New Releases 8/30/16

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Hardcovers

High Stakes: A Wild Cards novel edited by George R.R. Martin and Melinda M. Snodgrass

Perfect for old fans and new readers alike, High Stakes (Wild Cards) delves deeper into the world of aces, jokers, and the hard-boiled men and women of the Fort Freak police precinct in a pulpy, page-turning novel of superheroics and Lovecraftian horror.

After the concluding events of Lowball, Officer Francis Black of Fort Freak, vigilante joker Marcus "The Infamous Black Tongue" Morgan, and ace thief Mollie "Tesseract" Steunenberg get stuck in Talas, Kazakhstan. There, the coldblooded Baba Yaga forces jokers into an illegal fighting ring, but her hidden agenda is much darker: her fighters' deaths serve to placate a vicious monster from another dimension. When the last line of defense against this world weakens, all hell breaks loose, literally....

The Committee in New York sends a team of aces to investigate. One by one, each falls victim to evil forces--including the dark impulses within themselves. Only the perseverance of the most unlikely of heroes has a chance of saving the world before utter chaos erupts on Earth.

Edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin, High Stakes features the writing talents of Melinda M. Snodgrass, John Jos. Miller, David Anthony Durham, Caroline Spector, Stephen Leigh, and Ian Tregillis.

Paperbacks

Eagle in Exile: The Clash of Eagles Trilogy Book II by Alan Smale

Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Steve Berry, Naomi Novik, and Harry Turtledove, Alan Smale’s gripping alternate history series imagines a world in which the Roman Empire has survived long enough to invade North America in 1218. Now the stunning story carries hero Gaius Marcellinus deeper into the culture of an extraordinary people—whose humanity, bravery, love, and ingenuity forever change his life and destiny.

In A.D. 1218, Praetor Gaius Marcellinus is ordered to conquer North America and turning it into a Roman province. But outside the walls of the great city of Cahokia, his legion is destroyed outright; Marcellinus is the only one spared. In the months and years that follow, Marcellinus comes to see North America as his home and the Cahokians as his kin. He vows to defend these proud people from any threat, Roman or native.

After successfully repelling an invasion by the fearsome Iroqua tribes, Marcellinus realizes that a weak and fractured North America won’t stand a chance against the returning Roman army. Worse, rival factions from within threaten to tear Cahokia apart just when it needs to be most united and strong. Marcellinus is determined to save the civilization that has come to mean more to him than the empire he once served. But to survive the swords of Roma, he first must avert another Iroqua attack and bring Cahokia together. Only with the hearts and souls of a nation at his back can Marcellinus hope to know triumph.

Germanica by Robert Conroy

Best-selling alternate history master Robert Conroy returns to World War II, this time for a dangerous last stand of the Nazis in the heart of the Alps.

GERMANICA, ÜBER ALLES!

Deep in the heart of Europe's Alps in the redoubt called Germanica, Nazi propaganda master Josef Goebbels and a battalion of Nazi zealots hold out against a frantic final Allied push to end World War II. With Churchill losing his election, De Gaulle consolidating his rule over a newly liberated France, and Stalin asserting his own nefarious land-grab in Eastern Germany, only America, led by its untried new president Harry Truman, remains to face the toughest of Nazi warriors as they hunker down for a bitter fight to the last man.

Goebbels knows that if he can hold out just a bit longer, the war weary of the Western nations will back away from unconditional surrender for Germany, and he and his zealots can remain in power—never to answer for their war crimes, and able to prepare for the moment when their hateful Nazi ideology is ready once again to rise from its alpine grave and strike at the heart of humanity!

But there are Americans and a few stalwart Europeans just as determined to put a final stake in the Nazi heart. It is now up to heroes in the making such as newly minted O.S.S. operative Ernie Janek, commando Captain Scott Tanner, and formerly enslaved Czech "Jew" Lena Bobek, to bring down the dark Nazi menace growing like a cancer in the mountainous heart of the continent.

E-Books

FAB: The Fifth Angel by Mark Gillespie

John Lennon Is Writing Songs Again. He's Also The World's Most Wanted Man

1995
John Lennon. Whereabouts unknown.

The former Beatle and US Presidential candidate - who took the world to the brink of nuclear war in 1988 - has disappeared, seemingly off the face of the earth.

Frank Vogel is the FBI agent who let Lennon slip through his fingers back in '88. Now working as a small-time bounty hunter, Vogel has spent the last seven years following up countless Lennon sightings all over the world, but with little success.

One day, Vogel receives a tip from across the Atlantic. There’s a rumour going around that John Lennon - the world’s most wanted man - is writing songs again.

Vogel travels to the UK where he encounters The Angelicas. Known to their fans as 'the Angels’ - the band’s meteoric rise to stardom is largely credited to an anonymous songwriting collaborator, known only as the 'Fifth Angel’.

But who is the 'Fifth Angel’? Can it really be John Lennon? And if Vogel manages to track the ex-Beatle down, will revenge lead to redemption?

