New Releases 10/27/15

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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.

What If Wednesday: The Last English King of England

Social media is amazing. Without it I never would've had a Twitter conversation with a representative of The Richard III Society of Canada, which inspired me to do some digging on Richard III, who some call the "last English king of England". Wikipedia tells us that he was King of England from 1483 until his death in 1485, at the age of 32, in the Battle of Bosworth Field. Hah! I'm only 30 years old and I have a successful alternate history blog. Take that you York bastard!

Richard was a lot of "lasts" as well. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. Although perhaps having a play named after you written by none other than William Shakespeare can make up for his inglorious end...except for the fact that his body was found just a few years ago under a parking lot.

Richard legacy hasn't really stood the test of time. He is often portrayed as grotesque hunchback and many still believed he murdered his nephews to secure his place on the throne. Of course, not everyone agrees with this portrayal. Besides the aforementioned Society, Scottish mystery writer Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time features one of her famous characters digging through historical evidence to come to the conclusion that much of what we know of Richard is nothing but Tudor propaganda. On top of that, looking at his list of accomplishments, he did pass some laws that could be considered "modern", such as the creation of a court for those who could not afford representation, improved bail terms, the banning of restrictions on the printing and sale of books and the translations of laws from the traditional French to English.

So now that you have a taste of the historical Richard III, lets see what he is like in other corners of the multiverse. My first encounter with Richard was actually in Kim Newman's "Vampire Romance", which is set in his Anno Dracula universe. In that story Richard actually survived his death at Bosworth Field by becoming a vampire. Later, during the interwar period, Richard plots to take the throne again by first becoming the new King of the Vampires since Dracula has been exiled. Now that story falls completely under the alien space bat category, but you would be hard pressed to find a Richard story that isn't intentionally implausible, such as John Ford's The Dragon Waiting. While you have Richard winning the Battle of Bosworth Field and a religiously tolerant Byzantine Empire, you also have magic and, yes, even more vampires.

Neither of the stories above are that surprising really. For some reason fantasy dominates alternate histories set during or characters from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. For a Richard III story with a little science, even if its on the weird side, you can check out Andre Norton's time travel novel: Quest Crosstime (a.k.a. Crosstime Agent), which features a world where Richard III was victorious at the Battle of Bosworth Field, eventually leading to a North America divided between England and the Aztecs. So still not that plausible, but at least there is no magic.

The closest we come to a plausible Richard III alternate history without any magic or sci-fi, is oddly enough not from a book, but from television. I am speaking about The Black Adder, a BBC show from the 1980s that features Richard winning the Battle of Bosworth Field (of course) only to be unintentionally assassinated by his nephew Edmund and succeeded by Richard IV, one of the Princes in the Tower. There are issues with this history, since Richard IV would have been two at the time and the show portrays him as much older and he is eventually overthrown by Henry Tudor, who rewrites history so that everyone will remember Richard III as a monster, while completely omitting Richard IV from the history books altogether. This make The Black Adder more of a secret history than an alternate history, but considering this show was mostly a comedy, we can forgive it for its lack of plausibility.

If there is one thing these alternate histories have in common its that Richard III's big turning point was the Battle of Bosworth Field. Most of the time he will be victorious or at the very least survive and try again to take the throne (even if it takes a few centuries). Except for one exception, most of the stories above appear to adopt the modern view on Richard: that he wasn't as bad as history and fiction remember him, at least compared to a lot of monarchs and nobles of the time and many of his alleged crimes may just be a case of the victor writing the history. If that's the case, perhaps a longer reign for Richard III may not have been a bad thing for England, but I frankly do not know enough about the era to give that argument any justice.

What do you guys think about a longer reign for Richard III? Also, was there any books, stories, shows, etc. that I missed? Let us know in the comments.

* * *

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.

New Releases 9/17/13

Hardcovers

Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard by Kim Newman

Description from Amazon.

DRACULA COMES TO NEW YORK: Kim Newman returns to one of the great bestselling vampire tales of the modern era. Considered alongside I Am Legend and Interview with theVampire as one of the stand-out vampire stories of the last century - this brand-new novel is the first in over a decade from the remarkable and influential Anno Dracula series.

Newman’s dark and impish tale begins with a single question: What if Dracula had survived his encounters with Bram Stoker’s Dr. John Seward and enslaved Victorian England?

Fallen from grace and driven from the British Empire in previous instalments, Dracula seems long gone. A relic of the past. Yet, when vampire boy Johnny Alucard descends upon America, stalking the streets of New York and Hollywood, haunting the lives of the rich and famous, from Sid and Nancy to Andy Warhol, Orson Welles, and Francis Ford Coppola, sinking his fangs ever deeper into the zeitgeist of 1980s America, it seems the past might not be dead after all.

Delia's Shadow by Jamie Lee Moyer

Description from Amazon.

