Just in case the wildings attack while I am in the North.
Well this Friday I leave for Britain to go to the Sideways in Time Conference in Liverpool. I'll be able to look around London for a day, then its a train ride north on Sunday for the pre-conference social event at Waterstones Liverpool One before the conference officially begins on Monday. I, however, am not giving my presentation until Tuesday.
From now until April 5th, I will not be doing any blogging here or at Amazing Stories (although you can still check out the awesome interview I did with the master himself, Harry Turtledove). So that means no Weekly Update, Map Monday, New Releases, guest posts or other articles, reviews or interviews for the foreseeable future.
Don't you fret. I will be back on the 6th with an extra long Weekly Update to celebrate my return to blogging. I am also returning to my weekly Amazing Stories schedule with a run down of what happened at the conference and I have an interview lined up with one of my favorite map makers, Lynn Davis. If anyone has any guest posts they would like to submit for that week, please let me know at ahwupdate at gmail dot com. If you need an example of what I am looking for in a guest post, go check out Mark from Atomic Skies's excellent Alternate Nuclear Wars article.
For those interested in reading my paper, "Warping History: An Overview of Fans and Creators of Alternate History in the Internet Age", there was talk of the conference papers being published in an anthology, but if that falls through I will probably publish it myself either on Amazon or here on the blog. I may even record my presentation, either the one at the conference or an edited one I will do later, and post it on my channel.
Speaking of the channel, my trailer currently has 500+ views. I hope to throw myself into making new content for it once I return and as I mentioned before my script on Deseret is finished, so all I need to do is record. After that I will probably have a video review to post on The Years of Rice and Salt.
To be completely honest: holy crap, you guys are freaking awesome! This last month has been wild with all of these opportunities I have had and it is all because of you. Thank you so much for following Alternate History Weekly Update and I really think you guys are going to enjoy what is coming up in the months to come.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
I enjoy good weird fiction like any other introverted guy who enjoys creeping the normies out at parties by discussing the books he reads. Yet so much weird fiction these days seems to be just a regurgitation of what Lovecraft already wrote, with only few exceptions. So when I was given the chance to review The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron and saw the inevitable comparisons to Lovecraft, I was hesitant to try the book. In the end I decided to give it a shot since I have not read an anthology of short fiction for quite some time. (Read the rest of the review over at Amazing Stories.)
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
This week on Amazing Stories I tackle one of the banes of serious historical research: ancient astronauts. As a fictional trope, its not too bad, but it does have its issues. As a legitimate historical theory...sorry its not a legitimate historical theory. There really is nothing good I can say about that aspect of ancient astronauts, but if you would like to read my entire opinion/rant, you will need to read Crowded Skies: Ancient Astronauts in Fiction.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
This week at Amazing Stories, I dip my toe into some future history by covering the six potential changes to the world map by 2020. So those mapmakers who maintain the editable political maps at AlternateHistory.com, please take not. You got some work ahead of you in the future. In the meantime, did I miss any other changes to the globe?
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
I continue my break from alternate history with a review of Ancillary Justiceby Ann Leckie, the first in the Imperial Radch trilogy. The story follows the last remaining fragment of an AI out to destroy the person responsible for their condition. That individual, however, is a multi-bodied, immortal ruler on the most powerful empire in the galaxy...
Check out the review over at Amazing Stories and if you have any other SF&F books I should read, let me know at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
To prove I don't always read alternate history, I picked up a copy of The Martianby Andy Weir (this was not a review copy) and reviewed it over on Amazing Stories. It is a realistic tale about a stranded astronaut on Mars and the massive undertaking to keep him alive and bring him home. Find out more on how I felt about the book by clicking the bolded link.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Editor's Note So great news from last month. We clocked in at 18,647 views, our second highest month to date. Thank you everyone so much for your continued support. I couldn't do any of this without all the people who take the time to read and comment on this blog. I do apologize if I can't always respond, but hopefully I will get better.
Thank you also to everyone who clicks through our Amazon banner. As you should know by now you can support the blog by making your Amazon purchases through The Update. I appreciate all the help I can get as I prepare to create a new company to handle all of the alternate history projects I have planned.
And now the news...