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, 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 #243! George RR Martin's Wild Cards Are Coming to Television

Editor's Note

A quick recap of last week's post. First up, go learn more about Tales From Alternate Earths and the recognizable names you might find on Weekly Update. Next up, do you like alternate maps of Liberia? Then you may want to check out "And Mighty Be Her Powers" by SRegan. Also, check out how Brooke Johnson's rewrites history for your entertainment in her guest post to promote her new novel, The Guild Conspiracy.

Also don't forget there were a lot of new alternate history releases last Tuesday. If you see anything you like, please click on the links provided when you go to buy it and support The Update.

And now the news...

George RR Martin's Wild Cards Are Coming to Television

On his official website, George RR Martin announced that Universal Cable Productions (UCP) had acquired the rights to adapt Wild Cards for television. For those who don't know, Wild Cards is a long running series of anthologies and mosaic novels that is contributed to by multiple authors, including Martin. It is set in an alternate timeline where history changed in 1946 when an alien virus was released over New York City, killing many and also mutating others into hideous, deformed creatures called "Jokers". A few lucky "Aces", however, were granted superpowers.

It combines the realism that people love from A Song of Ice and Fire/Games of Thrones with the superhero genre. In fact the first volume of Wild Cards lost the 1986 Hugo Award to Watchmen, another superhero work known for its gritty reimagining of the cape and cowl crowd. Its odd how deconstructing superheroes was so popular 1980s.

Anywho, according to Martin, there will be several interlocking series. Melinda M. Snodgrass, a long time Wild Cards editor and contributor, is attached as an executive producer on the project, together with Gregory Noveck (who previously attempted to adapt Wild Cards into a movie). At the moment we don't know which characters or stories will be adapted, but with such a large volume of works to pull from (I believe there are 22 volumes as of now) I am sure they will never run out of tales to tell.

Martin, however, did assure us we will see Croyd Crenson. Known as "The Sleeper", every time Croyd fell asleep, he awoke with a new body and powers...but these changes aren't always welcomed developments. I am curious to see what they will do with this character. Since you would essentially need to cast an entirely new actor every time Sleeper changes, this could be an ingenious way to get well known actors to guest star on certain episodes.

That being said, Martin will not be involved in the production, since he has an exclusive deal with HBO and is busy writing The Winds of Winter. As much as I would like to see him involved in the project...I want him to finish The Winds of Winter. GOD DAMN IT GEORGE! I NEED MY FIX!

Excuse me...not sure what came over me there. Anywho, well I am excited about this news. I haven't read all of the Wild Cards volumes yet, but what I have read I have enjoyed immensely. If you love comics or just like realistic takes on popular tropes, then you should definitely check out the series. Here is hoping Hollywood pulls through and brings Wild Cards to the small screen.

You Should Also Check Out...

• Why Brooklynites are upset about a statue of Captain America. (via NY Post)
• Alex Wallace's interview with alternate cartographer Rvbomally. Also, stay tuned for today's Map Monday for some more Rvbomally. (via Odyssey Online)
• This record Michael Phelps tied last week that sounds like it should have happened in an alternate history. (via Deadspin)
• That season 2 of The Man in the High Castle will premier on December 16. (via IGN)

* * *

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.

New Releases 10/27/15

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

Hardcovers

The British Lion: A Novel by Tony Schumacher

In this crackling alternate history thriller set in the years after World War II—the riveting sequel to The Darkest Hour—London detective John Rossett joins forces with his Nazi boss to save the commander’s kidnapped daughter as the Germans race to make the first atomic bomb.

With the end of the war, the victorious Germans now occupy a defeated Great Britain. In London, decorated detective John Henry Rossett, now reporting to the Nazi victors, lies in a hospital bed recovering from gunshot wounds. Desperate to avoid blame over the events that led to the shooting, his boss, Ernst Koehler, covers up the incident. But when Koehler’s wife and daughter are kidnapped by American spies, the terrified German turns to the only man he trusts to help him—a shrewd cop who will do whatever is necessary to get the job done: John Rossett.

Surviving his brush with death, Rossett agrees to save his friend’s daughter. But in a chaotic new world ruled by treachery and betrayal, doing the right thing can get a man killed. Caught between the Nazi SS, the violent British resistance, and Americans with very uncertain loyalties, Rossett must secretly make his way out of London and find Ruth Hartz, a Jewish scientist working in Cambridge. Spared from death because of her intellect and expertise, she is forced to work on developing the atom bomb for Germany. Though she knows it could end any hope of freedom in Europe and maybe even the world, Ruth must finish the project—if she, too, wants to survive.

The Outlandish Companion Volume Two: The Companion to The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone, and Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon

More than a decade ago, #1 New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon delighted her legions of fans with The Outlandish Companion, an indispensable guide to all the Outlander books at the time. But that edition was just a taste of things to come. Since that publication, there have been four more Outlander novels, a side series, assorted novellas, and one smash-hit Starz original television series. Now Gabaldon serves up The Outlandish Companion, Volume Two, an all-new guide to the latest books in the series.

