Weekly Update #233! Time After Time Picked Up by ABC and More

Editor's Note

You would think a Weekly Update that could pull from two weeks worth of content would be pretty large, but sadly I needed time to finish making a video so this one is going to be highlights only. Sorry guys, just trying to get a good rhythm going after missing last week's Weekly Update.

Speaking of my channel, it now has its own Twitter handle. Please follow it for updates on my videos.

And now the news...

Time After Time Is Picked Up By ABC

ABC announced last week that they are making a television show based on Karl Alexander's novel, Time After Time, which follows what happens when H.G. Wells actually builds a time machine, but it is stolen by Jack the Ripper and HG Wells has to travel to the future (our present) to track him down. There was also a movie based on the novel, starring Malcolm McDowell.

According to Deadline, Time After Time stars Freddie Stroma as H.G. Wells, Josh Bowman as John Stevenson/Jack the Ripper, Genesis Rodriguez as Jane and Regina Taylor as Vanessa Anders. It will be produced by Outerbanks Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Kevin Williamson and Marcos Siega, who also directed the pilot, are executive producers.

Time After Time is expected for the Fall 2016 season. Are you going to watch?

Video of the Week

They are back. Epic Rap Battles of History begins season 5 with a showdown between the two titans of fantasy literature: George RR Martin and JRR Tolkein.

Also, in case you missed, don't forget to check out Alex and I discuss 1984. In case you didn't know, it inspired Rvbomally's article on why alternate historians love dystopias.

Speaking of Rvbomally, if you like his works, go check out The Persephone Foundation on YouTube. They have a couple videos based on the scenarios he created.

You should also check out...

• Slate's review of Look Who’s Back, where Hitler arrives in the present day.
• 6 Alternate Realities That Could Have Stopped Trump (via Politico).
• Tyler Bugg's article on what if France colonized America (Wait? Didn't they?).
• The concept art for the WWI shooter: 1920+ (via TechnoBuffalo).
• The Qwillery's interview with Peter Tieryas, author of The United States of Japan.
• What would have happened if Christopher Eccleston stayed on as The Doctor (via Fansided).

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Weekly Update #200: Special Announcement Incoming

Editor's Note

I still can't believe I actually managed to write 200 Weekly Updates. I would like to write more, but I think my video says it all:

Of course if for whatever reason you don't want to watch the video, let me just say thanks to everyone who has been reading Alternate History Weekly Update. I wasn't sure where this blog was going to take me, but I am happy it has given me the opportunity to talk with so many intelligent, worldly and thoughtful people like yourselves.

Since I am celebrating a major milestone in my writing career, I think this is the perfect opportunity to announce that I have joined Patreon. For those who don't know, Patreon is a crowd-funding service that allows creators to obtain funds from patrons on a recurring basis. I am using a by month system and hopefully this will help me raise funds for my many alternate history projects and to produce more and higher quality content for you.

Now I know some of you out there think I am just begging for cash and you would be wrong. What is great about Patreon is that you can pay as much or as little as you want a month, but certain levels will unlock perks that will open up exclusive content, opportunities to pick topics for me to write about or alternate history works for me to review. Plus, once certain goals are met I will also release new content, such as the return of Flag Friday, a Confederate victory themed batch of articles and videos, new video series like "History by Hollywood" and more.

So what will I do with the money raise? Well this won't go towards my personal income. Instead it will go toward making my alternate history projects self-sufficient. I will use it to pay for me to go to conventions to promote alternate history, buy better equipment to make videos, pay for contributors to The Update and publish anthologies of web original alternate history books.

So please take a look at my Patreon profile and please consider becoming one my patrons. It would mean a great deal to me and I promise you won't be disappointed.

And now the news...

Headline: All 13 Episodes of The Man in the High Castle Premieres on Amazon on Nov. 20.

The title says it all, but just to reiterate, all 13 episodes of Amazon's adaptation of The Man in the High Castle will premiere on Nov 20th. This news was announced during the Television Critics Association’s press tour last Monday. The panel also talked about a lot of different aspects of the show and creator Frank Spotnitz said one of the themes of the show is what it means to be an American and how opposing the bad guys isn't always enough.

If I have one final piece of commentary to say on this news is that, holy crap, they are really pushing Rufus Sewell's role in this series. Don't get me wrong, he is a fine actor, although he tends to be type cast as the villain. I am also pretty sure he is playing the villain in this show as well. I really hope the Nazi isn't the most interesting character in this series. If he has an complex character arc, sure I could enjoy that, but I want our heroes to get some screen time as well.

I guess we will all know more in November, but if you are looking for more "Nazis Invade America" stories, check out Slate's article on what if Germany invaded the United States in WWII.

