Weekly Update #191

Editor's Notes

The Internet is a buzz about BBC's adaptation of Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which premiered in Britain this weekend. I have talked about this show a lot over the last few weeks, so like Amazon's The Man in the High Castle, I decided just to list some of the articles I noticed below in the Links to the Multiverse section instead of writing another summary. Plus, I didn't want anything spoiled, but if you aren't worried about that, go check them out.

And now the news...

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Trailer

Well the trailer for the next installment in the somewhat historical Assassin's Creed series (I mean let's be honest, they do get a lot wrong) was released last week. Let's take a look:

Is anyone really surprised they went to Victorian London? Yep, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is certainly trying to cash in on the popularity of steampunk. I guess it is only a matter of time before we see a full game set in World War II, but why not the American Civil War before Victorian London? Seriously, how cool would it be playing as an escaped slave as he knocks out Confederate Templars behind enemy lines?

Anywho, if you want to learn more about Assassin's Creed Syndicate, checkout the gameplay walkthrough or check out this video from the Nerdist that (allegedly) will tell you everything you need to know.

Alison Morton continues her book tour for Aurelia

Friend of The Update, Alison Morton, has broken the Internet again with her tour for her new book Aurelia, the fourth installment in the Roma Nova series. I already shared the plot summary on last week's Weekly Update and on New Releases, so go click on one of those links if you want to see what the story is about. That being said, you can still see what Alison has been up to by checking out her guest post (and giveaway) on Brook Cottage Books, her interview on Christina Courtenay's site and her interview (and giveaway) at Unusual Historicals. Plus learn how her talks with Liesel Schwarz (Sky Pirates) at Foyles Bristol and Rossiter Books went from the author herself.

Links to the Multiverse

BBC's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Another Magical Promo for Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell at Dread Central.
Drama filmed in York Minster to be shown on BBC on Sunday at The Press.
Georgian magic of old England on the BBC at Herald Scotland.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: the best UK fantasy in years at Den of Geek.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, partly shot at Oakwell Hall at The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: restoring the magic to England at The Telegraph.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Will Get American Debut This Summer at Pop Matters.
Should I watch Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell on BBC One on Sunday? at Gloucestershire Echo.
What to Watch on TV: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell at London Evening Standard.

Books & Short Fiction

2015 Campbell Award Shortlist at File 770.
Author Ian Tregillis On Why Fictional Worlds Need Fictional Technologies at io9.
Five Books That Broke Sacred Writing Rules (And Yet We Love Them) at Tor.
Linguistic Landmines: A Time Traveler’s Guide to Regency England at Tor/Forge Blog.
Marie Brennan and Mary Robinette Kowal on the Brave New Worlds Tour at Fantasy Literature.
My Favorite Bit: Brooke Johnson talks about THE BRASS GIANT at Mary Robinette Kowal's blog.
New Folio Society Edition of Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle at Fine Books Magazine.
On My Radar: Time Salvager by Wesley Chu at SF Signal.
Re-release of Jerry Yulsman's novel, Elleander Morning! at The Counterfactual History Review.
Review: The Apollo Quartet by Ian Sales at SF Signal.
Review: The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons at SF Signal.
Review: The Holocaust Averted by Jeffrey Gurock at Times Higher Education.
Review: Joe Steele by Harry Turtledove at Azure Dwarf.
Review: Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear at The Qwillery.

Counterfactuals, History & News

5 Ridiculous Cold War Myths You Probably Believe at Cracked.
Did the Greenland Colonists Flee to Join the Native Peoples of America? at Tor/Forge Blog.
Dreaming a Different Apollo: Part One at DSFP's Spaceflight History Blog.
Harriet Tubman is your potential replacement for Jackson on the $20 at The Washington Post.
Liberland president arrested by Croatia for trespassing in 'no man's land' at Fox News.
Nation Entranced as Supermodel’s Husband Is Implicated in Ball Firmness Scandal at Slate
The Summerhall Historical Fiction Festival in Edinburgh – Review by Paul F Cockburn at Alt Hist.
Victory Day, Ukraine, Communism, and Fascism Through a Counterfactual Prism by Gordon Hahn.
We should never forget - the Soviets won World War II in Europe at The Independent.
What If Corbusier Had Been Born in Germany? at The Counterfactual History Review.

