Weekly Update #197

Editor's Note

Do what you love, even if it doesn't make you any money. That way you always have something to look forward to after dealing with the usual stresses of life.

Well now that I started with some uplifting advice, my summer blogging break will begin next week. I will still have some "From the Archive" posts on my Facebook page and next week's New Releases will still go live, but I won't be blasting it over social media. So you will have to check out the blog on the 14th at 11 am CST to see the new books that came out for the week. Afterwards I will return to my usual blogging schedule.

And now the news...

Coming Soon: The Dinosaur Lords: A Novel by Victor Milán

One book that is catching a lot of people's attention is The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milán. Here is the description from Amazon:

A world made by the Eight Creators on which to play out their games of passion and power, Paradise is a sprawling, diverse, often brutal place. Men and women live on Paradise as do dogs, cats, ferrets, goats, and horses. But dinosaurs predominate: wildlife, monsters, beasts of burden-and of war. Colossal plant-eaters like Brachiosaurus; terrifying meat-eaters like Allosaurus, and the most feared of all, Tyrannosaurus rex. Giant lizards swim warm seas. Birds (some with teeth) share the sky with flying reptiles that range in size from bat-sized insectivores to majestic and deadly Dragons.

Thus we are plunged into Victor Milán's splendidly weird world of The Dinosaur Lords, a place that for all purposes mirrors 14th century Europe with its dynastic rivalries, religious wars, and byzantine politics…except the weapons of choice are dinosaurs. Where vast armies of dinosaur-mounted knights engage in battle. During the course of one of these epic battles, the enigmatic mercenary Dinosaur Lord Karyl Bogomirsky is defeated through betrayal and left for dead. He wakes, naked, wounded, partially amnesiac-and hunted. And embarks upon a journey that will shake his world.

There is also a more detailed description on SF Signal where they are holding a book giveaway. Victor also reported that more sites will be showcasing the interior art with descriptions by him. Gathering all of this information, it seems pretty clear The Dinosaur Lords is not a strict alternate history, but the idea of combining Medieval European culture and politics with dinosaurs is enough to stimulate my geeky brain. I look forward to reading The Dinosaur Lords when it comes out.

Coming Soon: The Floating City by Craig Cormick

Another alternate history book that caught my attention was The Floating City, sequel to The Shadow Master, by Craig Cormick. Here is the description from Amazon:

In a land riven with plague, inside the infamous Walled City, two families vie for control: the Medicis with their genius inventor Leonardo; the Lorraines with Galileo, the most brilliant alchemist of his generation. 

And when two star-crossed lovers, one from either house, threaten the status quo, a third, shadowy power – one that forever seems a step ahead of all of the familial warring – plots and schemes, and bides its time, ready for the moment to attack...

Assassination; ancient, impossible machines; torture and infamy – just another typical day in paradise.

From what I can tell, the series is more historical fantasy than straight alternate history as the big change is that magic is practiced instead of science, but it does make use of an Italian Renaissance setting. Craig also wrote a whole piece on alternate history for SFF World where he talks about his books and the genre. While he doesn't always get the terminology right (he likes to us "tipping points" instead of points of divergence) he still understands the basics, including the importance of good research. Go check it out.

Video of the Week

The video of the week this week is actually from a video that came out two weeks ago. It is DarrenTotalWar's preview of the "Roman Britain" mod for Total War: Attila:

In it you play as Roman Britain, which has declared independence from the Western Roman Empire. You get to deal with Saxon invasions and have the option of converting to Celtic paganism, among other things. This video got a lot of love on my Twitter feed, but I didn't notice until recently. Featuring it now is my way of apologizing for my oversight.

Press/Business inquiries

Are you making history in the field of alternate history? Then we want to hear from you. Contact us at ahwupdate at gmail dot com and we may talk about you on the blog, Facebook or Twitter.

* * *

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.