Gold Award for Bookworm confirms Christopher Nuttall as star of indie fiction
For those who don't know, Bookworm is a high fantasy novel in which the main protagonist, Elaine, an inexperienced witch in Golden City, has her life turned upside down when she triggers a magical trap hidden within a book. All the knowledge of magic in the Great Library becomes crammed inside her head, making her the "Bookworm" of the title. Avoiding the Inquisition, she tries to understand what has happened to her, but in reality she is a pawn in the dark plans of one who wants the Grand Sorcerer’s power.
Published in 2013, a review on Risingshadow described Bookworm as “fluently written escapism” and said that Nuttall has “woven an exciting and entertaining story of secrets, dark history, books, werewolves and magic, and knows how to keep the story on the move.” In June 2013 it was announced that the German translation rights to Bookworm had been acquired by RandomHouse Germany for publication under their Blanvalet imprint in 2015. The second in the series, Bookworm II: The Very Ugly Duckling, was published by Elsewhen Press in January 2014 and it will be followed by Bookworm III: The Best Laid Plans sometime early 2015.
One again congratulations to Chris and I hope to hear more good news in the future.
Amazing Stories Licenses Classic Name to FuturesPastEditions and Open Road Brands
Amazing Stories made some major announcements last week. First, it announced it licensed their iconic trademark to FuturesPastEditions Ebooks Publisher for the creation of a new imprint that will publish science fiction, fantasy and horror classics from Amazing Stories and it’s companion magazines Amazing Stories Quarterly and Amazing Stories Annual.
The new imprint will be titled Amazing Stories Classic Reprints. The imprint will feature the comet tail Amazing Stories logo, made famous by the magazine in the 1940s and 50s. Works will be published in both electronic and print formats. FuturesPastEditions publisher and editor Jean Marie Stine will be selecting works of historical importance as well as works that should be commonly available but haven’t been for one reason or another. The series is expected to launch with two anthology volumes featuring stories from past Amazing Stories anniversary issues.
Additionally, Amazing Stories online magazine will feature a regularly monthly classic reprint, branded under the FuturesPastEditions name; the first such classic reprint, Don Wilcox’s The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years, was featured in the Amazing Stories 88th Anniversary Edition, currently being published on the Amazing Stories website.
Following that announcement, on the next day Amazing Stories declared that they also licensed the Amazing Stories trademark to to Open Road Brands, LLC. They will be creating and distributing reproductions of early Amazing Stories covers in formats suitable for display and decoration.
Open Road Brands, LLC will be distributing a selection of Amazing Stories cover art to major retail chain stores such as Hobby Lobby and others. Artwork is currently in production, but the Amazing Stories website will be sure to keep you informed of availability sometime later this year.
As one of the original bloggers of the relaunched Amazing Stories I am delighted that the site continues to grow. Please, if you haven't already, become a member of the site and be a part of SF history.
Video Gallery
This week there were two videos that caught my eye. The first was a saucy time travel short from the guys at The Warp Zone:
Okay so maybe the product placement was a little overdone (and I apologize for my pun), but still funny. Now lets watch a short documentary on the history of grand strategy gaming from the folks at Paradox:
Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Over at Amazing Stories I reviewed Christopher Priest's (the author of The Prestige) newest novel: The Adjacent. The story is told from the point of views of different characters, each from a different time period (or perhaps parallel dimension/state of reality), yet all seemingly connected. Did I like it or did it confuse the hell out me? You will just have to read the review to find out. Click on the bolded link to see the review.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Today at Amazing Stories, I reviewed The Enceladus Crisis by Michael J. Martinez, the second book in his Daedalus series. For those who don't know, the Daedalus series is a tale about two parallel dimensions. One set in a future not far off from our own and another is set in an alternate history where alchemy works. You can find out more by reading my review of the first book in the series, The Daedalus Incident, and my interview with the author.
So what did I think of Enceladus? You will have to click on the bolded link above to find out.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
This week at Amazing Stories, I review the animated alternate history film War of the Worlds: Goliath. This film has been on my radar for quite some time and I was happy to finally have a chance to sit and watch it. Before you check out my review, you can also read a preview of the film from Sean Korsgaard and also see my interview with Goliath's director, Joe Pearson.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Good news everyone! For those who follow my work over at Amazing Stories (my most recent article on alternate Israels was the third most viewed article last week, so thank you for that) I have an important announcement. The world’s first science fiction magazine makes a triumphant return today with a special 88th anniversary issue.