It is the dawn of a new century in San Francisco and Delia Martin is a wealthy young woman whose life appears ideal. But a dark secret colors her life, for Delia’s most loyal companions are ghosts, as she has been gifted (or some would say cursed) with an ability to peer across to the other side.

Since the great quake rocked her city in 1906, Delia has been haunted by an avalanche of the dead clamoring for her help. Delia flees to the other side of the continent, hoping to gain some peace. After several years in New York, Delia believes she is free…until one determined specter appears and she realizes that she must return to the City by the Bay in order to put this tortured soul to rest.

It will not be easy, as the ghost is only one of the many victims of a serial killer who was never caught. A killer who after thirty years is killing again.

And who is now aware of Delia’s existence.

Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl by David Barnett

Description from Amazon.

Nineteenth century London is the center of a vast British Empire. Airships ply the skies and Queen Victoria presides over three-quarters of the known world—including the East Coast of America, following the failed revolution of 1775.

London might as well be a world away from Sandsend, a tiny village on the Yorkshire coast. Gideon Smith dreams of the adventure promised him by the lurid tales of Captain Lucian Trigger, the Hero of the Empire, told in Gideon’s favorite “penny dreadful.” When Gideon’s father is lost at sea in highly mysterious circumstances Gideon is convinced that supernatural forces are at work.  Deciding only Captain Lucian Trigger himself can aid him, Gideon sets off for London. On the way he rescues the mysterious mechanical girl Maria from a tumbledown house of shadows and iniquities. Together they make for London, where Gideon finally meets Captain Trigger.

But Trigger is little more than an aging fraud, providing cover for the covert activities of his lover, Dr. John Reed, a privateer and sometime agent of the British Crown. Looking for heroes but finding only frauds and crooks, it falls to Gideon to step up to the plate and attempt to save the day...but can a humble fisherman really become the true Hero of the Empire?

David Barnett's Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl is a fantastical steampunk fable set against an alternate historical backdrop: the ultimate Victoriana/steampunk mash-up!

Paperbacks

Age of Godpunk by James Lovegrove

Description from Amazon.

James Lovegrove presents three novellas with three different 'gods' and their appreance in the worlds of man. Age of Anansi, Age of Satan, and a third novella, Age of Gaia, appearing both in print and ebook for the first time with the release of this exciting omnibus.

Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti

Description from Amazon.

Taya soars over Ondinium on metal wings. She is an icarus — a courier privileged to travel freely across the city’s sectors and mingle indiscriminately among its castes. But even she can’t outfly the web of terrorism, loyalty, murder, and intrigue that snares her after a daring mid-air rescue. Taya finds herself entangled with the Forlore brothers, scions of an upperclass family: handsome, brilliant Alister, who sits on the governing council and writes programs for the Great Engine; and awkward, sharp-tongued Cristof, who has exiled himself from his caste and repairs clocks in Ondinium’s lowest sector. Both hide dangerous secrets, in this city that beats to the ticking of a clockwork heart…

To fans, authors and publishers...

Is you 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.

Weekly Update #119

Editor's Note

I have been bad about promoting myself lately. These last two weeks I have posted a review of Stirling's The Given Sacrifice and a revised article about the dangers of crosstime travel on Amazing Stories. Also my most recent professional sale, the time-travel saga "Road Trip", is available for purchase. Check them all out, I think you will enjoy it.

So it looks like ABC is producing a show where the colonists lost the America Revolution. I am going to write a more in-depth piece about the show later this week, mostly because I want to wait for more information and it does not meet the theme of today's Weekly Update. See if you can guess the theme.

And now the news...

Update: Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard by Kim Newman

Johnny Alucard by Kim Newman comes out this week. This is the fourth volume in Anno Dracula series (you can read my reviews on The Bloody Red Baron, "Vampire Romance" and Dracula Cha Cha Cha)  and it has been a llllooonnnggg time since we have seen a new novel-length entry in this series. Here is the description from Amazon:

DRACULA COMES TO NEW YORK: Kim Newman returns to one of the great bestselling vampire tales of the modern era. Considered alongside I Am Legend and Interview with theVampire as one of the stand-out vampire stories of the last century - this brand-new novel is the first in over a decade from the remarkable and influential Anno Dracula series. 

Newman’s dark and impish tale begins with a single question: What if Dracula had survived his encounters with Bram Stoker’s Dr. John Seward and enslaved Victorian England? 

Fallen from grace and driven from the British Empire in previous instalments, Dracula seems long gone. A relic of the past. Yet, when vampire boy Johnny Alucard descends upon America, stalking the streets of New York and Hollywood, haunting the lives of the rich and famous, from Sid and Nancy to Andy Warhol, Orson Welles, and Francis Ford Coppola, sinking his fangs ever deeper into the zeitgeist of 1980s America, it seems the past might not be dead after all.

