My Capricon 34 Schedule

If you guys are going to attend Capricon 34 in Wheeling, IL on February 6-9, why not come and check me out? I am happy to announce I am going to be a panelist at a SF convention for the time first time in my life. Below is my schedule:

Time Travel without Technology - Friday, 02-07-2014 - 7:00 pm to 8:15 pm - Willow
While most time travel seems to involve a technological breakthrough, sometimes, as with Matheson’s Bid Time Return or Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, characters manage to move through time either through force of will or natural phenomenon. How is this time travel different from the more traditional type?
Other Panelists: Walt Boyes, Roland J. Green, Bill Higgins and Ken Hite.

Judging a Book by Page 119 - Saturday, 02-08-2014 - 11:30 am to 12:45 pm - Birch A
We're baaaack! No escaping this panel! They say that you can't judge a book by its cover. Can you judge it by what's on Page 119?
Other Panelists: James Bacon, Stephan Kelly, Helen Montgomery and Leane Verhulst.

Time Travel and Alternate History in Media - Saturday, 02-08-2014 - 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm - Willow
From It’s a Wonderful Life to Timequest, from Sliders to Stargate, time travel and alternate history have often focusing on the highly personal history rather than the history of the world. What makes film and television time travel and alternate history different from the written type.
Other Panelists: Paul Booth, Chris Gerrib, Jim Rittenhouse (you know, the Sidewise Award judge) and Tadao Tomomatsu.

I am really excited (and nervous) about this great opportunity. I mean check out this list of participants. Alongside Roland J. Green and Ken Hite, I am also listed with such heavy-hitters in the alternate history genre as Eric Flint and SM Stirling! Plus friends of The Update Dale Cozort and Steven H Silver will be in attendance.

Huh...I am starting to feel like I bit off a little more than I can chew. Yeah the nervousness is definitely starting to kick in now. O well, too late to back out now. All I can do is ask that if you are attending Capricon, please attend my panels and cheer me on. I need all the support I can get!

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new short story "Road Trip" can be found in Forbidden Future: A Time Travel Anthology. 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.

Chicon 7 Starts Tomorrow!

Chicon 7 (a.k.a. WorldCon) starts tomorrow. I will be attending as a member of the press, but don't worry, I still plan to post Thursday and Friday so you can end your week with the usual alternate history goodies.

If you follow us on Twitter you can check in live when I announce the winners of the Sidewise Awards this Friday night at 9 pm CST. If you are attending Chicon you can find me there Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I will be out of town Sunday and Monday because of wedding so I won't be there for the end and I will also not be posting a Weekly Update on Monday. Sorry, I just won't have the time, but next Monday I will have two news posts to make up for what I missed last week.

This will be the last post I make about Chicon before the convention begins. Below is some important information for you to know if you are going.

Artist Guest of Honor Rowena Morrill Unable to Attend Chicon 7

Artist Guest of Honor Rowena Morrill will be unable to attend the convention. Rowena has recently been hospitalized following health problems, but is now recovering well. She has expressed her regret that she is unable to make a personal appearance at Worldcon.

Rowena's original art, prints and books will still be on display and for sale in the Chicon 7 Art Show and
Dealer's Room, and Rowena's many fans are encouraged to stop by to appreciate her work.

Chicon 7 Announces Mobile App for Android and Apple Devices

Chicon 7 is providing its members with an online application for handheld devices that provides key convention information. The app was developed in partnership with Viafo and is available for Android phones and tablets through Google Play, and will shortly be available for iPhone and iPad through the iTunes App Store.

The Chicon 7 app is an enhanced version of the software that was previously used for Renovation, the 2011 Worldcon. The app includes a full program schedule with item descriptions, times, and locations; a linked program participant list; social media integration; and hotel maps. A key improvement from Renovation is that the app now comes with an integrated version of the program database, enabling it to be used offline. Members can resynchronize the app at any time to provide the latest version of the program.