Book of the Week: United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas Liu

I am doing things a tad differently around here again. I am going to be using Weekly Update to honor not just the best videos of the week before, but also the best books, alternate historian(s), photos and more. Lets begin with the book of the week, which goes out to Peter Tieryas Liu's United States of Japan.

Since this book doesn't come out until March 2016, there really isn't a lot of info about it. To be honest when I first saw the picture I was thinking more Pacific Rim than alternate history, but it turns out this really is from a different timeline than our own. Peter went into some details about his world on SF Signal, where he shared his favorite Japanese mecha, and had this to say:

Giant robots, a mecha corps, and AI-driven simulations that draw on contemporary gaming; United States of Japan is a spiritual sequel to The Man in the High Castle that imagines what the late 80s would be like if Japan had conquered America. 

The massive mechas serve two purposes; destroy rebellious Americans, and deter the Nazis from invading and seizing the USJ, particularly as they have their eyes on the Texas oil fields. While many of the robots are completely AI driven, many are controlled by human pilots as they’ve often been able to make mincemeat of the purely robotic fighters. And as I took inspiration from Japan, they’re called mechas rather than the Western-styled mechs.

So plausibility has been thrown out the window, but it still sounds like a creative story to me. I hope I get a chance to read it when it comes out.

Alternate Historian(s) of the Week: Sea Lion Press

The featured alternate historians for the week are Meadow from AlternateHistory.com and everyone involved with Sea Lion Press. For those who don't know Sea Lion Press is a small press Meadow has established to publish some of the best work on AlternateHistory.com. I was really excited when I learned about this project since I have longed held that some of the alternate history you find online is just as good if not superior to what you find in bookstores or Amazon.

Here are the list of current works published under the Sea Lion Press banner:

• Fight And Be Right by EdT
• For Want Of A Paragraph by Meadow
• The Limpid Stream by Lord Roem
• The Curse of Maggie by Thande
• Zonen by Meadow
• Shuffling the Deck by Lord Roem and Meadow

They currently have a website and a Twitter account, so you can follow them there to get news, but I will also keep you updated on anything I learn. I will end this segment by wishing the Sea Lion Press guys the best of luck.

Honorable mention this week goes out to Tyler Bugg for his new alternate history blog: (Alt)History Inc.

Photo of the Week: "Rocketeer" by Alexey Mordovets

Best alternate history photo this week goes out to Alexey Mordovets "Rocketeer":

This was one of my favorite films as a kid and I think Alexey captured the hero quite well here. I imagine that in this painting he is fighting over Europe, while going on secret missions for the Allies. It is a ton of action packed in a still picture. I really liked it.

Honorable mention this week goes out to these color photos of the inside of the Hindenburg.

Video of the Week

Video of the week this week goes out to Epic Rap Battles of History's Jim Henson vs Stan Lee:

This was the finale of season 4 and it was...frightening. Seriously, when you see the surprise guest at the end you will understand what I am getting at. It was still a great battle and I look forward to seeing them when they come into Chicago.

* * *

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.

Videos for Alternate Historians #17

Today's theme is "lets watch Mitro play catch up so he can be prepared for his new style of writing blog posts". It may be a moutful, but it still counts as a theme! We begin with the always informative and entertaining Cody Franklin from the Alternate History Hub. He created a video asking what if New Zealand was not colonized by Europeans?

Fun fact: he actually created this video in conjunction with Test Tube. They asked how powerful is New Zealand?

Okay enough learning, time to battle...rap battle that is! Epic Rap Battles of History returns with "Lewis and Clark vs Bill and Ted".

Got any videos or YouTube channels that you want to recommend? Let us know in the comments or at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.

* * *

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.

Videos for Alternate Historians #11

O MY GOD!?!? Even more videos to watch. Up first is the preview for Epic Rap Battles of History Season 4.5:

I'm not going to lie...kind of disappointing on how long we have to wait for the season to begin again. Anywho, time for our usual recap of Cody Franklin's Alternate History Hub. First up, what if Atlantis actually existed?

And in the same spirit, here are five more lost continents:

Got any alternate history videos or YouTube channels to recommend? Let us know at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.

* * *

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 #173

Editor's Note

Merry Christmas everybody. This is the last Weekly Update of the year. I got a couple of more articles I will be posting, but in general I am going to be taking a long break to spend time with family over the holiday season. I will see you guys all again in 2015!

And now the news...

What do the critics think of Ascension?

Last week, SyFy premiered the SF mini-series called Ascension. It is a murder mystery set on a nuclear powered spaceship secretly launched in the 1960s to colonize a nearby star system to ensure humanity's survival in case we ever decided to nuke the Earth. The ship itself is inspired by the real life Project Orion, a program Mark Appleton covered in his articles on atompunk on The Update. So what did the critics think of this show? Well there have been mixed reviews and I will do my best to avoid potential spoilers (trust me there is a big one that was already ruined for me).

