tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50802489611763384962024-03-12T21:05:36.233-05:00Alternate History Weekly UpdateWhatever way you like to warp history, Weekly Update is the place for you.Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.comBlogger1529125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-9546115101754898032016-10-09T14:58:00.000-05:002016-10-09T15:01:17.520-05:00Closing Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After 5 years and 1,000,000 views, its time to close the door on Alternate History Weekly Update.<br />
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I feel bad about doing this, especially after my post celebrating my millionth view where I said I wasn't going anywhere, but I need to be honest with myself and you.<br />
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You see when I created Alternate History Weekly Update, one of the primary reasons was to help me write more by giving myself a deadline. More than five years later I can say with all sincerity that I was successful in that goal. I now write all the time for multiple sites and I have even been published. Mission accomplished.<br />
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That said, I've found my writing for The Update becoming increasingly stale and just not enjoyable anymore. I don't post many articles outside of my regular recurring series and I find even making those to be like a chore. On top of that, some of you may have noticed on social media that I have taken a short break from the Internet. Its nothing serious, but I certainly hit a wall and needed time to really think about what brings me joy in life.<br />
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Sadly this blog does not bring me joy. I will always be thankful for the opportunities it has brought me and the people I have met through it, but I need to break outside of the box it has put me in. Thus this will be the last post on The Update. I won't be taking down the blog because I want to keep it up as an archive of my writing and editing.<br />
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So what happens next for me? Well I am not going to disappear. I actually have created a new blog under <a href="http://alternatehistorian.blogspot.com/2016/10/welcome.html"><b>The Alternate Historian</b></a> banner. This will be the official site for news about and articles by me...but I will be posting on an irregular basis. My primary focus will now be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/thealternatehistorian"><b>my YouTube channel</b></a> because I really do enjoy making videos and I want to become better at it. So if you haven't subscribed already, please do so. Or follow me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/The-Alternate-Historian-1652862815001939">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/alt_historian">Twitter</a> (@alt_historian), <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> and <a href="http://althistorian.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt</a>, all of which are associated with The Alternate Historian. Plus I will still be writing for <i><a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a></i>, interviewing for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and participating as a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge.<br />
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More importantly, I am hoping I will have more time to write fiction. I would love to publish more short stories or finally write that novel I always talk about. Because I will now have so much more free time, I might just get the chance.<br />
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Once again, thank you everyone for making Alternate History Weekly Update one of the premier sites for alternate history news and reviews. Its been a wonderful ride and I hope you will join me on the next stage of my journey.Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com190tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-10594759968839649782016-09-28T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-28T11:00:00.743-05:00Standing On the Edge of the Abyss<i>Guest post by Thomas Diana.</i><br />
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<i>What if Japan changes its strategy and tries to stop the war before it’s too late?</i><br />
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<i>What if the 20 July plot succeeds?</i><br />
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<i>What would the world look like during the Cold War or in the 2000s?</i><br />
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In June 1942, Japan suffers a major defeat during the battle of Midway losing four aircraft carriers. Most Japanese leaders will not admit it, but they lost the war that day. Few of them understand it and they will work to overthrown the Tojo military government, protect the Emperor and change the course of war in the Pacific.<br />
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From the Solomon Islands to the Mariana Trench, from Burma to China, the war will follow a different path, because Japan wants to win the peace. The only way is to push the US Navy to strike before she’s too strong to be beaten.<br />
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In Europe, the 20 July plot and Operation Valkyrie succeed in killing Hitler and his staff in the Wolfsschanze. The plotters will also convince most of the SS that the coup has been staged by Himmler, Goebbels and Goering. Once again, some politicians and military leaders will try to achieve peace in honor in the West so they can focus their forces in the East.<br />
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Unfortunately, after what happened in Asia only few month ago, Stalin wants a total victory against Germany and to avoid any conflict with the Man of Steel, the allied leaders will not change their mind either: unconditional surrender. This is the only way to not unleash the anger of Koba.<br />
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But even in this new Germany, some leaders can’t accept the humiliation of unconditional surrender.<br />
The war will be long. The war will be bloody.<br />
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This is the story of the French alternate history book <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/Au-Bord-lAbime-Cycle-Integrale/dp/1519773471/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8"><i>Au Bord de l’Abime</i></a>, the first book in a trilogy.<br />
It’s not a novel but a compilation of fake articles, book extracts and web pages (even a thread from a discussion forum) which details this alternate World War II and gives various points of view over 734 pages. Chapters alternate from political and technical stuff, to epic and bloody battles, or simple biography and OOB. You can expect new destinies for people like Isoroku Yamamoto, Kanji Ishiwara, Tomoyuki Yamashita, Claus Von Stauffenberg, Erwin Rommel and others. Even FDR will enjoy a different destiny.<br />
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The book also contains a hundred illustrations, maps, flags and insignias. The illustrations (portraits, battle scenes, vehicles) are made to looks like the real picture from this time.<br />
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On the technological side there is already two alternate vehicle design. The Japanese Navy has two anti-aircraft battleships and the German Luftwaffe has an additional variant of the Me-262 jet-fighter. But to know more about it you’ll have to read the book.<br />
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<i>Au Bord de l’Abime </i>is also an opportunity to show some details and historical figures from a different angle. The first volume ends with some hints on what will happen during the second and third volumes. You can also expect some Easter-eggs from other alternate history and science fiction books, plus some cryptozoology and nerd stuff.<br />
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The book is available on <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/Au-Bord-lAbime-Cycle-Int%C3%A9grale-ebook/dp/B0196JET5W/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">Kindle</a> and there is also a <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/Au-Bord-lAbime-Cycle-Collector/dp/1530279771/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">collector's edition</a> with some color illustrations and bonuses.<br />
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The bad news is the book is only available in French.<br />
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<i>Thomas Diana is a French self-taught writer and illustrator, who previously worked in the video game industry. Passionate about history and geopolitics, he found a cool way to understand and manipulate them thanks to alternate history. He also wrote a short alternate history called <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/Platine-Seconde-mondiale-propage-lAm%C3%A9rique-ebook/dp/B015OC9U1S/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">Platine</a>, which is available on Kindle. You can follow his current project on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/auborddelabime/">Facebook</a> and discover his illustrations on <a href="http://beignetbison.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt</a> and <a href="https://thomas_diana.artstation.com/">Artstation</a>. He’s also the founder of a French Alternate History <a href="http://forumuchronies.frenchboard.com/">forum</a>.</i>Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com90tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-75629701643788471602016-09-27T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-27T11:00:06.031-05:00New Releases 9/27/16<b><i>You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon!</i></b><br />
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<b><u>Hardcovers</u></b><br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2crHn2a">The Gradual</a></i> by Christopher Priest</b><br />
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Alesandro Sussken is a composer living in Glaund, a fascist state constantly at war with another equally faceless opponent. His brother is sent off to fight; his family is destroyed by grief. Occasionally Alesandro catches glimpses of islands in the far distance from the shore, and they feed into the music he composes.<br />
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But all knowledge of the other islands is forbidden by the military junta, until he is unexpectedly sent on a cultural tour. And what he discovers on his journey will change his perceptions of his home, his music and the ways of the islands themselves. Bringing him answers where he could not have foreseen them.<br />
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A rich and involving tale playing with the lot of the creative mind, the rigours of living under war and the nature of time itself, this is multi award-winning, master storyteller Christopher Priest at his absolute best.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cTpb89">Time Travel: A History</a> </i></b><b>by James Gleick</b><br />
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From the acclaimed author of The Information and Chaos, here is a mind-bending exploration of time travel: its subversive origins, its evolution in literature and science, and its influence on our understanding of time itself.<br />
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The story begins at the turn of the previous century, with the young H. G. Wells writing and rewriting the fantastic tale that became his first book and an international sensation: The Time Machine. It was an era when a host of forces were converging to transmute the human understanding of time, some philosophical and some technological: the electric telegraph, the steam railroad, the discovery of buried civilizations, and the perfection of clocks. James Gleick tracks the evolution of time travel as an idea that becomes part of contemporary culture—from Marcel Proust to Doctor Who, from Jorge Luis Borges to Woody Allen. He investigates the inevitable looping paradoxes and examines the porous boundary between pulp fiction and modern physics. Finally, he delves into a temporal shift that is unsettling our own moment: the instantaneous wired world, with its all-consuming present and vanishing future.<br />
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<b><u>E-Books</u></b><br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2czZ3Mq">Avenging Steel 5: The Man From Camp X</a></i> by Ian Hall</b><br />
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It is October 1941... German troops have held Britain for over a year.<br />
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James Baird, a 21 year old student has joined the SOE and has proven his worth in the resistance against the Germans in Edinburgh.<br />
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Unknown to James, his superiors have plans for him. It is time to expand his training; the SOE are sending him to Canada's Camp X.<br />
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For the first time in his life; James is going overseas. He thinks he's going for a medal ceremony or something...<br />
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What he doesn't know... he's about to enter the most rigorous six weeks of his life... and that's just the beginning of his adventure.<br />
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Avenging Steel 5 is the latest in the saga of James Baird, Secret Agent.<br />
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In long novella parts, we follow James's story as a nation begin to rebel against Nazi jackboots.<br />
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Thus continues, Avenging Steel, a new Alternative History series.<br />
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Get your teeth into a brand-new version of World War 2.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2crHue6">Guardian</a></i> by Joe Haldeman</b><br />
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During the Alaskan gold rush, a woman pursues a destiny that will change the world in this alternate-history novel from a sci-fi legend.<br />
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In the tradition of Robert Heinlein (Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land), multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner Joe Haldeman set a new standard for military science fiction and hard sci-fi with The Forever War and his phenomenal Worlds series. Now the Science Fiction Writers of America Grand Master dabbles brilliantly in alternate-history fiction with the world-altering adventures of a remarkable woman during the gold rush in late nineteenth-century Alaska.<br />
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Sent from her Georgia home to Philadelphia to escape the carnage of the Civil War, Rosa Coleman studied astronomy and mathematics, ultimately settling into a new life as the wife of a wealthy man and mother of young Daniel. But when she discovers an unforgiveable secret about her reprobate husband, Rosa takes the boy and flees to the West on a desperate escape that takes them from Dodge City to San Francisco one step ahead of the Pinkertons hired to bring them back home.<br />
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On the run in a strange and exhilarating new world, Rosa and Daniel find a haven where they might never be found: the wilds of Alaska among the dreamers drawn to its magnificent wilderness by the promise of gold. It is here that her spiritual guide first appears to Rosa in the form of a raven—an incarnation of the trickster god of Native American and Eskimo lore—suggesting that her destiny lies not in sparkling riches but in something far greater. This mystical harbinger has come from a distant, alien place, and will set her on an astonishing course . . .<br />