I have personally downloaded the app onto my phone and it has been very useful in helping me create my schedule. Full information and download details can be found on the Chicon 7 website.

Chicon 7 Confirms High Turnout for Hugo Awards Ballot, Announces More Ceremony Details

A total of 1922 valid final ballots were received, representing a 37.7% turnout. The figure of 1922 is the second highest ballot count in history after Renovation, the 2011 Worldcon. Chicon 7 previously announced an all-time record of 1101 nominating ballots, highlighting the ever-increasing interest and support for the Hugo Awards.

The 2012 Hugo Award winners will be announced on Sunday evening, September 2, at a formal ceremony in the Hyatt Regency Grand Ballroom. At Chicon 7's invitation, the host for the night will be Chicon 7's Toastmaster, Hugo and Campbell Award-winning author and blogger John Scalzi. Members can look forward to Scalzi's inimitable combination of insight, humor and sheer coolness throughout an exciting and entertaining event.

The Hugo Award ceremony will start at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast live around the world via Ustream. In addition, the official Hugo Awards site will provide live text coverage via CoverItLive. The CoverItLive broadcast will be hosted by former Worldcon Co-Chairman Kevin Standlee and Campbell Award Nominee Mur Lafferty.

It is a Worldcon tradition that while the Hugo trophy itself always takes the form of a silver rocket, the base on which it stands is unique to each year. The 2012 Hugo Award base has been designed by Deb Kosiba, who previously designed the trophy bases for the 2005 and 2006 awards. Ms. Kosiba will be revealing and discussing the base design at the Chicon 7 Opening Ceremony on Thursday, August 30, and members are encouraged to attend for a first look at this coveted item.

The Hugo Awards are the premier award in the science fiction genre, honoring science fiction and fantasy literature and media as well as the genre's fans. The awards were first presented at the 1953 World Science Fiction Convention ("Worldcon") in Philadelphia (Philcon II), and Worldcons have continued to present the awards annually for nearly 60 years.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for Alt Hist and a contributor to Just Below the Law. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and his own writing blog. When not writing he works as an attorney and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.

Chicon 7 Presents Theatrical Double Bill of Neil Gaiman Stories

There is more to Chicon besides the Sidewise Awards. Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), is pleased to announce a theatrical double bill of plays adapted from two short stories by multiple Hugo award-winning author and screenwriter Neil Gaiman. In "Snow, Glass, Apples" Gaiman dissects the disturbing reasons for Snow White's snow-white skin and blood-red lips, while in "Troll Bridge" he replaces the Three Billy Goats Gruff with a feckless boy named Jack who carelessly trip-traps over the fateful bridge.

The Gaiman Theatre presentation is a co-production by Pintig Theatre (Chicago) and Socratic Theatre Collective (Toronto) in association with Tattle Tale Theatre (Dublin). The plays are directed by Ruth Pe Palileo and Liz Bragg.

The plays will be presented on the afternoons of Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1 as part of Chicon 7's extensive range of special events. Attendance will be open to Chicon 7 Adult and Young Adult members only as the material includes mature content.

More information can be found on the Chicon 7 website at www.chicon7.org/gaiman.php.

Are you going to Chicon 7?

When you are on the road of life, you can become so obsessed with reaching your destination, you blind yourself to the myriad other paths to take.  If you are lucky, however, someone will come along and point out the road less traveled.

That person was my brother, John.

It happened last Sunday.  We were standing on Montrose Beach listening to a classic rock cover band and drinking some beer.  I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.  I had finished the 5K obstacle course known as Beach Dash.  While my time could have been better, just completing the race was something I would not have accomplished 40 lbs ago.  So I was in a good mood and quite chatty.  I mentioned to my brother how much I looked forward to attending Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention, and see the Sidewise Awards for Alternate History be presented.  My brother, who is well aware of my obsession with alternate history, asked if I would be attending as a member of the press because of my blog. I laughed and said no, I could not qualify as a member of the press.  He asked why not.

