You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon! Hardcovers Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine
Since Newton witnessed a bubble rising from his bathtub, mankind has sought the stars. When William III of England commissioned Capt. William Kidd to command the first expedition to Mars in the late 1600s, he proved that space travel was both possible and profitable.
Now, one century later, a plantation in a flourishing British colony on Mars is home to Arabella Ashby, a young woman who is perfectly content growing up in the untamed frontier. But days spent working on complex automata with her father or stalking her brother Michael with her Martian nanny is not the proper behavior of an English lady. That is something her mother plans to remedy with a move to an exotic world Arabella has never seen: London, England.
However, when events transpire that threaten her home on Mars, Arabella decides that sometimes doing the right thing is far more important than behaving as expected. She disguises herself as a boy and joins the crew of the Diana, a ship serving the Mars Trading Company, where she meets a mysterious captain who is intrigued by her knack with clockwork creations. Now Arabella just has to weather the naval war currently raging between Britain and France, learn how to sail, and deal with a mutinous crew…if she hopes to save her family remaining on Mars.
Arabella of Mars, the debut novel by Hugo-winning author David D. Levine offers adventure, romance, political intrigue, and Napoleon in space!
Necessity: the sequel to the acclaimed The Just City and The Philosopher Kings, Jo Walton's tales of gods, humans, and what they have to learn from one another.
More than sixty-five years ago, Pallas Athena founded the Just City on an island in the eastern Mediterranean, placing it centuries before the Trojan War, populating it with teachers and children from throughout human history, and committing it to building a society based on the principles of Plato's Republic. Among the City's children was Pytheas, secretly the god Apollo in human form.
Sixty years ago, the Just City schismed into five cities, each devoted to a different version of the original vision.
Forty years ago, the five cities managed to bring their squabbles to a close. But in consequence of their struggle, their existence finally came to the attention of Zeus, who can't allow them to remain in deep antiquity, changing the course of human history. Convinced by Apollo to spare the Cities, Zeus instead moved everything on the island to the planet Plato, circling its own distant sun.
Now, more than a generation has passed. The Cities are flourishing on Plato, and even trading with multiple alien species. Then, on the same day, two things happen. Pytheas dies as a human, returning immediately as Apollo in his full glory. And there's suddenly a human ship in orbit around Plato--a ship from Earth.
Time Siege, a fast-paced time-travel adventure from award-winning author Wesley Chu
Having been haunted by the past and enslaved by the present, James Griffin-Mars is taking control of the future.
Earth is a toxic, sparsely inhabited wasteland--the perfect hiding place for a fugitive ex-chronman to hide from the authorities.
James has allies, scientists he rescued from previous centuries: Elise Kim, who believes she can renew Earth, given time; Grace Priestly, the venerated inventor of time travel herself; Levin, James's mentor and former pursuer, now disgraced; and the Elfreth, a population of downtrodden humans who want desperately to believe that James and his friends will heal their ailing home world.
James also has enemies. They include the full military might of benighted solar system ruled by corporate greed and a desperate fear of what James will do next. At the forefront of their efforts to stop him is Kuo, the ruthless security head, who wants James's head on a pike and will stop at nothing to obtain it.
Paperbacks A Natural History of Hell: Stories by Jeffrey Ford
Emily Dickinson takes a carriage ride with Death. A couple are invited over to a neighbor's daughter's exorcism. A country witch with a sea-captain's head in a glass globe intercedes on behalf of abused and abandoned children. In July of 1915, in Hardin County, Ohio, a boy sees ghosts. Explore contemporary natural history in a baker's dozen of exhilarating visions.
Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell by Paul Kane
Sherlock Holmes faces his greatest challenge yet when he meets the Cenobites, the infamous servants of hell.
Late 1895, and Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion Dr John Watson are called upon to investigate a missing persons case. On the face of it, this seems like a mystery that Holmes might relish – as the person in question vanished from a locked room – and something to occupy him other than testing the limits of his mind and body.
But this is just the start of an investigation that will draw the pair into contact with a shadowy organisation talked about in whispers and known only as ‘The Order of the Gash’. As more and more people go missing in a similar fashion, the clues point to a sinister asylum in France and to the underworld of London. However, it is an altogether different underworld that Holmes will soon discover – as he finds himself face to face not only with those followers who do the Order’s bidding on Earth, but those who serve it in Hell: the Cenobites...
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.