Pilot Viruet at Flavorwire praised the first episode, but did say that the show failed as mini-series due to its poor ending. David Wharton at Giant Freaking Robot had similar gripes about the ending, but still left him wanting more. Natalie Zutter of Tor said the show relied on "archetypes and trope shorthand", but "still succeeds in worldbuilding." Cheryl Eddy of io9 was less forgiving of Ascension. She slammed the first episode, but did say the final episodes improved over time before ending with a WTF moment. Meanwhile, Jeff Jensen at Entertainment Weekly gave the overall series a "B-".

So the general consensus seems to be that Ascension made a great pilot, but mediocre mini-series. Personally I would rather watch a show featuring a Solar System that was explored and colonized during the Cold War using nuclear powered spaceships. What would 2014 look like in such a universe? Perhaps we would see a Soviet remnant state in the Asteroid Belt causing problems or some utopian communes out in the Oort Cloud. Nevertheless, I probably will check out Ascension in the near future so stay tuned for my review.

Author Updates: Charles Stross and Paul Levinson

Just a couple of updates on some alternate history writers. First up, we have Charles Stross, the author of the Merchant Princes series. Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing wrote a short review about the series, calling them "surprising and delightful, simultaneously zippy and fun and hefty and deep." Stross also mentioned he is working on a new trilogy of Merchant Princes books in a mini-interview done at The Boskone Blog.

Next up we have friend of The Update, Paul Levinson, who has been sharing reviews of his two works, The Plot to Save Socrates and "Loose Ends" on his blog. I actually got a copy of "Loose Ends" when Paul offered it for free on Amazon and I hope to post a review in the near future. Speaking of Paul, you can check out his review of Ascension as well on his blog.

Coming Soon

Due to a lack of new releases this week and wanting to keep Tuesday morning open for something else, I am bringing your New Releases to you a little early.

DMZ The Deluxe Edition Book Three by Brian Wood, Riccardo Burchielli and Ryan Kelly

In the near future, America's worst nightmare has come true. With military adventurism overseas bogging down the Army and National Guard, the U.S. government mistakenly neglects the very real threat of anti-establishment militias scattered across the 50 states. Like a sleeping giant, Middle America rises up and violently pushes its way to the shining seas, coming to a standstill at the line in the sand--Manhattan or, as the world now knows it, the DMZ.

In this new DMZ hardcover, a new leader rises in the DMZ - but what will that mean for Matty Roth, a journalist who calls the zone home? After a near-tragic misadventure in Staten Island, Matty returns to find Parco Delgado in office as provisional governor of New York. Matty's first task under the Delgado regime? Tracking down the source of one of the DMZ's greatest urban legends.

Collects DMZ #29-44.

Videos for Alternate Historians

Last week in videos begins as it usually does with another episode of Epic Rap Battles of History. Featuring a showdown between Steven Spielberg and Alfred Hitchcock (plus special guests):

Next up, lets take an in-depth look at The Order: 1886, PlayStation's exclusive steampunk game, on The Nerdist:

And finally, for those who like WWII tank battles, lets watch Joel, Adam, Matt and Jeremy play World of Tanks in this episode of How To:

Links to the Multiverse

Books and Short Fiction

Best Alternate History of 2014 at The Book Plank.
The Emirate of Kabat by Chris Nuttall at The Chrishanger.
The Grand War News & Patreon by Lynn Davis at Maps, Writing, and Ramblings.
The Infinite Points of Interest in Alternate History by Jacopo Della Quercia at Tor.
Leicester author Rod Duncan to complete trilogy after signing book deal at Leicester Mercury.
Never Wars is Finally Available by Blaine L. Pardoe at Notes From The Bunker.
Philip K. Dick would have been 86 today: Some thoughts on his legacy at Los Angeles Times.
Philip Pullman Releases New His Dark Materials Story for Christmas at Tor.
Review: Sherlock Holmes: The Man Who Never Lived And Can Never Die at SFcrowsnest.
Review: Steampunk Soldiers by Philip Smith and Joseph McCullough at Falcata Times.
What if the World Had Taken a Different Turn? at The New Indian Express.
What...? Johnny Cash and SF? I Fell Into a Burning Ring Of by Steve Fahnestalk at Amazing Stories.

