So I will be introducing this week five new series of ongoing posts. They are all going to be relatively short (<500 words) and will be quick bites to eat around 3 or 4 PM CST after the main course at 11 CST. Here is a brief description of all of them:
Map Monday: Essentially I am splitting off the Map Gallery segment from Weekly Update and turning into its own post. I probably will only focus on one map, but I might give some honorable mentions to maps I saw during the week before.
Amazing Stories Tuesday: Doesn't exactly fit the name scheme, as you will see, but I got a lot of hits when I promoted my last Amazing Stories article with its own post on The Update. So you will see a brief description of my work there so you can decide whether you want to check it out. I also am more willing to talk about SF in general over there than I am here.
What If Wednesday: Back on the name scheme! In these posts I will ask a common "what if" question and give my opinion about what I feel are the likely consequences. Then I will sit back and most likely watch people tear it apart. Yay!
Timeline Thursday: These will sort of be mini-Showcases where I recommend a timeline I or someone else likes and give a brief description. Not a review per se, just a "hey you might like this and here is why".
Flag Friday: Much like Map Monday, I take an alternate flag I saw last week and discuss why I liked it. Pretty simple and good way to end the week.
Now this means will be posting twice as often as I usually do. I haven't done something like that since The Update's one year anniversary in 2012. Wish me luck!
And now the news...
Out Now: The Time Traveler's Almanac edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer
Last week The Time Traveler's Almanac edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer was released. Here is a brief synopsis in case you missed it:
The Time Traveler's Almanac is the largest and most definitive collection of time travel stories ever assembled. Gathered into one volume by intrepid chrononauts and world-renowned anthologists Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, this book compiles more than a century's worth of literary travels into the past and the future that will serve to reacquaint readers with beloved classics of the time travel genre and introduce them to thrilling contemporary innovations.
This marvelous volume includes nearly seventy journeys through time from authors such as Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, Michael Moorcock, H. G. Wells, and Connie Willis, as well as helpful non-fiction articles original to this volume (such as Charles Yu's "Top Ten Tips For Time Travelers").
In fact, this book is like a time machine of its very own, covering millions of years of Earth's history from the age of the dinosaurs through to strange and fascinating futures, spanning the ages from the beginning of time to its very end. The Time Traveler's Almanac is the ultimate anthology for the time traveler in your life.A lot of articles were also published last week to promote the collection. You can check out an interview with one of the authors in the collection, Jason Heller, and read what Ann VanderMeer thinks the power of great time travel story can do. Tor also posted a list on BuzzFeed showing the 13 reasons why time travel would be the best thing ever. I personally liked numbers 1, 4 and 12.
Don't forget, if you are thinking of buying Almanac click through the link provided above or through out Amazon banner on the top right and help support The Update!
Cover Art Revealed for Michael J. Martinez's The Enceladus Crisis
Friend of the Update Michael J. Martinez just revealed the cover for his new book The Enceladus Crisis, sequel to The Daedalus Incident. You can see it to your immediate right and read the description right below:
Two dimensions collided on the rust-red deserts of Mars—and are destined to become entangled once more in this sequel to the critically acclaimed The Daedalus Incident.
Lieutenant Commander Shaila Jain has been given the assignment of her dreams: the first manned mission to Saturn. But there’s competition and complications when she arrives aboard the survey ship Armstrong. The Chinese are vying for control of the critical moon Titan, and the moon Enceladus may harbor secrets deep under its icy crust. And back on Earth, Project DAEDALUS now seeks to defend against other dimensional incursions. But there are other players interested in opening the door between worlds . . . and they’re getting impatient.
For Thomas Weatherby, it’s been nineteen years since he was second lieutenant aboard HMS Daedalus. Now captain of the seventy-four-gun Fortitude, Weatherby helps destroy the French fleet at the Nile and must chase an escaped French ship from Egypt to Saturn, home of the enigmatic and increasingly unstable aliens who call themselves the Xan. Meanwhile, in Egypt, alchemist Andrew Finch has ingratiated himself with Napoleon’s forces . . . and finds the true, horrible reason why the French invaded Egypt in the first place.