Film & Television

Agent Carter Going West at File 770.
Documentary On Biggs Darklighter, A Character Mostly Cut From A New Hope at io9.
Natalie Portman to play Jackie Kennedy in film about the four days after JFK was shot at Daily Mail.
Outlander 1.14: All that Jazz at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
Ripper Street to Return to Amazon with Two More Series at Geek Syndicate.

Games

Readers mourn Ozzy Osbourne’s dragon-riding simulator and other canceled games at AV Club.
Review: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood at The Sydney Morning Herald.

Interview

Michael J. Martinez at Reddit.

* * *

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.

Weekly Update #190

Editor's Note

Ugh...Twitter. Can someone who better understands that platform explain to me how I went from over 700 followers to losing more than a dozen in a matter of a few days? Seriously, it boggles my mind. Is it something I am doing (or not doing) or is it something completely out of my control. Any insight would be appreciated.

And now the news...

What do the critics think of Michael J. Martinez's The Venusian Gambit?

Friend of The Update, Michael J. Martinez, recently celebrated the publication of his new book, The Venusian Gambit. The third and (so far) final book in the Daedalus series, check out the plot summary from Amazon below:

In the year 2135, dangerous alien life forms freed in the destruction of Saturn's moon Enceladus are making their way towards Earth. A task force spearheaded by Lt. Cmdr. Shaila Jain is scrambling to beat them there while simultaneously trying to save crewmember Stephane Durand, who was infected during the mission to Saturn and is now controlled by a form of life intent on reopening a transdimensional rift and destroying the human race. But Jain doesn’t realize that the possessed Stephane has bigger plans, beaming critical data to other conspirators suspiciously heading not for Earth, but for Venus…

In 1809—a Napoleonic era far different from our own—the French have occupied England with their Corps Eternélle, undead soldiers risen through the darkest Alchemy. Only the actions of Lord Admiral Thomas Weatherby and the Royal Navy have kept the French contained to Earth. But the machinations of old enemies point to a bold and daring gambit: an ancient weapon, presumed lost in the jungles of Venus.

Now, Weatherby must choose whether to stay and fight to retake his homeland or pursue the French to the green planet. And Shaila must decide if it’s possible to save the man she loves, or if he must be sacrificed for the good of two dimensions. In the dark, alien jungles of Venus, humanity's fate in both dimensions hangs in the balance—forcing past and present to once again join forces against an ancient terror.

While you can check out my thoughts on The Venusian Gambit over at Amazing Stories (spoiler: I do recommend you read it), what do the other critics think about Michael's book? Trinitytwo from The Qwillery called it a pleasure to read, remarked on its diverse cast of characters and finished by saying it was a satisfying conclusion to the series. Paul Weimer from SF Signal gave the book 4 1/2 stars out of 5 and said it had " [e]xciting action and strong diverse characters; good use of asynchronous time streams in character development.

So all good reviews for The Venusian Gambit and in case you want to know what the author thinks of our favorite genre, check out his list of five alternate history books you should check out over at Tor.

Alison Morton Celebrates the publication of Aurelia

Another friend of The Update who released a new book was Alison Morton. She published the fourth book in her Roma Nova series, Aurelia. Here is the description from Amazon:

Late 1960s Roma Nova, the last Roman colony that has survived into the 20th century. Aurelia Mitela is alone – her partner gone, her child sickly and her mother dead – and forced to give up her beloved career as a Praetorian officer. 

But her country needs her unique skills. Somebody is smuggling silver – Roma Nova’s lifeblood – on an industrial scale. Sent to Berlin to investigate, she encounters the mysterious and attractive Miklós, a known smuggler who knows too much and Caius Tellus, a Roma Novan she has despised and feared since childhood. 

Barely escaping a trap set by a gang boss intent on terminating her, she discovers that her old enemy is at the heart of all her troubles and pursues him back home to Roma Nova... 