Counterfactuals, History and News

Drone Footage Shows Extent Of Greenpeace's Damage To Peru's Nazca Site by Mark Strauss at io9.
Modern Day Britain Finds Itself in 1884 Part 1 and 2 by Dale Cozort.
The Posters that Warned against the Horrors of a World with Women’s Rights at Messy Nessy Chic.
Russia risks Soviet-style collapse as rouble defence fails at The Telegraph.
The U.S. And Cuba: A Brief History Of A Complicated Relationship at NPR.
The Year Hitler Broke the Internet by Anna Goldenberg at The Jewish Daily Forward.

Films and Television

10 Movies That Hollywood Won't Let You See by Gwynne Watkins at Yahoo.
Agents of Re.L.I.E.F by Dan Bensen at The Kingdoms of Evil.
Black List Of Beloved (But Unfilmed) Scripts Unloads Tons Of New Scifi at io9.
Cast Set For BBC & Carnival’s ‘Game Of Thrones’-Style Epic ‘The Last Kingdom’ at Deadline.
Review: About Time at Ramblings of the Easily Distracted.
The World of ‘The Man in the High Castle' at Far Future Horizons.

Graphic Novels and Comics

Funding Friday, "Moonshot" - Comics & Crowdfunding News at Watercolour Horizons.
A Holiday Gift Guide for New Comics Readers by Ali Collucccio at Panels.
Review: The Royals: Masters of War by Rob Williams at It's All Comic To Me.

Interviews

Lynne Thomas, editor of Chicks Dig Time Lords, at Fantasy Scroll.

Podcasts

Show 19 – Cato’s War at Twilight Histories.

* * *

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 #172

Editor's Note

It is amazing to think that the year is almost over. 2014 was a tough year for me and I'm being honest when I say I am looking forward to it ending. That being said I am looking forward to the next couple weeks. I got my wedding anniversary, my family's Slava, our annual downtown Chicago Xmas trip, Christmas and Boxer day. Plus I am going to see Otis Day perform at Hollywood Palms in Naperville on New Year's Eve.

With so much on my plate, this is probably going to be the last Weekly Update of the year. I may string together one more, but no guarantees. I will do my usual end of the year posts, but I am going to enjoy my winter break from blogging.

As some of you already know, we lost one of the original alternate historians this year, Stuart Shiffman. Steve Davidson, editor of Amazing Stories, was nice enough to compile a list of charities and causes Stu supported. If any of you would like to make a donation in his honor, I highly recommend you click on that link.

And now the news...

New Releases: In the Shadow of Zion: Promised Lands Before Israel by Adam L. Rovner

Back in March, I posted a list of five alternate locations for Israel on Amazing Stories. So when I saw the new book In the Shadow of Zion: Promised Lands Before Israel by Adam L. Rovner, it of course peeked my interest. Let's check out the description:

From the late nineteenth century through the post-Holocaust era, the world was divided between countries that tried to expel their Jewish populations and those that refused to let them in. The plight of these traumatized refugees inspired numerous proposals for Jewish states. Jews and Christians, authors and adventurers, politicians and playwrights, and rabbis and revolutionaries all worked to carve out autonomous Jewish territories in remote and often hostile locations across the globe. The would-be founding fathers of these imaginary Zions dispatched scientific expeditions to far-flung regions and filed reports on the dream states they planned to create. But only Israel emerged from dream to reality. Israel’s successful foundation has long obscured the fact that eminent Jewish figures, including Zionism’s prophet, Theodor Herzl, seriously considered establishing enclaves beyond the Middle East.

In the Shadow of Zion brings to life the amazing true stories of six exotic visions of a Jewish national home outside of the biblical land of Israel. It is the only book to detail the connections between these schemes, which in turn explain the trajectory of modern Zionism. A gripping narrative drawn from archives the world over, In the Shadow of Zion recovers the mostly forgotten history of the Jewish territorialist movement, and the stories of the fascinating but now obscure figures who championed it.

Provocative, thoroughly researched, and written to appeal to a broad audience, In the Shadow of Zion offers a timely perspective on Jewish power and powerlessness.

As Gavriel Rosenfeld of The Counterfactual History Review put it, there is a "strong counterfactual subtext to it". If you want a little taste of Rovner's book, check out his article on the Jewish Book Council. He talks about five alternate Israels, including some that did not make my list.

Crusader Kings II: Way of Life Launching December 16

Paradox announced that Crusader Kings II: Way of Life, the next expansion for the strategy franchise, will be released on December 16th via digital storefronts worldwide. Way of Life will be available on PC, Mac, and Linux for $7.99.

Way of Life delves into the role-playing aspects of Crusader Kings II, giving players the ability to fine-tune their methods of seduction and break ups, and also the ability to set a Focus for your character that will influence the types of events that befall your character during their lifetime. Featuring hundreds of new events as well as over 20 new event pictures, Way of Life will give players control over their characters in ways never before available (at least according to the press release).