That is when I realized I did not have an answer for him.  Why couldn't I apply for a press pass?  Do I know for sure whether blogs qualify?  

On Monday I checked out the Chicon site and discovered that for a blogger to be considered a member of the press, the blog "must be sufficiently on topic (or potentially so), and has been established at least 6 months."  Having just celebrated the one-year anniversary of a blog dedicated to alternate history I realized that Alternate History Weekly Update qualified.  Feeling  I had nothing to lose (I was going to attend regardless) I sent in my application and waited to hear back.

Yesterday, Chris M. Barkley, the press relations coordinator, informed me that I would be receiving a press pass for the convention.

This is really cool.  What started as something to keep me writing, even I had nothing to say, has given me so much more.  I read amazing books I would have passed over.  I meet and talk to interesting people who would have remained strangers to me had I remained silent.  Now I am attending an SF convention as a member of the press!  I get to see the Hugo Awards be presented and maybe even meet Mike Resnick. More importantly I get to hang out with authors and fans of alternate history when I go see who wins the Sidewise Awards this year.

So on to the big question: are you going to Chicon 7?  Maybe all of us AH fans can meet up to discuss our favorite what ifs and what have you.  It would also be cool to meet some of the readers of the blog in person.  I know a few places in the city, having lived and worked here  most of my life, that could accommodate a group of us.  Let me know if you are interested and who knows, maybe this will become an annual thing.  Meanwhile, I will keep you updated on Chicon news as it becomes available.

*       *       *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for Alt Hist and a contributor to Just Below the Law. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and his own writing blog. When not writing he works as an attorney and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.

Weekly Update #59

Editor's Note

Another week, another Weekly Update.  Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the first post on Weekly Update.  I am going to still be posting the usual New Releases post at 11 am, but I will be following it with a sappy and sentimental article about what I have learned and experienced writing this blog.  I don't care if anyone reads that post, I just need to say a few things for myself.

So what else is going on this week?  Well this afternoon I will be introducing a new series that I think you steampunk fans will enjoy, plus Richard Small, author of Confederate Star Rises, will be publishing a response to Chris Nuttall's Musings on an Independent Confederacy.  Speaking of Chris, he has a review coming up this week that I think you will all enjoy.

Meanwhile, we got our first reader from Guernsey.  Welcome!

And now the news...

Alternate Philippines History

Filipinos celebrated Independence Day by writing alternate history microfiction on Twitter.  Sounds like the best way to celebrate the birth of a nation ever!  Here is my favorite tweet so far:

Budjette Tan: #RP612fic Imperial troopers arrived and obliterated the Spanish armada instagr.am/p/LwkF2dlMrF/

You can find more information about this unique celebration and examples of Tweets like the one above, here and here.

Convention Watch

Those interested in experiencing some alternate history outside of the Internet have a few more options available.

Those reader living near Hartford, Connecticut, can experience "A Steampunk Reliquary:A Cabinet of Curiosities" in the Windham Textile and History Museum.  The exhibit is put on by Ann Pedro and features "items so curious that every little element to each item can be fully appreciated only by a long, slow look at them."  The exhibit will remain open until Sunday, Aug. 26. Hours are Friday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Details: http://www.millmuseum.org.

Meanwhile, those living in Dallas, Texas should save the dates of March 8, 9, and 10th.  That is when Dallas All-Con 2013 will be happening.  If you like science fiction, there is a good chance you will enjoy yourself there.

Calls for Submissions

Want to be a published author?  Sure we all do and now you have a few more opportunities to let those short fiction authors inside all of us to get out:

• Nightmare magazine is now accepting submissions.  Check out their Guidelines page for more details on how to submit your alternate history/horror story.
• Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, the same duo who brought you all of those steampunk anthologies, are calling for submissions for a feminist speculative fiction anthology.  Due date for submissions is August 5th and you can find more details here.
• The Future Fire wants submissions for We See a Different Frontier, a colonial-themed anthology, but from the perspective of those being colonized.  Deadline is September 14th.