The thrilling follow-up to The Daedalus Incident, The Enceladus Crisis continues Martinez’s Daedalus series with a combination of mystery, intrigue, and high adventure spanning two amazing dimensions.You can check out Michael's interview with the cover artist Lauren Saint Onge at his site. If you plan to pre-order The Enceladus Crisis please do so by clicking...well you know what I am going to say.
Video Gallery
Two videos this week. First up some game footage from Wolfenstein: The New Order featuring just how messed up the psychology of this alternate Third Reich can be:
Calendar
April 11: Last day to fund Ray Chou's Skies of Fire Kickstarter.
April 26: The 2nd Annual Black Science Fiction and Fantasy Youth Symposium in Atlanta, GA.
April 30: Deadline to submit your entry into the Church of Dissecting Worlds competition.
Links to the Multiverse
Articles
Big Bang Discovery Opens Doors to the "Multiverse" by Dan Vergano at National Geographic.
Why You Should Care About The Plan To Break Up California by Robert T. Golzalez at io9.
Books
2014 Arthur C. Clarke Award Short List Announced at SF Scope.
A Bloody Mashup: A Review of Kim Newman’s “Anno Dracula” at Amazing Stories.
Chris Wooding asks ‘What Is Steampunk, Anyway?’ at SF Signal.
e-Book Cover Design Awards, February 2014 by Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer.
Pantheon Inspirations by James Lovegrove at Civilian Readers.
REVIEW: Altered Pasts: Counterfactuals in History by Richard J Evans at London Evening Standard.
Star Wars: Episode V gets the Shakespearean treatment at AV Club.
The Truth About -Punk by Leo Elijah Cristea at Fantasy Faction.
Vladimir Putin's many faces, in fiction by John Dugdale at The Guardian.
When and where are George RR Martin's Game of Thrones novels set? by Adrian McKinty at The Guardian.
Comics
REVIEW: Chronos Commandos: Dawn Patrol at SciFi Mafia.
REVIEW: Clockwork Angels #1 at Comic Bastards.
Counterfactual/Traditional History
If History Is a Guide, Crimeans’ Celebration May Be Short-Lived by Olesya Vartanyan and Ellen Barry at The New York Times.
A Massive Solar Superstorm Nearly Blasted The Earth In 2012 by George Dvorsky at io9.
The Strange History of Sci-Fi Super Fuels by Steve Weintz at Medium.
Tales of Futures Past: Soviet Science Fiction of the Cold War by Jill Scharr at Space.com.
A Tour of the Eerie Villages France Never Rebuilt After WWI by Mark Byrnes at The Atlantic.
Films
The 10 Weirdest Marvel Movies That Almost Got Made by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Does Frozen Include an Homage to Watchmen? by Forrest Wickman at Slate.
Jodorowsky's Dune Is A Monument To Divine Madness And Doomed Beauty by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Terry Gilliam on Snyder’s Watchmen: I thought Zack’s Film Worked Well by Russ Burlingame at ComicBook.com.
Games
REVIEW: Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land at Geek Syndicate.
Interviews
James S. Dorr at Three Cents Worth.
Daniel Levine at The Qwillery.
Frank Pavich at Gotcha Movies.
Charles Wilcox at Three Cents Worth.
Short Fiction
Battalion 202: Worm in the Apple by Jonathan Doering – Free Story Extract at Alt Hist.
Paradox Short Story Contest 2014 - The Winners! by Tomas H at Paradox.
REVIEW: Kaiju Rising edited by Nick Sharps and Tim Marquitz at SF Signal.
REVIEW: Through A Distant Mirror Darkly by Mark Lord at SF Site.
Television
'Da Vinci's Demons' exists in a 'mad' world by Brian Truitt at USA Today.
Revolution 2.17: Arabic Writing on the Wall at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
* * *
Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Thanks for the shout out!
ReplyDelete