You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon! Hardcovers The Map of Chaos by Félix J. Palma
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Map of Time and The Map of the Sky, the final installment in the award-winning trilogy that The Washington Post called “a big, genre-bending delight.”
When the person he loves most dies in tragic circumstances, the mysterious protagonist of The Map of Chaos does all he can to speak to her one last time. A session with a renowned medium seems to offer the only solution, but the experience unleashes terrible forces that bring the world to the brink of disaster. Salvation can only be found in The Map of Chaos, an obscure book that he is desperate to uncover. In his search, he is given invaluable help by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lewis Carroll, and of course by H. G. Wells, whose Invisible Man seems to have escaped from the pages of his famous novel to sow terror among mankind. They alone can discover the means to save the world and to find the path that will reunite the lovers separated by death.
Proving once again that he is “a master of ingenious plotting” (Kirkus Reviews), Félix J. Palma brings together a cast of real and imagined literary characters in Victorian-Age London, when spiritualism is at its height. The Map of Chaos is a spellbinding adventure that mixes impossible loves, nonstop action, real ghosts, and fake mediums, all while paying homage to the giants of science fiction.
From acclaimed, award-winning author Jo Walton: Philosopher Kings, a tale of gods and humans, and the surprising things they have to learn from one another. Twenty years have elapsed since the events of The Just City. The City, founded by the time-traveling goddess Pallas Athene, organized on the principles espoused in Plato's Republic and populated by people from all eras of human history, has now split into five cities, and low-level armed conflict between them is not unheard-of.
The god Apollo, living (by his own choice) a human life as "Pythias" in the City, his true identity known only to a few, is now married and the father of several children. But a tragic loss causes him to become consumed with the desire for revenge. Being Apollo, he goes handling it in a seemingly rational and systematic way, but it's evident, particularly to his precocious daughter Arete, that he is unhinged with grief.
Along with Arete and several of his sons, plus a boatload of other volunteers--including the now fantastically aged Marsilio Ficino, the great humanist of Renaissance Florence--Pythias/Apollo goes sailing into the mysterious Eastern Mediterranean of pre-antiquity to see what they can find--possibly the man who may have caused his great grief, possibly communities of the earliest people to call themselves "Greek." What Apollo, his daughter, and the rest of the expedition will discover…will change everything.
1888. A little girl called Mirror and her shape-shifting guardian Goliath Honeyflower are washed up on the shores of Victorian England. Something has been wrong with Mirror since the day her grandfather locked her inside a mysterious clock that was painted all over with ladybirds. Mirror does not know what she is, but she knows she is no longer human.
John Loveheart, meanwhile, was not born wicked. But after the sinister death of his parents, he was taken by Mr. Fingers, the demon lord of the underworld. Some say he is mad. John would be inclined to agree.
Now Mr Fingers is determined to find the little girl called Mirror, whose flesh he intends to eat, and whose soul is the key to his eternal reign. And John Loveheart has been called by his otherworldly father to help him track Mirror down...
A thrilling new Victorian-era urban fantasy for fans of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and the Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey, Jr.
With a flood of dark magic about to engulf Victorian London, can a handful of heroes vanquish a legion of the undead?
When monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane comes across the gruesome aftermath of a ritual murder in a London church, he enlists the help of magician-scribe Simon Archer and alchemist extraordinaire Kate Anstruther. Studying the macabre scene, they struggle to understand obscure clues in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics carved into the victim’s heart—as well as bizarre mystical allusions to the romantic poetry of William Blake. One thing is clear: Some very potent black magic is at work.
But this human sacrifice is only the first in a series of ritualized slayings. Desperate to save lives while there is still time, Simon, Kate, and Malcolm—along with gadget geek Penny Carter and Charlotte, an adolescent werewolf—track down a necromancer who is reanimating the deceased. As the team battles an unrelenting army of undead, a powerful Egyptian mummy, and serpentine demons, the necromancer proves an elusive quarry. And when the true purpose of the ritual is revealed, the gifted allies must confront a destructive force that is positively apocalyptic.
Cassius Flynn is a smuggler. An outlaw. A scoundrel. Charming, devilishly handsome in a maverick sort of way and fiendishly clever to boot. He's also the only man Molly McGuire has ever loved.
Molly'd left him a year ago. Stolen his airship, broken his heart and made him look like a damn fool. Still, he's rushed to her rescue, storming into Reaper territory to snatch her out from under the repulsive bounty hunter who brought her in.