Written with Gabaldon’s signature wit and intelligence, this compendium is bursting with generous commentary and juicy insider details, including

• a complete chronology of the series thus far

• full synopses of A Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone, and Written in My Own Heart’s Blood

• recaps of the Lord John Grey novels: Lord John and the Private Matter, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, Lord John and the Hand of Devils, and The Scottish Prisoner

• a who’s who of the cast of Outlander characters, cross-referenced by book

• detailed maps and floor plans

• a bibliographic guide to research sources

• essays on subjects as wide ranging as Outlandish controversies regarding sex and violence, the unique responsibilities of a writer of historical fiction, and Gabaldon’s writing process

• a guided tour of the clothes, food, and music of the eighteenth century

• a Scottish glossary and pronunciation guide

• personal photos from the author taken on the set of the Starz Outlander series

As entertaining, sweeping, and addictive as the series itself, this second volume of The Outlandish Companion is a one (or two)-of-a-kind gift from an incomparable author.

Paperbacks

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman

It is 1888 and Queen Victoria has remarried, taking as her new consort Vlad Tepes, the Wallachian Prince infamously known as Count Dracula. Peppered with familiar characters from Victorian history and fiction, the novel follows vampire Geneviève Dieudonné and Charles Beauregard of the Diogenes Club as they strive to solve the mystery of the Ripper murders.

Anno Dracula is a rich and panoramic tale, combining horror, politics, mystery and romance to create a unique and compelling alternate history. Acclaimed novelist Kim Newman explores the darkest depths of a reinvented Victorian London.

Ivar, Timewalker Volume 2: Breaking History TP by Fred Van Lente and Raul Allen

A little confused by time travel? Don't worry, these guys don't really understand it either. So they're breaking history! With the universe on the brink of destruction, Ivar must turn to his closest relatives - Armstrong and Gilad Anni-Padda - to save Neela Sethi from the machinations of the Prometheans! The problem? These three guys couldn't be further apart. Time doesn't heal all wounds as the assault on Oblivi-1 begins! Join New York Times best-selling writer Fred Van Lente (ARCHER & ARMSTRONG) and rising star Francis Portela (Green Lantern Corps) as they kick off the next volume of the series that io9 calls "impressively shocking!" Collecting IVAR, TIMEWALKER #5-8.

Patriot (A Jack Sigler Continuum Novella) by Jeremy Robinson

SOMETIMES, THE COST OF IMMORTALITY IS TOO HIGH…

The year is 1775, and the first rumblings of the American Revolution are only just being felt. But the War for Independence may be over before it even begins. When General George Washington learns of a daring expedition by British troops to discover a place of ultimate power—and the key to immortality itself—he knows that to salvage the war effort, his forces must get there first. 

And to find the legend, Washington must employ a legend. Rumors of an ageless pirate who has haunted the high seas for more than a century abound. General Washington commissions an expedition to find and hire the immortal pirate, Lanme Wa—the Sea King—who has been stretched to the point of breaking, and who wants nothing more than to be left alone. 

Their mission will not be easy. In a Caribbean world filled with voodoo, giant pythons, mischievous spirits and an army of mindless creatures who could live for millennia, the privateers of the Continental Navy might have bitten off more than they can chew. 

Jack Sigler, an immortal Special Ops soldier stuck in the past, forced to live through thousands of years of history to return to his family in the present, is back in this second Continuum thriller from Jeremy Robinson and J. Kent Holloway, who once again boldly re-imagine history.

Wild Cards V: Down and Dirty edited by George RR Martin

Wild Cards V: Down and Dirty is the latest of the George R.R. Martin's original Wild Cards series, now in trade paperback

Let the secret history of the world be told-of the alien virus that struck Earth after World War II, and of the handful of the survivors who found they now possessed superhuman powers. Some were called Aces, endowed with powerful mental and physical prowess. The others were Jokers, tormented by bizarre mind or body disfigurements. Some served humanity. Others caused terror. And now, forty years later, as a gang war between the Shadow Fists and the mafia rages out of control in the streets of Jokertown, Aces and Jokers go underground-to wage their own war against the powers of the netherworld.

Here, in the fifth volume of the exciting series, ten of science fiction's most gifted writers take readers on a journey of wonder and excitement in an astounding alternate history.

Featuring the talents of John J. Miller, Roger Zelazny, Leanne C. Harper, Arthur Byron Cover, Melina C. Snodgrass, Edward Bryant, Stephen Leigh, Pat Cadigan, Walter Jon Williams, and George R. R. Martin.

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, 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.

New Releases 9/29/15

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

Paperbacks

Black and Deep Desires: William Shakespeare, Vampire Hunter by Graham Holderness

Who was the real architect of the Gunpowder Plot? Who was the first person to wear a Guy Fawkes mask? Why was Shakespeare’s Dark Lady dark? These and many other questions are answered in Graham Holderness’s new novel, which combines historical fiction, psychological mystery and supernatural thriller in a highly original and imaginative re-telling of the Gunpowder Plot. It is 1604. The Gunpowder Plotters are tunnelling under the palace of Westminster, and confront an immovable obstacle. Guy Fawkes travels to Europe to fetch help, and brings back more than he bargained for. Who is the mysterious Dark Lady? Who is the man in the mask? Why is London over-run by a plague of vampires, and who is going to defeat them? From a Westminster vault to a Transylvanian mine, from the crypt of Lambeth Palace to the under-stage of the Globe theatre, Black and Deep Desires takes the reader on a tour of historical, psychological and mythical underworlds, delving deep into some of history’s unexplored corridors, into the secret thoughts of Catholic terrorists, and into the dark wellsprings of Shakespeare’s poetry. In Black and Deep Desires Graham Holderness combines the expertise of an internationally-recognised Shakespeare scholar, the narrative flair of his 2001 novel The Prince of Denmark, and the poetic sensibility that won his verse collection Craeft a Poetry Book Society award.