If the whole process of submitting manuscripts to faceless publishers does not appeal to you, then why not try self-publishing?  Mark Lord, editor of Alt Hist, is starting a series of posts about the pros and cons of self-publishing that you should check out.

As always, good luck.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Australia and the Eurozone: a counterfactual account of economic history by Yanis Varoufakis at The Conversation.

'Civ' creator surprised gamer played for a decade by Derrik J. Land at Yahoo! News.

Could the Way of Live of the US South have survived without Lee's successes? by Sebastian Breit at The War Blog.

Books

Fiction Review: Land of Hope and Glory by Geoffrey Wilson at PW.

Press Release: The Good, The Bad and The Infernal by Dion at Geek Syndicate.

Review of 1636: The Kremlin Games by Eric Flint done by Sacramento Book Review.

Steam Patriots by Noble Beast.

Steampunk Spotlight: Cherie Priest’s Ganymede by Jackson Kuhl at Black Gate.

Online Alternate History

Counter Factual Dot Net at TV Tropes.

Life Goes on in the Wasteland: A Hetalia and 1983: Doomsday crossover.

The Superhuman Activity Regulatory Act by Chris Nuttall.

Films

Kung Fu Meets Steampunk Flick "Tai Chi 0" Heading to North America by Scott Green at PC Online.

Your brain cannot handle Hitlar, a movie about Hitler’s evil Pakistani gangster son by Cyriaque Lamar at io9.

Video Games

Black Gold Online reveals debut trailer by Matt Daniel at Massively.

*       *       *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for the Alt Hist magazine and a contributor to Just Below the Law. One of his short stories will be published in the upcoming Echelon Press anthology, Once Upon a Clockwork Tale (2013). When not writing he works as an attorney in the state of Illinois and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.

Weekly Update #51

Editor's Notes

Long note today, so bear with me.  I will get to the news in just a second.

I will be volunteering over at Alt Hist.  Thanks to Mark Lord for giving me the opportunity.  My main duties will include being a filter for submissions and proofreading upcoming issues.  I might even do some guest posting, so keep an eye open for that.

Some of you might have noticed that recent reviews are not exactly alternate history.  After some soul searching I decided that I would be doing a disservice to you, the reader, if I did not also cover works that would be of interest to an alternate historian, even if they do not fit the generally accepted definition of alternate history.  Some of you might be a little irritated that I waited this long to make this decision (sorry Korsgaard), but hopefully you guys will enjoy the new direction Weekly Update is taking.  If you do not like it, let me know.  I appreciate any kind of feedback you can give me.

We are less than 600 page views away from 40,000 page views.  I am very excited about reaching this milestone, especially before the blog's one year anniversary.  If you guys want to help us reach 40k sooner, please retweet or share our posts on Facebook.  Spread the word!

And now the news...

Submissions Wanted

Do you want to be a published author?  I would argue that all alternate historians have a writer just itching to get out.  Well here are a few opportunities to become published that you should apply for.

Twit Publishing is looking for dieselpunk stories.  Stories should be between 4000 to 9000 words, but you will need to hurry.  The deadline is April 30th.  If you need more time to write you should check out Alchemy Press and their upcoming anthology of pulp heroes stories.  Submissions need to be between 2000 to 6000 words and be submitted by May 30th.  If you rather take a shot at writing  a steampunk story, the Memory Place is running an anthology for steampunk stories featuring lesbians.  Stories should be between 3000 to 10000 words and they are looking for queries first.  Submissions must be in by June 15th.

Or perhaps you would like to try writing an alternate history with a horror setting? Ticonderoga Publications is looking for a non-traditional urban fantasy between 1000 to 7500 words by May 15th.  Or perhaps you have a story about the fear of the dark, werewolves, the undead or what happens to us after we die?  Sometimes the best alternate history stories are the ones that cross genres to give alternate historians a whole new vista of possibilities.  Be creative, you never know what will come from your imagination.

As always, good luck.