High above the plains, up among the clouds in the most rarefied Scraper city of them all, a ruthless statesman has stolen everything Cassius considers important. And without Molly, without her quick hands, sharp mind and pretty face, he doesn't stand a chance of getting it back…
Welcome to the War on Horror! This unique book reveals the secret and terrible struggle between the United States and the supernatural forces of Cthulhu. Immortal wizards worship other-dimensional entities and plot to raise an army of the dead. Incomprehensible undersea intelligences infiltrate and colonize American seaports. Alien races lurk beneath the ice of Antarctica, while others wait behind the mountains of Afghanistan. From the Patriots' raid on the necromancer Joseph Curwen to the Special Forces assault on Leng in 2007, this book presents the story of those clandestine battles alongside threat reports describing the indescribable - humanity's deadliest foes fighting under Cthulhu and the Great Old ones.
Strange times are upon us, the world is changing and even death may die - but until then, the war continues.
To readers, authors and publishers...
Is your story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at ahwupdate at gmail dot com. We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.
* * *
Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon! Hardcovers A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab
From V.E. Schwab, the critically acclaimed author of Vicious, comes a new universe of daring adventure, thrilling power, and parallel Londons, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic.
Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands.
There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London...but no one speaks of that now.
For seventy years they guarded the British Empire. Oblivion and Fogg, inseparable friends, bound together by a shared fate. Until one night in Berlin, in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a secret that tore them apart.
But there must always be an account...and the past has a habit of catching up to the present.
Now, recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowledged heroism, - a life of dusty corridors and secret rooms, of furtive meetings and blood-stained fields - to answer one last, impossible question:
What makes a hero?
Weird Belfast: A Miscellany, Almanack and Companion by Reggie Chamberlain-King
Did you know that Herr Dobler, Wizard of the World, appeared at the Victoria Hall in Belfast in 1883? Did your granny ever try Dobbin's Blood Purifier, only available at Dobbin's Chemist, North Street? And did you hear about the arrest of Jack the Ripper in Memel Street in Belfast in 1888? Drawing on newspaper articles, ballads, playbills, and advertisements as well as anecdote, hearsay, and rumor, this is a vivid and endlessly fascinating account of the weird and wonderful and wonderfully weird in Belfast.
National Best Seller in Trade Paperback. A new addition to the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. After carving a place for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia, the up-timers and their allies take on continental America and the Japan!
A cosmic catastrophe, the Ring of Fire, strands the West Virginia town of Grantville in the middle of Europe during the Thirty Years War. The repercussions of that event transform Europe and, in a few years, begin spreading across the world. By 1636, the Ring of Fire's impact is felt across two great oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific.
Stretching Out: The United States of Europe seeks out resources -- oil, rubber and even aluminum ore -- to help it wage war against the foes of freedom. Daring pioneers cross the Atlantic and found a new colony on the wild coast of South America. The colonists hope that with the up-timers' support and knowledge they can prosper in the tropics without resort to Indian and African slavery. Then a slave ship visits the colony, seeking water.... and the colonists must make a fateful choice.
Rising Sun: In 1633, the wave of change emanating from the Ring of Fire reaches Japan. The Shogun is intrigued by samples of up-time technology, but it's a peek at what fate had in store for Japan in the old time line that has the greatest impact -- setting events in motion whose tremors are felt thousands of miles away and for years to come, as Japan pulls back from a policy of isolation and stakes out its own claim in the brave new world created by the Ring.
Elementary: The Ghost Line by Adam Christopher
Summons to a bullet-riddled body in a Hell’s Kitchen apartment marks the start of a new case for consulting detectives Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson. The victim is a subway train driver with a hidden stash of money and a strange Colombian connection, but why would someone kill him and leave a fortune behind?
The search for the truth will lead the sleuths deep into the hidden underground tunnels beneath New York City, where answers—and more bodies—may well await them...
As any reader of Jo Walton's Among Others might guess, Walton is both an inveterate reader of SF and fantasy, and a chronic re-reader of books. In 2008, then-new science-fiction mega-site Tor.com asked Walton to blog regularly about her re-reading—about all kinds of older fantasy and SF, ranging from acknowledged classics, to guilty pleasures, to forgotten oddities and gems. These posts have consistently been among the most popular features of Tor.com. Now this volumes presents a selection of the best of them, ranging from short essays to long reassessments of some of the field's most ambitious series.