The anniversary issue will be rolled out on the website under the MAGAZINE tab and will feature a classic reprint in association with FuturesPastEditions as well as thirteen other new and reprinted stories accompanied by new artwork, a science feature and a review and interview with the author of The Martian, Andy Weir.
Fiction and non-fiction will be published throughout the course of the month of April with a new story or article appearing approximately every three days. At the end of April the contents will be bundled together, formatted and offered as an E-zine in a variety of formats. If reception of the new issue proves to be popular, the publishers contemplate making a special print edition available as well, so please check it out.
So while you shouldn't believe everything you hear today, I can assure this is real and you will enjoy it!
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
This week on Amazing Stories, I discuss five historical proposals for a Jewish homeland. I give a brief history on each and then discuss what might happen had they actually become a homeland of the Jewish people. Some you probably already know about, but others might surprise you. I hope you like it.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Editor's Note Woot! Another mention on SF Signal for my work on Amazing Stories. Okay that is enough shameless self-promotion.
Don't forget everyone, we are still accepting original fiction, essays and reviews dealing with the Balkanize Me trope of alternate history. I will be posting the next entry later this week so stay tuned. Also there is still time to send in your submissions for the steampunk writing contest in March. I look forward to reading your submissions.
New reader from the Bahamas, welcome! Why is there terrible weather in Chicago every time I have to welcome a new reader from a tropical country?
And now the news...
Star Trek & Dr. Who Fans Might Collide with a Bang! Theoretically of Course
Remember when I said I was through with the shameless self-promotion? Yeah not exactly.
Amazing Stories is pleased to announce their first piece of new fiction, and a graphic story to boot! But wait, it gets even better!
Several weeks ago David Gerrold (yes, the Tribbles guy*) announced on Facebook that he’d written a comic book script that had become orphaned through no fault of its own. Amazing Stories jumped on this potential opportunity and obtained a copy of the script for review.
Unbelievably hilarious. Totally nerdy.
From the opening panel to the very last David Gerrold has spun a tale of historic, inside jokiness and has extended that joke to encompass contemporary fare.
Arrangements were made for Amazing Stories to publish the story and, in conjunction with David’s DG Publishing imprint, produce a limited dead-tree edition. Several comic artists were approached for the honor and Troy Boyle has been given the go-ahead. Troy has already begun preliminary character sketches and page layouts.
Amazing Stories will be publishing a few teaser excerpts from the script, as well as some of Troy’s preliminary artwork here over the next few weeks.
What is it about? Let’s just say that Star Trek fans and Dr. Who fans (or should that be Dr. Who fans and Star Trek fans?) are going to have something to talk about for at least the next century. And yes, there are Tribbles in there too. Soft Tribbles. Warm Tribbles. Tribbles no one would want to Exterminate.
This Friday Amazing Stories will be releasing a few of Troy’s illustrations and a few scenes from David’s script, so mark it on your calendars and don’t miss a single reveal as we all work our way towards publication!
The script will appear here exclusively on Amazing Stories and will also be made available in a limited print edition that will be available from the Experimenter Publishing Company and DG Publishing.
So if you guys liked Assimilation, I highly recommend you check out what Amazing Stories has in stores for you this Friday. Plus you never know if another major franchise might make an appearance...
Update: The Queen is Dead by Kate Locke
The newest edition to the Immortal Empire series was released last week, but here is the description in case you missed it:
When her brother Val gets in over his head in an investigation of Half-Blood disappearances and goes missing himself, it's up to Xandra, newly crowned Goblin Queen, to get him back and bring the atrocities to light. Xandra must frequent the seediest parts of London, while also coping with what she is, the political factions vying for her favor, and the all too-close scrutiny of Queen Victoria, who wants her head. Add this to a being a suspect in a murder investigation, a werewolf boyfriend with demands of his own, and a mother hell bent on destroying the monarchy, and Xandra barely knows which way is up. One thing she does know is that she's already lost one sibling, she's not about to lose another.