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A magnificent blending of historical and speculative fiction, Joe Haldeman’s Guardian is a breathtaking departure for the author whom Peter Straub calls “one of our most aware, comprehensive, and necessary writers” and David Brin praises as “one of the best prophetic writers of our times.”<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2dofXwo">Spartan Beast </a></i>(<i>The Hellennium</i> Book 2) by PK Lentz</b><br />
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The war between Athens and Sparta is over.<br />
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But not for Demosthenes of Athens, who has but one purpose: kill every Spartan. In his possession is a weapon that might achieve it, the living, unstable weapon which fell from the stars, Thalassia. At present, she lies dead, but that is sure to change. Demosthenes will need her help, for Sparta has a weapon just as deadly in the form of Eris, the white witch who takes her name, not without reason, from the war-god's slaughter-loving sister.<br />
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The pre-order sale has ended. BUT... sign up now at IRONAGE.SPACE and start reading this book immediately with a 50% Preview Edition. Then I'll send you a reminder to come back & buy when the price is $2.99 again starting 9/24.<br />
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The Hellennium takes place in an ancient world depicted with brutal realism, weaving threads of cosmic SF into bloody and graphic historical fiction. At the heart of the series is the ever-evolving, dysfunctional relationship between Demosthenes and Thalassia, whose 'anti-romance' is destined to leave a trail of slaughter and ruin down the centuries.<br />
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If you're a fan of David Drake's Northworld series, or Gene Wolfe's Soldier series, you'll want to join Demosthenes and Thalassia as they cut a bloody path of destruction through the ancient world. Frequent readers of David Weber, David Gemmell, Michael Moorcock, and even Bernard Cornwell have also found much to love.<br />
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<b><u>To readers, authors and publishers...</u></b><br />
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Is your story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at <b>ahwupdate at gmail dot com</b>. We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, <a href="http://althistorian.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-10659396379007157972016-09-26T15:00:00.000-05:002016-09-26T15:00:07.062-05:00Map Monday: United States of Europe by Zek Sora<a href="http://zeksora.deviantart.com/">Zek Sora</a> returns to Map Monday, this time with a map without zombies (shocking, I know). I present the "United States of Europe":<br />
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In this timeline, Napoleon decides to preserve the preserve the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_System">Continental System</a> rather than conquer anymore of Europe. Although Zek does not go into too much detail in the description that went with the map, my guess is that Napoleon never invaded Russia in this alternate history. Eventually the Continental System evolves into a more centralized European Union-esque organization known as the "United States of Europe".<br />
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To be fair, this is perhaps one of the more plausibly optimistic timelines involving a victorious Napoleon. Direct French control of most of Europe probably wouldn't have lasted long, but uniting them under a confederation where France was essentially the leader among equals could have worked. While I am curious to know how the USE governs its colonial possessions (since they apparently do have some according to the map), I still found this 1868 hybrid political/election map to be a good way of presenting the alternate history. I also like the color pallet Zek uses, which is similar to some of his <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/06/map-monday-what-remains-part-3-last-of.html">other maps</a>.<br />
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Honorable mentions this week go out to "<a href="http://rvbomally.deviantart.com/art/World-War-2-5-538002543">World War 2.5</a>" by RvBOMally and "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/motf-144-res-publica.397278/#post-13163837">Union of Islamic Republics</a>" by Doctor President.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, <a href="http://althistorian.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-34671608091212494822016-09-26T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-26T11:00:17.445-05:00Weekly Update #248! What I Am Reading Now...<b><u>Editor's Note</u></b><br />
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So I have been sick with a cold for the last few days (I guess this is what I get for turning down a free flu vaccine from my work). I did have brief moment on Saturday where I felt well enough to go outside and do some apple picking, but as I write this on Sunday I am sitting next to an overflowing garbage can full of my used tissues. Even Alana is afraid to kiss me. So my apologies if I don't have much to post this week. I also need to post a video soon, but until I get my voice back it may be a while.<br />
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Don't forget to check out <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/map-monday-different-ottoman-partition.html">Map Monday: Different Ottoman Partition by Panhomo</a> and my review of <i><a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2016/09/book-review-prince-outcasts-sm-stirling/">Prince of Outcasts</a></i> by SM Stirling, which has revitalized the <i>Emberverse</i> series in my humble opinion. Also don't forget to buy your books through our Amazon banner. May I recommend last week's <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/new-releases-92016.html">new releases</a> or some of the books I will be mentioning below?<br />
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Also I don't think I will be posting a Flag Friday this week. I didn't find anything interesting to talk about from last week's crop of flags. Still if there are any intrepid alternate vexillologists out there who want to showcase their work, send a submission to <b>ahwupdate at gmail dot com</b>.<br />
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And now the news...<br />
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<b><u>What I am reading now...</u></b><br />
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So my next review will be the first <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2d1a9uC">Casefile: ARKHAM</a></i> book, titled "Nightmare on the Canvas", which is perfect with Halloween season being upon us. Here is the description from Amazon:<br />
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<i>What if Raymond Chandler wrote Lovecraft stories? Set in the mid-1940s, Casefile: ARKHAM follows Hank Flynn, a down on his luck private eye who is back from the war and now working the mean streets of the most cursed city on Earth Arkham, Massachusetts. And things only get worse for Flynn when a wealthy uptown socialite hires him to track down an artist by the name of Pickman. What begins as a simple missing persons case leads Flynn down a dark path of flesh eating ghouls, vengeful witches, and the notorious Innsmouth mafia.</i><br />
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The book I am currently reading, however, is <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2djN7g2">King of Worlds</a></i> by M. Thomas Gammarino, which can best be described as a 90s nostalgia trip set in the near future of an alternate history where humans have started colonizing the galaxy. So far its good, but a little sad. Here is the description from Amazon:<br />
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<i>This dark comedy explores the lost universes of disgraced idol Dylan Greenyears. Dylan had always wanted to live as many lives as he could--that was the appeal of being an actor. But at the end of a brief, bright stint as a Hollywood heartthrob, Dylan loses the lead in Titanic and exiles himself and his wife to a recently settled exoplanet called New Taiwan.</i><br />
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<i>At first, life beyond Earth seems uncannily un-wondrous. Dylan teaches at an American prep school, raises a family with his high school sweetheart, and lives out his restlessness through literature. But then a box of old fan mail (and the hint of a galaxy-wide conspiracy) offers Dylan a chance to recapture the past. As he tries to balance this transdimensional midlife crisis against family life, Dylan encounters a cast of extraordinary characters: a supercomputer with aspirations of godhood, a Mormon-fundamentalist superfan, an old-school psychoanalyst, a sampling of his alternate selves, and, once again, the love of his lives.</i><br />
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<i>King of the Worlds throws cosmology, technology, nineties pop culture, and religion into an existential blender for a mix that is by turns tragic and absurd, elegiac and filled with wonder.</i><br />
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Next up is a book I have already read, but I am going to be jointly reviewing it with Alana on the channel. Its <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2dhEd74">Harry Potter and the Cursed Child</a></i> by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. Believe or not, there is some alternate history in this book, in the <i>It's A Wonderful Life</i> variety. Anyway, here is the description from Amazon:<br />
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<i>"The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later.</i><br />
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<i>Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.</i><br />
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<i>It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.</i><br />
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<i>While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."</i><br />
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And the last book I am reading right now is the Folio Society edition of <i><a href="http://www.foliosociety.com/book/HCS/man-in-the-high-castle">The Man in the High Castle</a> </i>by Philip K. Dick. Now I have read this book already, but Alana hasn't. So we are reading it together in preparation for Season 2 of Amazon's <i>The Man in the High Castle</i>. Here is the description from the Folio Society:<br />
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<i>In 1962 Philip K. Dick conjured a new vision of our world – a twisted simulacrum in which the Axis Powers have won the Second World War. America is now divided: the eastern United States is the puppet of a maniacal German Reich, while the western Pacific seaboard is governed by a militaristic, yet spiritual, Japanese dictatorship. Amongst the complexities of this new existence, a group of unremarkable people – an American- Jewish craftsman, a judo instructor, a Japanese diplomat – play out their everyday lives, each striving to uncover a remnant of goodness in the shadow of a gathering evil. As their narratives intersect, Dick poses larger metaphysical questions concerning the authentication of history, perception and the building blocks of destiny.</i><br />
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So that is what I am reading and will be reviewing soon. If you want, read along with me and maybe we can discuss it together.<br />
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<b><u>You should also check out...</u></b><br />
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<li>Nisi Shawl's, author of <i>Everfair</i>, appearance on <a href="http://www.tor.com/2016/09/22/midnight-in-karachi-episode-64-nisi-shawl/">Midnight in Karachi</a> (via Tor).</li>
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, <a href="http://althistorian.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-50418852114341865242016-09-23T15:00:00.000-05:002016-09-23T15:00:10.885-05:00Flag Friday: Flag of Utah by coolinwithcostaFor those who don't know, when the Mormons settled what would become Utah, they proposed a new state called "<a href="https://youtu.be/ZvU6ZNuHSRc">Deseret</a>". It supposedly meant "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deseret_(Book_of_Mormon)">honeybee</a>" and even today you can still see bee imagery in many of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Utah">Utah's state symbols</a>. But what if Utah went all out with the bee imagery?<br />
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This is the "<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/52qqyx/flag_of_utah_oc/?st=it3bbudw&sh=d65c115b">Flag of Utah</a>" by coolinwithcosta. Its an alternate design that drops the current style of the flag (which is a just a blue background with the state seal) and enlarges the beehive in the seal. I especially like the 3D perspective coolinwithcosta used. It almost looks like the beehive is rising out of the flag.<br />
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The interesting thing about this flag is that it doesn't technically have to be from an alternate history. Many have lamented, like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTOxHy_wrpk">Cody Franklin</a>, the lazy designs some state flags have where they just slap the state seal on a solid color background. Utah can still change their flag to something more imaginative. Although it doesn't have to be this flag, it is a good start.<br />
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Honorable mentions this week goes out to "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/weekly-flag-challenge-discussion-entries.136905/page-153#post-13116218">The Divine Protectorate of Righteous Korea</a>" by Xanthoc, "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/weekly-flag-challenge-discussion-entries.136905/page-153#post-13116863">New World Holy Republic</a>" by FlyingParafin and "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/flag-thread-iv.310936/page-198#post-13133348">Flag of Norwegian territories under the occupation of fascist Great Britain</a>" by Mirror.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, <a href="http://althistorian.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-34879430998557780392016-09-22T11:00:00.001-05:002016-09-22T11:54:24.217-05:00Remember, Remember the 6th of November?<i>Guest post by Tony Morgan.</i><br />
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On November 5th 1605 a major terrorist atrocity was prevented in England. If this had not happened the King would have been killed, Parliament and his government destroyed and the modern world would be a very different place.<br />
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Fascinated by the parallels between the England of 1605 and today – concerns over Europe, terrorism and government surveillance – I have written an exciting new alternate history based novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LICIBOK/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=altehistweeku-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01LICIBOK&linkId=0ac2eebeae202cc50e2fed2229206345">REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE 6TH OF NOVEMBER</a>, which explores the events of the so-called Gunpowder Plot and asks two questions – what if things had turned out differently and do we ever learn from the mistakes of history?<br />