Among Walton's many subjects here are the Zones of Thought novels of Vernor Vinge; the question of what genre readers mean by "mainstream"; the underappreciated SF adventures of C. J. Cherryh; the field's many approaches to time travel; the masterful science fiction of Samuel R. Delany; Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children; the early Hainish novels of Ursula K. Le Guin; and a Robert A. Heinlein novel you have most certainly never read.
Over 130 essays in all, What Makes This Book So Great is an immensely readable, engaging collection of provocative, opinionated thoughts about past and present-day fantasy and science fiction, from one of our best writers.
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.
Editor's Note Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day everybody!
So I am sure you guys are all waiting to hear my opinion on Amazon's The Man in the High Castle. I do have a review coming out on Amazing Stories and, spoiler alert, I liked it. In fact from all the reviews and commentary I have seen on the pilot, I am not alone in my opinion. There was just so many reviews and commentaries that I put off writing a summary and instead added a section on the show in the Links to the Multiverse below, so you can check that out if you want more details. It certainly seems like it is the hit of the Amazon pilot season, which is good news for alternate historians, but more on that later.
No Map Monday this week. I really didn't see a map I thought was good enough to feature and instead of blogging about a mediocre map just for the sake of content, I decided to skip this week and just take the hit in page views by not posting the next installment in my most popular series. I am sure that won't have any negative side effects.
I know I promised last week two important announcements, but I am still working out the kinks. Hopefully I can make at least one of them this week.
And now the news...
New Releases: 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.
If you want to learn more about the author you can see his interviews on Red Eye, Reddit and B&N.
Author Updates: Jo Walton and Greg van Eekhout Last week I talked about Jo Walton's The Just Cityand Greg van Eekhout's Pacific Fire. If you want to learn more about those books I highly recommend you check out the last Weekly Update. Nevertheless I would be remiss if I did not cover what people are still saying about both authors' works.
Joel Cunningham of the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog called The Just City a "richly written, deeply imaginative story" and also praised the author for her ability to write "amazing" books for almost every genre. One of those books was My Real Children, which was recently discussed on The Sometime Seminar podcast. And lets not forget about Greg. Paul Di Filippo, writing a review for Locus, praised the language of Pacific Fire and called the conclusion "highly satisfactory and resonant". If you want to learn more about the California Bones universe, check out this article these pictures and descriptions of the characters at Tor.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -- 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.
I'm hoping to make a couple of important announcements this week, so stay tuned. I am not sure what format I will be making the announcement. One might be posted on the blog and blasted out through social media, while the other might only get the social media blitz. Either way, they are both pieces of good news and I hope you are all excited as I am.
And now the news...
Alternate History Television in 2015
2015 appears to be the year alternate history will make its presence known on television.
Amazon announced it will debut its pilot season this Thursday, January 15th, on Amazon Instant Video. Among their many new shows, will also be their adaptation of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. This is a show I have talked about extensively over the last few months and I am eager to see what they have come up with. Sadly that is all I have to report. We will all know more later this week.
Meanwhile, at the Televisions Critics Association (TCA) Winter 2015 Press Tour, the creators of the adaptation of Susanna Clark’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell announced, among other things, a Spring 2015 release. The creators also promised to get through about 200 pages per episode. Laurence Caromba of the Mail & Guardian, called the book "dense and meandering", but thought the show could still work as a "alternative-universe version of Downton Abbey." I'm about half way finished with the book myself, so hopefully I will be done before it airs later this year and even a review up.
Coming Soon: The Just City by Jo Walton
Coming out tomorrow is Jo Walton's The Just City. Jo is the author of numerous alternate history works including the Small Change series and My Real Children (which you can read a recent review of at Sibilant Fricative). But what is her new book about? Let's first check out the blurb:
"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.
And now what do the critics say? Liz Bourke of Tor listed as one of the books to look forward to in the first half of 2015, but Niall Alexander (also of Tor) was a little more restrained saying "[s]ome will have a harder time than others putting aside...first act’s failings, but those who do push through can count on a considered account of character and morality that mixes fantasy with philosophy and history with the stuff of science fiction."