Chrononauts by Mark Millar and Sean Murphy

Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly are two red-blooded American guys who also happen to be scientific geniuses. With the whole world watching, they embark on the world's first time-travel experiment. But when their planned routine goes off-course, they're left to fend for themselves - leading to an era-hopping adventure! From ancient Rome to the roaring twenties to the 1980s music scene, Corbin and Danny wreak havoc with the time stream, score front-row seats to the world's wildest events, and get into hijinks with history's scariest villains. But is it worth the price, when they have unresolved problems to address back home in the present day - and a team of angry bosses ready to do whatever it takes to rein them in? This story unites the talents of writer Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service) and artist Sean Gordon Murphy (Punk Rock Jesus) - two powerhouse figures in the comics world, whose combined forces must be seen to be believed.

The Lazarus Gate: Lazarus Gate 1 by Mark Latham

London, 1890. Captain John Hardwick, an embittered army veteran and opium addict, is released from captivity in Burma and returns home, only to be recruited by a mysterious gentlemen’s club to combat a supernatural threat to the British Empire.

This is the tale of a secret war between parallel universes, between reality and the supernatural; a war waged relentlessly by an elite group of agents; unsung heroes, whose efforts can never be acknowledged, but by whose sacrifice we are all kept safe.

Old Mars edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Collected by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois, this anthology of fifteen all-original stories by science fiction's top talents celebrates the Golden Age of Science Fiction, an era filled with tales of interplanetary colonization and derring-do. Featuring stories by Allen M. Steele * Matthew HughesDavid D. Levine * S. M. StirlingMary Rosenblum * Mike ResnickLiz Williams * Howard WaldropJames S. A. Corey * Melinda SnodgrassMichael Moorcock * Phyllis EisensteinJoe R. Lansdale * Chris Roberson * Ian McDonaldWinner of the 2014 Locus Award for Best Anthology

E-Books

The Flux Engine by Dan Willis

John Porter didn’t expect his experiment to go horribly awry and send every Tommy in town on a rampage. The steam-powered metal men tore down half of Sprocketville before they were stopped. After that debacle, John expected a visit from the sheriff ... not a robber who stole his heirloom crystal—a mysterious gift from his long-lost mother—and then shot him in the chest for good measure.

Left for dead, John is revived, and then deputized, by legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok, who represents shadowy powers that are also after John’s crystal. Throwing in with Hickok and the daughter of the world’s greatest thief, John embarks on a perilous journey to recover his crystal, discover his legacy, and ultimately save the world from a villain who intends to use the crystal to create to create the most deadly weapon ever known.

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, 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.

Book Review: Jokers Wild edited by George R. R. Martin

I talked originally about reviewing this on my channel, but I think instead I am going to focus more on my Trope Talk series instead (next episode TBA). So now I will review Jokers Wild, the third volume of the Wild Cards shared universe, edited by Sharknado 3 star, George RR Martin.

Jokers Wild takes place shortly after the events of Aces High on Wild Cards Day, the 40th anniversary of the day when an alien virus was released over New York City, killing most of the people that contracted it and horribly disfiguring the few survivors, except for those lucky enough to gain superpowers. The Astronomer and his followers are taking revenge on those Aces who defeated their attempt at world domination by killing them one by one. While Fortunato and others race to stop him, an Ace named Wraith steals some notebooks from a wealthy New Yorker, but soon discovers he is a powerful criminal who will stop at nothing to get his property back. On top of that, Sewer Jack learns his niece ran away from home and is alone somewhere in New York City. As he seeks her out he enlists the help of his friend Bagabond who also...okay lets just say there are a hell of lot of subplots going on at once.

If everything above sounds confusing, it is. Not only is Jokers Wild a book where you need to read what came before, the problems are compounded by the fact that this is a "mosaic novel", where different short stories from various authors are edited together to tell one story. Now the previous two books in the series had overarching themes that tied many of the stories together, Jokers Wild on the other hand, is presented as one story told by seven different authors, including Martin, with each author writing for a different point of view character. I have to give them credit for putting together a readable novel with that many minds/egos, but the finished product is still rather rough. Transitions don't always flow well with characters changing drastically as points of view switch. I can forgive them, however, since this was their first time and considering the Wild Cards series now has over twenty volumes, perhaps later mosaic novels are more polished now that they have more experience.

I am not going to nitpick all the issues with the book, but I do want to point out how clumsily the Sewer Jack "reveal" was handled. Turns out he is gay and before you get angry, trust me, it really isn't much of a spoiler. They pretty much broadcast that fact on a giant neon sign almost straight from the beginning. A beautiful woman wonders why he is uninterested in her advances, he looks for his niece in a gay bar that he implies he has visited once or twice, he gets really upset when a random stranger calls him a "fag", his male friend who he has strong feelings for has HIV, he knows a lot about women's makeup...wait, what? Maybe its just because I am a heterosexual, but I don't think being gay means you immediately know how to apply makeup competently!