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November 5th is a hugely important date in the calendar of the United Kingdom. Each year, the evening is filled with smoke from our bonfires and fireworks light up our skies. We call it Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes night but what is it all about?<br />
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These events mark an annual celebration, not for what Guy Fawkes did but for what he was prevented from doing. On the eve of the Opening of Parliament, Fawkes was found hiding beneath the building, watching over an arsenal of gunpowder. The plan was to detonate this in the morning and destroy the building with the King, his sons and government inside.<br />
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Fawkes and his fellow plotters, led by the charismatic Robert Catesby, were Catholics, outraged at Protestant King James I’s policies of persecution of their religion, particularly as they believed he’d promised a more tolerant approach. Following Fawkes’s arrest, he was tortured and the other conspirators rounded up. Many were killed during the ensuing pursuit and in a bloody gun battle. The survivors, including Fawkes, were placed on trial for treason and eventually hung, drawn and quartered, a particularly brutal form of execution, in London.<br />
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But what if they had been successful? Would our world have been different? The answer is a categorical yes, and in many ways. In our reality, King James lived on for another 20 years. He was eventually succeeded by his son, Charles, who led the country into a divisive and bloody civil war, which eventually led to his own execution. If James and Charles had been murdered as intended by the plotters, could the English civil war have been avoided?<br />
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King James oversaw early English expansion into North America, as part of an embryonic British Empire. He actively encouraged the Protestant “plantation” of Ireland, sowing the seeds for centuries of sectarian hatred and violence. If he’d died in 1605, both activities may have turned out very differently. What would have been the impact on the history of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Canada, the US and so many other countries?<br />
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Of course, we can’t know for sure. The future would have depended on what happened next, immediately after the explosion of Parliament. Who would have taken control of England? Would the country have been able to remain strong and independent or would it have been invaded and subsequently controlled by Spain or France? All these factors would have been critical determinants for our own present day way of life.<br />
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If you’re interested in finding out more about the real events of November 1605 and exploring one view of how things may have ended differently, read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LICIBOK/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=altehistweeku-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01LICIBOK&linkId=0ac2eebeae202cc50e2fed2229206345">REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE 6TH OF NOVEMBER</a> and support two very good causes, as all profits made in 2016 are being donated to charity – and please let us know what you think.<br />
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<i>Tony Morgan is 51, a Welshman living in Yorkshire in England in the UK. He has taken a gap year from work at the age of 50 to explore a range of interests, including writing two alternate history based novels. He returns to his day job in IBM on 7th November 2016.</i>Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com108tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-10651859359604457122016-09-21T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-21T11:00:25.463-05:00U-234: Hitler's Last U-Boat...The Hail-Mary Pass to Japan<i>Guest post by Ian Hall.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crew from the USS Sutton board the U-234 in May, 1945</td></tr>
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On April 30th, 1945, the bodies of Adolf Hitler and his new wife, Eva Braun, were placed in a bomb crater and doused with petrol. Trusted guards were stationed to ensure their bodies were burned beyond all recognition.<br />
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In the wake of Hitler’s suicide, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz assumed the position of head of state. Among his first orders was a radio broadcast for all submarines to surface and surrender.<br />
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“<i>My U-boat men, six years of war lie behind us… you have fought like lions… U-boat men, unbroken and immaculate, lay down your arms after a heroic fight…</i>”<br />
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Few knew the impact his simple statement made in the war against Japan.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U-234 being 'tugged' into Portsmouth, USA</td></tr>
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In the middle of the Atlantic, on May 4th, German submarine U-234 first received a garbled version of Dönitz’s message. After much deliberation, six days later, they surfaced to affirm the news. Captain Johann-Heinrich Fehler assembled his crew and passengers, telling them of his intention to surrender to the Americans in Portsmouth.<br />
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The only objection to their surrender came from two Japanese Naval officers, Lieutenant Commanders Hideo Tomonaga and Shoji Genzo, who re-stated the U-boats mission; to sail to Japan and deliver essential cargo and weapons. To the Japanese officers, surrender was not an option. The German guards found the two officers on their bunks in full uniform; they had taken poison.<br />
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U-Boat U-234 was a modified mine layer, and the largest German submarine still in service, but for her last mission she had been turned into a cargo vessel. Packed into every section of the hull were goods destined for the defense of Japan…<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U-234 being 'tugged' into Portsmouth, USA</td></tr>
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<li>A fully functional ME 262; the world’s first jet fighter.</li>
<li>A Henschel HS 293 guided missile; the world’s first cruise missile.</li>
<li>Parts for building a V-2; the world’s first intercontinental missile.</li>
<li>Several tons of blueprints for every weapon built, designed and considered by Germany.</li>
<li>1200lbs of Uranium 235 (about 20% of the amount required for an atomic bomb).</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ME-262, the fastest plane in the world</td></tr>
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Sailors laughed when the Uranium was taken aboard, labeled U-235, they thought they had got the number of the submarine wrong.<br />
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Unknown to most of the world, the war had taken a sharp and decisive turn.<br />
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As far back as July 1943, the Japanese had one stumbling block to their own Nuclear-bomb project; they could not get enough U-235 to provide them with ‘critical mass’ (the phrase used to denote the amount of Uranium needed to create the chain reaction powering the explosion). Three Japanese submarines had almost got back to Japan with their crucial U-235 cargo, but all were sunk in the attempt.<br />
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After the surrender of the U-234, and hearing of its strangely-labeled cargo, Robert Oppenheimer himself searched the Submarine.<br />
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The US Uranium enriching plant was situated at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Here, the German uranium was processed, and included in the Manhattan Project’s critical mass.<br />
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Three months later, in August 1945, the Americans bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.<br />
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In a material so rare on the earth, it is inconceivable that German Uranium, once destined for Japan's own nuclear program, was not used in the American bombs.<br />
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History…. You just can’t make this stuff up.<br />
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<i>Ian Hall's latest series, <a href="http://amzn.to/2cq8FJG">Avenging Steel</a>, is available in paperback, and in eBooks of all formats. The streets of Edinburgh were his home... this is WW2 alternative history written from the heart.</i></div>
Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-16954801557111498222016-09-20T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-20T11:00:02.219-05:00New Releases 9/20/16<b><i>You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon!</i></b><br />
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<b><u>Hardcovers</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cCm5iU">The Apostle Killer</a></i> by Richard Beard</b><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ToqOQqcFxMg/V9s71PqlOgI/AAAAAAAANd4/hvMR5EbSBb0w-Hi1wJZf8ie77nfs1p_XwCLcB/s1600/apostle%2Bkiller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ToqOQqcFxMg/V9s71PqlOgI/AAAAAAAANd4/hvMR5EbSBb0w-Hi1wJZf8ie77nfs1p_XwCLcB/s200/apostle%2Bkiller.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
Set in a hazy Middle East that seems at once ancient and modern, The Apostle Killer features Gallio, an aging, hardboiled investigator who has one last chance to save his career: He’s got to prove Christ’s resurrection was a hoax.<br />
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To uncover the conspiracy behind the so-called resurrection, Gallio figures all he needs is for one of the apostles to crack. The only problem is that one by one, the apostles keep dying—and in ever more grotesque ways—just before Gallio gets to them.<br />
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Racing to save both his case and the witnesses he needs to solve it, Gallio begins to suspect he’s become the unwitting pawn in the plot to kill the apostles . . . but who’s behind it? And to what end? As Gallio realizes even his own superiors are not to be trusted, The Apostle Killer transforms from a dazzling literary experiment into a moving, haunting work of art.<br />
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<b><u>Paperbacks</u></b><br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2crzNb8">The Guild Conspiracy: A Chroniker City Story</a></i> by Brooke Johnson</b><br />
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In the face of impossible odds, can one girl stem the tides of war?<br />
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It has been six months since clockwork engineer Petra Wade destroyed an automaton designed for battle, narrowly escaping with her life. But her troubles are far from over. Her partner on the project, Emmerich Goss, has been sent away to France, and his father, Julian, is still determined that a war machine will be built. Forced to create a new device, Petra subtly sabotages the design in the hopes of delaying the war, but sabotage like this isn’t just risky: it’s treason. And with a soldier, Braith, assigned to watch her every move, it may not be long before Julian finds out what she’s done.<br />
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Now she just has to survive long enough to find another way to stop the war before her sabotage is discovered and she’s sentenced to hang for crimes against the empire. But Julian’s plans go far deeper than she ever realized . . . war is on the horizon, and it will take everything Petra has to stop it in this fast-paced, thrilling sequel to The Brass Giant.<br />
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<b><u>To readers, authors and publishers...</u></b><br />
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Is your story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at <b>ahwupdate at gmail dot com</b>. We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, <a href="http://althistorian.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-41666482768701306812016-09-19T15:00:00.000-05:002016-09-20T10:18:02.393-05:00Map Monday: Different Ottoman Partition by PanhomoI always have a soft spot for alternate Middle East maps and this one was good enough to feature on Map Monday:<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7pSEcAKpCRE/V91SWAZt0nI/AAAAAAAANeI/7Tuvjs-NJK0bgbec8KtKbtFulvIixgWVwCLcB/s1600/middle_eastdifferntottomanpartitionVER20160909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7pSEcAKpCRE/V91SWAZt0nI/AAAAAAAANeI/7Tuvjs-NJK0bgbec8KtKbtFulvIixgWVwCLcB/s400/middle_eastdifferntottomanpartitionVER20160909.jpg" width="335" /></a></div>
This is "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/map-thread-xiv.383564/page-280#post-13099039">Different Ottoman Partition</a>" by Panhomo, circa 1920. As the title suggests, this timeline features a different partition of the the defeated Ottoman Empire after WWI. Britain and France divided up the Middle East at the Euphrates River and apparently took more chunks out of Turkey than in our timeline. It reminds me a lot of the proposed borders of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_S%C3%A8vres">Treaty of Sèvres</a>, a treaty that was much harsher than the Treaty of Versailles and yet is rarely remembered by historians.<br />
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According to Panhomo, the base map is from the <a href="http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east.html">University of Texas' collection</a>, which is one of the <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/writing-about-racism-and-sexism-in.html">map databases recommended to us by Lynn Davis</a>. With that said, Panhomo did a good job working in the changes caused by his scenario into the base map. I especially liked the inclusion of Kurdistan and I have to believe that in the present day the Kurds finally have their own state (and probably fought a Kurdistan-Iran War as well).<br />
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My one criticism is that Panhomo mentioned in his post that Russia doesn't technically exist as is shown in the map. Instead of just saying that I sort of wished he would have just <i>shown</i> us that by doing a few more edits, but it is a minor quibble. Many maps often don't reflect the actual realities on the ground, besides base maps updated constantly by alternate historians. So with that criticism out of the way, I can end by saying that this is a fun Middle East map to look at.<br />
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Honorable mentions this week go out to "<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/52q7l9/the_republic_of_greater_cascadia/?st=it3bbkhb&sh=c15fe273">The Republic of Greater Cascadia</a>" by Nihht and "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/map-thread-xiv.383564/page-281#post-13104977">Causa Deus: Human Migrations to Antarctica</a>" by Gian.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, <a href="http://althistorian.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-40735331254954427482016-09-19T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-20T10:18:39.218-05:00Weekly Update #247: Hearts of Iron IV Gets First Major Patch<b><u>Editor's Note</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>So a lot happened in the last two weeks since my last Weekly Update. Please humor me while I go through it all.<br />