Convention Watch: Global Steampunk Map

Want to attend a steampunk convention, but do not where to find one?  Check out Airship Ambassador's Steampunk Conventions Google map.  The map pinpoints dozens of steampunk conventions in North America and Europe.  A steampunk convention could be coming up in your hometown, so go and check the map out.

Help a filmmaker out

If I can help someone make an alternate history, then I will consider that a good day's work.  So why not check out this blog entry by "El Alamein" who wants to produce an AH video featuring three what ifs: "Alexander the Great, had he been killed in battle; Napoleon Bonaparte if he hadn't been exiled after his disastrous Russian winter fiasco, and remained in power; and Adolf Hitler if he chose not to attack the Soviets at Stalingrad, fortified his Western border, and waited until the following spring to launch Operation Barbarossa."

He needs some advice, so go leave a comment on the blog if you can help him out.

Links to the Multiverse

Article

The Palin Counterfactual by Ross Douthat at The New York Times.

What is this Steampunk of which you speak? by Clay & Susan Griffith at Steamed!

Interview

John Joseph Adams interviewed by Far Beyond Reality.

John Birmingham interviewed by Shawn Speakman at SUVUDU.

Books

STEAMPUNK WEEK: The Iron Duke - Meljean Brook at Falcata Times.

STEAMPUNK WEEK: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel: The Janus Affair - Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris at Falcata Times.

Review of An Oblique Approach – Eric Flint & David Drake at Kilobooks.

Review of The Tears of the Sun by S M Stirling at Thinking about books.

Online Alternate History

1636 The Kremlin Games – Snippet 26 and Snippet 28 by Eric Flint.

An Alternate History of the Baptist Name by Rick Patrick at SBC Voices.

Historia Mundi: An Alternate History by Christopher Brielman.

Snippet: Hitler’s Mages by Chris Nuttall.

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Mitro is founder, editor and contributor of Alternate History Weekly Update. When he is not busy writing about his passion for alternate history, he spends his time working as a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois and dreams of being a published author himself one day.

Weekly Update #37

Editor's Note

So I had to postpone my "Introduction to the Balkanized North America trope" again, but this time for a better reason besides laziness.  Korsgaard and I will be teaming up for a Balkanized North American themed month of February.  I hope you are all looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, I am going to be reading and reviewing Hitler Invades England by Colonel George Crall and Clopton's Short History of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1925 by Carole Scott.

Here are few posts to keep an eye out for: "The Pros and Cons of Textbook Alternate History" and "Nightmare PODs...or not."

And now the news...

New Calls for Submissions

While this Weekly Update's true purpose is to keep our readers informed about what is new in alternate history, I also like to share opportunities available for those among us who wish to be published authors.  I am pleased to announce two new calls for anthology submissions that were announced last week.

The first is by John Joseph Adams who is collecting recommendations for a reprint anthology called Other Worlds Than These.  Those interested in making those recommendations can do so at his Parallel Worlds Database.  Adams is also willing to submissions for the author's themselves.  Send an email to Adams with a copy in RTF or Doc format to jjadams.anthology [at] gmail [dot] com.

The second call for submissions comes from Dark Moon Digest, a horror fiction quarterly.  They are putting together a alternate history/horror anthology with the working title Zombie Jesus and Other True Stories.  Deadline is May 31st and you can find more information here.  I am already working on a new short story for this submission and I hope some of our readers will join me in submitting.

Bighorn

What does General Custer and the New England Patriots have in common?  The question is not as silly as it sounds.  General Custer's bandmaster was an Italian immigrant named Felix Vinatieri and was the great-great-grandfather Patriot's kicker Adam Vinatieri.  That was the same Vinatieri who with seven seconds left in the 2002 Super Bowl kicked a 48-yard field goal and won the game.

Now in OTL, Felix Vinatieri was ordered to stay behind at the 7th Cavalry's Powder River camp and missed the Battle of the Little Bighorn...but what if he did not?  That is the POD for the award-winning, 15-minute short film Bighorn (which describes itself as a supernatural historical fantasy.  Those interested in watching the film can do so on the film's website.  You can also learn more about the film on their Facebook page.