You can read excerpt from the novel at Tor and io9, where you can also learn about Dracula from Kim himself. He also did a piece on Lit Reactor about using other people's characters in his novels. Already pre-ordered my copy, have you?

The Battle for the North Pole: Santa Vs Dracula

Speaking of Dracula...

A new mashup comic is coming from Ed Power and artist Melissa Dejesus called Santa vs Dracula. Here is the description from the press release:

VAMPIRE VS ELF! WEREWOLF VS REINDEER! FRANKENSTEIN VS SNOWMAN! When Count Dracula, Igor, Mr. Hyde, and their forces of darkness invade the North Pole to obtain Ol’ Saint Nick’s ability to gain entrance into any home, Santa, Mrs. Claus, Jack Frost and all the forces of Christmas are forced to defend their home and their holiday! This is it, naughty vs. nice in an all-out, epic battle of the ageless for the ages! SANTA VS DRACULA! This time… It’s Seasonal!

Funded with a Kickstarter, this 168 page full-color graphic novel is being distributed by SLG Publishing and will be out in October. You can see the interior art here.

Start Publishing’s Halloween horror short-short story contest

Want to write a really, really short horror story? Start Publishing is having a short story contest. Writers must submit a 250 word short horror story to contest [at] start-media [dot] com. Upon email submission, they ask that writers tweet @startpublishing confirming the submission. Start Publishing will randomly select five stories to be judged by friend of The Update Michael J. Martinez (author of Daedalus Incident) to choose one winner. Martinez is going to critique the winner’s horror story and give special writing tips.

The winner’s horror story will be featured on the Start Publishing blog and the November issue newsletter. Winner will also be able to select one free eBook from the Start Publishing/Night Shade Books catalog. The winner will be announced on Start Publishing’s Twitter and Facebook pages on October 31st. Deadline for all submissions: October 21, 2013.

Is 250 words long enough to fit in some alternate history? Anyone up to the challenge?

Let's Play - Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

Even more horror?!?! This is just a video I enjoyed last week and as a Victorian, horror-survival game, steampunk fans might enjoy it:

Who said it was hard to combine horror with alternate history? Right that was me...

Calendar

September 20-28: Steampunk version of The Pirates of Penzance in Tasmania, Australia. (I realize that is a big place, but I am too lazy to track down the exact town.)

September 26: Essex Museum (Salem, MA) will host a steampunk party.

October 1: Loncon 3 attending membership rates will increase.

October 10 and 12: Matthew Buchholz will be promoting his new book Alternate Histories of the World at two separate events in Pittsburgh, PA.

The monsters on the cover keep the theme going. Huh? HUH?

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Apollo Quartet 3 Cover Reveal by Ian Sales at Whippleshield Books.
Black People Don’t Like Steampunk, Fantasy and Science Fiction! by Balogun at Chronicles of Harriet.
Buy Steamboat Rampage, Help Fight Cancer by Heather Massey at The Galaxy Express.
Gentler than Steampunk: Clockpunk Author Releases New Book by 1888PressRelease.
How to Change the World by Paul Kincaid at Through the dark labyrinth.
Playing Fast and Loose with History by David Barnett at Tor/Forge's Blog.
Time tourism by Charlie Stross at Charlie's Diary.
Total War Rome: Destroy Carthage by David Gibbins at Geek Syndicate.

Comics

Comic Book Preview: THE STEAMWORLD CHRONICLES at Nuke the Fridge.

Counterfactual and Real History

5 Embarrassing Failures History Class Turned Into Victories by John Champion at Cracked.
The 5 Most Terrifying Civilizations In The History of the World by Neal Nicholson at Cracked.
Alternate Histories & Their Impact On 2013-14 by Zdeno's Cigar at SB Nation.
Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers & The Cold War by Andrew Liptak at Kirkus.
What Might Have Been, and the Fall of Lehman by Andrew Ross Sorkin at DealB%K.

Games

‘Dishonored: Game Of The Year Edition’ Announced by Samuel James Riley at Game Rant.
Sengoku Basara 4 Will Have An Alternate “What If” History Mode by Eugene at Siliconera.
The Swindle, an indie steampunk stealth game, put on indefinite hold by Tim Colwill at Games.on.net.

Reviews

The Age of Godpunk by James Lovegrove at Falcata Times.
Alternate Histories of the World by Matthew Buchholz at Hyperallergic.
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon at The Sydney Morning Herald.
A Case of Doubtful Death by Linda Stratmann at Alt Hist.
Inceptio by Alison Morton at Alt Hist.
Wild Cards (Series) by George R.R. Martin at Em and Emm Expound on Exposition.
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher at Functional Nerds.

Television

10 Biggest Dodged Bullets in the History of Doctor Who by Charlie Janes Anders at io9.

* * *

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.