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First up, <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/1-million-views.html">WE GOT 1 MILLION PAGE VIEWS</a>. It still feels good to say that and I get a little tingle every time I go to my blog's dashboard and see those seven figures. Everything else pretty much pales in comparison, but waiting for the page count to tick over is a passive project. While waiting I interviewed one of my favorite authors, <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/2016/09/interview-with-the-lost-fleet-author-jack-campbell/">Jack Campbell</a> (a.k.a. John G. Hemry) for SFFWorld. I even got a <a href="http://althistorian.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt profile</a> so I can share some of my map and flag posts/videos with that community.<br />
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I have also been busy as usual writing for this blog. If you haven't looked at any of those article already, I can recommend several of them such as <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/weekly-update-246-alternate-histories.html">Weekly Update #246</a>, where I showcased some of the books that I will be reading in September. Plus you may want to check out my Map Monday articles where I featured "<a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/map-monday-day-after-world-of-tomorrows.html">The Day After the World of Tomorrows</a>" by Rvbomally and "<a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/map-monday-causae-deus-climate-of.html">Causae Deus - Climate of (Deglaciated) Antarctica</a>" by Gian.<br />
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We also had a couple of new guest posters to the blog. Michael J. Martinez (<i><a href="http://amzn.to/2ckdSUK">MJ-12: Inception</a></i>) made his debut on the The Update discussing <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/writing-about-racism-and-sexism-in.html">how to write about sexism in racism in historical fantasy</a> and newcomer Theo Taylor gave us two guest posts featuring <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/president-washingtons-third-term.html">President Washington's third term</a> and a scenario where <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-lion-and-elephant.html">Alexander the Great drives farther into India</a>.<br />
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I'll end this Editor's Note by congratulating Naomi Novik for winning the first ever <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-first-winner-of-dragon-award-for.html">Dragon Award for Alternate History</a>. In the meantime, why not show some support to Novik and The Update by purchasing <i>League of Dragons</i> or any other <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2016/09/new-releases-9616.html">new alternate history release</a> through our Amazon banner?<br />
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And now the news...<br />
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<b><u><i>Hearts of Iron IV</i> Gets First Major Patch</u></b><br />
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Paradox Development Studios released the first major update for its World War II grand strategy game, <i><a href="http://www.heartsofirongame.com/">Hearts of Iron IV</a></i>. The “Sunflower Patch” is largely devoted to improving the game’s AI and user interface, as well as the usual changes to the game's balance and historical database, plus a number of bug fixes.<br />
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You can read the full list of changes and updates on the official Paradox Community forum <a href="http://paradoxplaza.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f2b6f430f6574f4d360bd22a5&id=a89a042beb&e=d3623ffb93">here</a>, but here is a brief list of the highlights from the press release:<br />
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<li>Changes to how peace conferences are handled, based on a design by Steam user Neutrino</li>
<li>Hotjoin now available for multiplayer games, so you can connect to a match already in progress</li>
<li>Custom difficulty settings let you adjust the relative power of Germany, Italy, France and the Soviet Union</li>
<li>More nations can now be released as independent countries</li>
<li>Re-sync button added to address connection issues without rehosting the game</li>
<li>AI more likely to update templates, build nuclear reactors and cancel unnecessary production</li>
<li>AI less likely to risk encirclement, opt for a Communist France or throw everything at North Africa</li>
<li>Naval combat has been balanced to prevent light cruiser spam</li>
<li>Changes to national territorial cores (Portugal loses, Sinkiang gains)</li>
<li>A number of crashes caused by modding have been fixed</li>
<li>Submarines better at finding surface ships, worse at finding other subs</li>
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<b><u>Video of the Week</u></b><br />
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If I were you I would watch Tamara's new review of <i>Back to the Future II</i>:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uxN58HbEIkc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uxN58HbEIkc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
I especially liked how she gave the figurative middle finger to some of the assholes in her comment section. Next up you should also check out some of my videos, like "What if 9/11 Didn't Happen"?<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5BoffZ4YCo0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5BoffZ4YCo0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
And "The Alternate History Map That Ended Up In A History Textbook":<br />
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I enjoyed this one, just because its fun to rag on major corporations who forget to fact check.<br />
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<b><u>You should also check out...</u></b><br />
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<li>Tor lists the <a href="http://www.tor.com/2016/09/15/the-years-best-alternate-histories-take-us-to-timelines-dark-and-bright/">year's best alternate history</a> books (so far).</li>
<li>Hundreds of thousands of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/12/hundreds-of-thousands-of-catalans-stage-independence-protests?CMP=twt_gu">Catalans stage independence protests</a> (via The Guardian).</li>
<li>Ship found in Arctic 168 years <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/12/hms-terror-wreck-found-arctic-nearly-170-years-northwest-passage-attempt">after doomed Northwest Passage attempt</a> (via The Guardian).</li>
<li>Mexico threatens to <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2016/09/mexico-threatens-to-cancel-treaty-that-ceded-texas-and-california-to-us-if-trump-gets-elected/">cancel treaty that ceded Texas and California</a> to US if Trump gets elected (via Raw Story).</li>
<li>30 Years Later, <a href="https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/09/30-years-later-watchmen-is-far-more-optimistic-tha.html">Watchmen's Unacknowledged Optimism Persists</a> (via Paste). </li>
<li><a href="http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2016/09/underground-airlines-is-one-of-the-bleakest-alternate-histories-ever/">Underground Airlines</a> is one of the bleakest alternate histories ever (via Ars Technica).</li>
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, <a href="http://althistorian.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-22735302051889011872016-09-16T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-16T11:00:16.897-05:00Flag Friday: Spain-ized USA Flag by 3tmpAlternate designs for famous flags are a staple of Flag Friday and today is no exception. So without further ado, what if the United States flag was made to resemble the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Spain">flag of Spain</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yPiB9VKKODc/V9QLT_B5yjI/AAAAAAAANdM/zid54eD8EHEqYsXuc6NfAlnA2orANyCFwCLcB/s1600/spainized%2Bflag%2Bof%2Busa.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yPiB9VKKODc/V9QLT_B5yjI/AAAAAAAANdM/zid54eD8EHEqYsXuc6NfAlnA2orANyCFwCLcB/s400/spainized%2Bflag%2Bof%2Busa.png" width="400" /></a></div>
This is the "<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/51y299/spainized_usa_flag/?st=isw0x9rs&sh=317abb63">Spain-ized USA Flag</a>" by 3tmp. As you can see the flag has three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width) and blue, with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the white band, much like the current flag of Spain. Although as of late I've come to find flags that just slap on their coat of arms to be kind of lazily designed, I still enjoy the look of it. It is such an easy template to use that almost any flag could be redesigned to look like the flag of Spain.<br />
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That said, I have no idea if there is a timeline where a flag like this would arise. Maybe America has a second Civil War that leads to a Francoist style government arising in the 20th Century. Maybe Spain has nothing to do with this flag and instead a New Netherlands still exists and united with the English-speaking colonies to form a very different union that actually based their flag design off the Dutch flag. Or maybe this is what Crimea looks like if it was colonized by Americans. (Thanks for the commentators in Reddit for the ideas.) Where do you think this flag comes from?<br />
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Honorable mention this week goes out to "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/flag-thread-iv.310936/page-193#post-13063963">Communist Columbia</a>" by gruff.jones.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-71279368789784981172016-09-15T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-15T11:00:00.254-05:00The Symposium Where Everyone Dies<i>Guest post by PK Lentz.</i><br />
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In fiction, Greece is not the word. Putting aside the present Scotland craze, for every one novel set in Greece, there are probably ten Roman books. That's understandable. Rome ruled the known world for a good long while, and not by making friends and signing treaties. That makes for good war stories. Meanwhile, when most people think of Greece, it's all silent temples and jury duty and drinking wine at symposia while sharing theories on the nature of virtue.<br />
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I studied ancient history in college and read a bunch of Homer in the original epic Greek dialect, from when grammar was a loose set of suggestions. When I decided that instead of writing SF, as I had been, I would put my degrees to use in fiction, there was never any possibility I would draw from anywhere other than Greece. But if not that tranquil Greece of Socrates and Plato, then what? There's the <i>Iliad</i>, of course, arguably the ultimate war epic and deserving of all the praise it gets. But it's been used to death, really, by authors of Historical, SF, and Fantasy alike.<br />
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No, my starting point could only be Thucydides. If you only ever read one book on Greek history, it should be Thucydides' account of the Peloponnesian War (abridged is fine; I understand). The Greece you'll read about there is not the Greece of Platonic dialogues. It's a bloody, brutal world where disagreements between factions of one city turn quickly to open slaughter, where towns are emptied of life because they gave the wrong answer to a herald, and where there are no such things as morality or human rights, only what is most favorable and expedient for a given side. This was the Greece that appealed to me—well, creatively, anyway.<br />
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Given that you're visiting this site, you'd probably agree with me that however <i>not-boring</i> history is, there can be a certain something lacking in straight historical fiction. Hence, even though all my viewpoint characters and setting would be purely historical, I planned to have a far-future woman drop in from another dimension and change things. But just as I didn't want any over-civilized, stereotypical Greece, I didn't want your typical time-traveler, either, always thinking things out and fretting about the time-stream. Mine would be pure ass-kicking chaos, the kind of girl your parents would ban from the house if you brought her home.<br />
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As for ancient characters, there was only ever one choice for a protagonist. Most people familiar with ancient history know the name Demosthenes as that of an orator of the fourth century BCE. But another Athenian named Demosthenes lived a century earlier and served as an elected general (yes, Athens elected its generals—which makes more sense when you consider that every male citizen of fighting age was in the part-time army). Thucydides provides the primary record of this Demosthenes' existence. He doesn't really give him much attention, but the few mentions suggest Demosthenes was ahead of his time as a strategist, conscious of notions like surprise and ambush and taking advantage of terrain at a time when battles generally were fought by lining up and pushing, with the gods bestowing victory on the worthier city. One of Demosthenes' attempts to be clever ended in disaster, leading to a brief period of disgrace in which he was afraid to go home, lest the voters decide to exile him, as would later happened to Thucydides.<br />
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The historical Demosthenes avoided exile and erased his disgrace with a tide-turning victory at Pylos, where he made several hundred besieged Spartans surrender—even though Spartans never, ever surrendered. Ever. Years later, he would go on to co-command Athens' ill-fated Sicilian Expedition, an operation conceived by the much more famous Alcibiades. With very good reason, Demosthenes was not pleased with the assignment. During the expedition, he was captured by Sparta's Syracusan allies and executed on the spot with his fellow (also more famous) general Nicias, essentially winding up 'dead in a ditch.'<br />
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My Demosthenes, armed with help from above, could avoid that fate and shape the war to a far greater degree. The aforementioned Athenians, Alcibiades and Nicias, would make appearances. But I would need a Spartan viewpoint. Who better than Styphon, who according to Thucydides was the Spartan to whom fell, after the deaths of two superiors, the unprecedented decision to surrender to Demosthenes? Poor Styphon; it's the only mention of him anywhere in history. And hey, maybe in a brief aside I could even kill off Socrates so those dialogues that Plato gave us never happened...<br />
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Crafting alternate history is a bit of a highbrow pursuit, what with the need to work out plausible consequences for a change, and successive changes after that. But at some point in the process of creating my series <i>The Hellennium</i> (from the words <i>Hellenic</i> and <i>millennium</i>, if that's not clear) it became something other than that. Demosthenes and Thalassia (the aforementioned ass-kicker from elsewhen) took over. Their highly dysfunctional relationship became the driving force of events, and I think there's something to that. Real history is not shaped by gray-bearded Father Time sitting in a drawing room crafting consequences: what if this, what if that? It's shaped by humans; by their fears, their loves, their jealousies, their bitterness, their rage, their hatred, their grief. And thus did the world of <i>The Hellennium</i> become populated with broken people, both Greek and alien—because the more broken the people, the more broken the history. It's more fun that way, and ultimately I didn't want to write 'Sci-Fi-Historical' novels as an intellectual exercise in politics, society, and economy. However dark and violent things get (which is very, mind you), I wanted this to be fun. For you and me anyway. Maybe not for Demosthenes.<br />