Convention Watch: Dragon*Con

It was announced on January 11th that the Artifice Club will be running the Alternate History track at Dragon*Con.  The Artifice Club describes itself as "a society of steampunks, retrofuturists, and like-minded creative folk who host and run amazing events."  I wish the Artifice Club the best of luck and it is shame I will not be able to attend.  If any of my readers are going to Dragon*Con, please let us know how it went.

Links to the Multiverse

Books

Barbara’s Picks, July 2012, Pt. 1: From Kurt Andersen to James Howard Kunstler by Barbara Hoffert at Library Journal.  (Editor's Note: see the review on The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen Carter).

Feature: Taft 2012 by Jason Heller at the AV Club.

Review of 11/22/63 by Stephen King done by Bane of Kings at The Founding Fields.

Review of Amerikan Eagle by Alan Glenn done by Dave from Dave's Buttoned-Up Mind.

Review of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Forde done by 15GoldsmithA at Youth Voices.

Review of Half a Crown by Jo Walton done by Jenny from Shelf Love.

Review of Tears of the Sun by S. M. Stirling done by Storybook Forest.

Online Alternate History

Affiliated States of Boreoamerica by Ben Karnell.

A Nicer by Nixon? at Y Files.

Television

Life After Terra Nova: 4 Sci-Fi Subgenres We'd Like to See on TV by

Video Games

Getting serious about video games by Thomas E. Rick at Foreign Policy.

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Mitro is founder, editor and contributor of Alternate History Weekly Update. When he is not busy writing about his passion for alternate history, he spends his time working as a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois and dreams of being a published author himself one day.

Weekly Update #16

Editor's Note

Alternate History Weekly Update has been doing well this last week.  We got a shout at SF Signal and at Bibliophile Stalker.  Plus we have new first time readers from Slovenia, Venezuela, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Montenegro, China and Russia.  You can see the updated map below:

My wife Alana is also reading the blog now, after she realized that she was the only one out of family and friends who has yet to read this.  Thanks for taking your time darling!

We have several interesting posts coming up this week.  Kier will be reporting back from Worldcon, Teramis will be releasing the fourth and final part of her Points of Divergence series and I will be concluding my Back to the Multiverse series.  Plus we will be posting reviews for Outrageous Fortunes: a Novel of Alternate Histories by Steven W. White and Titan: An Alternate History by Michael Tymcyzyszyn and Andy Stanleigh.  May even have another interview coming up as well...

Meanwhile, I am having some issues with Blogger.  It still records the number of people who visit the site and the nations they come from, but it no longer tracks the actual posts they are reading.  Apparently this is an issue across the entire community, so there is nothing I can do about it at the moment.  However, you all may be able to help me out.  If you have anything to say about the content we produce, than please comment or contact us at ahwupdate@gmail.com.  Alternate History Weekly Update is here to serve you.  Tell us what you like and dislike, we want to hear from you.

Now the news...

Alternate History Television

With the new fall season approaching, there are two alternate history related television shows on the radar.

The first is Alternate History (though the press release calls the show Alternative History) on Spike TV, which will be premiering this Wednesday, August 24th, at 10 pm.  According to the press release:

Alternative History looks at "what if" scenarios from some of history's most pivotal turning points and presents a completely different version based on science and fact. The series will use state of the art animation to present these alternative histories in a hyper-stylized manner.  Each episode will culminate in an exploration of how the world today would look if these changes had occurred. Alternative History is produced by Flight 33 Productions (Emmy(R)-nominated Life After People, The Universe, Battle 360, and Emmy award-winning A Distant Shore: African Americans of D-Day). Jason Sklaver, Louis Tarantino and Douglas Cohen serve as executive producers.

The first episode will be called "What if the Nazis Won WWII?"  I think you all have an idea of what we are likely to see in that episode. [EDIT 8/25/11] - I did a review of the first episode, you can read it here.