New Releases 9/10/13

Hardcovers

Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard by Kim Newman

Description from Amazon.

DRACULA COMES TO NEW YORK: Kim Newman returns to one of the great bestselling vampire tales of the modern era. Considered alongside I Am Legend and Interview with theVampire as one of the stand-out vampire stories of the last century - this brand-new novel is the first in over a decade from the remarkable and influential Anno Dracula series.

Newman’s dark and impish tale begins with a single question: What if Dracula had survived his encounters with Bram Stoker’s Dr. John Seward and enslaved Victorian England?

Fallen from grace and driven from the British Empire in previous instalments, Dracula seems long gone. A relic of the past. Yet, when vampire boy Johnny Alucard descends upon America, stalking the streets of New York and Hollywood, haunting the lives of the rich and famous, from Sid and Nancy to Andy Warhol, Orson Welles, and Francis Ford Coppola, sinking his fangs ever deeper into the zeitgeist of 1980s America, it seems the past might not be dead after all.

Paperbacks

Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl by David Barnett

Description from Amazon.

Nineteenth century London is the center of a vast British Empire. Airships ply the skies and Queen Victoria presides over three-quarters of the known world—including the East Coast of America, following the failed revolution of 1775.

London might as well be a world away from Sandsend, a tiny village on the Yorkshire coast. Gideon Smith dreams of the adventure promised him by the lurid tales of Captain Lucian Trigger, the Hero of the Empire, told in Gideon’s favorite “penny dreadful.” When Gideon’s father is lost at sea in highly mysterious circumstances Gideon is convinced that supernatural forces are at work.  Deciding only Captain Lucian Trigger himself can aid him, Gideon sets off for London. On the way he rescues the mysterious mechanical girl Maria from a tumbledown house of shadows and iniquities. Together they make for London, where Gideon finally meets Captain Trigger.

But Trigger is little more than an aging fraud, providing cover for the covert activities of his lover, Dr. John Reed, a privateer and sometime agent of the British Crown. Looking for heroes but finding only frauds and crooks, it falls to Gideon to step up to the plate and attempt to save the day...but can a humble fisherman really become the true Hero of the Empire?

David Barnett's Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl is a fantastical steampunk fable set against an alternate historical backdrop: the ultimate Victoriana/steampunk mash-up!

Shades of Blue and Gray: Ghosts of the Civil War by Steve Berman

Description from Amazon.

More Americans were killed during the years 1861-1865 than any other date in history. Men shattered, women lost, families broken. In Shades of Blue and Gray, editor Steve Berman offers readers tales of the supernatural - ghost stories that range from the haunts of the battlefield to revenants on the long march home. Yank. Rebel. Both finding themselves at odds in flesh and spirit.

Khan of Mars by Stephen Blackmoore

Description from Amazon.

When erudite ape Professor Khan and rough-and-tumble cowboy Bulls-Eye Gutierrez are zapped away on a one-way trip to Mars, they are thrown into a world in chaos. Under the malevolent gaze of the Weather Witch, Princess Cyclone, our heroes face the intrigue and war raging across an alien world. Will they survive long enough for the other Centurions to build a way back home, or will they perish upon the shifting sands of the Red Planet, never to be seen again?

To fans, authors and publishers...

Is you 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 story "The Enchanted Bean" can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. 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.

Review: Dracula Cha Cha Cha by Kim Newman

When I discovered a package containing Dracula Cha Cha Cha (originally titled Judgment of Tears) by Kim Newman my first thought was "I need to get some red wine." Weird, I know, but I always drank red wine while reading the first two books in the Anno Dracula series. It put me in the mood to really enjoy this horror/comedy/alternate history epic. Too bad they don't let you drink at work.

For those who don't know, the Anno Dracula series can be described as an "alternate fictional history". The heroes of Bram Stoker's Dracula fail to defeat the title character of the horror masterpiece. Dracula goes on to marry Queen Victoria, allowing vampires to come out of the shadows and walk openly among their prey. Those expecting some horrible vampire apocalypse as seen in I Am Legend by Richard Matheson will be disappointed (sorry Will Smith). Humans learn to adapt to the nocturnal monsters and discover that despite their powers, vampires can be killed. Vampires, meanwhile, discover that medieval notions of justice and superiority can get them killed in a world where they no longer have the defense of being dismissed as a myth.

Dracula Cha Cha Cha is the third book in the series. Failing to hold onto to throne of Britain or conquering Europe through Germany during WWI, Dracula got a reprieve from exile to help the allies defeat the Nazis in World War II. For his help he was given a palace just outside of Rome where he holds court as "King of the Cats". In 1959, the world's notable vampires and warm celebrities gather in Rome for the wedding of Count Dracula to Princess Asa Vadja. The pending union has worried the global intelligence community who fear Dracula will use the influence gained from marrying such a notable elder to try again for world domination.