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My original draft of <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cLHLOE">Athenian Steel</a></i> ended with a Greek army assaulting the young Roman Republic, but on the advice of a literary agent (currently managing the biggest Historical Fantasy series in the world) I cut back the plot and pushed off Rome to Book III. I didn't think there was such a thing as 'too epic,' but I guess there is. Some of the material from that original ending was too good to go to waste (in my humble opinion) so I turned it into a novella with the subtle and intellectual title, <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2d0Rblv">Roman Annihilation</a></i>. You can get it free on Amazon or at my website linked below. In the latter case, you'll also get a free Mythological Fantasy novel and a short story about an ancient Athenian in space which was a bit of a precursor to <i>Athenian Steel</i>.<br />
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It's been loads of fun giving the 'other Demosthenes' a do-over, and I have much more in store. He might not exactly enjoy it, but at least I can guarantee he won't wind up dead in a ditch.<br />
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<i>P.K. Lentz is author of Athenian Steel, the sequel to which, Spartan Beast, is due out shortly. Get three free SF&F ebooks by joining his newsletter at <a href="http://www.ironage.space/">www.ironage.space</a>. Signing up will also get you an alert when the full-length <a href="http://amzn.to/2cLHLOE">Athenian Steel</a> is free for a day or two (including later this month), so you can be ready for Book II. In addition, you'll get access to a 50% preview of <a href="http://amzn.to/2d2QWJQ">Spartan Beast</a> prior to publication and exclusive related bonus material afterward.</i>Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-52062125715383257822016-09-14T15:33:00.000-05:002016-09-14T15:33:14.273-05:001 MILLION VIEWS!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Am I old for referencing Dr. Evil? Who the Hell cares...1 MILLIONS VIEWS!!! You can't imagine how good it feels to write that.<br />
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I feel the same way reaching 1 million views as I do when reaching my destination on a long hike. I'm happy I got there and I am amazed that I was able to do it, but I realize that I still have a long walk ahead of me before I can finally rest. Its moments like this that make me want to look back at where I came from and also speculate on what the future will bring.<br />
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Now usually I like to do a "State of the Blog" post for accomplishments like this, where I go through our growth and such, but because 1 million views is such a big deal, I've decided to forego that (for now) and just be real for a second.<br />
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First, I need to say thank you to everyone who made this possible. Thank you to my wife Alana for her endless patience with me shutting myself away in my office to write. Thank you to my family and friends for their help and encouragement for a hobby that has become almost a second job. Thank you to all of the alternate history creators out there for giving me something to talk about, because God knows I can't come up with anything original myself. Thanks also to all of the contributors who are way more talented than I am for submitting guest posts and such to this blog.<br />
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Most importantly, thank you to all of my readers. You guys allow me to get through the day by giving me an outlet to be creative. Your comments, both the complimentary and the critical, keep me going, even when times get tough. I've shared some happy and dark times with you guys and no one could ask for a better group of people to do it with.<br />
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So now that I am done looking backwards, its time to look ahead at the trek that awaits me. I like to say that I will always be here, bringing news and reviews on alternate history, but we all know nothing lasts forever. This year we saw two blogs that I loved, SF Signal and My Bookish Ways, close their doors for good. It came as a surprise to many, me included, but I sympathized with the people behind them. Its tough blogging full time, especially if you have family or have other projects you want to work on.<br />
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Don't worry, this isn't a good bye post. To continue with my hiking metaphor, I may just find myself taking a trail I didn't originally plan to traverse. Blogging is fun, but it does mean I have less time for other things I may want to do. For example, I love making videos for YouTube. It gives me a feeling I haven't felt since I started blogging. I would love to learn how to use better editing software, try out new filming techniques or maybe even take a class on acting or public speaking...but that requires time I don't have.<br />
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I also like the idea of being a professional book critic. Instead of pushing papers all day, I could be turning pages and analyzing literature. It sounds...nice. Like something I should have done a long time ago. Although I have a good job and I like the people I work with, there is nothing wrong with having a crazy dream...but to seriously pursue it, I need to find more time in the day.<br />
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That said, I can't forget what brought me here. This blog and everyone who hangs out here has helped propel me to where I am now and will continue to push me farther toward the horizon. Leaving this place, if I were to truly do it, would be the hardest decision I've had to make in a long time. So you won't be seeing the end of Alternate History Weekly Update anytime soon.<br />
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I'm Matt Mitrovich, your editor. For now, let the journey continue.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-28856008762181184512016-09-14T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-14T11:00:01.214-05:00The Lion and The Elephant<i>Guest post by Theo Taylor.</i><br />
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In 326 BC, the Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great spanned most of what was considered the <i>known world</i>. Maps of civilization sparsely reached beyond the phalanx laced tendrils of Alexander's empire. From Macedonia in Northern Greece to the banks of the Hydaspes River in modern day India, there was no worldly power present that could best Alexander.<br />
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Alexander was a known conqueror, but there exists--even to this day--a hotly contested debate on his competencies as a statesman. On the very border of the Nanda Empire of India, Alexander stumbled most greatly when his ability to politicize his ambitions was met by mutiny by his own army. Having campaigned for nearly a decade, the Macedonian army was fraught with men who began to know and understand quandaries that a legend of their own literature--Ulysses and his long journey home--had suffered himself: home sickness, campaign fatigue and demoralization. The men under Alexander had marched over fifteen hundred kilometers from Pella in Macedon to the very border of India. Imagine setting out from Los Angeles on foot, your destination: Dallas. This is the burden of the Macedonian soldier under the Lion of Macedon.<br />
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The campaign in India faltered at the behest of men weary of combat and perhaps the realization that the man they followed carried with him an endless ambition. "Just one more empire," you could imagine Alexander shouting to the assembled ranks of his men. "Just one more empire and we'll turn back." There would be no turning back. Scholars who were present during Alexander's campaigns in Persia allude to the idea that Alexander believed the fathomed "end of the world" rested on the opposite edge of India's great mass. It can be said with some admirable clarity however that once he realized he was wrong, he might've shrugged his shoulders and ordered his men further on. <i>Just one more empire</i>.<br />
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Not only were these men left longing for their wives, sons and brothers at home, Macedonian scouts had returned from the further Ganges river with reports of armies under the Nanda Empire awaiting them. Two hundred thousand infantry, eighty thousand horsemen and four thousand war elephants. The forty-thousand man Macedonian Army had no hope to defeat such a vast foe.<br />
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The reality is that Alexander was presented with only one option when his men threw down their arms at the banks of the Hydapses: relent. Without an army, Alexander was no conqueror, no champion, no son of Zeus. If ever Alexander possessed a heel akin to the legendary hero Achilles, it was the loyalty of the Macedonian Army. A Macedonian general, Coenus, was allegedly one of the more prominent proponents for turning back and returning home. So bold was Coenus' speech, Alexander agreed that the campaign would end in India. But what if such fate had been kinder to Alexander's ambitions?<br />
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Coenus was a reliable commander of one of Alexander's distinct phalanxes. Imagine instead that Coenus falls in battle, either at the Hydaspes or in a previous battle against the Achaemenid Empire. His absence will cast the mutinous lot without a distinct voice to reason with Alexander. Consider this second--albeit less important point of divergence: the Battle of Hydaspes goes entirely in the favor of Alexander the Great. This feat is more probable than Coenus' unlikely death. The Battle on the Hydaspes River was the most brutal of Alexander's entire campaign, with an entire thousand men dead. Considering modern bouts such as Stalingrad and the Somme, a thousand dead seems a pittance. Even in stark comparison to similar ancient battles of Cannae and Lake Trebia (both stunning victories by the Carthaginian general Hannibal), a thousand dead might be at very best an <i>expectation</i>. No, these kind of casualties gave very genuine concern to the average foot soldier in Alexander's comparatively sized field army.<br />
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Outnumbered three to one, Alexander faced off against an army--like the Persians--that was under armored, under equipped and intending to use overwhelming force to win the day. Against the long reaching sarissas of the phalanx, it was only a matter of time before they broke. Porus, the king of the Paurava Kingdom that called the Hydaspes River home, was captured. His two sons, his uncle Spitakes and the majority of his commanders were killed. Over 12,000 Indians met their end with almost an equal amount wounded.<br />
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The Macedonians were victorious, but it had been earned. The Indians utilized mighty elephants, clad in armored harnesses that often deflected javelin and arrow shot. The Indians fought with tenacity and were led by men that did not flee at the first sign of defeat.<br />
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Plutarch later said this of the Macedonians' perspective after the battle had been won: "<i>But this last combat with Porus took off the edge of the Macedonians' courage, and stayed their further progress into India. For having found it hard enough to defeat an enemy who brought but twenty thousand foot and two thousand horse into the field, they thought they had reason to oppose Alexander's design of leading them on to pass the Ganges, too, which they were told was thirty-two furlongs broad and a fathom deep, and the banks on the further side covered with multitudes of enemies</i>."<br />
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Had the casualties been lessened, had a more complete victory been won, could Alexander have convinced the men to forge on into the Indian subcontinent? Those unfamiliar with India's daunting history must be reminded here that a mere five years following Alexander's victory at the Hydaspes, the Nanda Empire which sought to oppose Alexander at the Ganges, fell apart completely.<br />
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Alexander, with at best a reluctant army, would cross the Hydaspes and make way for the Nanda Empire. The last great foe before reaching the proclaimed "end of the world." The climate of India, a world the likes a Macedonian would have never seen before, might very well become a much more sinister opponent than any Indian army. Thick foliage, flora and fauna so exotic as to be considered alien, and treacherous hazards in the form of razor sharp rocks embedded in deep valleys, jungles so thick to only allow a single man to cross at a time and insects aplenty.<br />
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Considering the suffering Alexander's army took through attrition just in returning through the Geodrosian Desert, it's likely he would have suffered similar casualties in a world so distinctly different than the one he was familiar with in the Greek Peninsula and Anatolia.<br />
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Militarily, he would have been up against the most terrible armies mustered so far. Historians quote that the Nanda Empire could field over four thousand war elephants, though it's unlikely they could have brought them to bear all at once. Alexander dealt with some forty at the Hydaspes, harassing them with the sarissas of his phalanxes while killing the mahouts who kept the animals under control. Whether or not he could replicate this is uncertain.<br />
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How many more battles Alexander would have to win before the Nanda Empire crumbles is the question that determines whether or not Alexander succeeds. Already close to collapse, the Nanda Empire possessed the bottomless manpower to go toe to toe with Alexander, lose battle after battle and remain afloat--if only for a little while. Unfortunately for us--and perhaps thankfully for Alexander--a man named Coenus, on the banks of the Hydaspes in the summer of 325 BC, wasn't to let it be so.<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.thetheotaylor.com/">Theo Taylor</a> is a science fiction writer and essayist. His works have appeared in Asimov's, Every Day Fiction, Aphelion Stories and Thought Catalog. When not penning science fiction stories, he's almost always researching some obscure historical fact or in the gym. Check out his book <a href="http://amzn.to/2bSfCoa">Rogue Cosmos</a>.</i></div>
Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-64674627765957411192016-09-14T08:54:00.000-05:002016-09-14T08:55:07.695-05:00The Alternate History Map That Ended Up In A History TextbookDid you know an alternate history map got published in a history textbook? Watch this video to learn more.<br />
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Check out Andri/Kuusinen's Deviant Art profile: <a href="http://kuusinen.deviantart.com/">http://kuusinen.deviantart.com/</a><br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-8073432113891842272016-09-13T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-13T11:00:02.201-05:00New Releases 9/13/16<b><i>You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon!</i></b><br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2chRVkL">A Second Chance: The Chronicles of St. Mary’s Book Three</a></i> by Jodi Taylor</b><br />
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The third book in the bestselling British madcap time-travelling series, served with a dash of wit that seems to be everyone’s cup of tea.<br />