Xandra Varden is the newly crowned Goblin Queen of England. But her complicated life is by no means over.
There are the political factions vying for her favor, and the all too-close scrutiny of Queen Victoria, who for some reason wants her head. Not to mention her werewolf boyfriend with demands of his own, and a mother hell bent on destroying the monarchy. Now she's the suspect in a murder investigation --- and Xandra barely knows which way is up.
What she does know is that nothing lasts forever---and immortality isn't all its cracked up to be.
Do you know who Lavie Tidhar is? Well you should. This award-winning, alternate history author has made quite a name from himself. Here is a brief bio:
Lavie Tidhar grew up on a kibbutz in Israel and has since lived in South Africa, the UK, Vanuatu and Laos. He is currently residing back in London. He won the World Fantasy Award in 2012 for Best Novel, for Osama, and the British Fantasy Award 2012 for Best Novella, for Gorel & The Pot-Bellied God. He was nominated, variously, a BSFA Award, a Sidewise Award, Israel’s Geffen Award, the Airship Award, and the Sturgeon and Campbell Awards.
That bio is from Every Read Thing where you can also check out their interview with Lavie where they discuss his series The Bookman Histories and winning the World Fantasy Award for Osama. You can also check out his interview on SF Signal where Lavie is promoting the World SF Travel Fund.
Paradox News
Got a whole heaping helping of news for grand strategy gamers. Let's start with the unstoppable pagan armies!
Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio, announced the new expansion to the world of Crusader Kings II titled Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods. The new expansion will add a number of widely requested features to the game, including the ability to play as a Pagan or Zoroastrian ruler, expanding empires through war, pillaging, and ruthless brutality. Players will also be able to begin their in-game reign as far back as the year 867 AD, making The Old Gods officially the Paradox title that spans the longest period in history.
Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods lets players step into the boots of a pagan chieftain, approaching the brutal backstabbing world of Crusader Kings through invasion, adventure, and holy war. Other features include rebels being led by defined characters with specific agendas, adventurers, heathens, prepared invasion and a new AI.
Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods is scheduled to release in Q2 2013. Watch the announcement teaser trailer below:
Next we have Heart of Darkness, the second expansion for Paradox Development Studios’ Victoria II, a detailed political/economic simulation of the Victorian Age, an era of rapid transformation of technology, politics and business.
Heart of Darkness, as its name suggests, focuses on the Scramble for Africa, the late 19th century rush for newly discovered wealth and land in a continent whose interior had been mostly free from European domination.
The upcoming expansion also introduces a new diplomatic event, International Crises, where the colliding desires of rival empires get settled by Great Power mediation and where smaller powers can manipulate their friends to support their own local ambitions. Other features include a new naval system with greater detail in battles, including gun ranges and positioning, and more types of ships to bridge the gap between ironclads and dreadnoughts. There will also be a newspaper system will allow you to track all the most important events in your world instead of relying on the game log.
Victoria II: Heart of Darkness is scheduled for release in March 2013. Finally we end this segment with a host of new trailers starting with March of Eagles:
And Europa Universalis IV:
Try to get some sunlight guys.
Submissions Wanted
Need more opportunities to get published?
First, I have two publishers looking for flash fiction submissions. Fan of our favorite cephalopod should check out Whispers From the Abyss, a Lovecraftian flash fiction anthology open for submission until May 30. Stories should not be longer than 2500 words.
Next we have the Teleport Us writing contest over at Lit Reactor. They are looking for stories between 1500-4000 words with a dystopic/utopian setting and featuring plausible technology and non-human characters. You will have to hurry, however, as the submission period ends at the end of February.
Those with longer works should check out Farther Books. This SF publisher is looking for completed manuscripts. Full guidelines can be found here.
As always, good luck.
Things to do
Remind me when I get the time to sit down and make a calender for all of these events I mention. In the meantime, here are some more alternate history inspired things to do:
March 4: CON NOOGA, Chattanooga's first and only Multi-Fandom (Multiple Genre) Convention.
March 8-10: FOGcon, a literary-themed SF/F con in the San Francisco Bay Area.