To be fair this book was originally published in 1987, and presumably the stories themselves were written even earlier, so just having a gay major character in a book marketed to the general public was a pretty big deal. I mean there were some states that still were enforcing anti-sodomy laws. Critics I listen to have pointed out that writers in the 80s and 90s really didn't know how to write gay characters and often fell back on stereotypes and cliches. So perhaps everyone involved can be forgiven for this issue, especially because even with all of my negativity above, I can still recommend this book.

What is great about Wild Cards is that it presents a surreal superhero universe where things don't quite work out the way they would in the comics. Most of the people who survived the Wild Cards virus are grotesque monstrosities and have been relegated to the lowest rung of society because of it, even if they do have a superpower. Even those who kept their normal, human looks don't always get useful powers (i.e. being able to fly, but not lift anything up because you are not strong enough or gaining magical-esque powers, but to recharge you have to have sex and never ejaculate). Even the "heroes" come off more like reality TV stars than actual heroes and the few traditional vigilantes are often viewed at best as menaces and at worst serial killers. That is all on display throughout the book and it was those elements that kept me reading until the end.

Jokers Wild is a bizarre and fun breakdown of the usual superhero tropes and if the technical side of the book is rather weak, the universe Martin and his friends created more than makes up for it. Go check out Jokers Wild, but make sure you read the first two books first.

* * *

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.

Map Monday: If Westeros Were Europe by Joe Satran and Tiara Chiaramonte

A side effect of Game of Thrones becoming such a phenomenon is that people have become more interested in the history of Europe in the Middle Ages. So much so that the folks at Huff Post created this map featuring the real world equivalents of the kingdoms of Westeros:

I found this map to be very creative. They based their deductions off of a George RR Martin quote that compared Westeros to Western Europe and when it came to places like The Reach or Dorne, they were pretty spot on when linking them to France and Spain respectively. That being said, we shouldn't necessarily ignore Westeros' connection with British history. Perhaps the different regions of Britain and their unique history deserve a closer look.

For example, while The North does have a lot of similarities with Scotland, after experiencing the North-South rivalry in England first hand, its not hard to imagine The North just being northern England. In fact, considering The Wall is based off  Hadrian's Wall, which separated the Roman province of Britannia from the lands of the Picts/Scots to the north, it is easy to imagine that the lands Beyond the Wall is more like Scotland than Greenland, especially with the Wildling "clans".

That's not all. Did you know the most thunderstorms in Britain happen in South East England? In fact judging from the Wikipedia map, doesn't South East England look more like the Stormlands than Wales? When you consider Wales' unique culture, language and history, it may make a better stand in for Dorne than Spain. That's not to say that Joe and Tiara's map isn't well done. Far from it in fact. Its just we shouldn't forget how many different places and periods of history George RR Martin pulled from when creating his epic fantasy.

If you want to submit a map for the next Map Monday, email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com with your map attached and a brief description in the body of the email.

* * *

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 3/3/15

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

Hardcovers

Old Venus edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Sixteen all-new stories by science fiction’s top talents, collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award-winning editor Gardner Dozois

From pulp adventures such as Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Carson of Venus to classic short stories such as Ray Bradbury’s “The Long Rain” to visionary novels such as C. S. Lewis’s Perelandra, the planet Venus has loomed almost as large in the imaginations of science fiction writers as Earth’s next-nearest neighbor, Mars. But while the Red Planet conjured up in Golden Age science fiction stories was a place of vast deserts and ruined cities, bright blue Venus was its polar opposite: a steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation. Alas, just as the last century’s space probes exploded our dreams of Mars, so, too, did they shatter our romantic visions of Venus, revealing, instead of a lush paradise, a hellish world inimical to all life.

But don’t despair! This new anthology of sixteen original stories by some of science fiction’s best writers—edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois—turns back the clock to that more innocent time, before the hard-won knowledge of science vanquished the infinite possibilities of the imagination.

Join our cast of award-winning contributors—including Elizabeth Bear, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, Mike Resnick, Eleanor Arnason, Allen M. Steele, and more—as we travel back in time to a planet that never was but should have been: a young, rain-drenched world of fabulous monsters and seductive mysteries.

Razorhurst by Justine Larbalestier

The notoriously bloody history of a mob-run Sydney, Australia neighborhood is fertile ground for this historical thriller with a paranormal twist: two girls' ability to see the many ghosts haunting Razorhurst.

Sydney’s deadly Razorhurst neighborhood, 1932. Gloriana Nelson and Mr. Davidson, two ruthless mob bosses, have reached a fragile peace—one maintained by “razor men.” Kelpie, orphaned and homeless, is blessed (and cursed) with the ability to see Razorhurst’s many ghosts. They tell her secrets the living can’t know about the cracks already forming in the mobs’ truce.