Reporter Kate Reed, heroine from The Bloody Red Baron, has traveled to Rome to cover the wedding an ends up a witness to a brutal murder of two vampire elders. A vigilante known as the "Crimson Executioner" is killing vampire elders in Rome, but is he the true mastermind of the slayings or is someone else pulling the strings? Someone more powerful? Kate's investigation is hampered by the dying Charles Beauregard, former agent of the Diogenes Club and Kate's unrequited love. He is being tended by the eternally young elder vampire Geneviève Dieudonné who is concerned that the British agent Hamish Bond is putting undue stress on Charles who refuses to turn vampire to save his life. He may not have a choice if his former fiance and current head of the Dracula household, Penelope Churchward, has a say. She has become a powerful vampire in her own right and through the King of Vampires wields untold influence over the vampire community.

Kate deals with love, loss and murder as we meet a cast of historical and fictional characters, including a football player from Kansas named Kent and the Vatican's best exorcist. Her trail will take her to the true ruler of the Eternal City, a being who does not wish to share power with the elder vampires. Despite Newman's vampires being natural beings within his universe, he leaves it open for a little magic in the world. Its not the magic of wand wavers and quasi-Latin spells, but a darker and far older magic that even elder vampires fail to understand (What's that? Something is rising out of the Pacific? I'm sure its nothing.)

Dracula Cha Cha Cha has more in common with Anno Dracula then series The Bloody Red Baron. Vampires are being killed and the unsolved murders are throwing politics in disarray as vampires and humans compete for power. Though I am still a big fan of military AH, I have to admit that it is refreshing to read something besides battles and special forces missions. People will enjoy this supernatural mystery, although plausibility hounds will be frustrated by the lack of meaningful change to the timeline despite the existence of vampires. If you pick up a copy of the Titan Books reprint you will also get to enjoy a copy of the new short story "Aquarius", set in 1968 in Britain. Review on that one later. In the meantime, go and buy a bottle of red wine and open up the best vampire book for any alternate historian.

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Matt Mitrovich is a long-time fan of alternate history, founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Masquerade Crew. 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 (@MattMitrovich).

New Releases 10/9/12

New paperbacks

Dracula Cha Cha Cha by Kim Newman

Description from Amazon.

Written by award-winning novelist Kim Newman, this is a brand-new edition, with additional 40,000 word never-before-seen novella, of the popular third installment of the Anno Dracula series, Dracula Cha Cha Cha.

Rome. 1959. Count Dracula is about to marry the Moldavian Princess Asa Vajda - his sixth wife. Journalist Kate Reed flies into the city to visit the ailing Charles Beauregard and his vampire companion Geneviève. Finding herself caught up in the mystery of the Crimson Executioner who is bloodily dispatching vampire elders in the city, Kate discovers that she is not the only one on his trail...

Osama by Lavie Tidhar

Description from Amazon.

In a alternate world without global terrorism Joe, a private detective, is hired by a mysterious woman to find a man: the obscure author of pulp fiction novels featuring one Osama Bin Laden: Vigilante...

Joe’s quest to find the man takes him across the world, from the backwaters of Asia to the European Capitals of Paris and London, and as the mystery deepens around him there is one question he is trying hard not to ask: who is he, really, and how much of the books are fiction? Chased by unknown assailants, Joe’s identity slowly fragments as he discovers the shadowy world of the refugees, ghostly entities haunting the world in which he lives. Where do they come from? And what do they want? Joe knows how the story should end, but even he is not ready for the truths he’ll find in New York and, finally, on top a quiet hill above Kabul—nor for the choice he will at last have to make...

Tannhauser: Operation Night Eagle by Blaine Lee Pardoe

Description from Amazon.

The year is 1954, and in a dark and violent alternate history, the Great War never ended. When the occult-obsessed Reich sets its sights on an ancient artifact held in Washington, D.C.'s Smithsonian Castle, the ruthless General Hermann Von Heizinger plans an unprecedented raid on U.S. soil...and only Major John MacNeal and the elite soldiers of the 42nd Marines stand before them! There's more to this mission than meets the eye, however. Why has the enigmatic Matriarchy mobilized its forces? And to whom is the mysterious mercenary Wolf truly loyal? Prepare for an epic battle that will rage deep into America's heartland!

New e-books

The Royal Sorceress by Chris Nuttall

Description from Amazon.

It’s 1830, in an alternate Britain where the ‘scientific’ principles of magic were discovered sixty years previously, allowing the British to win the American War of Independence. Although Britain is now supreme among the Great Powers, the gulf between rich and poor in the Empire has widened and unrest is growing every day. Master Thomas, the King’s Royal Sorcerer, is ageing and must find a successor to lead the Royal Sorcerers Corps. Most magicians can possess only one of the panoply of known magical powers, but Thomas needs to find a new Master of all the powers. There is only one candidate, one person who has displayed such a talent from an early age, but has been neither trained nor officially acknowledged. A perfect candidate to be Master Thomas’ apprentice in all ways but one: the Royal College of Sorcerers has never admitted a girl before.