August 23: NecronomiCon. the Lovecraft convention, in Providence, RI. Tickets are now on sale.
If you need more idea check out the SF Signal Podcast where Patrick Hester talks about upcoming SF conventions with a panel of prominent female SF authors.
Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly andThe Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
The day is finally here guys. I have been talking about it and linking to the beta site, but now I am pleased to announce the reintroduction of the world's most recognizable science fiction magazine – AMAZING STORIES!
Following the completion of a successful Beta Test begun on January 2nd, 2013, Amazing Stories is now open to the public. Fans of science fiction, fantasy, and horror are invited to join and encouraged to participate in helping to bring back a cherished icon of the field.
For the past several weeks nearly sixty fans, authors, artists, editors and bloggers have been producing articles on your favorite subjects – the literature of SF/F/H, its presentations in media such as television, film, poetry, literature, games, comics and much more. If you haven't got a chance to experience it yourself stop by my author page or read one of my articles. Tomorrow you can see my article on the break down of balkanized North Americas in literature.
All contents of Amazing Stories are free to the general public. Membership is also free – and entitles members to participate in the discussion, share information and engage in many other familiar social networking activities. Membership also represents a stake in helping Amazing Stories return to publication. The more members the site acquires, the faster Amazing Stories can become a paying market for short fiction...and it means yours truly finally gets a real paycheck for blogging so hurry up and join already.
Every genre fan now has a chance to help support the creation of a new market for the stories, artwork and articles they all love so much. To visit the site and obtain your free membership, go to Amazing Stories, and don't forget to invite your friends too!
O one more thing. All of the articles I have been posting about from development site should be off-line now. I will try to replace all of them but if I missed a few let me know at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.
What are you still here for? Go and read Amazing Stories. You heard me. Get out!
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly andThe Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
4) January 2013: The Month of No Americans by Matt Mitrovich: Next month's writing contest is still accepting submissions so hurry up before we run out of days to post.
5) Weekly Update #82 by Matt Mitrovich: I make a big announcement, plus news on East vs. West, Cherie Priest, Ian Tregillis, SF awards, steampunk events and new releases.
6) Showcase: A Crack at Draka by Matt Mitrovich: I attempt to use my evil powers to get one of my favorite web originals updated again.
10) Weekly Update #83 by Matt Mitrovich: Iron Kingdoms is novelized, The Afrika Reich gets reviewed, more chances to get published and new releases.
Well Chris did an excellent job getting the top 3 spots, while I once again had the most articles in the top ten this month. Shout out to AJ and Tyler for making the list as well. Stay tuned tomorrow when I recap the best of 2012.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly andThe Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
The Experimenter Publishing Company is pleased to announce the reintroduction of the world's most recognizable science fiction magazine – AMAZING STORIES! Set to relaunch with a Beta Test of its new Social Magazine Platform, Amazing Stories will feature content from 50+ bloggers, covering an enormous array of subjects of interest to genre fans. As a contributor, I am happy to share with you all of the news and updates on this project. The new Social Magazine platform is designed to create an interactive environment that will be familiar to fans with blog content designed to encourage discussion and take things beyond the usual user-generated content model for social networks.
Originally published in 1926 by the father of science fiction, Hugo Gernsback, Amazing Stories helped to launch both the science fiction genre and its most enduring feature, science fiction fandom. The magazine is well known for its Frank R. Paul covers and for publishing the first stories by many iconic authors such as Isaac Asimov, Jack Williamson and Ursula Le Guin. Published continuously from 1926 until 1995, followed by two brief resurrections from 1998 till 2000 and again from 2004 through 2005. In 2008 Hasbro, the then current owner, allowed the trademarks to lapse and publisher Steve Davidson applied for and eventually received them in 2011. The Experimenter Publishing Company was created in 2012 for the purpose of returning Amazing Stories magazine to regular publication. The company shares the name of the original magazine's publisher as homage.
“We are diverse - and we are all in this together.”
We are diverse – and we are all in this together, a sentiment that captures the very heart and soul of what it means to be a fan. Amazing Stories aims to be a vehicle through which the diversity of fandom can come together.