Then Kelpie meets Dymphna Campbell, a legendary beauty and prized moll of Gloriana Nelson. She’s earned the nickname “Angel of Death” because none of her beaus has ever survived knowing her. Unbeknownst to Kelpie, Dymphna can see ghosts, too, and she knows that Gloriana’s hold is crumbling one henchman at a time. As loyalties shift and betrayal threatens the two girls at every turn, Dymphna is determined not only to survive, but to rise to the top with Kelpie at her side.

The Suicide Exhibition by Justin Richards

The threat is not new. The aliens have been here before.

The German war machine has woken an ancient threat - the alien Vril and their Ubermensch have returned. With this new power, ultimate Victory in the war for Europe is now within the Nazis' grasp.Obsessed with the Occult, Hitler and other senior Nazis believed they were destined to inherit the Earth. To this end, they are determined to recover 'their' ancient artifacts -- the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Destiny. When Dunkirk veteran and Foreign Office trouble-shooter Major Guy Pentecross stumbles across a seemingly unbelievable conspiracy, he, together with pilot and American spy Sarah Diamond and SOE operative Leo Davenport, enter the shadow world of Section Z. All three have major roles to play as they uncover the Nazis' insidious plot to use the Vril's technology to win the war... at any cost.

Justin Richards has an extremely credible grasp of WWII history and has transformed it into a groundbreaking alternate reality thriller in The Suicide Exhibition.

Paperbacks

End Day (Deathlands) by James Axler

TIME WARPED

Ryan Cawdor and his six companions struggle to survive postnuclear America, a grim new world where hope for the  future is lost amid the devastation.

APOCALYPSE REDUX

In pursuit of a hardened enemy—Magus—Ryan and the companions find themselves in a land more foreign than any they've encountered. After unwittingly slipping through a time hole, the group lands in twentieth-century New York City, getting their first glimpse of predark civilization. And they're not sure they like it. Only Mildred and Doc can appreciate this strange metropolis, but Armageddon is just seventy-two hours away, and Magus will stop at nothing to make sure Ryan and his team are destroyed on Nuke Day…

Jack Cloudie (Jackelian World) by Stephen Hunt

Jack Cloudie is a tale of high adventure and derring-do set in the same Victorian-style steampunk world as Stephen Hunt's acclaimed The Court of the Air and The Secrets of the Fire Sea.

Thanks to his father's gambling debts, young Jack Keats finds himself on the streets and trying to survive as a pickpocket. Following a daring bank robbery gone badly awry, Jack narrowly escapes the scaffold, only to be pressed into the Royal Aerostatical Navy. Assigned to the most useless airship in the fleet, serving under a captain who is most probably mad, Jack seems to be bound for almost certain death in the faraway deserts of Cassarabia.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the slave Omar ibn Barir finds his life turned upside down when his master's religious sect is banned. Unexpectedly freed, he joins the Caliph's military forces--just as war is brewing.

Two very similar young men prepare to face each other across a field of battle. But is Omar the enemy, or is Jack's true nemesis the sickness at the heart of the Caliph's court?

E-Books

Kursed by Lindsay Smith

This thrilling prequel to Lindsay Smith’s SEKRET tells the story of how Yulia’s parents met while fighting Nazis in World War II.

Antonina never meant to become a cog in the Soviet machine. She only wanted an opportunity to conduct her research on genetic mutations and psychic ability. But now her research is being used to find other psychics to carry out Stalin’s demands. And together they are being sent deep into Nazi Germany to steal secrets. Antonina fears there is no escape from her life of lies and subterfuge, until she meets Andrei, who gives her hope that she is gifted, not KURSED.

DVDs

Outlander: Season One - Volume One: Collector's Edition

Diana Gabaldon's best-selling book series is stunningly realized by Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore in Season One's first eight episodes. Follow Claire's epic journey through time with this limited Collector's Edition Blu-ray which includes:

• A collectible lenticular
• A 32-page book with photographs, excerpts from the scripts, and an introduction from Diana Gabaldon
• A placeholder for Volume 2; remove later and complete your Season 1 Collection!

Computer Games

Europa Universalis IV: El Dorado by Paradox

El Dorado is the fifth expansion to Europa Universalis IV and brings to life the conquests, creeds and discoveries synonymous with the Age of Exploration. The centerpiece of the latest addition is the Nation Designer, which allows the customization of a starting nation in a campaign and further enhances EU4’s already near infinite replayability. This expansion’s focus on Central America and South America introduces new religions whilst impactful theaters of exploration will challenge you with new decisions worthy of a king or conqueror. As the Aztecs, subject the Mexican plain to your rule but be sure to have enough vassal kings to sacrifice to your angry gods. As the Europeans, push deeper into the jungles of the Amazon, following rumors of lost cities and magical fountains. Whatever path you choose, El Dorado is sure to be a golden addition to your Europa Universalis IV playing experience.

To fans, 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.

New Releases 1/13/15

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

Hardcovers

The Just City by Jo Walton

"Here in the Just City you will become your best selves. You will learn and grow and strive to be excellent."

Created as an experiment by the time-traveling goddess Pallas Athene, the Just City is a planned community, populated by over ten thousand children and a few hundred adult teachers from all eras of history, along with some handy robots from the far human future—all set down together on a Mediterranean island in the distant past.