As any good author in the 21st century has done, Alison has been busy promoting her novel across the Internet. You can read an excerpt from Aurelia over at Unusual Historicals and even read a scene that didn't make the final cut over at Alison's site. You can also read a guest post Alison wrote over at Sandy's Chatterblog.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Premiere Date Announced

We leave the world of books to share the news that BBC's adaptation of Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will premier on BBC One in the UK on May 17 and will premiere on BBC America on June 13 according to Deadline. Here is the plot summary from the same site:

In 1806, the reclusive and skillful Mr Norrell (Marsan) is thought to be the last remaining practical magician. His displays thrill the nation — in London, he raises the beautiful Lady Pole (Englert) from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. But he is sooon challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange (Carvel). While trying to secure his beloved Arabella’s (Riley) hand in marriage, he meets a vagabond, the magician of Threadneedle Street, who tells him he is destined to be a great magician. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. A dangerous battle ensues between the two great men.

...and thats all I got to say other than I can't wait!

Videos for Alternate Historians

We begin last week in videos with another episode from the Alternate History Hub that features two PODs on Iranian history. Check them out below:

And we end with Ray Narvaez Jr, my favorite Twitch streamer, playing a round of Wolfenstein: The Old Blood:

Links to the Multiverse

Books & Short Fiction

Announcing the 2015 Locus Award Finalists! at Tor.
Guest Post: John A. Connell, author of Ruins of War at My Bookish Ways.
More Dinosaur Lords Art from Richard Anderson at Tor.
Review: 11/22/63 by Stephen King at Journal-Advocate.
Review: Bombs Away by Harry Turtledove at Article 94.
Review: The Chronicles of Light and Shadow by Liesel Schwarz at Geek Dad
Review: Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale at Fanboy Comics.
Review: Hitler’s Time Machine by Robert F. Dorr at Notes from the Bunker.
Review: Old Venus edited by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois at Falcata Times.
These Imaginative Parallel Universes Will Forever Change How You Think About Africa at Good.

Counterfactuals, History & News

The Austrian castle where Nazis lost to German-US force at BBC.
How Texas could have been French-speaking at The Independent.
Letter From Lovecraft to Houdini About Edgar Allen Poe's Desk at The Lovecraft eZine.
'Texas Ranger' Chuck Norris warns of government plot to take over state at The Guardian.

Film & Television

Alternate History: What If George Miller’s JUSTICE LEAGUE Wasn’t Cancelled? at Collider.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron: alternate endings that never were at Den of Geek.
Five Things About Penny Dreadful Are Better Than Ever (And One’s Not) at io9.
Outlander 1.13 Mother's Day at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.

Games

Review: Wolfenstien: The Old Blood at IGN.

Graphic Novels & Comics

Review: The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua at Journal Sentinel.

Interviews

Rod Duncan at SFFWorld.
Brooke Johnson at The Mary Sue.

Podcasts

Podcast Spotlight: Beneath Ceaseless Skies Podcast at SF Signal.
Ratchet RetroCast Episode 50 – RETROCASTERS NEVER SAY DIE! at The ESO Network.

* * *

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.

New Releases 5/5/15

You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon!

Hardcovers

1882: Custer in Chains by Robert Conroy

NATIONALLY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR. A world where Custer survives Little Bighorn and becomes president goes seriously awry.

Following his unlikely but decisive (and immensely popular) 1876 victory over Sitting Bull and the Sioux at the Little Big Horn, George Armstrong Custer is propelled into the White House in 1880.

Two years later, he finds himself bored and seeks new worlds to conquer. He and his wife Libbie fixate on Spain’s decaying empire as his source for immortality. What President Custer doesn’t quite comprehend is that the U.S. military isn’t up to such a venture. When a group of Americans on a ship headed for Cuba is massacred, war becomes inevitable—and unless calmer, patriotic citizens and soldiers can find a way to avoid debacle, this war may be America's last stand!

Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes

"What would happen if Adolf Hitler woke up in modern-day Berlin? In a bestselling satirical novel, he'd end up a TV comedy star . . . [Look Who's Back] has unsurprisingly sparked debate in a country that has grappled for decades with Hitler's unconscionable legacy."
-Time

Timur Vermes' record-breaking bestseller Look Who's Back is a satirical novel that imagines what would happen if Hilter were reborn in present-day Germany. The book was a massive success in Germany, selling more than 1.5 million copies. It was subsequently published for the first time in English by Quercus in the UK to strong sales and even stronger media attention.