But even before Lady Gwendolyn Crichton can begin her training, London is plunged into chaos by a campaign of terrorist attacks co-ordinated by Jack, a powerful and rebellious magician.

Find all the places you can buy this novel on Bitly.

To fans, authors and publishers...

Do you want to see your work given a shout out on our New Releases segment? Contact Mitro at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.

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

Weekly Update #70.1

Editor's Note

So last week I took Monday off to celebrate Labor Day, but this Monday I am back with a double-helping of Weekly Update. This post will focus primarily on alternate history, but steampunk fans should stay tuned for part 2 which will focus on the steampunk news of the last two weeks.

Thanks to everyone who voted in our last poll. Based on your answers I will no longer be promoting Weekly Update on Reddit. Sorry to everyone who followed on Reddit, but there was not enough of you following from that site. In the meantime, please check out our new poll on the right. Your votes will help decide what recurring segments continue or are resurrected.

Some good news now, we broke our monthly page view record for the 4th time in a row. Our new record stands at a whopping 11,712 page views in the month of August. This is on top of celebrating our 80,000th page view ever.

Congrats to winners of the Battle of the Book Review Blogs. Although AH Weekly Update did not place, I believe we did end up in 5th place out of dozen or more blogs. That is pretty impressive for such a young site in as niche of market as alternate history. This is a testament to our great fans and I thank you for your continued support from the bottom of my heart.

And now the news...

Update: Eric Flint

I actually got a chance to sit in on a panel headed by Eric Flint at Chicon about electronic publishing. Interesting topic and boy can the man talk, but I will share more details later this week when I publish my recap of Chicon.

That man can write as well. WCG at That's interest... reviewed his recent novel 1636: The Kremlin Games. Although WCG gave a good review of the novel, he did have this to say: "If you're a fan of the series, and haven't gotten tired of the whole thing, I'm sure you'll want to read this book. It's lots of fun. It's just that, for better and for worse, it's series fiction that's been going on for a long time now."

And the series will be going on. Eric has been posting snippets to the next installment of the 1632 series, 1635: The Papal Stakes. You can check out snippets 35, 36 and 37 there if you want.

Alternate Historians remember Neil Armstrong by envisioning his early death

Astronaut and first man on the moon Neil Armstrong died late last month. The 82-year old man was part of an elite club, having traveled farther from home than any other human. Mourning in a way that is unique to alternate historians, we remembered the famous pioneer by speculating about what if he had died earlier. Just check out the article What if Neil Armstrong Had Died on the Moon? by Mark Whittington at Examiner.com where he shares an AH story about such a tragedy along with a link to Nixon's back-up speech in case Neil and Buzz remained stuck on the moon. There is an even a February 2012 dramatization of such an event called Moon Graffiti that made the rounds following the announcement of Armstrong's death.

Things to do

Sept 27: At the London Megastore you can attend the Titan Books Signing Bonanza, featuring such authors as Guy Adams (The Army of Dr. Moreau) and Kim Newman (Anno Dracula series).

October: What if Mary Todd Lincoln had a chance to defend her sanity under modern legal principles? The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL will host a courtroom performance between Abraham Lincoln's widow and her son Robert over whether or not she was really insane and needed to be committed to an asylum.

Submissions Wanted

Two more opportunities to get published:

• Spellbound, a quarterly fantasy magazine for children 8-12, is looking for submissions up to 2500 words. Find more details here
• The final anthology to be published by Jake's Monthly has been announced. There is no theme for this one, so dust off that old chestnut and help Jake celebrate his goal of publishing an anthology once a month for a year.

As always, good luck.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate History by Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog.

Alternate Histories: 7 Ways the World Could Be Completely Different by Mark Juddery at mental_floss. And check out this rebuttal.

A Counterfactual History: Rick Perry Speaks At the Republican National Convention by Zac Crain at D Magazine.

Guest Post: An Alternate History of Israeli-Turkish Reconciliation by Dov Friedman at Ottomans and Zionists.

Politics & Alternative Reality Fiction by Mike LaBossiere at Talking Philosophy.

Books

Alternative History, Mystery: Dust to Blood by @tmycann at The Masquerade Crew.

Michaele Jordan Reviews Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations at Black Gate.

Review: COUP D’ETAT by Harry Turtledove done by K. Burtt at Geek Speak Magazine.

Review by Seamus Sweeney of Resistance by Owen Sheers at Alt Hist.

Review of Bitter Seeds (Milkweed #1) by Ian Tregillis done by My Bookish Ways.