Then there is the upcoming Terra Nova, which is scheduled to air on Fox on Monday nights on September 26, 2011, starting with a two-hour premiere.  The show begins in the year 2149, a time when all life on planet Earth is threatened with extinction (possibly due to dwindling worldwide air quality). In an effort to save the human race, scientists develop a "time machine" allowing people to travel 85 million years back in time to prehistoric Earth. The Shannon family (father Jim, his wife Elisabeth, and their three children Josh, Maddy and Zoe) join the tenth pilgrimage of settlers to Terra Nova, the first human colony on the other side of the temporal doorway. However, they are unaware that the colony is in the middle of a group of carnivorous dinosaurs.

What is interesting about this show is that they are not technically time travelling.  The colonists do not accidentally wipe out the future (and themselves) by stepping on a dragon fly.  Instead the changes in the past create a brand new timeline that does not conflict with the original timeline, thus avoiding a paradox.  It is a very similar concept to what my Back to the Multiverse series is discussing.

Will these shows be any good?  The odds are against them.  As Steven H Silver said in his recent interview: the general population tends to be historically illiterate.  This will hurt Alternate History the most since they may sacrifice plausibility in an effort to appeal to a larger, and less educated, audience.  Terra Nova, however, may have a chance since it is set so far in the past, but some dinosaur fans may become upset if they begin using species that do not belong in the time period.  I guess we will all just have to wait and see.

New Releases: The Submission by Amy Waldman

Alternate history is a useful tool when you want to make some social commentary.  Last August 16, The Submission by Amy Waldman was published.  A curious peice of alternate history, the point of divergence is set in January 2004.  The panel that approved the 9/11 Memorial chooses another submission instead...one made by a Muslim-American.  The book covers the resulting controversy following the panel's decision, which mirrors the controversy over the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Park51 Muslim community center.  I may just read and review this book, but in the meantime you can catch reviews of The Submission both here and here.



A Concert for Transylvania

Kim Newman has released on Facebook a partial draft of his new short story "A Concert for Transylvania, Anno Dracula 1990".  The story is set in the Anno Dracula series and is expected to be published in the fix-up novel Johnny Alucard sometime in 2012 or 2013. 

Convention Watch

Fans of S. M. Stirling may get a chance to meet the famous alternate history author at MarsCon 2012, where he will be the Writer Guest of Honor.  Stirling is known for his alternate history series which include the  Draka series, the Nantucket/ISOT series and (one of my favorites) the Emberverse series.  MarsCon is located at Williamsburg, Virginia and will last from January 13th to th 16th.

Farther in the future we will have the Alabama Phoenix Festival in Birmingham, Alabama on May 25-27, 2012.  They will have an Alternate History track, so anyone from that area should go check it out.

Links to the Multiverse

Books

Review of Ring of Fire III by Eric Flint at That's interesting...

"The Futures of Civilization" by Brian Stewart at National Review Online, discussing Niall Ferguson's theory in his new book Civilization: The West and the Rest.

Review of the Weapons of Choice series by John Birmingham at Matchsticks for my Eyes.

Review of The Sky People by S. M. Stirling at Scienceray

Review of Island in the Sea of Time by S. M. Stirling at Blogging for a Good Book

Review of Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel at figment.

Review of The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove at Technomancy.

Television

"Samurai Girls Anime Coming Soon" by Aaron H. Bynum at Animation Insider.

Film

Director-writer Mike Cahill talks about Another Earth at The Republic (Columbus, Indiana).

Games

The Bonaparte Legacy an alternate history mod for the game Darkest Hour.

Gamescom 2011: Resistance 3 Preview at Playstation Universe.

Articles

"Wrestling Wonderings: The Biggest "What If?" Questions in Wrestling History" by Ryan Sz at Wrestling Wonderings

Harry Turtledove's baseball works at Cooperstown Chatter, by Freddy Berowski.