In the novel, Adolf Hitler wakes up in 2011 from a 66-year sleep in his subterranean Berlin bunker to find the Germany he knew entirely changed: Internet-driven media spreads ideas in minutes and fumes celebrity obsession; immigration has produced multicultural neighborhoods bringing together people of varying race, ethnicity, and religion; and the most powerful person in government is a woman. Hitler is immediately recognized . . . as an impersonator of uncommon skill. The public assumes the fulminating leader of the Nazi party is a performer who is always in character, and soon his inevitable viral appeal begets YouTube Stardom, begets television celebrity on a Turkish-born comedian's show. His bigoted rants are mistaken for a theatrical satire-exposing prejudice and misrepresentation-and his media success emboldens Hitler to start his own political party, and set the country he finds a shambles back to rights.

With daring and dark humor, Look Who's Back skewers the absurdity and depravity of the cult of personality in modern media culture.

A Long Time Until Now by Michael Z Williamson

Book 1 in a new series from the creator of the best-selling Freehold Universe series.  A military unit is thrust back into Paleolithic times with only their guns and portable hardware.

Ten soldiers on convoy in Afghanistan suddenly find themselves lost in time. Somehow, they arrived in Earth's Paleolithic Asia. With no idea how they arrived or how to get back, the shock of the event is severe. They discover groups of the similarly displaced: Imperial Romans, Neolithic Europeans, and a small cadre of East Indian peasants. Despite their technological advantage, the soldiers only have ten people, and know no way home. Then two more time travelers arrive from a future far beyond the present. These time travelers may have the means to get back, but they aren't giving it up. In fact, they may have a treacherous agenda of their own, one that may very well lead to the death of the displaced in a harsh and dangerous era.

Straits of Hell: Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson

New York Times bestselling author Taylor Anderson’s phenomenal alternate history Destroyermen series continues as a game-changing conspiracy throws the hope of honor, trust, and survival into chaos....

Matt Reddy’s old Asiatic Fleet destroyer USS Walker has been mysteriously transported to an alternate version of earth. Here WWII is no longer raging, and Reddy and his crew have been trying to find a new place for themselves in this strange new world.

Now, along with the felinoid Lemurians and Imperial allies, they fight to keep the reptilian Grik, a race growing in supremacy, from reconquering the Lemurians’ ancestral home on Madagascar. Reddy and his crew are exhausted, far from reinforcements, and wildly outnumbered, so the odds seem greater than ever before. As for the fate of the Americas, Don Hernan and the evil Dominion have gathered to annihilate the forces behind the walls of Fort Defiance as a shadowy power with an agenda all its own rises with chilling resolve.

As the war teeters on a knife-edge, a tipping point may have been reached at last—and cold steel and hot-blooded valor will remain the ultimate weapons.

Paperbacks

Aurelia by Alison Morton

Late 1960s Roma Nova, the last Roman colony that has survived into the 20th century Aurelia Mitela is alone - her partner gone, her child sickly and her mother dead - and forced to give up her beloved career as a Praetorian officer. But her country needs her unique skills. Somebody is smuggling silver - Roma Nova's lifeblood - on an industrial scale. Sent to Berlin to investigate, she encounters the mysterious and attractive Miklós who knows too much and Caius Tellus, a Roma Novan she has despised and feared since childhood. Barely escaping a trap set by a gang boss intent on terminating her, she discovers that her old enemy is at the heart of all her troubles and pursues him back home to Roma Nova...

The Death of Napoleon by Simon Leys

As he bore a vague resemblance to the Emperor, the  sailors on board the Hermann-Augustus Stoeffer had nicknamed him Napoleon. And so, for convenience, that is what we shall call him.

Besides, he was Napoleon. . . .

Napoleon has escaped from St. Helena, leaving a double behind him. Now disguised as the cabin hand Eugène Lenormand and enduring the mockery of the crew (Na­po­leon, they laughingly nickname the pudgy, hopelessly clumsy little man), he is on his way back to Europe, ready to make contact with the huge secret organization that will return him to power. But then the ship on which he sails is rerouted from Bordeaux to Antwerp. When Napoleon disembarks, he is on his own.