Videos for Alternate Historians

Wow, lot of videos to get through from last week. Lets begin with Epic Rap Battles of History's daytime talk show host smackdown! Oprah vs. Ellen:

Not a bad one. I certainly liked it better from last week's. Hey, did you know Marvel was trying to get Sony to turn over Spiderman? Let's learn more from the folks at The Know:

That would have been an awesome movie! Personally I would like to see an X-Men/Avengers crossover so perhaps they should start buttering up Fox. Does The Know have anything else to share from last week? Actually, they do. Papers, Please (minus the nudity) is coming to an iPad near you:

Up next, we have a review of The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow by Howard Chaykin from Pulp Crazy to celebrate Wold Newton Day:

Now its time to troll some of my readers with a video on steampunk. Here is what you missed by not playing Dishonored:

Fun fact: it was made by the same people who created Wolfenstein: The New Order, if you couldn't tell from the art style. Finally we end with the return of Cody Franklin of the Alternate History Hub as he discusses the world of Dick's The Man in the High Castle:

Phew! I'm done. Now onto some links.

Links to the Multiverse

Books and Short Fiction

Excerpt: On Her Majesty’s Behalf by Joseph Nassise at My Bookish Ways.
PM's Literary Award for Alternate History by John Birmingham at Cheeseburger Gothic.
Review: The Given Sacrifice by S.M. Stirling at Tom Kepler Writing.
Review: Silverblind by Tina Connolly at SF Signal.
Review: The Time Roads by Beth Bernobich at Open Book Society.
SUCCESSIO selected as Editor’s Choice in The Bookseller‘s at Alison Morton's Roma Nova.

Counterfactuals, History and News

4 Insane Theories People Still Believe About the Nazis by M. Asher Cantrell at Cracked.
The 14 Most Insane Fictional Versions Of Real Life Historical Figures at io9.
An Auto-Oriented Manhattan at Analysis by Matt Taylor.
Documenting Life in Countries You Probably Never Knew Existed by Jordan G. Teicher at Slate.
Fox: Obama Seeks Advice on Establishing Monarchy by Andy Borowitz at The New Yorker.
Here's what police planned to say if Darren Wilson was indicted at The Week.
The Real Story Of Apollo 17... And Why We Never Went Back To The Moon at io9.
This Greenpeace Stunt May Have Irreparably Damaged Peru's Nazca Site at io9.
Tom Harkin and the Alternate History of Health Care Reform at Bloomberg Politics.
What's the Historical Reality Behind the Trojan Horse? by Esther Inglis-Arkell at io9.
What Would Life Be Like On A Flat Earth? by Robbie Gonzalez at io9.

Films and Television

'Ascension': Could Mankind Really Survive 100 Years in Space? at NBC.
BBC Is Planning A Theme Park With “Doctor Who” And “Sherlock” at Nicole Wakelin.
How Will Smith Turned Down The Matrix by Jerome Maida at MoviePilot.
Marco Polo: Evocative History at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
Orthodox Church Stopped A Giant Eye Of Sauron Being Built Over Moscow at Business Insider.

Games

The 25 Best Video Games of 2014 at Slant.
Codename S.T.E.A.M. Arrives March 2015 With Online Multiplayer at GameInformer.
I'm Rather Worried About Assassin's Creed Coming to Victorian London at Kotaku.

Interviews

Alison Morton at Layered Pages.

Podcasts

Dieselpunk Comics Micro Cast #17 12/10/2014 at Diesel Powered Podcast.
Ratchet RetroCast Episode 42 – Don’t Panic at Earth Station One.

* * *

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 #171

Editor's Note

I haven't been posting any Sideways paper updates because...well, I have been too busy writing the damn things. I am at 5,500+ words at the moment and I am stopping to concentrate on the abstract I need to submit on the 15th. Thanks for everyone who has been assisting me in this endeavor and I look forward to hearing what you guys think of it once it is finished.

And now the news...

Videos for Alternate Historians

Two videos I wanted to point out this week. First we have a horror themed episode of Epic Rap Battles of History. It features Jack the Ripper and Hannibal Lecter:

I was very "meh" about this one, but if you want to learn more, check out the behind the scenes extra:

We finish with part 2 of Majora's Mask African roots:

Links to the Multiverse

Books and Short Fiction

25 Genre Novels That Should be Classics by Emily Temple at Flavor Wire.
50 Pages Friday: Harry Turtledove at Suvudu.
Book Deal Announcement: The Secret History of Science Fiction And Fantasy by Jeff VanderMeer.
Chapter One and Two of The Desert and the Blade by SM Stirling.
Gavriel D. Rosenfeld's "Hi Hitler!" at The Page 99 Test.
The Goodreads Choice Awards Announce Their Best Books of 2014 at Tor.
The Grand War trilogy (plus a preview) by Lynn Davis at Maps, Writing, and Ramblings.
Lavie Tidhar’s THE VIOLENT CENTURY Nominated for IMPAC Award! at Zeno Agency.
New book by Michael Trinklein at Lost States.
Prompt. Professional. Pop! by Walter Jon Williams at Tor.
Review: 1632 by Eric Flint at SkyGiants.
Review: The Darkest Hour by Tony Schumacher at Lancashire Evening Post.
Review: Destroyermen: Into the Storm by Taylor Anderson at The Great Adventure.
Review: Endsinger (The Lotus War #3) by Jay Kristoff at My Bookish Ways.
Stephen King Lets Down Boxing Fans: The Faux Fight of 11/22/63 at The Sweet Science.

Counterfactuals, History and News

The case of the missing 13th amendment to the Constitution by Scott Bomboy at Yahoo.
Counterfactual History - An essential tool for historians or a fool's errand? at SGS History Blog
More states are pushing for a convention to rewrite the constitution at The Week.
Was Britain's WWI Blockade The First Atrocity Of The 20th Century? by George Dvorsky at io9.
What if the Marathas had won at Panipat? by Shovon Chowdhury at Swarajya.
Which Period in History Is Portrayed The Least Accurately Onscreen? by Ria Misra at io9.

Films and Television

95ers: Time Runners: Original and Entertaining at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
Another Bait and Switch Counterfactual: Hirschbiegel’s Elser at The Counterfactual History Review.
Prestige Author Slams Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy at The Hollywood Reporter.
See How Star Wars: The Force Awakens Was Inspired By Ralph McQuarrie’s Concept Art at /Film.
Watch Vladimir Putin Dance in Teaser for 'Iron Sky: The Coming Race' at The Hollywood Reporter.

Games

The Bestest Best FPS Of 2014: Wolfenstein The New Order at Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
Next Year's Big Assassin's Creed Is Set In Victorian London by Jason Schreier at Kotaku.

Graphic Novels and Comics

Boom! Studios' Bill & Ted's Most Triumphant Return to Debut in March at Comic Book Resources.
ELEVATOR PITCH – The Lion & The Unicorn at Geek Syndicate.
Indiana Jones and the Avoiders of the Lost Ark at Dorkly.

Interviews

Gail Carriger at Functional Nerds.
Genevieve Valentine at Notes from Coode Street.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro at My Bookish Ways.

* * *

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 #170

Editor's Note

Who said I wouldn't have a Weekly Update for this week? Turns out I had more time than I thought to write this. Oddly not much to report and the New Releases are pretty slim as well, so I combined my Monday and Tuesday posts this week. Enjoy!

I also wrote over 5000 words on "Warping History", my Sideways in Time paper. I managed to reach the beginning of the 21st century so I just started on the early history of AlternateHistory.com and Changing The Times. More details on all this later.

And now the news...

New Releases

Relativism, Alternate History, and the Forgetful Reader: Reading Science Fiction and Historiography by Derek Thiess

The writer of alternate history asks “what if?” What if one historical event were different, what would the world look like today? In a similar way, the postmodern philosopher of history suggests that history is literature, or that if we read certain historical details differently we would get a distinctly different interpretation of past events. While the science fiction alternate history means to illuminate the past, to increase our understanding of past events, however, the postmodern approach to history typically suggests that such understanding is impossible. To the postmodern philosopher, history is like literature in that it does not offer the reader access to the past, but only an interesting story. Building on criticism that suggests personal psychological reasons for this obscuring the past, and using a literary theory of readership, this book challenges the postmodern approach to history. It channels the speculative power of science fiction to read the works of postmodern philosophy of history as alternate histories themselves, and to map the limits and pathology of their forgetful reading of the past.

Videos for Alternate Historians

We begin with another episode of Epic Rap Battles of History featuring the two gods of thunder, Zeus and Thor:

The stop motion Lego animation was pretty cool. I like how they are experimenting with different styles. Next up, in preparation for the new film The Imitation Game, Because Science with Kyle Hill released this new episode about the Enigma Machine:

I don't always watch videos on the Nerdist channel, but I got to admit this one was interesting.

Links to the Multiverse

Books and Short Fiction

Angry Robot Announces a New Gas-Lit Empire Novel, plus a Cover Reveal! at Tor.
Coming Out of Stealth Mode: Snapshot by Dale Cozort.
Macaque Attack by Gareth L Powell: exclusive preview at When Gravity Fails.
New Treasures: Steampunk Soldiers: Uniforms and Weapons from the Age of Steam by Philip Smith and Joseph McCullough at Black Gate
Steampunk (and Parasol Protectorate) Holiday Gift Ideas by Gail Carriger.
Review: 11/22/63 by Stephen King at Lacombe Globe.
Review: Endsinger by Jay Kristoff at SF Signal.
Review: The Last Rite by Jasper Kent at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.
Review: Snodgrass and Other Illusions by Ian R. MacLeod at Alt Hist.