Review of Northlands 3: Iron Winter by Stephen Baxter done by Falcata Times.

Films

What if The Dark Knight Rises took place in 1930s Shanghai? by Cyriaque Lamar at io9.

Maps

The separatist map of Africa: interactive by Luc Torres, Clar Ni Chonghaile, Finbarr Sheehy and Paddy Allen at The Guardian.

Music

Billy Joel Meets Stephen King Meets The Simpsons by Matt Selam at Time Entertainment.

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

Review: "Vampire Romance" by Kim Newman

Grade: B+

Like many men who have a significant other that enjoys the Twilight franchise, I have been subjected to what counts as "vampire romance" in this day of age.  Despite the RiffTrax commentary that I plug into, I have been unable to escape the sheer banality of it.  So you can guess how happy I was when I found out that Kim Newman decided to take a stake to the recent trends in vampire fiction.  What he gave us is an amusing mystery with some social commentary.

Published in the new, Titan Books printing of The Bloody Red Baron, "Vampire Romance" is set in 1923.  The Central Power have been defeated and Dracula has been exiled to an island where the sun never sets.  This has left a power vacuum in the vampire community.  Elders gather at Mildew Manor to pick the next "King of the Cats", but the Diogenes club would rather the position remain empty.  They have tasked their agent Edwin Winthrop to recruit Geneviève Dieudonné and have her pose as a claimant to observe the proceedings and what influence the costumed criminal "Crook" has on the next vampire king.  If his choice gets elected it could make his criminal organization (and nascent political movement that has similarities with the anti-vampire Nazis in Germany) a threat to the Empire.  Of course all this backroom dealings means nothing to the resident vampire-loving, teenage girl who is convinced that one of the vampires present is her soul mate from a past life.  Add an unexpected murder, a Japanese schoolgirl vampire and an ancient dictator and you got yourself a novella.

The story was very funny and I enjoyed Newman's response to the hunky vampires of the 21st century.  To me Newman's vampires are more realistic then what you usually find in fiction.  Despite their immortality and powers, they are still human.  They can be petty, stupid and vicious...but also loyal, intelligent and reasonable.  The twist at the end when the killer is revealed is also a nice touch, but the entire story probably should have been published outside of The Bloody Red Baron.  After reading about an elder American vampire turning into mist so he could enter a German tank and slaughter its crew only to be incinerated by a giant flame thrower, the more humorous (even if dark) "Vampire Romance" did not mesh with the horror present in the novel that preceded it.  The beginning chapter where Geneviève gets a haircut probably could have been shorter, even if it did set the scene.

Despite some small issues, "Vampire Romances" was a delightful commentary on how horror is presented to the masses and if you do get a copy of the Titan Books printing of The Bloody Red Baron then I recommend that you keep reading into 1923.

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

Review: "Anno Dracula: The Bloody Red Baron" by Kim Newman

Grade: A

Creatures from our darkest nightmares are unleashed on the closest thing to hell on Earth from human history.  Monsters own the skies and tanks can be brought down by a single, blood-thirsty soldier.  Women surrender their silver for the war effort and creatures lurk in No Man's Land that you could not imagine.  This is World War I envisioned by horror and alternate history author Kim Newman.  This is Anno Dracula: The Bloody Red Baron.

Some backstory for those not familiar with the Anno Dracula series.  The Bloody Red Baron is the sequel to the first book in the series, Anno Dracula.  The series is ann alternate history, except the point of divergence comes from literary history and not real history.  In the first book, the heroes in Dracula fail to defeat the world's most famous vampire.  The Count goes on to marry Queen Victoria, becoming Price Consort of the British Empire.  The upper crust of British society willingly become vampires, while older vampires step out into the moonlight (because sunlight is bad for them you know) feeling comfortable that no one is going to stab them in the heart with a stake.  Dracula's reign, however, is far from peaceful and a revolution sends him into exile.

Now Dracula is back and he has the combined armies of the Central Powers under his command.  In this alternate World War I, vampires fight on both sides and their unique ability to see at night means the war is fought 24/7.  Silver is hoarded by both sides as it is one of the few substances lethal to the undead.  I am glad I finished this book before watching episode 189 of Mythbusters which featured silver bullets.  Because silver tends to shrink and deform as it cools after molding, silver bullets may acquire shape irregularities that affect their flight.  This means they are incredibly inaccurate, which makes the idea of a machine gun loaded with a silver bullet every seventh bullet an ineffective weapon against a horde of fanged troopers.

The Bloody Red Baron begins in the winter of 1918 and everyone on the Allied side of the lines is awaiting the dreaded Spring Offensive, the Kaiserschlacht.  A million men have been freed from fighting on the Eastern Front and are being moved for one last push in the West.  An important piece of the offensive is Manfred von Richthofen and his all-vampire Jagdgeschwader 1.  Charles Beauregard, member of the ruling cabal of the Diogenes Club, has sent his protege Edwin Winthrop to find out what the German's plan is for their squadron of undead aces.  Kate Reed, vampire reporter, is also on the tail, but it will be vampire Edgar Poe who will get to meet Germany's secret weapon and witness first-hand the next evolution of vampire-kind.

