New Releases 9/15/15

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Hardcovers

Clockwork Lives by Neil Peart and Kevin J. Anderson

Some lives can be summed up in a sentence or two. Other lives are epics.

In Clockwork Angels, #1 bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson and legendary Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart created a fabulous, adventurous steampunk world in a novel to accompany the smash Rush concept album of the same name. It was a world of airships and alchemy, clockwork carnivals, pirates, lost cities, a rigid Watchmaker who controlled every aspect of life, and his nemesis, the ruthless and violent Anarchist who wanted to destroy it all.

Anderson and Peart have returned to their colourful creation to explore the places and the characters that still have a hold on their imagination. Marinda Peake is a woman with a quiet, perfect life in a small village; she long ago gave up on her dreams and ambitions to take care of her ailing father, an alchemist and an inventor. When he dies, he gives Marinda a mysterious inheritance: a blank book that she must fill with other people’s stories — and ultimately her own.

Clockwork Lives is a steampunk Canterbury Tales, and much more, as Marinda strives to change her life from a mere “sentence or two” to a true epic.

Dragon Coast by Greg van Eekhout

Dragon Coast: the sequel to Greg Van Eekhout's California Bones and Pacific Fire, in which Daniel Blackland must pull off the most improbable theft of all.

Daniel's adopted son Sam, made from the magical essence of the tyrannical Hierarch of Southern California whom Daniel overthrew and killed, is lost-consumed by the great Pacific firedrake secretly assembled by Daniel's half-brother, Paul.

But Sam is still alive and aware, in magical form, trapped inside the dragon as it rampages around Los Angeles, periodically torching a neighborhood or two.

Daniel has a plan to rescue Sam. It will involve the rarest of substances, axis mundi, pieces of the bones of the great dragon at the center of the Earth. Daniel will have to go to the kingdom of Northern California, boldly posing as his half-brother, come to claim his place in the competition to be appointed Lord High Osteomancer of the Northern Kingdom. Only when the Northern Hierarch, in her throne room at Golden Gate Park, raises her scepter to confirm Daniel in his position will he have an opportunity to steal the axis mundi-under the gaze of the Hierarch herself.

And that's just the first obstacle.

WARP Book 3 The Forever Man by Eoin Colfer

Riley, an orphan boy living in Victorian London, has achieved his dream of becoming a renowned magician, the Great Savano. He owes much of his success to Chevie, a seventeen-year-old FBI agent who traveled from the future in a time pod and helped him defeat his murderous master, Albert Garrick. But it is difficult for Riley to enjoy his new life, for he has always believed that Garrick will someday, somehow, return to seek vengeance.

Chevie has assured Riley that Garrick was sucked into a temporal wormhole, never to emerge. The full nature of the wormhole has never been understood, however, and just as a human body will reject an unsuitable transplant, the wormhole eventually spat him out. By the time Garrick makes it back to Victorian London, he has been planning his revenge on Riley for centuries. But even the best-laid plans can go awry, and when the three are tossed once more into the wormhole, they end up in a highly paranoid Puritan village where everything is turned upside down. Chevie is accused of being a witch, Garrick is lauded as the town's protector, and . . . is that a talking dog? Riley will need to rely on his reserve of magic tricks to save Chevie and destroy his former master once and for all.

Paperbacks

RUSH's Clockwork Angels: The Graphic Novel by Neil Peart and Kevin J. Anderson

The graphic novel adaptation of the unprecedented concept album and novel from the multi-platinum, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame music legends RUSH and NY Times Bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson!

Owen Hardy, like all the people of Albion, has lived his whole life under the rule of The Watchmaker. His entire life has been planned down to the exact second. But what happens when a young boy decides that things should not always goes as planned? Rush’s CLOCKWORK ANGELS is a testament to the band’s creative versatility—it has been successful as a concept album, novel, and international tour. Now, Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart and New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson are bringing the story of CLOCKWORK ANGELS to comics, where newcomer artist Nick Robles will bring the journey of Owen Hardy to visual life! Die-hard Rush fans have longed for Peart’s narrative songwriting to be adapted into comic book form for decades, but fans of steampunk fantasy will enjoy journeying into the world of Albion thanks to Anderson’s skilled storytelling. Collects the complete story originally published in CLOCKWORK ANGELS #1-#6.

WARP Book 2 The Hangman's Revolution by Eoin Colfer

Young FBI agent Chevie Savano arrives back in modern-day London after a time-trip to the Victorian age, to find the present very different from the one she left. Europe is being run by a Facsist movement known as the Boxites, who control their territory through intimidation and terror. Chevie's memories come back to her in fragments, and just as she is learning about the WARP program from Professor Charles Smart, inventor of the time machine, he is killed by secret service police. Now they are after Chevie, too, but she escapes--into the past. She finds Riley, who is being pursued by futuristic soldiers, and saves him. Working together again, it is up to Chevie and Riley to find the enigmatic Colonel Clayton Box, who is intent on escalating his power, and stop him before he can launch missiles at the capitals of Europe.

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.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not writing he works as an attorney, 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 Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Weekly Update #179

Editor's Note

Just a reminder that this weekend I will be at Capricon so please come check out my panels if you happen to be in town. Because of the convention and Valentine's Day, I probably won't have my usual Weekly Update ready for next Monday, but I will still be posting throughout the week.

And now the news...