If you get a chance to read The Just City, let us know what you thought in the comments. Coming Soon: Pacific Fire by Greg van Eekhout
Greg van Eekhout's Pacific Fire, sequel to California Bones, will be published on January 27th, but there has already been some buzz on this follow up. First, here is the blurb from Amazon:
I’m Sam. I’m just this guy. Okay, yeah, I’m a golem created from the substance of his own magic by the late Hierarch of Southern California. With a lot of work, I might be able to wield magic myself. I kind of doubt it, though. Not like Daniel Blackland can. Daniel’s the reason the Hierarch’s gone and I’m still alive. He’s also the reason I’ve lived my entire life on the run. Ten years of never, ever going back to Los Angeles. Daniel’s determined to protect me. To teach me. But it gets old. I’ve got nobody but Daniel. I’ll never do anything normal. Like attend school. Or date a girl. Now it’s worse. Because things are happening back in LA. Very bad people are building a Pacific firedrake, a kind of ultimate weapon of mass magical destruction. Daniel seemed to think only he could stop them. Now Daniel’s been hurt. I managed to get us to the place run by the Emmas. (Many of them. All named Emma. It’s a long story.) They seem to be healing him, but he isn’t going anyplace soon. Do I even have a reason for existing, if it isn’t to prevent this firedrake from happening? I’m good at escaping from things. Now I’ve escaped from Daniel and the Emmas, and I’m on my way to LA. This may be the worst idea I ever had.
Curious, but what do the critics think? Paul Weimer reviewed Pacific Fire for SF Signal and gave the book 4 out of 5 stars. In his review he said "inclusion of new characters, new facets to the universe, and further details on the world building enrich the universe that the author is building, and the characters he is creating." Sounds like a solid recommendation. Those interested in learning more can read an excerpt over at Tor.
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.
Editor's Notes Wow a lot of things happened last week.
First, the topic for the inaugural episode of Voices from Alternia: The Alternate History Podcast was chosen. And no, I am not going to tell you what it is...yet. You are going to have to wait just a little longer.
Second, The Update now has a page on the Alternate History Wiki (AlternateHistory.com's version, not the one on Wikia). It brought a huge smile to my face when Petike of AlternateHistory.com messaged me that he had created it. Thanks Petike and as for the rest of you please go there and start editing.
Third, a side project of mine on Facebook, the Alternate History Online group, just surpassed 1000 members. I actually started this group almost a decade ago when I was still in undergrad. It is amazing to see how much it has grown since then.
Finally, the number of people buying books through our Amazon banner and links has increased dramatically. Thank you guys so much. Every penny of the proceeds we make off the sales is going into the podcast!
Well enough bragging, time for the news. You know I actually thought about taking this Memorial Day off, but there was so much to talk about from last week, I just had to post something. Enjoy!
And now the news...
Preview: My Real Children by Jo Walton
A new alternate history book has caught the attention of the Internet. It is titled My Real Children and is written by Jo Walton. Here is the description from Amazon:
It’s 2015, and Patricia Cowan is very old. “Confused today,” read the notes clipped to the end of her bed. She forgets things she should know—what year it is, major events in the lives of her children. But she remembers things that don't seem possible. She remembers marrying Mark and having four children. And she remembers not marrying Mark and raising three children with Bee instead. She remembers the bomb that killed President Kennedy in 1963, and she remembers Kennedy in 1964, declining to run again after the nuclear exchange that took out Miami and Kiev. Her childhood, her years at Oxford during the Second World War—those were solid things. But after that, did she marry Mark or not? Did her friends all call her Trish, or Pat? Had she been a housewife who escaped a terrible marriage after her children were grown, or a successful travel writer with homes in Britain and Italy? And the moon outside her window: does it host a benign research station, or a command post bristling with nuclear missiles? Two lives, two worlds, two versions of modern history; each with their loves and losses, their sorrows and triumphs. Jo Walton's My Real Children is the tale of both of Patricia Cowan’s lives...and of how every life means the entire world.
So the novel appears to be a character study where two different versions of the characters live in two distinct timelines, neither one exactly our own. Annalee Newitz of io9 (who we will hear from again later in this post) gave a glowing review of the novel saying it was a "complicated, nuanced mediation on the question of how the personal and political intertwine to create a single life" and also complimented Walton on her ability "at evoking the complicated relationship between international politics and domestic dysfunction." Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing also praised the novel and said of its emotional impact that he has to"[keep] the book at arm's length, lest it trigger another round of tears."
To be honest I think I might try picking up a copy of this book when I get the chance. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about My Real Children check out this excerpt on BoingBoing and this interview with Walton at Riffle.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is Out Now, but How is the Story?
Admittedly The Update is primarily a literary blog, but that doesn't mean we don't cover other mediums. Last New Releases I pointed out that the next installment in the popular Wolfenstein saga, Wolfenstein: The New Order, was released. It is set in an alternate 1960s where the Nazis won World War II and conquered the world. Well the reviews have been pouring in, but I am not going to be covering the comments on gameplay or graphics. Instead I want to know what reviewers thought of the plot. How is the alternate history of Wolfenstein: The New Order?