“We've got authors and agents, bloggers and editors, pod casters and broadcasters; we've got gamers and game designers; artists and art collectors; pulpsters and indie authors; we've got Hugo winners, John W. Campbell Memorial Award winners, John W. Campbell Best New Writer winners, Nebula and Hugo Award winners and nominees and winners and nominees of many other awards; people who review films, people who make films; we've got fanboys and fangirls; we've got former editors of Amazing Stories, writers who've become synonymous with the field and writers who are just getting started; comic artists, book reviewers; traditionally published authors, self-pubbed authors and authors who've done it all. The response to my request for participation was phenomenal – it couldn't be more perfect if I had set out with a list of must-haves!” said Steve Davidson, speaking on the diversity of new blog team.
The Amazing Stories Blog Team will cover (for now – more coming!) fourteen popular topics – Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, (lit), Film, Television, Gaming, Comics and Graphic Works, the Visual Arts, the Pulps, Audio Works, Anime, the Business of Publishing, Science and Fandom itself.
Amazing Stories' relaunch will take place in two phases. Those interested in participating in the Beta Test of Phase 1 should contact the publisher at steve.davidson33 at comcast dot net. Participants will receive full access to the site with Member status and will receive on-site benefits as the project moves forward.
Phase 2 will introduce additional interactivity and user-customization to the site. Following the completion and testing of Phase 2, the magazine, featuring both new and reprint fiction, essays, photo galleries, reviews and more will begin publication. Readers who are interested in what the magazine will look like can read two Relaunch Prelaunch issues on line, or download them from the Amazing Stories store. (Additional Amazing Stories themed product is also available here.)
Guys I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about this. I can't wait for you to read my first articles. I think you will find something that both alternate historians and the rest of fandom can enjoy. If you want more information, feel free to contact me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com or contact Steve Davidson via email at steve.davidson33 at comcast dot net. Or keep an eye out on my own writing blog where I will be providing more details about the upcoming launch Amazing Stories. Plus I will be sharing links to all of the Amazing Stories bloggers sites here on The Update and at my blog (where I will give more in depth coverage to my fellow bloggers).
So please contact Steve and sign up for the beta test. You won't regret it.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly andThe Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Editor's Note I teased you all on Friday with news of a big announcement that will impact the continued existence of Alternate History Weekly Update. Well today is the day. No more waiting. Time to share what has been happening in my life.
First, some good news for me even though you might not find it to be that interesting: I got a new job! I will be working full-time at a law firm in downtown Chicago. My days of a contract attorney are nearly over. I have enjoyed the flexible hours and learning about a wide variety of legal fields, but the position lacked the financial security necessary for my family. Hopefully my new job will help as my wife and I make our dreams of owning a home and having children a reality.
Next, and this you should all be excited about, I got a new job! Wait, what? Well sort of. I am going to be blogging for a distinguished science fiction magazine. Any guesses?
Yep, that's right. Starting next year I will be blogging for Amazing Stories. First published in 1926 by Hugo Gernsback, it has been published for almost 80 years before the last issue was printed in 2005. Now Steve Davidson has purchased the trademark and the magazine will return as a professional online magazine in 2013. I will be writing in the SF literature category and although I will be covering SF books in general, I plan to insert a good helping of alternate history into the magazine.
Now I know what you are saying: "Mitro, we always knew you were awesome, but how does this effect Weekly Update?" That's the thing, I just don't know. As I said before, my new job will not have the flexible hours I enjoyed as a contract attorney. On its face that shouldn't be a problem since I do most of my writing during the evenings and weekends. Also, as you probably noticed, guest posts from our great contributors make up most of our content in a week.
Promotion of posts, however, my be difficult. I don't know what my schedule is going to be like yet or my firm's Internet policy. For a short while I did use Networked Blogs to post automatically to social media, but I noticed a significant decrease in page views, which I believe was caused by people blocking that app on their profiles and feeds.
Speaking of writing, a lot of my time writing is now going to be given to Amazing Stories. Book reviews that otherwise would have been posted here will be published instead on the magazine. Plus I still want to be a published fiction writer, and while I have fallen behind on my writing, I will not give up on my dream. In fact, that is one of the reasons why I did apply to write for Amazing Stories. It is a chance to take my writing to a larger audience.