He revisits the battlefield of Waterloo, now a tourist destination. He makes his way to Paris. Mistakes, misunderstandings, and mishaps conduct our puzzled hero deeper and deeper into the mystery of Napoleon.

Deadly Shores: Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson

The Destroyermen series continues from the New York Times bestselling author of Straits of Hell.

The ambitious, long-planned raid on the Grik Empire has grown dangerously ill defined. Only Matthew Reddy, commander of the old destroyer USS Walker, seems focused on the original intent.

While many Lemurians see an opportunity to reconquer their stolen homeland, others—Lemurian and human—have their own agendas, which could compromise the Alliance. Complicating matters further is Reddy’s suspicion that his task force is being stalked by some unknown power bent on aiding the Grik for reasons of its own.

As the raid begins and chaos reigns, Reddy has no choice but to risk everything in a desperate act that results in a sprawling, nightmare battle on the beaches of “Grik City,” on the very decks of Walker, and in the labyrinthine passageways of the Celestial Palace itself. The final cost could be more than Matt Reddy—or the Alliance—can bear.

Unseemly Science: The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, Book 2 by Rod Duncan

In the divided land of England, Elizabeth Barnabus has been living a double life - as both herself and as her brother, the private detective. Witnessing the hanging of Alice Carter, the false duchess, Elizabeth resolves to throw the Bullet Catcher's Handbook into the fire, and forget her past. If only it were that easy!

There is a new charitable organisation in town, run by some highly respectable women. But something doesn't feel right to Elizabeth. Perhaps it is time for her fictional brother to come out of retirement for one last case...? Her unstoppable curiosity leads her to a dark world of body-snatching, unseemly experimentation, politics and scandal. Never was it harder for a woman in a man's world...

The Venusian Gambit: Book Three of the Daedalus Series by Michael J Martinez

[Editor's Note: Check out my review over at Amazing Stories.]

The last chapter of the dimension-spanning Daedalus series brings the 19th and 22nd centuries together for an explosive finale in the jungles of Venus!

In the year 2135, dangerous alien life forms freed in the destruction of Saturn's moon Enceladus are making their way towards Earth. A task force spearheaded by Lt. Cmdr. Shaila Jain is scrambling to beat them there while simultaneously trying to save crewmember Stephane Durand, who was infected during the mission to Saturn and is now controlled by a form of life intent on reopening a transdimensional rift and destroying the human race. But Jain doesn’t realize that the possessed Stephane has bigger plans, beaming critical data to other conspirators suspiciously heading not for Earth, but for Venus…

In 1809—a Napoleonic era far different from our own—the French have occupied England with their Corps Eternélle, undead soldiers risen through the darkest Alchemy. Only the actions of Lord Admiral Thomas Weatherby and the Royal Navy have kept the French contained to Earth. But the machinations of old enemies point to a bold and daring gambit: an ancient weapon, presumed lost in the jungles of Venus.

Now, Weatherby must choose whether to stay and fight to retake his homeland or pursue the French to the green planet. And Shaila must decide if it’s possible to save the man she loves, or if he must be sacrificed for the good of two dimensions. In the dark, alien jungles of Venus, humanity's fate in both dimensions hangs in the balance—forcing past and present to once again join forces against an ancient terror.

E-books

The Brass Giant: A Chroniker City Story by Brooke Johnson

Sometimes, even the most unlikely person can change the world

Seventeen-year-old Petra Wade, self-taught clockwork engineer, wants nothing more than to become a certified member of the Guild, an impossible dream for a lowly shop girl. Still, she refuses to give up, tinkering with any machine she can get her hands on, in between working and babysitting her foster siblings.

When Emmerich Goss--handsome, privileged, and newly recruited into the Guild--needs help designing a new clockwork system for a top-secret automaton, it seems Petra has finally found the opportunity she's been waiting for. But if her involvement on the project is discovered, Emmerich will be marked for treason, and a far more dire fate would await Petra.

Working together in secret, they build the clockwork giant, but as the deadline for its completion nears, Petra discovers a sinister conspiracy from within the Guild council ... and their automaton is just the beginning.

To readers, authors and publishers...

Is your story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.

* * *

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.