Showing posts with label Michael J. Martinez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael J. Martinez. Show all posts

Monday, September 12, 2016

Writing About Racism and Sexism in Historical Fantasy

Guest post by Michael J. Martinez.

Writing about racism and sexism is daunting no matter the medium, whether it’s a novel or, indeed, even this guest post. And when I wrote MJ-12: Inception, set during the Cold War in the late 1940s, I really wrestled with how to approach it.

I firmly believe that women, non-hetero folks, non-binary folks and people of color should absolutely tell their own stories. So right from the start, I felt a bit like an intruder, trying to approach characters in my book who, historically, would deal with ingrained societal sexism and racism. (I feel like I should also note that I’m not Latino – my dad was Spanish and my mom was full Lithuanian. I’m very much a white hetero cis-gendered guy.)

But here’s the thing. I wanted to write diverse characters in MJ-12. The protagonists of this book, called Variants, have been mysteriously imbued with paranormal abilities – superpowers, in essence – and it’s a rather random thing. So imbuing a bunch of white guys seemed plain old dumb.

So of the five main protagonists, one is a woman and another is an African-American man. (There are other women and people of color mentioned, and more coming in the next MAJESTIC-12 book in 2017.) And if you’re going to set a book in 1948, you’re going to have to deal with that systemic racism and sexism.

It was pretty bad back then. The armed forces were still segregated, and African-American soldiers were treated poorly. Back home, women were pressed into the workforce and were empowered in so many ways – only to be sent home after the war to make room for the men returning from overseas. The end of the war actually made things worse for women and people of color, even as their treatment sowed the seeds of the civil rights and women’s rights movements.

Yes, MJ-12: Inception is historical fantasy, but the fantasy part – at least in my worldbuilding – wouldn’t magically erase those issues. And frankly, I didn’t want to whitewash things either. Ignoring sexism and racism in the time period seemed disingenuous, and I felt would really disrespect what women and people of color went through during this period.

Thus, there’s racism and sexism among the characters in MJ-12: Inception. It was amongst the most painful stuff I’ve had to write as an author, and I made damn sure to research things carefully, to understand the points of view of all involved, to talk with women and people of color about it to bring as much care and diligence to it as possible.

And yet at the same time, there was a story that had to be told – a paranoid spy thriller with superpowers and exotic locales and, yes, even some nifty gadgets. The whole thing was a balancing act that left me uncomfortable at times. But then, I suppose that’s a good thing for a writer to experience.

In some ways, the MAJESTIC-12 series is an exploration of being different, being feared for being different, and what all that can do to people. I’m particularly interested in what it will do to Maggie, a woman who can manipulate emotion with a thought, and Cal, an African-American man who can heal – or harm – with a touch. Prior to gaining these abilities, Maggie and Cal were still treated differently and unfairly by society at large. Now, they’re very different, and while that gains them a bit of acceptance among some of their fellow Variants, it scares a lot of other people even more.
And what happens when Maggie and Cal face these biases again and again, knowing that they’re actually more powerful than the average person?

To me, those are fascinating questions, and as I write more in this series, I’m looking forward to uncovering the answers.

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Michael J. Martinez is the author of MJ-12: Inception, newly released in hardcover from Night Shade Books, as well as the Daedalus trilogy of Napoleonic era space opera novels, now out in mass-market paperback. 

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

New Releases 9/6/16

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

Hardcovers

Everfair: A Novel by Nisi Shawl

Everfair is a wonderful Neo-Victorian alternate history novel that explores the question of what might have come of Belgium's disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier. Fabian Socialists from Great Britian join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo's "owner," King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.

Nisi Shawl's speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history. Everfair is told from a multiplicity of voices: Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans in complex relationships with one another, in a compelling range of voices that have historically been silenced. Everfair is not only a beautiful book but an educational and inspiring one that will give the reader new insight into an often ignored period of history.

MJ-12: Inception by Michael J. Martinez

It is a new world, stunned by the horrors that linger in the aftermath of total war. The United States and Soviet Union are squaring off in a different kind of conflict, one that’s fought in the shadows, where there are whispers of strange and mysterious developments. . .

Normal people across the United States have inexplicably gained paranormal abilities. A factory worker can heal the sick and injured. A schoolteacher bends emotions to her will. A car salesman alters matter with a simple touch. A former soldier speaks to the dying and gains their memories as they pass on.