Counterfactuals, History & News

The 10 Greatest and Weirdest JFK Assassination Conspiracy Theories by Cheryl Eddy at io9.
10 Monarchs Whose Madness Changed History by Esther Inglis-Arkell at io9.
Obituary: Stu Shiffman at SF Site.
A Texas Lawmaker’s Bizarre Plan To Secede From The Union One Law At A Time by Ian Millhisher at Think Progress.
UK Strikes Deal To Grant Scotland More Powers To Counter Separatists at International Business Times.
What If? Convicting Darren Wilson Would Have Been Difficult by Alex Johnson at NBC.

Film & Television

The Future Of Lunar Life, 1965 Russian Style at Geeks Are Sexy.
Star Wars Deleted Scenes Reveal The Utter Disaster That Could Have Been by Lauren Davis at io9.
Stop Complaining, ‘Jurassic World’ Almost Featured Dinosaur-Human Hybrids; Filmmaker Defends Genetically Modified Dino Concept by Peter Sciretta at Slash Film.

Interviews

Gail Carriger from her Reddit AMA.
Fred Van Lente at Comic Book Resources.
Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at Writers Read.
Colin Taber at ABC Brisbane.

Podcasts

Dissecting Worlds Series 9, Ep 3: Horror Espionage at Geek Syndicate.
Happy Thanksgiving 2014 at Angry History.
Show 18 - To Kill a King at Twilight Histories.

* * *

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 #169

Editor's Note

Well the holidays are upon us and that means I am going into hibernation. No Weekly Update next Monday as I take a break from blogging to write about my Sideways in Time Paper (check out my last update here). Then in mid-December I will be taking an even longer break to spend sometime with the family, but I will be back at the end of the year for my annual wrap-up.

And now the news...

Videos for Alternate Historians

Some good videos this week. We begin with another episode of Epic Rap Battles of History, featuring Romeo & Juliet vs. Bonnie & Clyde:

The last few episodes have been very group heavy. I wonder if we are going to see anymore one-on-ones in the future. Anywho, it looks like Assassin's Creed: Unity has lead to some discussion on revisionist history. Lets watch this video from The Know to learn more:

Interesting. Here in America at least we are taught that both sides in the French Revolution were nuts. O well, lets look at an even more insane period of history, World War II, with this video on tanks featured in Paradox's upcoming grant strategy game Hearts of Iron IV:

The video features a visit to the Arsenalen museum of military vehicles in Sweden, where Hearts of Iron IV’s Project Lead, Dan Lind, talks tanks and their use in the war. What did you think of it?

Links to the Multiverse

Books and Short Fiction

Best Alternate History Novels by Josh Goller at Used Book Search.
Gollancz buys two from de Bodard at The Bookseller.
Priya Sharma’s After Mary included in Ellen Datlow’s Honorable Mentions at Alt Hist.
Prologue of The Desert and The Blade by SM Stirling.
Review: Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann at Falcata Times.
Review: The Revolutions by Felix Gilman at Falcata Times.
Review: The Steampunk User’s Manual by Jeff VanderMeer at Geek Dad.
Update on the Alternate Mormon History anthology by William Morris at A Motley Vision.
William Gibson's 6 favorite books at The Week.

Counterfactuals, History and News

The 19th Century Blueprint For A Massive Mind-Control Machine by Mark Strauss at io9.
The Dyess Colony by Larry Amyett, Jr at Dieselpunk.
Have We Stopped Fearing Nuclear War? by Annalee Newitz at io9.
How Farming Almost Destroyed Ancient Human Civilization by Annalee Newitz at io9.
The Limits of Alternative Africas by Laura J. Mitchell at Africa Is a Country.
Muslims Discovered the Americas, Claims Turkish President by Berivan Orucoglu at Foreign Policy.
"Pro-American" History Textbooks Hurt Native Americans by Shannon Speed at Huff Post.
S. Korea to raise $500 bln for unification: regulator by Kim Boram at Yonhap News Agency.
Sudan asks U.N. mission in Darfur to prepare to leave at Yahoo.

Film and Television

41 Cancelled Star Wars Projects by Rob Leane at Den of Geek.
The Age of the Airship by Alex Michael Bonnici Far Future Horizons.
Hitler’s Supercity by Alex Michael Bonnici at Far Future Horizons.

