be, but why bother? There are many other worse ones, and KingSweden himself did admit to me that it was maybe a bit whacky. But where this timeline really shines is the insane amount of detail that goes into the modern pop-culture, sporting events and politics and the major events, such as the WWII analogue “French Civil War” where Himmler is one of the good guys (gasp!). He has been very open about allowing others to contribute, especially with his Alternate Destinies page, where the famous and well known of our world are given new roles that are similar to their real life, or completely opposite of what they actually did (Dick Cheney as a football player? Francis Copula as the head of a Southern California organized crime syndicate? Barack Obama as one of the most popular actors in history?).

I do have a thing against really implausible timelines, and I never was a fan of the Alien Space Bats stories. However, Napoleon’s World works with that, and makes a story that is fun to read and entertaining and really spellbinding to look further into despite the weaker POD. Not a day goes by where a new article related to Napoleon’s World is added, further adding to the story in many colorful ways. I highly encourage you to read it, just make sure to leave your suspension of belief on while doing so.

*    *    *

Tbguy1992 is a young Canadian student of history with interests in video games and reading. When not busy doing things that Canuck's should be doing, like igloo's, hockey and overusing the first vowel in the alphabet, he is often writing on Alternate History Wikia and other domains of the Internet under the same name, as well as other works that may or may not be published in the near future.

Interview: Joseph Franciosa Jr.

I now present to you my interview with Joseph Franciosa Jr., co-author of Young Adolf.  Enjoy:

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

A professor once told me it is more difficult to say a little than it is to say a lot. My interests are varied, ranging from writing and playing various instruments, to hiking and canoeing, to religiously following my beloved Boston sports teams. Don’t get me started on video games. Injury (and perhaps now age) may have betrayed my competitive spirit on a baseball field, a wrestling mat, or a volleyball court, but online is a whole different game. I have always loved reading. My family comes before all of these things, and my friends just after that. When it comes to writing, I try to work on my novel daily, there are days however that I devote to poetry. Every now and then a dream or circumstance will prompt me to write a short story.

How did you meet Frank P. Daversa?

I was fairly fresh out of college with a B.A. in English. Job prospects for that degree were less than plentiful, so I turned my talents to the freelance market. After a few weeks of perusing various websites, I finally settled into GoFreelance.com. It was there I first made contact with Frank. His story proposal piqued my interest for several reasons I will detail later. After submitting a bid and offering my portfolio to Frank, he decided to share his synopsis of the story with me. The rest was…well it was a job. This is not to say the fact that it was a “job” prevented me from enjoying my work.

What got you interested in alternate history?

My father can take that credit. He once read a book entitled “Sharpe’s Eagle” by Bernard Cornwell. Yes, the same Sharpe that was made into a BBC television series and the same Cornwell who in my eyes is the Lord and Master of the Historical Fiction genre. I devoured the book in a few nights, and soon the 20+ Sharpe books in the series found their way into a collection that has continued with nearly all of Cornwell’s work. Every year I try to find a new Cornwell novel for my father’s Christmas present. Thankfully, Cornwell continues to produce incredible works that Dad will let me read when he’s finished. So Historical Fiction gave way to Alternate History. After all, who hasn’t asked “What if…?”

What are some of your favorite "what ifs?"

What if the British won the Revolutionary war? Would the United States of Britain welcome immigrants of all types? Would Victorian ethics have prevailed across this nation? What would the slave trade have been like? Would there have still been a Civil war? Would the North still have won? What does that do to World War I, or World War II? I could spend a decade writing books trying to explore those questions and that only starts in 1776…What if Rome never conquered Britain to begin with? What if mankind never decided to group itself by nation? How about sports? The ball is caught by Bill Buckner, the Sox win the Series in ‘86 and 2004’s miracle comeback from being down 0-3 to the Yankees is mildly less dramatic because it hasn’t been 86 years since the last World Series win. What if in 2007,(sorry for this one Frank, but I couldn’t resist) Ref’s do their job and blow the play dead when Eli Manning is in the grasp of Richard Seymour and several other Patriots amidst the Giant’s collapsing pocket . David Tyree never makes a bubblegum catch on his helmet and the Patriots go on to win their 4th Super Bowl of the millennia. Spygate is revealed to be nothing more than an attempt by a certain Boston Heralding newspaper to create controversial headlines to save their sales figures. I should apologize, I’m turning “What if” into “What ought to have been”…

What is your novel Young Adolf about?