They are the Variants, controlled by a secret government program called MAJESTIC-12 to open a new front in the Cold War.

From the deserts of Nevada to the palaces of Istanbul, the halls of power in Washington to the dark, oppressive streets of Prague, the Variants are thrown into a deadly game of shifting alliances. Amidst the seedy underbelly of nations, these once-ordinary Americans dropped in extraordinary circumstances will struggle to come to terms with their abilities as they fight to carve out a place for themselves in a world that may ultimately turn against them.

And as the MAJESTIC-12 program will soon discover, there are others out there like them, some with far more malevolent goals.

Prince of Outcasts by SM Stirling

John Arminger Mackenzie wanted to be a troubadour, but fate made him the son of the king of Montival. His sister Princess Órlaith will deservedly inherit the throne of the High Kings, and it will only pass unto him in the event of her death, leaving the young Prince on an unknown path to discover his true role in the family.

The opportunity to prove his mettle comes when John’s ship, the Tarshish Queen, is caught in the fierce storm raised against the enemies of the alliance. When the clouds recede and the skies clear, John and his crew find themselves on the other side of the Pacific, in the island chains of the Ceram Sea, fighting to survive against vicious pirates and monstrous creatures of the deep, meeting new allies and mysterious enemies of this world and another.

Now, Prince John must seize his birthright and lead his people in battle against the darkest forces man and nature can conjure against them.

Paperbacks

101 Stumbles in the March of History: What If the Great Mistakes in War, Government, Industry, and Economics Were Not Made? by Bill Fawcett

An all-new compendium of 101 historic screw-ups from the author of 100 Mistakes that Changed History.

DID I DO THAT???

When asked to name a successor, Alexander the Great declared that his empire should go “to the strongest”. . . but would rival factions have descended into war if he’d been a little more specific?

What if the Vienna Academy of Art took a chance on a hopeful young student named Adolf Hitler?

If Pope Clement VII granted King Henry VIII an annulment, England would likely still be Catholic today—and so would America.

Bill Fawcett, author of 100 Mistakes That Changed History, offers a compendium of 101 all-new mammoth mistakes—from the ill-fated rule of Emperor Darius III to the equally ill-fated search for WMDs in Iraq—that will, unfortunately, never be forgotten by history.

E-Books

Our Heroes Through Tomorrow by Dan Gainor

Six scintillating stories from a modern master of speculative fiction!

Unintended Consequences: In a future where nuclear weapons no longer function, conventional warfare rears its ugly head as America becomes the target of a hostile invasion, and a young computer wiz finds himself in the thick of the fight.

We The People: A billionaire rancher seeks to rekindle the spirit of America... by cloning the Founding Fathers!

Soul Tracker: A science-fiction epic of alien worlds, conjoined souls, and one man's quest to become the ultimate warrior.

Original Sin: College students set out on a quest to prove that time travel is possible, only to find themselves stranded in an all too familiar past, with a crucial decision to make about altering fate.

Just Desserts: Aliens seek to neutralize the "human threat" through a virus that makes "zombies" all too real... only, what will be the true consequence of this bio-warfare?

Drawing A Line: In a future where humanity is conquered and fragmented amidst the stars, the last soldiers must hold the line between warrior and pirate as they struggle to fight for freedom and survival.

Ragnarok by Chris Nuttall

The Nazi Civil War rages on ...

The Provisional Government has scored a significant victory, driving the Waffen-SS back from Berlin and winning itself time to plot a counteroffensive. But Karl Holliston - the self-declared Fuhrer of the Greater German Reich - isn't about to give up so easily. As mighty armies prepare for the final campaign, winter sweeps down from the east and both side prepare their ultimate weapons, the fate of the world hangs in the balance ...

... And if the Reich burns, the rest of the world may burn too.

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.

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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 FacebookTwitterTumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Weekly Update #246! Alternate Histories to Read in September

Editor's Note

It's hard to believe summer is ending. Although I am indoor kind of guy, I do love summer. The early sunrises, the barbecues, the festivals, the beach days, the picnics and the all-around beautiful weather that lets me read outside in comfort. I had a great time this summer and I will be sad to see it go.

Recommendations from last week include Sam McDonald's review of the anime: Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. I am still surprised by the number of anime works that feature alternate history content and will probably need to sit down and watch some of them in the future. In the meantime, my thanks to Sam for bringing these obscure works of alternate history to my attention.