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Behind the seemingly innocuous facade of St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, a different kind of academic work is taking place. Just don’t call it “time travel”—these historians “investigate major historical events in contemporary time.” And they aren’t your harmless eccentrics either; a more accurate description, as they ricochet around history, might be unintentional disaster-magnets.<br />
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The Chronicles of St. Mary’s tells the chaotic adventures of Madeleine Maxwell and her compatriots—Director Bairstow, Leon “Chief” Farrell, Mr. Markham, and many more—as they travel through time, saving St. Mary’s (too often by the very seat of their pants) and thwarting time-travelling terrorists, all the while leaving plenty of time for tea.<br />
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In A Second Chance, it seems nothing can go right for Max and her fellow historians. The team confronts a mirror-stealing Isaac Newton and later witnesses how the ancient and bizarre cheese-rolling ceremony in Gloucester can result in CBC: Concussion By Cheese.<br />
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Finally, Max makes her long-awaited jump to Bronze Age Troy, only for it to end in personal catastrophe. And just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse, it’s back to the Cretaceous Period to confront an old enemy who has nothing to lose.<br />
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Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.<br />
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<b><u>E-Books</u></b><br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cJMCvZ">Blaise Maximillian: Emancipation</a></i> by Matthew Sylvester</b><br />
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For 8 long years the Great War has raged. Blaise Maximillian has been there from the start. A bright-eyed and fearful young 2nd Lieutenant, the realities of war change him into a hard-bitten soldier and an even harder policeman. Leading men and women into battle, he confronts a German army that becomes ever stronger, ever more advanced.<br />
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Britain needs heroes. Heroes like Laura Miles and Wez Broglino, armour hunter-killers during the Siege of Paris, then agents of the resistance group called the 'Department of Accidents'.<br />
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This is alternative history as you'd never have thought.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cMbEgC">In at the Death: Settling Accounts</a></i> by Harry Turtledove</b><br />
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Franklin Roosevelt is the assistant secretary of defense. Thomas Dewey is running for president with a blunt-speaking Missourian named Harry Truman at his side. Britain holds on to its desperate alliance with the United States' worst enemy while a holocaust unfolds in Texas. In Harry Turtledove's compelling, disturbing, and extraordinarily vivid reshaping of American history, a war of secession has triggered a generation of madness. The tipping point has come at last.<br />
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The third war in 60 years, this one yet unnamed: a grinding, horrifying series of hostilities and atrocities between two nations sharing the same continent and both calling themselves Americans.<br />
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At the dawn of 1944, the United States has beaten back a daredevil blitzkrieg from the Confederate States, and a terrible new genie is out of history's bottle: a bomb that may destroy on a scale never imagined before. In Europe the new weapon has shattered a stalemate between Germany, England, and Russia. When the trigger is pulled in America, nothing will be the same again.<br />
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<b><u>To readers, authors and publishers...</u></b><br />
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Is your story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at <b>ahwupdate at gmail dot com</b>. We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-80514793444438287822016-09-12T15:00:00.000-05:002016-09-12T15:00:01.939-05:00Map Monday: Causae Deus - Climate of (Deglaciated) Antarctica by GianYears ago I was a contributor to a timeline called "<a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2014/05/timeline-thursday-great-white-south.html">Great White South</a>". It was set in a world where Antarctica was warmer and could support human colonization. Although incredibly implausible, I still had fun creating new cultures on virgin soil. So when I saw this map by <a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/map-thread-xiv.383564/page-271#post-13057202">Gian</a>/<a href="http://ieph.deviantart.com/">IEPH</a>, it gave me that warm nostalgic feeling:<br />
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This is "<a href="http://ieph.deviantart.com/art/Causae-Deus-Climate-of-Deglaciated-Antarctica-632243172">Causae Deus - Climate of (Deglaciated) Antarctica</a>". Unlike most alternate history maps, it foregoes politics to show the geological differences of this alternate Antarctica. As you can see, even without glaciers, most of the continent would still be tough to live on, but some of the coastal regions might be comfortable. Otherwise, the map is well done. Gian/IEPH was able to add details about the different regions without making it look busy. Plus, he promised more maps (and has already <a href="http://ieph.deviantart.com/art/Causae-Deus-Human-Migrations-to-Antarctica-632363036">delivered</a>) so who knows what we will see in later updates.<br />
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More importantly, he credited Devon Moore's "Great White South" timeline and the base map it used to create his map. So don't forget to check it out and read a fun ASB story.<br />
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Honorable mentions this week go out to "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/map-thread-xiv.383564/page-278#post-13083599">The Principality of Verona</a>" by Zek Sora, "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/oneshot-scenarios-2.380935/page-73#post-13078849">A Political Map of Our Solar System</a>" by Ephraim Ben Raphael, "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/oneshot-scenarios-2.380935/page-72#post-13073123">La Lasta Espero Por Homaro</a>" by rvbomally, "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/map-thread-xiv.383564/page-275#post-13072008">Mega Super Russia</a>" by Bruce Munro, "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/map-thread-xiv.383564/page-274#post-13069367">Sub Specie Aeternitatis</a>" by Goldstein, "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/map-thread-xiv.383564/page-274#post-13069007">Cornwallis</a>" by Keperry and "<a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/gurps-infinite-worlds-covers.390560/page-6#post-13064243">Reich-1</a>" by Prometheus_2300.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-91425014624677728052016-09-12T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-12T15:44:03.994-05:00Writing About Racism and Sexism in Historical Fantasy<i>Guest post by Michael J. Martinez.</i><br />
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Writing about racism and sexism is daunting no matter the medium, whether it’s a novel or, indeed, even this guest post. And when I wrote <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2ciH9MZ">MJ-12: Inception</a></i>, set during the Cold War in the late 1940s, I really wrestled with how to approach it.<br />
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I firmly believe that women, non-hetero folks, non-binary folks and people of color should absolutely tell their own stories. So right from the start, I felt a bit like an intruder, trying to approach characters in my book who, historically, would deal with ingrained societal sexism and racism. (I feel like I should also note that I’m not Latino – my dad was Spanish and my mom was full Lithuanian. I’m very much a white hetero cis-gendered guy.)<br />
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But here’s the thing. I wanted to write diverse characters in <i>MJ-12</i>. The protagonists of this book, called Variants, have been mysteriously imbued with paranormal abilities – superpowers, in essence – and it’s a rather random thing. So imbuing a bunch of white guys seemed plain old dumb.<br />
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So of the five main protagonists, one is a woman and another is an African-American man. (There are other women and people of color mentioned, and more coming in the next <i>MAJESTIC-12 </i>book in 2017.) And if you’re going to set a book in 1948, you’re going to have to deal with that systemic racism and sexism.<br />
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It was pretty bad back then. The armed forces were still segregated, and African-American soldiers were treated poorly. Back home, women were pressed into the workforce and were empowered in so many ways – only to be sent home after the war to make room for the men returning from overseas. The end of the war actually made things worse for women and people of color, even as their treatment sowed the seeds of the civil rights and women’s rights movements.<br />
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Yes,<i> MJ-12: Inception</i> is historical fantasy, but the fantasy part – at least in my worldbuilding – wouldn’t magically erase those issues. And frankly, I didn’t want to whitewash things either. Ignoring sexism and racism in the time period seemed disingenuous, and I felt would really disrespect what women and people of color went through during this period.<br />
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Thus, there’s racism and sexism among the characters in <i>MJ-12: Inception</i>. It was amongst the most painful stuff I’ve had to write as an author, and I made damn sure to research things carefully, to understand the points of view of all involved, to talk with women and people of color about it to bring as much care and diligence to it as possible.<br />
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And yet at the same time, there was a story that had to be told – a paranoid spy thriller with superpowers and exotic locales and, yes, even some nifty gadgets. The whole thing was a balancing act that left me uncomfortable at times. But then, I suppose that’s a good thing for a writer to experience.<br />
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In some ways, the <i>MAJESTIC-12</i> series is an exploration of being <i>different</i>, being <i>feared </i>for being different, and what all that can do to people. I’m particularly interested in what it will do to Maggie, a woman who can manipulate emotion with a thought, and Cal, an African-American man who can heal – or harm – with a touch. Prior to gaining these abilities, Maggie and Cal were still treated differently and unfairly by society at large. Now, they’re <i>very</i> different, and while that gains them a bit of acceptance among some of their fellow Variants, it scares a lot of other people even more.<br />
And what happens when Maggie and Cal face these biases again and again, knowing that they’re actually more powerful than the average person?<br />
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To me, those are fascinating questions, and as I write more in this series, I’m looking forward to uncovering the answers.<br />
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<i>Michael J. Martinez is the author of <a href="http://amzn.to/2ciH9MZ">MJ-12: Inception</a>, newly released in hardcover from Night Shade Books, as well as the <a href="http://amzn.to/2cnuXcb">Daedalus trilogy</a> of Napoleonic era space opera novels, now out in mass-market paperback. </i>Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-28501477809492581652016-09-10T17:06:00.000-05:002016-09-11T15:27:14.044-05:00What if 9/11 Didn't Happen?This year mark the 15th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks. An event that changed the world for many, but for the 2016 Freshmen class, its just history. So as alternate historians, we must ask: what if 9/11 Didn't Happen?<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-49136857357069937922016-09-09T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-09T11:00:06.051-05:00Flag Friday: Directorate Regime of China by KuboCaskettThe artistic talent found in the alternate history community isn't just used for our own divergent timelines. Occasionally we put it to use in genres outside of our favorite one. For example, check out this flag:<br />
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This is the <a href="http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/flag-thread-iv.310936/page-190#post-13017842">flag of the Directorate Regime of China</a> and was designed by <a href="http://kubocaskett.deviantart.com/">KuboCaskett</a>. I linked to his DeviantArt page because I have been criticized in the past for not doing enough to promote the authors of whose works I feature...because being one of the few people who recommends good alternate history art is not doing enough (I'm not bitter, you're bitter). So please help silence a few detractors by clicking on the link.<br />
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Anywho, the flag is from <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cn4IUl">Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War</a></i> by by P. W. Singer and August Cole. I haven't read the book, but given the description, it seems to be a techno-thriller about some sort of near future world war involving the USA, Russia and China. It seems interesting, so I've added to my want-to-read pile on Goodreads, but I'm hear to talk about the flag, not the book.<br />
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I actually love the look of this flag. I always enjoyed the color black in flags and the...I'm going to say "eagle"...in the center is pretty awesome and looks almost fascist in its symbolism. If it is on that part of the political spectrum, I'm going to guess China is the bad guy in <i>Ghost Fleet</i>. Overall an awesome flag that introduced me to a new book and allowed me to express some frustrations apparently...sorry about that.<br />
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What do you guys think of the flag and has anyone read <i>Ghost Fleet</i>? Let me know in the comments.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-38126701641760373972016-09-08T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-08T11:00:10.659-05:00Fantastic Maps and Where to Find Them<i>Guest post by Lynn Davis.</i><br />
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As a decently experienced cartographer with work featured on <a href="http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/search/label/Lynn%20Davis">this site</a> and elsewhere, I like to give advice to potential cartographers—both of alternate history and not—who seek to create high-quality maps using programs like Inkscape or Photoshop (if you are using GIS, well, that’s a talk for another day).<br />
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One of the toughest parts of starting out using these programs to design maps is finding of the most essential tools in a burgeoning cartographer’s toolkit: basemaps. That is, unless you are able to freehand a perfect map of the world to make a derivative map, particularly for alternate history purposes, you are going to need maps that already exist which you can trace over and change into a piece of art of your own making.<br />
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To help with this, I will present to all you cartographers the top 5 best map resources around the internet. With these sites, your library of basemaps will quickly grow and, hopefully, so too will your body of work.<br />