So for the next two weeks you will not notice anything different. You will get your regularly scheduled doses of alternate history. Meanwhile, with the holidays and my wedding anniversary coming up, I am going to be taking a much needed break from the blog, which is good because it will correspond with the start of my new job. By 2013, with the start date for Amazing Stories, you might start noticing fewer posts during the week or see them be posted at random times.
I ask that you please have patience with me as I create a routine for the next chapter of my life. Since I have no idea what to expect I am preparing you for the worst, while I hope for the best. Worst case scenario: I find managing the blog is too time-consuming and I will sell the domain to a new editor. I say sell because my belief is the person who pays to operate the blog is more likely to live up to the mission of the blog. Sort of a "put your money where your mouth is" philosophy.
If I can't find someone to buy the blog...well let's not think about that right now.
Like I said that is the worst of worse case scenarios. What is most likely to happen is I find a way to balance my new responsibilities, my fiction writing and this blog in a way that makes everyone happy. If you have any ideas on how to help this process, feel free to email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com. I love hearing from you guys and I will try to respond back to you asap.
Phew! Alright, enough of that crap. Let's get to today's Weekly Update.
So even with the lack of posting over the Thanksgiving holiday we still managed to beat our monthly page view record...AGAIN. The new record is 13,261 page views. Yay! We might have that record for a while, however, since I am taking a couple of weeks off this month. To keep from thinking about that, please enjoy this week's reviews of Rising Sun, American Indians Victorious and the short story from the Anno Dracula universe "Aquarius". We might even have an article on everyone's favorite French general or an after-action report from Arsenals of Democracy. We shall see.
Got our first readers from Nicaragua and Guatemala. Welcome and let me tell you I am happy to fill in more of Central America.
And now the news...
East vs. West: A Hearts of Iron Game Developer Diaries Launched
The most quickly moving half century in history has always been a daunting setting for game designers, but Paradox Development Studio and BL-Logic have donned their cloak and dagger, calculated the appropriate payloads and are now ready to reveal to the world how they are taking on the challenge of bringing the Cold War to life in the grand strategy game East vs. West: A Hearts of Iron Game.
East vs. West: A Hearts of Iron Game is the team’s first title to come to grips with the standoff between the United States of America and the Soviet Union in the last half of the 20th century. Players will be able to take control of ANY nation in those nerve-wracking decades in a strategy game with a host of tense features, from taking issues in front of the UN Security Council to nervously watching the game's Doomsday clock.
In the first diary “Controlling the Cold War” Lennart Berg, project lead, focuses on what East vs. West: A Heart of Iron Game is all about:
"Did your parents ever tell you that you would grow up to become a prominent, illustrious leader? Has that not happened yet? Never fear! The developers of East vs. West would like to welcome you to the Executive Branch! East vs. West: A Hearts of Iron Game will let you control a nation during the recent past, leading it through the remarkable time of the Cold War. Nuclear weapons, politics, the space race, spies, guerrilla warfare and the delicate art of diplomacy, this is not a game, THIS is personal."
This time period presents unique challenges for a development team, with rapid technological advancement, dueling espionage programs and the looming threat of suicidal nuclear war. Will you wield your air force, economy and nuclear supremacy like a cudgel, bludgeoning your neighbors into submission? Or select the sharper knife of politics and espionage? Without wanting to influence you, commander, your private collection of Spy Cards is ready and waiting to be deployed…
Personally, I wonder how often players will nuke the world just for the hell of it.
Meanwhile here are some upcoming Paradox games that alternate historians can enjoy. In Q4 2012 we have Salem: The Crafting MMO. Q1 2013 we will have March of the Eagles. In Q2 2013 we have East vs. West: A Hearts of Iron Game and Cities in Motion 2. Finally, in Q3 2013 we have Europa Universalis IV.
Update: Cherie Priest
Cherie Priest, author of the Clockwork Century series, did an interview with Tor last Monday. In it she talks about her novels, writing female characters and, of course, steampunk. If you haven't read anything by Priest yet, you can check out my review of Boneshaker or Falcata Times review of the same novel where they rate the book lower then I did and said it was "more of an extensive set up for future outings rather than a real story for the reader to get behind."