Don't forget that you can support The Update by buying through Amazon. Click on the banner to your right when you go to purchase something and we will get a little something something to fund our mission of bringing you the best alternate history news and reviews on the Internet. If you are looking for something to buy, may I recommend some of last week's new releases or maybe some of the books below?

Finally, I am posting this a little early due to my Labor Day plans. I hope no one minds (and I don't care if you do). Map Monday also may come out later than usual.

And now the news...

Books to Read in September

So there are a lot of good books coming out in September that I am excited to read. In fact I decided to preview a few of them in case you want to read along with me. The first one is Michael J. Martinez's MJ-12: Inception which is coming out tomorrow. Now you can already read my thoughts on the book by checking out my review on Amazing Stories, but here is the description from Amazon:

It is a new world, stunned by the horrors that linger in the aftermath of total war. The United States and Soviet Union are squaring off in a different kind of conflict, one that’s fought in the shadows, where there are whispers of strange and mysterious developments.

Normal people across the United States have inexplicably gained paranormal abilities. A factory worker can heal the sick and injured. A schoolteacher bends emotions to her will. A car salesman alters matter with a simple touch. A former soldier speaks to the dying and gains their memories as they pass on.

They are the Variants, controlled by a secret government program called MAJESTIC-12 to open a new front in the Cold War.

From the deserts of Nevada to the palaces of Istanbul, the halls of power in Washington to the dark, oppressive streets of Prague, the Variants are thrown into a deadly game of shifting alliances. Amidst the seedy underbelly of nations, these once-ordinary Americans dropped in extraordinary circumstances will struggle to come to terms with their abilities as they fight to carve out a place for themselves in a world that may ultimately turn against them.

And as the MAJESTIC-12 program will soon discover, there are others out there like them, some with far more malevolent goals.

Also coming out tomorrow is Bill Fawcett's 101 Stumbles in the March of History: What If the Great Mistakes in War, Government, Industry, and Economics Were Not Made? Although Bill wrote most of the essays in this book, there are many other contributors from the alternate history genre who are participating like Harry Turtledove, Eric Flint, Mike Resnick and Charles E. Gannon. I actually have a couple posts about the book coming out tomorrow, but in the meantime, here is the Amazon description:

DID I DO THAT???

When asked to name a successor, Alexander the Great declared that his empire should go “to the strongest”. . . but would rival factions have descended into war if he’d been a little more specific?

What if the Vienna Academy of Art took a chance on a hopeful young student named Adolf Hitler?

If Pope Clement VII granted King Henry VIII an annulment, England would likely still be Catholic today—and so would America. 

Bill Fawcett, author of 100 Mistakes That Changed History, offers a compendium of 101 all-new mammoth mistakes—from the ill-fated rule of Emperor Darius III to the equally ill-fated search for WMDs in Iraq—that will, unfortunately, never be forgotten by history.

Coming out tomorrow as well (the first Tuesday of any month is usually a big day for new releases) is a book I have been very excited to read: SM Stirling's The Prince of Outcasts. This is the next book in the Emberverse series, which I have gushed about on numerous occasions and I have even reread the first three books a couple of times. In case you are interested, here is the description from Amazon:

John Arminger Mackenzie wanted to be a troubadour, but fate made him the son of the king of Montival. His sister Princess Ă“rlaith will deservedly inherit the throne of the High Kings, and it will only pass unto him in the event of her death, leaving the young Prince on an unknown path to discover his true role in the family. 

The opportunity to prove his mettle comes when John’s ship, the Tarshish Queen, is caught in the fierce storm raised against the enemies of the alliance. When the clouds recede and the skies clear, John and his crew find themselves on the other side of the Pacific, in the island chains of the Ceram Sea, fighting to survive against vicious pirates and monstrous creatures of the deep, meeting new allies and mysterious enemies of this world and another. 

Now, Prince John must seize his birthright and lead his people in battle against the darkest forces man and nature can conjure against them.