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<b>#1. Wikimedia</b><br />
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From old atlases to modern user-made data, the maps available on Wikimedia are perhaps the most diverse of any source. Like the rest of Wikipedia’s foundation, the point of the map database is to give people an open and free database to use, and any aspiring cartographer would be advised to take advantage of this fact.<br />
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The biggest disadvantage is that, like much of the Wikimedia site, the database can be difficult to navigate, particularly if you are looking for specific kinds of maps or maps from specific artists. If you’re willing to put up with the layout, however, it’s one of the best and most diverse of the examples given and well worth your time.<br />
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<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Maps">The database is available here to access</a>. Make sure to click around categories and don’t be afraid to use the main Wikipedia site to poke around as well.<br />
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<b>#2. University of Texas at Austin Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection</b><br />
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Though just roughly 30% of the collection’s 250,000 maps are available online, the UT Austin map collection is an extremely valuable one. While Wikimedia and other sources tend to be a bit more random in what they choose to upload, due to problems of availability or varied sources, this map collection focuses more on specific atlases where each and every page is carefully cataloged and digitized for those who wish to view them.<br />
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The maps are available to directly download and in the public domain, which eases using them around the internet without having to worry too much about copyright. Most of the maps on here also tend to be clearer than those from the same atlas posted elsewhere. As a bonus, there are even some maps that I have simply not found elsewhere around the web, and for that alone it is extremely valuable.<br />
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Always continuing to grow as the collection receives money to digitize its records, <a href="http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/">this collection can be viewed here</a> and is well worth checking out to find the basemap that is right for you.<br />
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<b>#3. West Point Atlases</b><br />
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This source is one that is not only surprising, but also one that I have seen very few cartographers ever recommend, let alone use. Available as a courtesy of the United States Military Academy at West Point, the atlases available on their website to the public contain a wide array of subjects related to warfare, from ancient conflicts to the modern campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Naturally, being a military academy, it is hard to find maps not related to warfare; alternate history being what it is, however, that doesn’t tend to be a down side.<br />
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The one caveat I could give is that some of the maps, notably the larger-scale pages in the atlases, seem to be rather inaccurate and give a very simple idea of worldwide or continental political geography. That said, this drawback is more than made up for by the highly-detailed country and local maps available through the atlases that look like they have been pulled from the pages of official military atlases. Suffice to say, accuracy at the local level is extremely important to the military so you can count on these to be among the best you can find. In this way, they are perfect for maps of specific historical or alternate historical military campaigns that you may want to show.<br />
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To check out these atlases, <a href="http://www.westpoint.edu/history/SitePages/Our%20Atlases.aspx">follow the link here for more information</a>.<br />
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<b>#4. Alternate History Wiki</b><br />
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That is, the wiki site created specifically for alternatehistory.com and not to be confused with the independent alternate history wiki (yes, it’s confusing). This is a site that is simply not used as often as it should be. While admittedly even harder to navigate than the others, the AH wiki is a fine resource for maps that have been made or found by users of alternatehistory.com as part of a community-wide project assembled by the good people at the wiki.<br />
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Maps can include anything from the wonderfully-detailed “world-a” style pixel maps to larger, more complete blank maps that anyone can use. Taken from well over a decade of gathering from all across alternatehistory.com, this archive is one that is well worth using for anyone who wants to make specifically alternate history maps, as this site tends to cater toward it. However, it also provides a good amount of material for those who lean toward real life history and who want to make maps of their own.<br />
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It's a really fantastic resource that I, personally, would enjoy seeing get a bit more love from the cartographical community. <a href="http://wiki.alternatehistory.com/doku.php?id=resources:maps">You can find the map portion through here</a>, though some searching around the site may be required to find exactly what you’re looking for.<br />
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<b>#5 David Rumsey Map Collection</b><br />
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In many ways the Holy Grail of basemaps, the David Rumsey Map Collection is a cornucopia of maps for every possible or thinkable part of the world that were created anywhere from centuries ago to just a few decades beforehand. The collection has been painstakingly digitized over the course of two decades and resulted in a database of more than 71,000 maps of all sizes, shapes, and containing a wide variety of subjects.<br />
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Not only are the maps available for download in high quality image sizes, but they are also organized by artist, date published, and geographical location covered in the map that allows anyone looking for a specific kind of basemap for a specific map in mind to quickly find something that will suit them. This can range from a large-scale political map of the Holy Roman Empire to a travel map from the 1930s of the United States to a landform map of eastern China before the Second World War.<br />
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I would caution that, unlike the other sites, the Creative Commons license is a little more complicated, so it’d be a good idea to look that up before you dive in. That said, for those of us who seek to make the best maps we possibly can in Inkscape, Photoshop, GIMP, or other programs, this site is far and away the best I’ve used and I cannot recommend it enough. <a href="http://www.davidrumsey.com/">You can find the collection’s homepage here</a> and from there dive right in.<br />
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<i>Lynn Davis is a cartographer and writer both of alternate history that can be found on her website, <a href="http://www.toixstory.com/">Toixstory.com</a>, and has been featured around the internet. In addition she runs a <a href="http://toixstory.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/toixstory">Facebook page</a>, and is funded by generous donations to her <a href="http://www.patreon.com/toixstory">Patreon</a>.</i></div>
Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-54786641887196853872016-09-07T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-07T11:00:07.596-05:00President Washington's Third Term<i>Guest post by Theo Taylor.</i><br />
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By 1798, <a href="https://www.vision.org/visionmedia/biography-george-washington/587.aspx">George Washington</a> boasted undoubtedly the most impressive resume of any man in the United States, a country so new the ink had barely dried on its new constitution. He had led the Continental armies to victory against a fierce and determined enemy--the British Royal Army, aided in the manifestation of the American Republic and served two terms as its first Commander in Chief. So important was he, that the second President, John Adams, demanded Washington's return in Summer, 1798 to the United States Army to plan for a potential conflict with France.<br />
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Less than twelve months later he was implored by his contemporaries to seek a third term as President of the United States. Most Americans are aware that he denied such a request, putting in place a time honored tradition not broken until Franklin Delano Roosevelt's monumental third term in 1940. What if, however, George Washington, the Cincinnatus of the West, as his colleagues referred to him, decided not to shirk the responsibility of his fledgling Republic, what then would the modern political conflict look like?<br />
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An argument against implausibility is a contemptible one. Washington would have won any third term election, against any challenger. The evolution of the position of the President of the United States would have likely become more <a href="http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/man-who-would-not-be-king">monarchic</a>. Without a term limit set in place--whether by law or tradition--it exists only as an inevitability that a future president would simply continue as president until death or he lost an election. Considering George Washington's life, he may very well have died during his third term and no precedent on it may ever be established.<br />
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A minor inconvenience in this alternate world would be a handful of one term presidents would never come about, those presidents such as George H.W. Bush who would have been replaced by a three term Ronald Reagan. Presidencies such as FDR's, which ended only by death, would be more commonplace. The speculation thus, is what more good--or evil--could a President do, knowing he is not bound by term limits? An answer best left to speculation.<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.thetheotaylor.com/">Theo Taylor</a> is a science fiction writer and essayist. His works have appeared in Asimov's, Every Day Fiction, Aphelion Stories and Thought Catalog. When not penning science fiction stories, he's almost always researching some obscure historical fact or in the gym. Check out his book <a href="http://amzn.to/2bSfCoa">Rogue Cosmos</a>.</i></div>
Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-80475860897822976032016-09-06T15:00:00.000-05:002016-09-06T15:00:11.760-05:00New Releases 9/6/16<b><i>You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon!</i></b><br />
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<b><u>Hardcovers</u></b><br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2bGx8wz">Everfair: A Novel</a></i> by Nisi Shawl</b><br />
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Everfair is a wonderful Neo-Victorian alternate history novel that explores the question of what might have come of Belgium's disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier. Fabian Socialists from Great Britian join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo's "owner," King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.<br />
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Nisi Shawl's speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history. Everfair is told from a multiplicity of voices: Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans in complex relationships with one another, in a compelling range of voices that have historically been silenced. Everfair is not only a beautiful book but an educational and inspiring one that will give the reader new insight into an often ignored period of history.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2bGxi7b">MJ-12: Inception</a></i> by Michael J. Martinez</b><br />
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It is a new world, stunned by the horrors that linger in the aftermath of total war. The United States and Soviet Union are squaring off in a different kind of conflict, one that’s fought in the shadows, where there are whispers of strange and mysterious developments. . .<br />
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Normal people across the United States have inexplicably gained paranormal abilities. A factory worker can heal the sick and injured. A schoolteacher bends emotions to her will. A car salesman alters matter with a simple touch. A former soldier speaks to the dying and gains their memories as they pass on.<br />
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They are the Variants, controlled by a secret government program called MAJESTIC-12 to open a new front in the Cold War.<br />
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From the deserts of Nevada to the palaces of Istanbul, the halls of power in Washington to the dark, oppressive streets of Prague, the Variants are thrown into a deadly game of shifting alliances. Amidst the seedy underbelly of nations, these once-ordinary Americans dropped in extraordinary circumstances will struggle to come to terms with their abilities as they fight to carve out a place for themselves in a world that may ultimately turn against them.<br />
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And as the MAJESTIC-12 program will soon discover, there are others out there like them, some with far more malevolent goals.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2bXCCSS">Prince of Outcasts</a> </i>by SM Stirling</b><br />
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John Arminger Mackenzie wanted to be a troubadour, but fate made him the son of the king of Montival. His sister Princess Órlaith will deservedly inherit the throne of the High Kings, and it will only pass unto him in the event of her death, leaving the young Prince on an unknown path to discover his true role in the family.<br />
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The opportunity to prove his mettle comes when John’s ship, the Tarshish Queen, is caught in the fierce storm raised against the enemies of the alliance. When the clouds recede and the skies clear, John and his crew find themselves on the other side of the Pacific, in the island chains of the Ceram Sea, fighting to survive against vicious pirates and monstrous creatures of the deep, meeting new allies and mysterious enemies of this world and another.<br />
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Now, Prince John must seize his birthright and lead his people in battle against the darkest forces man and nature can conjure against them.<br />
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<b><u>Paperbacks</u></b><br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cjqwTx">101 Stumbles in the March of History: What If the Great Mistakes in War, Government, Industry, and Economics Were Not Made?</a></i> by Bill Fawcett</b><br />
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An all-new compendium of 101 historic screw-ups from the author of 100 Mistakes that Changed History.<br />
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DID I DO THAT???<br />