“The novel revisits Adolf Hitler's childhood as an exercise in developmental psychology: can an early romance overcome the domestic challenges of young Adolf's life? The story juxtaposes the real-life childhood of Hitler with a fictional female character two years his senior. The two hit it off and eventually fall in love, until a catastrophic event separates them forever. The story ends by asking the reader, "Was young Adolf's love for her strong enough to change his personality for the better—and thus alter the course of History?” But you can see that on our website www.YoungAdolf.com.

I would be cheating this interview if I were to leave things at that. The novel is about Adolf Hitler. It is about humanity, and perception, and pride, and ignorance. It is about Love, and friendship. But mostly, it is about Love. Yes, that deserved being mentioned twice. It may be difficult for readers to detach Adolf the Adult from Young Adolf, but it is a worthwhile exercise. Beneath Adolf’s stereotypes there was a real boy, who really grew up in a challenging domestic situation. He had real ambitions and well-documented desires that had nothing to do with the events of World War II. He was like any number of children, hoping to pursue his dreams of being an artist. That much was rather easy to relate to, really.

What inspired you to write the novel with Frank?

One of my largest motivations was a desire to prove my versatility. I had written manuscripts for epic Fantasy, Historical romance, countless short stories, essays, and poems, but those were either published by Suffolk University, or were sitting on my hard drive. This was my first opportunity to professionally prove my talents. Once I met Frank and understood his passion for this story, seeing his dream help fulfill my own was all the inspiration I needed. I told him from the start, “This is your book.” I am glad he is pleased with the work.

How did you and Frank split the responsibilities on producing the novel?

Frank provided me with a brief synopsis for the story. I then spent several months on preliminary research before I began producing drafts of each chapter. Frank would both edit those drafts and add insightful ideas for both the plot and character developments. Frank was entirely responsible for acquiring a publisher and an editor for the work. Frank also controls the marketing of the work.

What sources did you use when researching for the novel?

There were countless sources. I researched everything from grape varietals growing in the German-Austrian climates of the time just so Alois could complain about his wine having turned, to Wagner’s operas, to the history of the Waltz. Really, the entire work was a learning experience. I ended up writing a great deal of the book while listening to the various operas Adolf would have had access to at the time. I read August Kubizek’s somewhat questionable accounts of his friendship with Adolf. I read Adolf’s own words on the matter. I researched Adolf’s report cards, his teacher’s impressions of him as both a student and a person. Really, my job was as much about connecting the dots as it was creatively filling what voids I came across.

How did you come up with the title?

Well my first bad idea was to simply call the book “Adolf” hoping that alone would be enough to jar the reader into recognizing the book was about his childhood, since most people react to “Hitler” much differently. Frank then suggested adding the alternate history, but that still did not sound quite right. Eventually one of us thought to add “Young” and we settled on “Young Adolf: An Alternate History” I don’t recall who thought of that exactly, but as I said earlier, this is Frank’s book. The credit goes to him.

Who designed the cover?

Frank designed the cover exclusively, though he was generous enough to consider my thoughts before settling on what we have. You might be surprised to hear how many times I asked if we could leave the oldest image of Adolf off the cover, simply because I feared people would see “Hitler” rather than “Young Adolf”… All things considered, I’m pleased with how it came out.

Care to speculate on how your alternate Adolf Hitler's life would have turned out?

For this answer I defer to Frank, who said: “I project that Adolf would have pursued essentially the same path he did in real life, with the exception he would not be as guilty of letting his ego get in the way of his critical decisions. For example, he probably would still have interred Jews, but I don’t think he would have been guilty of genocide. He would have used better judgment in invading Russia, namely not doing so during the winter, which led to his defeat there originally. I believe he could have had the capacity to ultimately conquer Russia and Africa, but not the US. I believe he would have had more success initially because he would have demonstrated more patience and temperance than the real Adolf. Despite these victories, I believe he would have ultimately been defeated in the end by the US and internal resistance forces. I believe he would have married Eva Braun sooner than he did, and possibly had children by her.”

Do you have any other projects you are working on?