Colin Moriarty of IGN said the Wolfenstein really shines when it comes to plot. He complimented the game on its use real-life Nazi atrocities that made the game feel, in his words, "surprisingly human, and your situation quite desperate." Although he did point out much of the technology in the alternate 1960s is unrealistic. Lou Kesten of The Republic also commented on the use of Nazi atrocities in crafting the story saying "[o]ne minute, you're invited to reflect on man's inhumanity to man; the next, you're expected to relish splattering enemy brains all over their swastika-festooned fortresses". Meanwhile, David Hing of Den of Geek said "Wolfenstein has never needed to or pretended to be terribly smart, but I am going to make the unusual argument that it has been subtle" by not jumping to the usual tropes associated with World War II alternate histories.
And the game itself is chock full of Easter eggs. The guys at Achievement Hunter showcased the appearance of one from Wolfenstein 3D:
And Fallout:
Well it is good to hear that video games can do alternate history justice. Have you played the new Wolfenstein game? What did you think of the story?
More Reviews on Southern Cross: Annuit Coeptis
A couple months ago I reviewed Southern Cross: Annuit Coeptis by Dorvall and Philip Renne, a new comic featuring a Confederate victory at Gettysburg and an overall victory in the American Civil War. A couple recent reviews of the comic, however, have a caught my eye.
Cody K. Carlson of Deseret News (and no I did not pull this from an alternate timeline) said Southern Cross was a "fun and enjoyable alternate history tale that does offer some real food for thought", but knocked off points for too many sub-plots and an implausible post-Gettysburg outcome. Rhetta Akamatsu at Seattle PI called the graphic novel "dramatic and thought-provoking", but did feel certain elements of the book were implausible, like the enslavement of black Union soldiers.
So much like my review, both reviewers felt Southern Cross has merit, but suffers from some implausibilities. Have you read Southern Cross? What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments.
Revolution Airs Finale
Revolution aired its final episode last week. It was reported a couple of weeks ago that the show was cancelled so this episode should have been the second season finale. I won't give any plot details away in case dear reader you have not watched it, but the reviews have not been good.
Annalee Newitz of io9 (told you) said "[t]he season finale — filmed before cast and crew knew it was their final episode — made us glad the show is gone forever." Most of Annalee's problems with the show stemmed from missed opportunities and the nonsensical cliffhanger. Paul Levinson mostly agreed with her on his blog saying "[t]onight's ending, I hate to say, made me glad this was the final season" but did leave a parting comment that about the show overall that let the review end on a high note by saying "everyone associated with the show can be proud for the two good seasons it gave us. Science fiction is a tough sell on television, and Revolution gave it a good shot."
Of course Revolution may still get a chance to do things right. There is always the possibility Revolution could get on another network or some streaming service like Netflix or Hulu. Its a long shot, but if fans really want it, they can convince someone with the money to make it happen...but judging from these reviews I don't think the fan power exists.
Europa Universalis IV Expansion “Wealth of Nations” Available for Pre-order, Ships May 29
You can now pre-order “Wealth of Nations,“ the second expansion to Europa Universalis IV. Adding a plethora of new trade and diplomacy features to the grand strategy game from Paradox, "Wealth of Nations" will be officially released on May 29, 2014 for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers.
If you’re the type of person to research routes before heading into choppy waters, this video developer diary highlights the new challenges of "Wealth of Nations", including privateering, shipping companies, and covert economic sabotage:
For more information on the new show and on Europa Universalis IV, please visit the new Paradox website.
Video Gallery
I know I have already showcased a few videos in previous segments, but this is the dumping ground for the rest. First up, Epic Rap Battles of History is back with a rap battle between Superman and Goku:
They sure have been doing a lot of fictional mash ups lately. I would like to see return to more historical figures. Next, the Geeks With Wives podcast discusses alternate history:
I haven't listened to the whole show yet, so my apologies if the quality isn't great. We end with a video from our friend Alison Morton who has a trailer out for her new book Successio:
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.
James also has enemies. They include the full military might of benighted solar system ruled by corporate greed and a desperate fear of what James will do next. At the forefront of their efforts to stop him is Kuo, the ruthless security head, who wants James's head on a pike and will stop at nothing to obtain it.