The student Simmea, born an Egyptian farmer's daughter sometime between 500 and 1000 A.D, is a brilliant child, eager for knowledge,  ready to strive to be her best self. The teacher Maia was once Ethel, a young Victorian lady of much learning and few prospects, who prayed to Pallas Athene in an unguarded moment during a trip to Rome—and, in an instant, found herself in the Just City with grey-eyed Athene standing unmistakably before her.

Meanwhile, Apollo—stunned by the realization that there are things mortals understand better than he does—has arranged to live a human life, and has come to the City as one of the children. He knows his true identity, and conceals it from his peers. For this lifetime, he is prone to all the troubles of being human.

Then, a few years in, Sokrates arrives—the same Sokrates recorded by Plato himself—to ask all the troublesome questions you would expect. What happens next is a tale only the brilliant Jo Walton could tell.

The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith

Vampire Henry Sturges returns in the highly anticipated sequel to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter-a sweeping, alternate history of twentieth-century America by New York Times bestselling author Seth Grahame-Smith.

THE LAST AMERICAN VAMPIRE

In Reconstruction-era America, vampire Henry Sturges is searching for renewed purpose in the wake of his friend Abraham Lincoln's shocking death. Henry's will be an expansive journey that first sends him to England for an unexpected encounter with Jack the Ripper, then to New York City for the birth of a new American century, the dawn of the electric era of Tesla and Edison, and the blazing disaster of the 1937 Hindenburg crash.

Along the way, Henry goes on the road in a Kerouac-influenced trip as Seth Grahame-Smith ingeniously weaves vampire history through Russia's October Revolution, the First and Second World Wars, and the JFK assassination.

Expansive in scope and serious in execution, THE LAST AMERICAN VAMPIRE is sure to appeal to the passionate readers who made Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter a runaway success.

Paperbacks

The Afrika Reich by Guy Saville

From Guy Saville, the explosive new thriller of a world that so nearly existed

Africa, 1952. More than a decade has passed since Britain’s humiliation at Dunkirk brought an end to the war and the beginning of an uneasy peace with Hitler.

The swastika flies from the Sahara to the Indian Ocean. Britain and a victorious Nazi Germany have divided the continent. The SS has crushed the native populations and forced them into labor. Gleaming autobahns bisect the jungle, jet fighters patrol the skies. For almost a decade an uneasy peace has ensued.

Now, however, the plans of Walter Hochburg, messianic racist and architect of Nazi Africa, threaten Britain’s ailing colonies.

Sent to curb his ambitions is Burton Cole: a one-time assassin torn between the woman he loves and settling an old score with Hochburg. If he fails unimaginable horrors will be unleashed on the continent. No one – black or white – will be spared.

But when his mission turns to disaster, Burton must flee for his life.

It is a flight that will take him from the unholy ground of Kongo to SS slave camps to war-torn Angola – and finally a conspiracy that leads to the dark heart of The Afrika Reich itself.

Twenty Trillion Leagues Under the Sea by Adam Roberts

Adam Roberts revisits Jules Verne's classic novel in a collaboration with the illustrator behind a recent highly acclaimed edition of The Hunting of the Snark

It is 1958 and France's first nuclear submarine, Plongeur, leaves port for the first of its sea trials. On board, gathered together for the first time, are one of the Navy's most experienced captains and a tiny skeleton crew of sailors, engineers, and scientists. The Plongeur makes her first dive and goes down, and down and down. Out of control, the submarine plummets to a depth where the pressure will crush her hull, killing everyone on board, and beyond. The pressure builds, the hull protests, the crew prepare for death, the boat reaches the bottom of the sea and finds nothing. Her final dive continues, the pressure begins to relent, but the depth guage is useless. They have gone miles down. Hundreds of miles, thousands, and so it goes on. Onboard the crew succumb to madness, betrayal, religious mania, and murder. Has the Plongeur left the limits of our world and gone elsewhere?

Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad edited by George RR Martin

Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad -- book four of the original Wild Cards series now in trade paperback—featuring two brand-new stories

The action-packed alternate fantasy returns for a new generation, featuring fiction from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin, Michael Cassutt, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Lewis Shiner, and more—plus two completely new stories from Kevin Andrew Murphy and bestselling author Carrie Vaughn. Forty years after the Wild Card Virus’s release, the World Health Organization decides it’s time to take a delegation of Aces, Jokers, politicians, and journalists on a fact-finding mission to learn how other countries are dealing with the virus that reshaped humanity. Leading the team is Gregg Hartmann, a senator with presidential aspirations and a dangerous ace up his sleeve. Joining him is a menagerie of some of the series’ best and most popular Wild Cards, including Dr. Tachyon, aces Peregrine and Golden Boy, and jokers Chrysalis, Troll, and Father Squid.

From the jungles of Haiti and Peru to the tumultuous political climate of Egypt, from a monastery in Japan to the streets of the most glamorous cities of Europe, the Wild Cards are in for an eye-opening trip. While some are worshiped as actual gods, those possessing the most extreme mutations are treated with a contempt that's all too familiar to the delegates from Jokertown. New alliances will be formed, new enemies will be made, and some actions will fulfill centuries-old prophecies that make ripples throughout the future of the Wild Cards universe.