For over a decade now I’ve been creating the mythos for my Fantasy series tentatively titled “Chronicles of the Akinaur”…the first book in the series “The Mauglir’s Desire” I hope to begin publishing in 2013. I’ve re-written that novel at least three times since I first ignored High School lectures to instead write in my old red notebook. I likely owe some good teachers an apology for that at some point.

What is your fantasy series about?

The main trilogy of the series spans the life of Ruindil Akinaur, a Laurn elf exiled by his people in his youth for fear of his unique nature. The first book records his rise from being an outcast to being praised as the savior of The’Ar. The mythos begins with the Mauglir’s creation of The’Ar (Earth, a bit out of order). Various races, cultures, and religions are shaped and explored. There are detailed descriptions of elven forests and dwarven palace-fortresses, of vast plains and terrible mountains. It is a series about perspectives, of freedom, and free will, and the very definitions of life. The first book, “The Mauglir’s Desire” looks at life through the seasoned eyes of Fargon Aldaurin, the passionate eyes of Ruindil Akinaur, and the fanatical eyes of Kaurtav Taurmacar. Oh, and the Mauglir, of course, whose eyes are obsession.

The second book explores an escape from the reality of The’Ar itself, and themes from the first book propound a broader perspective of existence not only in a universe, but a multiverse. Ruindil continues his struggle against the Mauglir, gaining as many new allies as he does enemies along the way. There is an epic battle for the Flame Imperishable and more than just my own mythos is put at risk. The collaboration of several dear friends own storylines are enfolded within my own, providing a kaleidoscope of perspectives for the reader to associate with. The third book in Ruin’s trilogy then narrows the perspective again. Ruindil is forced to deal with just what “Imperishable” means, and the other responsibilities associated with the various titles and honorifics he has earned or otherwise adopted throughout the Ages. It again focuses as much on what it is to be human as it provides a perspective on what it is to be regarded as a god. Beyond that, it is an Epic tale in every sense of the term.

Other books in the series will explore the stories of minor characters from the first three books in greater detail, ultimately providing multiple perspectives of the same time line. It is an ambitious project, but I am roughly a decade into it, and the stories only gain clarity as I age. I hope to begin sharing them with the world next year.

What are you reading now?

I’m one of those people who read one book in their car, one book on the couch, one book on my laptop, one book on the kindle app for my phone, and another book for bed. In my car is currently Raymond E. Feist’s “Into a Dark Realm”…next to the couch is…a Sports Illustrated…I guess I’m slacking there. I just finished Charles Dickens’ “Dombey & Son” so a brief respite was earned I think. My phone is currently trying to tackle (and you are going to laugh at this) Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” more so I can see what sort of punishment my eyes can handle and how long it will take to read on my phone. I did some calculations the other night and at my current pace it will take another 76 days. My Laptop is holding Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus” …mostly because I was mad at myself for forgetting the Tragedy when I saw there was a new movie being made of it. Lastly, next to my bed I’ve decided to take another turn on the “Wheel of Time” series by Robert Jordan. I’m just about finished with “The Path of Daggers” which I am enjoying even more on this second time around. Next up will be Cornwell’s “Agincourt”. That’s going to replace the Sports Illustrated next to the couch, as soon as I’m done reading about “Lin-sanity”.

Any advice for would be authors?

Frank says “Be passionate toward what you write.”

I will take that a step further and recommend that you learn to temper your passion until it is dedication. The day I knew I would be a writer was the day I turned down going to a party to instead stay in and finish the first draft of chapter 10 in “The Mauglir’s Desire”… That does not mean I did not go out and party the next night, but that chapter just needed to be finished. When the Muse visits, be hospitable and accommodate her every need. Make sure she leaves feeling like she wants to come back- Like she needs to come back. I could make an analogy between writing and Love right about now…

If you seriously want to write, write every day. Write as much as you can, for as a long as you can. Don’t worry about whether it is good or not, there are plenty of people to do that for you. Your job is to write. Eventually, you will come to understand that good writing is good thinking. Learn all you can, the more you know, the better your thoughts will be. You never know when the most obscure fact will be perfect for this character, or that setting.

Oh, and read. A lot.

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Those interested in learning more about Young Adolf can read War Blogger's review.