If you want to read more reviews on the Clockwork Century series check out Matt Quinn's review of Clementine or Marion Deed of Fantasy Literature's review of Priest's newest entry into the series The Inexplicables. Marion called the tale "a dark journey in a blighted city and an addict’s mind, and Priest carries off both of these."
Update: Ian Tregillis
Ian Tregillis is another author who has recently showed up on my radar for his imaginative works of alternate history. The Coldest War, his recent entry into superhero alternate history series, was reviewed by David Marshall at Thinking About Books. He said the novel is "at every level and in every way, this is better than Bitter Seeds, the first in the series. But you absolutely cannot read this as a standalone."
Tregillis also appears to be entering the world of historical fantasy and steampunk with a new series:
The Clakkers Trilogy is set in a fantasy alternate 1921. And I mean VERY alternate. History changed back in 1671, when Christiaan Huygens stole the alchemical research of Isaac Newton, and combined magic with his own knowledge of clockmaking to invent the first Clakker: a clockwork man bereft of Free Will. It wasn't long before the Dutch conquered Europe with armies of tireless mechanical servitors… Fast forward 250 years, and the world becomes an incredibly fun playground for an author.
The makers of the indie, SF film Iron Sky have something to cheer about. Their film won the "SyFy Public Award & Special Mention" for this year's Utopiales Awards. Congrats!
In other award news, the AH Wiki has begun accepting nominations for the 2013 Striling Awards. The Stirling Awards recognize the best editors, timelines and articles on the Wiki. If you are eligible to vote, hurry up and cast your ballot today.
Steampunk Things to Do
Looking for something to do in the wide world of steam powered fun? Well if you live in Valley Village, CA you can check out the recently opened Steampunk Coffee Bar & Kitchen. Meanwhile, those readers living near Abilene, TX can attend the steampunk version of "Twelfth Night" at Hardin-Simmons University. The show runs from Dec 6th to the 8th.
Know about a steampunk event or business you want to promote? Please let us know.
New Releases
Hardcovers
Rising Sun by Robert Conroy
It is the summer of 1942 and what our historians have called the Incredible Victory in the Battle of Midway has become a horrendous disaster in the world. Two of America’s handful of carriers in the Pacific have blundered into a Japanese submarine picket line and have been sunk, while a third is destroyed the next day. The United States has only one carrier remaining in the Pacific against nine Japanese, while the ragtag remnants of U.S. battleships – an armada still reeling from the defeat at Pearl Harbor – are in even worse shape.
E-books
Armour of Valentine by A.J. Powell
Fourteen year old Richard Kiev and a train full of youngsters are being evacuated from York after an unexpected, crippling blitz. Little do they know that they are about to be placed in more danger than anyone can possibly imagine.
Cyrus Darian and the Ghastly Horde by Raven Dane
In this eagerly awaited sequel to the Victorian Steampunk Society Best Novel of 2011 our favourite anti-hero is back! And this time he's acquired an army of adoring followers from the netherworld. Share his adventures as he struggles to extricate himself using Steampunk technology and a tiny dose of the occult.
"Second Chances" by Elizabeth L. Howard
Every choice changes the course of history. How might things have been different if Billy the Kid became a sheriff and Pat Garrett remained an outlaw?
Steampunk Omnibus by Michael Coorlim
The Steampunk Omnibus is a collection of the best-selling titles from the Collected Bartleby and James Adventures and the Gentlewoman's Chronicles anthologies of steampunk mystery and thriller fiction. These seven stories build a world of Edwardian adventure in a galvanic century.
The World Turned Upside Down by J. D. Buchanan
A gritty crime thriller wrapped within a dystopian version of history where the Russians won the cold war.
Graphic novels
Adolf Hitler's I Dream of Ants by Lavie Tidhar and art by Neil Struthers The ants have lived in peace for years, behind the wainscoting of the house. But when the house's occupant, Adolf Hitler, becomes haunted by nightmares in which he is consumed by ants, he becomes obsessed. Afraid he is losing his mind, the desperate Hitler reaches at last a final solution: the ants must be exterminated!
Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly andThe Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