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When asked to name a successor, Alexander the Great declared that his empire should go “to the strongest”. . . but would rival factions have descended into war if he’d been a little more specific?<br />
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What if the Vienna Academy of Art took a chance on a hopeful young student named Adolf Hitler?<br />
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If Pope Clement VII granted King Henry VIII an annulment, England would likely still be Catholic today—and so would America.<br />
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Bill Fawcett, author of 100 Mistakes That Changed History, offers a compendium of 101 all-new mammoth mistakes—from the ill-fated rule of Emperor Darius III to the equally ill-fated search for WMDs in Iraq—that will, unfortunately, never be forgotten by history.<br />
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<b><u>E-Books</u></b><br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2bGxuDE">Our Heroes Through Tomorrow</a></i> by Dan Gainor</b><br />
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Six scintillating stories from a modern master of speculative fiction!<br />
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Unintended Consequences: In a future where nuclear weapons no longer function, conventional warfare rears its ugly head as America becomes the target of a hostile invasion, and a young computer wiz finds himself in the thick of the fight.<br />
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We The People: A billionaire rancher seeks to rekindle the spirit of America... by cloning the Founding Fathers!<br />
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Soul Tracker: A science-fiction epic of alien worlds, conjoined souls, and one man's quest to become the ultimate warrior.<br />
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Original Sin: College students set out on a quest to prove that time travel is possible, only to find themselves stranded in an all too familiar past, with a crucial decision to make about altering fate.<br />
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Just Desserts: Aliens seek to neutralize the "human threat" through a virus that makes "zombies" all too real... only, what will be the true consequence of this bio-warfare?<br />
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Drawing A Line: In a future where humanity is conquered and fragmented amidst the stars, the last soldiers must hold the line between warrior and pirate as they struggle to fight for freedom and survival.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cbCs7T">Ragnarok</a></i> by Chris Nuttall</b><br />
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The Nazi Civil War rages on ...<br />
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The Provisional Government has scored a significant victory, driving the Waffen-SS back from Berlin and winning itself time to plot a counteroffensive. But Karl Holliston - the self-declared Fuhrer of the Greater German Reich - isn't about to give up so easily. As mighty armies prepare for the final campaign, winter sweeps down from the east and both side prepare their ultimate weapons, the fate of the world hangs in the balance ...<br />
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... And if the Reich burns, the rest of the world may burn too.<br />
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<b><u>To readers, authors and publishers...</u></b><br />
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Is your story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at <b>ahwupdate at gmail dot com</b>. We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7116814.Matt_Mitrovich">Matt Mitrovich</a> is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for <a href="http://amazingstoriesmag.com/">Amazing Stories</a>, a volunteer interviewer for <a href="http://www.sffworld.com/author/matt/">SFFWorld</a> and a <a href="http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/about.html">Sidewise Awards for Alternate History</a> judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/matt.mitrovich" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMitrovich">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://alternatehistorian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi61CvyRnbmUJ55bolV5CnQ">YouTube</a>. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattmitrovich?ty=h"><b>Patreon</b></a>.</i></div>
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Mitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-48084129027884473942016-09-06T11:00:00.000-05:002016-09-06T11:00:03.297-05:00Interview with Bill Fawcett, author of 101 Stumbles in the March of History (Plus an Excerpt)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had the opportunity to interview historian Bill Fawcett who, along with other contributors, wrote the <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2bZn0eA">101 Stumbles in the March of History</a></i>. Check out our conversation below and keep scrolling to read an excerpt from the book.<br />
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<b>Welcome to Alternate History Weekly Update, Bill. How would you describe yourself to someone you just met?</b><br />
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I suppose that I would say that I am someone who enjoys history and sharing the amazing things I discover about it. If forced to choose a title, I suppose “Pop Historian” might fit. Maybe that I am more than a little cynical because those in power never seem to learn from history and optimistic that history shows nations often overcome the worst of leaders and their mistakes… but not always.<br />
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<b>What got you interested in alternate history?</b><br />
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I discovered science fiction and history spending my early summers reading in the shade of a tree in our front lawn. Whether it was Tom Swift Jr, Rick Brandt, boy scientist, and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet or accounts of battles and life in ancient times the road noise and neighborhood just disappeared. As I grew older I realized that much of the Science Fiction I loved was derived from events that actually occurred. Once I began writing and editing there was a real revelation. You can’t make it up story elements that are as amazing as what has really happened in the past. From <i>Game of Thrones</i> being loosely based on the equally cut throat events in the War of Roses or the campaigns of Belisarius being the inspiration for novels by David Drake, those writing SF and fantasy often use the past as a model. I suspect it was almost inevitable that the two should merge directly into what we now call Alternate History. I guess I’ve been imaging what would have happened if the Huns had conquered Rome or if Napoleon had left Moscow in time all my life. Back in the 1980s I helped put together with historian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Showalter">Dennis Showalter</a> a “What If” book on WWII alternatives. From then on I was hooked.<br />
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<b>What is <i>101 Stumbles in the March of History</i> about?</b><br />
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So much of our history is the result not of great plans and brilliant strategies, but what happened when those went wrong. Mistakes and their consequences are a great moving force through history, for the better or worse. Progress is never inevitable. I have done two other books for Penguin on great mistakes and how they affect history, these are the not too subtly named <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cuIgsj">100 Mistakes that Changed History</a></i> and <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2bZn3Ht">Trust Me, I Know What I'm Doing: 100 More Mistakes That Lost Elections, Ended Empires, and Made the World What It Is Today</a></i>. This new book is a look at yet more history changing events and something more, what if.<br />
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<b>What inspired you to create the book?</b><br />
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My editor at Penguin was generous enough to say that in this volume we could pull out the stops and also speculate on how life would be today if 101 of the worst mistakes in history had not been made. It was impossible to resist. I’ve been doing it in my head and in discussions with the other writers in earlier volumes for another publisher for years.<br />
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<b>How did you find the other contributors to 101 Stumbles?</b><br />
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I did write about half the mistakes. A few other contributors are historians whom I had worked with before. They share the view that history is fascinating and can be written like it is both interesting and relevant. Beyond them I reached out to those who write Alternate History fiction. I was fortunate enough that some of the best, Harry Turtledove, Eric Flint, Mike Resnick, and Charles Gannon agreed to join in. Their insight and unique approaches really add to the book.<br />
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<b>Your story "The Last Crusader" is one of my personal favorite stories of yours. What inspired you to make Napoleon a priest?</b><br />
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I have always been fascinated by the Napoleonic Wars. They were really the last of the wars where the man, not the weapon, still made all the difference. The great uniforms and pomp don’t hurt either. The survival of Revolutionary France was a near thing. What if Bonaparte was on the other side of the equation?<br />
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If you lived in Corsica, a poor island controlled by France, there were only few ways to escape the poverty and really achieve something. Beyond smuggling there was only the church or the army. The story speculates that the ambitious Napoleon choose instead to become a priest. He would have quickly risen in the ranks of the Church. This would have meant he was sympathetic to the monarchies and nobility who supported the Catholic Church extensively. In the story we see Bishop Napoleon, a fiery speaker and émigré’ leader, successfully inspiring the Austrian and Russian troops to defeat the godless Revolutionary French at Austerlitz. Just one different choice by him as a young boy and it just might have been.<br />
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<b>Are there any other projects that you are working on?</b><br />
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I am actually researching an alternate history where the very secular Kurds managed to be united as a single nation and the Middle East in the near future is a far different place. They are an amazing people, and tough as ISIS is constantly finding out. If the British had just drawn a few boundaries differently or the UN had lived up to their charter on borders and ethnic groups, it might have been. This will likely be for a military oriented SF novel.<br />
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<b>Any advice for aspiring writers?</b><br />
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(Beyond keep you day job?) My first bit of advice is write, often and anything. The second is to write about what you are passionate. Learn the technical skill of writing, whether its fiction or non-fiction, the skill is necessary. It is like tennis or programming, you need to practice and get better. Those reading you want to enjoy and learn from what you write. What it really comes down to is do what you love, share what excites you and it will show. It will show in your books.<br />
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<b>And now an excerpt from "Bad Omen" by Bill Fawcett, found in <i>101 Stumbles in the March of History</i>:</b><br />
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It took two mistakes, both classical in all senses of the word, to bring down the world’s first democracy. There have been times when superstition in the form of omens and prophecies affected a battle, but there was one omen that lost Athens the entire Peloponnesian War. Athens had been winning a protracted war with Sparta and that city’s allies. It appeared to almost everyone that Sparta was about to lose and just one more push was needed. But military actions are expensive, particularly for Athens, which traditionally paid the rowers and other sailors. This meant they had the best and most enthusiastic crews, but this was costly. Then one of the city’s most ambitious and controversial figures, Alcibiades, began to push for Athens and its allies to invade Sicily and conquer Syracuse. The fabled treasury of Syracuse could then be used to finance the rest of the war.<br />
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No one, except the most conservative Athenians, cared that they were starting a second war with one of the other democratic cities on a distant island. They were defeating Sparta, how difficult could Syracuse be? Everyone expected to win quickly, long before a battered Sparta could react. Athens, as head of the Delian League, literally voted to open a second front against a powerful and rich enemy in the middle of another war.<br />
…<br />
From the beginning things did not go well in Sicily. The reason for this was the choice of commanders. At first it looked like Athens was going to make the traditional mistake of splitting command. Both the impulsive Alcibiades and perhaps the most reverent and hesitant noble in the city, Nicias, were put in command of the invasion of Sicily. Likely the idea was for the two to balance out each other. What happened was that, due to a scandal involving the destruction of sacred statues of Hermes just before they left, Alcibiades was recalled shortly after arriving. Since it appeared that he was about to be railroaded on the charge, Alcibiades sailed not home, but to Sparta—and changed sides.<br />
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Making a military decision, or rather not making it, for twenty-seven days on the basis of one general’s reverence for, and fear of, an omen, was the second mistake. Between the two mistakes, the Delian League and Athens turned near-certain victory into defeat. It took ten more years to lose. Athens held on and raised fleets whenever it could. But the Delian League had lost tens of thousands of soldiers, citizens, and sailors, and nearly its entire fleet in an unnecessary war. The city of Athens and its League were literally and monetarily spent. Eventually, the Spartan side, helped by the defections of Athens’ former allies, won the war and doomed the city. The Delian League was dissolved. Because of two mistakes: fighting a war on two fronts and allowing superstition to override military necessity, Athens was never again the center of Greece or its culture.<br />
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Your life would today be different had the Delian League prevailed, which it almost certainly would have if its ill-fated invasion of Syracuse had not happened. Greece might have united as a nation. Macedonia would not have been able to overwhelm a united Greece. Persia might well have hesitated to make its many invasions, or perhaps Alexander would have partnered with Greece to invade Persia and change the world. Or Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander might have been obscure footnotes in books about the Delian League’s defeat of Persia. Or there might be chapters about Persia defeating Greece. If Athens had been dominant for more centuries, then would democracy in some form have become the conventional form of government, not the exception, for the next twenty-five hundred years? That surely would have changed everything.<br />
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