Check Out Elizabeth Bear's Karen Memory

The Internet blew up last week about Elizabeth Bear's new steampunk novel, Karen Memory. Here is the description from Amazon:

“You ain’t gonna like what I have to tell you, but I'm gonna tell you anyway. See, my name is Karen Memery, like memory only spelt with an e, and I'm one of the girls what works in the Hôtel Mon Cherie on Amity Street. Hôtel has a little hat over the o like that. It's French, so Beatrice tells me.”

Set in the late 19th century—when the city we now call Seattle Underground was the whole town (and still on the surface), when airships plied the trade routes, would-be gold miners were heading to the gold fields of Alaska, and steam-powered mechanicals stalked the waterfront, Karen is a young woman on her own, is making the best of her orphaned state by working in Madame Damnable’s high-quality bordello. Through Karen’s eyes we get to know the other girls in the house—a resourceful group—and the poor and the powerful of the town. Trouble erupts one night when a badly injured girl arrives at their door, beggin sanctuary, followed by the man who holds her indenture, and who has a machine that can take over anyone’s mind and control their actions.  And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the next night brings a body dumped in their rubbish heap—a streetwalker who has been brutally murdered.

Bear brings alive this Jack-the-Ripper yarn of the old west with a light touch in Karen’s own memorable voice, and a mesmerizing evocation of classic steam-powered science.

So what do the critics have to say about Karen Memory? Kathy F. at Stellar Four said the book is "stocked with interesting, diverse characters, the villains are heinously evil, the steampunk element starts out subtly then grows, great action, and the titular character and narrator has a distinctive voice." Meanwhile, Joel Cunningham of B&N said "Bear is clearly having a ball with this one, from incorporating crazy gadgetry to writing in Karen’s idiosyncratic, irresistible voice." So this book is getting some good reviews. I may have to check it out.

If you would to learn more about Karen Memory and Elizabeth Bear, check out Far Beyond Reality where Bear writes about steampunk and listed to her interview on Rocket Talk. Bear also stopped by John Scalzi's blog to talk about "The Big Idea" behind the book and had another interview over at Suvudu.

Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart's Clockwork Lives Out in September

Speaking of steampunk, last week Kevin J. Anderson and legendary Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart announced that the sequel to Clockwork Angels, the steampunk novel that accompanied the Rush concept album of the same name, will be out in September. Titled Clockwork Lives, the press release describes it as a "steampunk Canterbury Tales that explores the lives of secondary characters in Clockwork Angels and introduces a new protagonist." The story will follow Marinda Peake, who is gifted a blank book by her alchemist father that she must fill with other people's stories.

Videos for Alternate Historians

Alright, enough steampunk. Since this is Black Alternate History Month, I decided to do a special edition of this segment. First up, did you know Lion's Blood has its own soundtrack? Check out one of the tracks, "Fire on the Sea", on Heather Alexander's album:

Did anyone ever see White Man's Burden? Well maybe you should check out Fable, a British TV movie where Britain is governed by black people and whites live under apartheid like conditions (thanks to Adrian Cook for finding this for me):

And we are not the only site covering the contributions of African-Americans to speculative fiction. Check out "Science Fiction Authors on Black History Month":

Links to the Multiverse

Amazon TV's The Man in the High Castle

Review: The Man in the High Castle at Lanny Savage.
Review: The Man In The High Castle at Memphis Flyer.

Wait...is that it? Are people starting to forget about The Man in the High Castle?

Books & Short Fiction

5 Time-Looping Tales You’ll Want to Experience More Than Once at Barnes & Noble.
2015 HNS Indie Award: Shortlist and Longlisted Titles at Historical Novel Society.
Alt Hist author Michael Fertik hits New York Times Bestseller list at Alt Hist.
Dennis O’Flaherty on Steampunk’s Legacy at Night Shade Books.
Excerpt: King of the Cracksmen by Dennis O'Flaherty at The Qwillery.
Excerpt: The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar at Tor.
How Not To Publish A Book by Chris Nuttall at The Chrishanger.
Just how different was George RR Martin’s original Game of Thrones outline? at Winter Is Coming.
Review: The Time Roads by Beth Bernobich at I Make Up Words.
Robert Harris, one of the inspirations for Roma Nova’s existence at Alison Morton's site.
Russia May Slap Germany With A $4.5 Trillion Lawsuit For Nazi Atrocities at io9.
Suzette Haden Elgin – RIP at Amazing Stories.

Counterfactuals, History and News

Arms reduction and alternate Cold War histories by Robert E. Levine at Scitation.
The Brazilian Town Where the American Confederacy Lives On at Vice.
Buzz Kill – 15 Amazing Facts about the V-1 Flying Bomb at Military History News.
Steven Shapin on Churchill and the British Atom Bomb at The Counterfactual History Review.
Three Teachers Were Fired For Teaching African-American History at Woman's Day.

Film & Television

Gay Short Film Showcase: We Are Animals – An alternate history at Big Gay Picture Show.
Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Time Travel Movies at Rolling Stone.
Review: 12 Monkeys series 1.4: "Uneasy Math" at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
TMG takes Strange & Norrell at C21Media.

Games

Alternative Civil War – more new models at Game Wire.

Music

If Taylor Swift Lyrics Were About King Henry VIII at BuzzFeed.
What If Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel Had Been In the Same Band? at Uncle Mike's Musings.

Podcasts

Ratchet RetroCast Ep. 45 – 1+9+8+5 = Retro Pop Culture’s Moral Imperative! at Earth Station One.
Show 21 – Hannibal One at Twilight Histories.

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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.