The Bloody Red Baron is exceptionally well-written, gore-filled, alternate history masterpiece.  There were scenes in the book, such as Isolde's grisly performance in a dilapidated Paris theater, that sent my imagination into some dark places.  Unlike the prissy, sparkled vampires that infect popular culture today, Newman's vampires are bloody and dark.  They do not just prefer human blood, they desperately need it.  Yet despite its horror setting, one can't help but notice the humor in the over-arcing story.  The Bloody Red Baron is amusing as it is horrifying.

Like Back in the USSA, Newman's collaboration with Eugene Byrne, The Bloody Red Baron features a great deal of intertextuality.  Historic events and people are combined with fictional characters  from popular culture.  Part of the fun of the novel is to try and figure out all of the references.  An appendix is provided in this edition, but it is only for characters that Newman feels were too obscure.  After reading a more complete list on the Internet, it made me ashamed about how little-read I am compared to Newman.

Despite being separate timelines, I cannot help comparing The Bloody Red Baron to By the Blood of Heroes by Joseph Nassise.  Both alternate histories are set in World War I, have steampunk elements and feature horror monsters being used as weapons.  Both novels also feature Manfred von Richtofen, the Red Baron, as one of the antagonists.  In By the Blood of Heroes, Richtofen is an egoistical, reanimated monster bent on not just winning the war, but conquering the world.  If this presentation of the Baron seems like a cliche super-villain, that was intentional.  On the other hand, Newman's vampiric Richtofen is much more straightforward.  He is a killer, pure and simple.  There is nothing else but the war, the fight, the kill.  He has no plans for the future, he lives for the hunt.  Personally I think I liked this version of Richtofen better.  He was more frightening as an undead serial-killer then as a power-mad zombie.

I highly recommend reading The Bloody Red Baron and if you get the Titan Books edition you will also get the new novella, Vampire Romance, included in the back.  I will be writing a review of that story next week, so stay tuned.

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

Preview: "Anno Dracula: The Bloody Red Baron" by Kim Newman

“How could World War I be made even grislier? Add vampires, as Newman does with great skill in this sequel to his Anno Dracula.” – Booklist

Written by the critically acclaimed novelist Kim Newman, The Bloody Red Baron [Titan Books, April 2012] is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the bestselling Victorian vampire novel, Anno Dracula. Filled with literary and historical characters from the early 20th century, this second book in the groundbreaking series on the War of the Great Powers in Europe sees an alternate Europe in a pitched war between the living and the undead!

It is 1918 and Dracula is commander-in-chief of the armies of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Diogenes Club is at the heart of the British Intelligence and Charles Beauregard and his protégé Edwin Winthrop go head-to-head with the lethal vampire flying machine that is the Bloody Red Baron.

This brand-new edition of The Bloody Red Baron includes a special added bonus: a lengthy new novella, Vampire Romance, which is set in the 1920s between the events of The Bloody Red Baron and the third novel in Anno Dracula Series, Dracula Cha Cha Cha. This volume also boasts intriguing new annotations from Kim Newman and an action-packed outline for a film version of The Bloody Red Baron called Red Skies.

On first publication in 1992, Kim Newman’s brilliantly imagined story Anno Dracula was praised by critics and won numerous prizes, including the prestigious International Horror Guild Award for Best Novel. Now, due to the modern reader’s fascination with vampires and speculative histories, this enduring classic Dracula series is brought to a new generation of fans.

Praise for Anno Dracula:

“It was the first mash-up of literature, history and vampires, and now, in a world in which vampires are everywhere, it's still the best, and its bite is just as sharp. Compulsory reading, commentary, and mindgame: glorious."  — NEIL GAIMAN

“Politics, horror and romance are woven together in this brilliantly imagined and realized novel.” — Time Out

Anno Dracula The multi-award winning series depicts an alternative history in which the heroes of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula fail to stop Count Dracula’s conquest of Great Britain. Titan will publish a brand new edition of the third book, Dracula Cha Cha Cha, in Fall 2012. The eagerly awaited fourth novel, Johnny Alucard, will be published for the first time in 2013.

Kim Newman is a London-based author and movie critic. He makes frequent appearances on radio and TV. He has won the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, British Fantasy and British Science Fiction Awards and been nominated for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. He writes regularly for Empire Magazine and contributes to The Guardian, The Times, Time Out and others.

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Titan Books was kind enough to consider me when sending out review copies of The Bloody Red Baron, so stay tuned because I will be posting a review of the novel in the near future.

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