And now we get to our last, but certainly not least, book coming out in September that I wanted to talk about. Its What Ifs of Jewish History: From Abraham to Zionism edited by counterfactual historian, Gavriel D. Rosenfeld. I actually just started reading this book and I am enjoying it. Its even given me a few ideas for what if videos (like a Protestant Christian state founded in Palestine in a world where Germany won WWI). More on that later, but for now, here is the Amazon description:

What if the Exodus had never happened? What if the Jews of Spain had not been expelled in 1492? What if Eastern European Jews had never been confined to the Russian Pale of Settlement? What if Adolf Hitler had been assassinated in 1939? What if a Jewish state had been established in Uganda instead of Palestine? Gavriel D. Rosenfeld's pioneering anthology examines how these and other counterfactual questions would have affected the course of Jewish history. Featuring essays by sixteen distinguished scholars in the field of Jewish Studies, What Ifs of Jewish History is the first volume to systematically apply counterfactual reasoning to the Jewish past. Written in a variety of narrative styles, ranging from the analytical to the literary, the essays cover three thousand years of dramatic events and invite readers to indulge their imaginations and explore how the course of Jewish history might have been different.

Well I hope you guys find something to read this month and if it is any of the books I mentioned, please let me know what you think about them.

Video of the Week

Today's video of the week is AlternateHistoryHub's "What if Gunpowder Never Existed?":



And let's not forget my recent video where I asked what if the America First Committee kept America out of WWII?

You Should Also Check Out
* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and 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.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Weekly Update #190

Editor's Note

Ugh...Twitter. Can someone who better understands that platform explain to me how I went from over 700 followers to losing more than a dozen in a matter of a few days? Seriously, it boggles my mind. Is it something I am doing (or not doing) or is it something completely out of my control. Any insight would be appreciated.

And now the news...

What do the critics think of Michael J. Martinez's The Venusian Gambit?

Friend of The Update, Michael J. Martinez, recently celebrated the publication of his new book, The Venusian Gambit. The third and (so far) final book in the Daedalus series, check out the plot summary from Amazon below:

In the year 2135, dangerous alien life forms freed in the destruction of Saturn's moon Enceladus are making their way towards Earth. A task force spearheaded by Lt. Cmdr. Shaila Jain is scrambling to beat them there while simultaneously trying to save crewmember Stephane Durand, who was infected during the mission to Saturn and is now controlled by a form of life intent on reopening a transdimensional rift and destroying the human race. But Jain doesn’t realize that the possessed Stephane has bigger plans, beaming critical data to other conspirators suspiciously heading not for Earth, but for Venus…

In 1809—a Napoleonic era far different from our own—the French have occupied England with their Corps EternĂ©lle, undead soldiers risen through the darkest Alchemy. Only the actions of Lord Admiral Thomas Weatherby and the Royal Navy have kept the French contained to Earth. But the machinations of old enemies point to a bold and daring gambit: an ancient weapon, presumed lost in the jungles of Venus.

Now, Weatherby must choose whether to stay and fight to retake his homeland or pursue the French to the green planet. And Shaila must decide if it’s possible to save the man she loves, or if he must be sacrificed for the good of two dimensions. In the dark, alien jungles of Venus, humanity's fate in both dimensions hangs in the balance—forcing past and present to once again join forces against an ancient terror.

While you can check out my thoughts on The Venusian Gambit over at Amazing Stories (spoiler: I do recommend you read it), what do the other critics think about Michael's book? Trinitytwo from The Qwillery called it a pleasure to read, remarked on its diverse cast of characters and finished by saying it was a satisfying conclusion to the series. Paul Weimer from SF Signal gave the book 4 1/2 stars out of 5 and said it had " [e]xciting action and strong diverse characters; good use of asynchronous time streams in character development.

So all good reviews for The Venusian Gambit and in case you want to know what the author thinks of our favorite genre, check out his list of five alternate history books you should check out over at Tor.

Alison Morton Celebrates the publication of Aurelia

Another friend of The Update who released a new book was Alison Morton. She published the fourth book in her Roma Nova series, Aurelia. Here is the description from Amazon:

Late 1960s Roma Nova, the last Roman colony that has survived into the 20th century. Aurelia Mitela is alone – her partner gone, her child sickly and her mother dead – and forced to give up her beloved career as a Praetorian officer. 

But her country needs her unique skills. Somebody is smuggling silver – Roma Nova’s lifeblood – on an industrial scale. Sent to Berlin to investigate, she encounters the mysterious and attractive MiklĂ³s, a known smuggler who knows too much and Caius Tellus, a Roma Novan she has despised and feared since childhood. 

Barely escaping a trap set by a gang boss intent on terminating her, she discovers that her old enemy is at the heart of all her troubles and pursues him back home to Roma Nova... 