To fans, 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.

New Releases 11/25/14

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

Paperbacks

Dangerous Women 3 edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Dangerous Women Vol. 3 includes stories by Sherilynn Kenyon, Joe Abercrombie, Diana Rowland, Melinda Snodgrass, and Pat Cadigan, and features an entirely new 18,000-word novella by New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, and a new story of Harry Dresden’s world by bestselling author Jim Butcher.

Wild Cards III: Jokers Wild edited by George R. R. Martin

Back in print after a decade, featuring fiction by George R. R. Martin, Roger Zelazny, Walter Jon Williams, and others

On September 15, 1946, the Wild Card virus was released, spreading a wave of mutations around the globe. "Aces" were endowed with extraordinary powers, while "Jokers" were cursed with bizarre mental or physical disabilities. September 15th is now Wild Card Day. With each passing year, the festivities become larger and more fevered. And 1986—the fortieth anniversary—promises to be the biggest Wild Card Day ever. But in New York City not everyone is celebrating: The Astronomer, a twisted, powerful genius, has been planning his own special festivities for Wild Card Day…a day of revenge against those who have opposed him…

To fans, 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.

New Releases 10/8/13

Hardcovers

Old Mars edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Description from Amazon.

Fifteen all-new stories by science fiction’s top talents, collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award winning editor Gardner Dozois

Burroughs’s A Princess of Mars. Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles. Heinlein’s Red Planet. These and so many more inspired generations of readers with a sense that science fiction’s greatest wonders did not necessarily lie far in the future or light-years across the galaxy but were to be found right now on a nearby world tantalizingly similar to our own—a red planet that burned like an ember in our night sky . . . and in our imaginations.

This new anthology of fifteen all-original science fiction stories, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, celebrates the Golden Age of Science Fiction, an era filled with tales of interplanetary colonization and derring-do. Before the advent of powerful telescopes and space probes, our solar system could be imagined as teeming with strange life-forms and ancient civilizations—by no means always friendly to the dominant species of Earth. And of all the planets orbiting that G-class star we call the Sun, none was so steeped in an aura of romantic decadence, thrilling mystery, and gung-ho adventure as Mars.

Join such seminal contributors as Michael Moorcock, Mike Resnick, Joe R. Lansdale, S. M. Stirling, Mary Rosenblum, Ian McDonald, Liz Williams, James S. A. Corey, and others in this brilliant retro anthology that turns its back on the cold, all-but-airless Mars of the Mariner probes and instead embraces an older, more welcoming, more exotic Mars: a planet of ancient canals cutting through red deserts studded with the ruined cities of dying races.

Paperbacks

Abe Lincoln: Public Enemy No. 1 by Bill Walker and Brian Anthony

Description from Amazon.

When John Wilkes Booth shoots Lincoln with a bullet cursed by the notorious Chicken Man, a local voodoo practitioner, he unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events extending far into the future. Instead of killing Lincoln, the bullet puts the president into a coma for sixty-eight years, his body remaining limber and ageless. When he awakens in 1933, Abe Lincoln is a man out of time, a revered icon...and a political pariah. FDR and J. Edgar Hoover not only do not want him around, they want him to retire. But their plan to be rid of him backfires and Lincoln is on the run, a fugitive from justice. Determined to reach Chicago and retrieve the small fortune left in trust for him by his long-dead son, Lincoln discovers that Hoover has confiscated all his money, leaving him destitute. With Bureau of Investigation agent Melvin Purvis in hot pursuit, Lincoln finds his way to a hobo camp where he befriends a young runaway, who agrees to accompany the former president back to Washington. There Lincoln hopes that Hannah Wheelhouse, the Chicken Man's granddaughter, can help him find the peace he longs for. Then fate deals Lincoln another strange hand when he and the boy end up as hostages to infamous bank robber John Dillinger. Instead of leaving them by the side of the road after the robbery, Dillinger takes a liking to Lincoln and invites him to join the gang, promising him he'll get all his money back. Will Lincoln survive long enough to recapture his fortune and get away, or will he be hunted down in a manner unbefitting a martyred President? In Brian Anthony and Bill Walker's inventive and entertaining novel, history gets a work-out, the action is flat-out, and almost everyone gets rubbed-out!

Spirit of the Century Presents: King Khan by Harry Connolly

Description from Amazon.

THIS TOWN'S GOING APE! Professor Khan, learned ape, has traveled through time, fought psychic dinosaurs and shark-men, visited Atlantis, and battled across the sands of Mars. He's seen it all- - until an arrow shooting out of the sky sends him to the strangest place yet... Hollywood!

Tales of the Wold Newton Universe by Philip Jose Farmer

Description from Amazon.

A collection of Wold Newton-inspired short stories by Farmerphiles, experts, and the Grand Master of SF himself.A real meteorite fell near Wold Newton, Yorkshire, England, on December 13, 1795, and was found to be radioactive, causing genetic mutations in the occupants of a passing coach. Many of their descendants were thus endowed with extremely high intelligence and strength, as well as an exceptional capacity and drive to perform good, or, as the case may be, evil deeds.

To fans, 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. 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.