Games

Bladestorm: Nightmare carves a path through history in March by Danny Cowan at Joystiq.
Codename: Steam History Told Right by Steve Knauer at Mind of the Geek.

Graphic Novels and Comics

Elseworld: What would be your dream Film Justice League team be? by Gretnablue at io9.
Lee Joining Morrison on "The Multiversity: Mastermen" at Comic Book Resources.
Preview: Django/Zorro #2 (Unlettered) at Comic Book Resources.
Review: Royal Blood by Alejandro Jodorowsky at The Fandom Post.

Interviews

A.M. Dellamonica at Corey Redekop.
Alison Morton at Literascribe.

Podcasts

Show 17 – American Revolution at Twilight Histories.
Vidjagame Apocalypse 90 – Alternate Histories at Laser Time.

* * *

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 #168

Editor's Note

Work is picking up at my day job, so expect less posts coming down the pipeline. That's all I got really.

And now the news...

The Man in High Castle Part of Amazon's Pilot Slate

The big news last week was Amazon announcing their new slate of pilots for 2015. Included among the seven new shows was their adaptation of The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. Nothing much else to say other than that. We knew this was coming, but I am glad it is official now, although Sam Gutelle from Tubefilter pointed out the odds are against the show being a success. Let's hope he is wrong this time.

By the way, was Big Hero Six inspired by The Man in the High Castle?

Season 4 of Epic Rap Battles of History Begins

Season 4 of Epic Rap Battles of History has begun with their new episode below:

They changed things up this time by starting the season off without a Hitler/Vader battle. Admittedly I was iffy about the this battle when I first watched it, but it has grown on me. If you are interested in the behind the scenes, I got you covered:

Links to the Multiverse

Books and Short Fiction

Announcing the 2014 World Fantasy Winners! at Tor.
In Praise Of Pavane at Black Gate.
An Introduction to the Wonderful, Improbable World of Steampunk by Paul Roland at Tor.
Jane Austen's fashion history: 200 years of cover designs – in pictures at The Guardian.
Mining the Genre Asteroid: A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny at Skiffy and Fanty.
Novel ARABELLA OF MARS and two sequels sold to Tor by David D. Levine.
November 2014 Whispersync Roundup: Octavia Butler’s Dawn, Peter David’s Artful, Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan, and more at The AudioBookaneers.
Outlander Teaches Us How to Disempower Our Heroine by Oren Ashkenazi at Mythcreants.
Review: Harry Harrison, Harry Harrison: A Memoir by Harry Harrison at SF Signal.
SciFi Month: Alternative History Series Recommendation (and a plug for Literrater) by Wesley Hoffmann at Library Educated.
Ten Essential Steampunk Novels by Paul Roland at Tor.
These Six-Word Stories Are Dispatches From A Strange Alternate Reality at io9.
Turkish military forces to ban Game of Thrones at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.

Counterfactuals, History and News

Alternate Histories: "Great Man" vs. "Currents and Forces" by Alex Petersonn at Elinor Diamond.
Alternate History: What If Lady Jane Grey Was Not Deposed? by AlexandriaIngham at Wizzley.
Behind the Campaign To Purge Textbooks of "Pro-Muslim Bias" in Texas by Mark Strauss at io9.
Catalan president facing prosecution after independence vote by Ashifa Kassam at The Guardian.
Cosmonauts Used to Carry Insane Machete Guns In Space by Mark Strauss at io9.
Counterfactual History: A Course Update by Timothy Burke at Easily Distracted.
Russia plans 'alternative Wikipedia' at BBC.
What if Archduke Franz Ferdinand had lived in 1914? by Bethany Bell at BBC.
What if Gandhi hadn’t been thrown off the train? by Shovon Chowdhury at Swarajya.

Film and Television

ELEVATOR PITCH – Time Keeper at Geek Syndicate.
Gallery: Rare Concept Art Courtesy of a New Harry Potter Book - The Creative Vault at Nerdist.
Meet the rejected characters and deleted scenes of 'Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope' by Emily Gera at Yahoo.
Review: Doctor Who, Series 8 at Ramblings of the Easily Distracted.

Games

Crusader Kings II – Charlemagne Diary: The History of What Ifs by Andrei Dumitrescu at Softpedia.
Everything You Need to Know About World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor by Matt Peckha at Time.
PS4 Getting 1920s-Themed Brawler, Speakeasy by Eddie Makuch at Gamespot.

Graphic Novels and Comics

Millar Maps Out His & Murphy's Time Travel Itinerary in "Chrononauts" at Comic Book Resources.

Interviews

Alison Morton at thewriterromantics.
Ian Sales at Confessions of a Book Geek.

* * *

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.