As any good author in the 21st century has done, Alison has been busy promoting her novel across the Internet. You can read an excerpt from Aurelia over at Unusual Historicals and even read a scene that didn't make the final cut over at Alison's site. You can also read a guest post Alison wrote over at Sandy's Chatterblog.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Premiere Date Announced
We leave the world of books to share the news that BBC's adaptation of Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will premier on BBC One in the UK on May 17 and will premiere on BBC America on June 13 according to Deadline. Here is the plot summary from the same site:

In 1806, the reclusive and skillful Mr Norrell (Marsan) is thought to be the last remaining practical magician. His displays thrill the nation — in London, he raises the beautiful Lady Pole (Englert) from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. But he is sooon challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange (Carvel). While trying to secure his beloved Arabella’s (Riley) hand in marriage, he meets a vagabond, the magician of Threadneedle Street, who tells him he is destined to be a great magician. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. A dangerous battle ensues between the two great men.

...and thats all I got to say other than I can't wait!

Videos for Alternate Historians

We begin last week in videos with another episode from the Alternate History Hub that features two PODs on Iranian history. Check them out below:
And we end with Ray Narvaez Jr, my favorite Twitch streamer, playing a round of Wolfenstein: The Old Blood:

Links to the Multiverse

Books & Short Fiction

Announcing the 2015 Locus Award Finalists! at Tor.
Guest Post: John A. Connell, author of Ruins of War at My Bookish Ways.
More Dinosaur Lords Art from Richard Anderson at Tor.
Review: 11/22/63 by Stephen King at Journal-Advocate.
Review: Bombs Away by Harry Turtledove at Article 94.
Review: The Chronicles of Light and Shadow by Liesel Schwarz at Geek Dad
Review: Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale at Fanboy Comics.
Review: Hitler’s Time Machine by Robert F. Dorr at Notes from the Bunker.
Review: Old Venus edited by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois at Falcata Times.
These Imaginative Parallel Universes Will Forever Change How You Think About Africa at Good.

Counterfactuals, History & News

The Austrian castle where Nazis lost to German-US force at BBC.
How Texas could have been French-speaking at The Independent.
Letter From Lovecraft to Houdini About Edgar Allen Poe's Desk at The Lovecraft eZine.
'Texas Ranger' Chuck Norris warns of government plot to take over state at The Guardian.

Film & Television

Alternate History: What If George Miller’s JUSTICE LEAGUE Wasn’t Cancelled? at Collider.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron: alternate endings that never were at Den of Geek.
Five Things About Penny Dreadful Are Better Than Ever (And One’s Not) at io9.
Outlander 1.13 Mother's Day at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.

Games

Review: Wolfenstien: The Old Blood at IGN.

Graphic Novels & Comics

Review: The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua at Journal Sentinel.

Interviews

Rod Duncan at SFFWorld.
Brooke Johnson at The Mary Sue.

Podcasts

Podcast Spotlight: Beneath Ceaseless Skies Podcast at SF Signal.
Ratchet RetroCast Episode 50 – RETROCASTERS NEVER SAY DIE! at The ESO Network.

* * *

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.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

New Releases 5/5/15

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

Hardcovers

1882: Custer in Chains by Robert Conroy

NATIONALLY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR. A world where Custer survives Little Bighorn and becomes president goes seriously awry.

Following his unlikely but decisive (and immensely popular) 1876 victory over Sitting Bull and the Sioux at the Little Big Horn, George Armstrong Custer is propelled into the White House in 1880.

Two years later, he finds himself bored and seeks new worlds to conquer. He and his wife Libbie fixate on Spain’s decaying empire as his source for immortality. What President Custer doesn’t quite comprehend is that the U.S. military isn’t up to such a venture. When a group of Americans on a ship headed for Cuba is massacred, war becomes inevitable—and unless calmer, patriotic citizens and soldiers can find a way to avoid debacle, this war may be America's last stand!

Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes

"What would happen if Adolf Hitler woke up in modern-day Berlin? In a bestselling satirical novel, he'd end up a TV comedy star . . . [Look Who's Back] has unsurprisingly sparked debate in a country that has grappled for decades with Hitler's unconscionable legacy."
-Time

Timur Vermes' record-breaking bestseller Look Who's Back is a satirical novel that imagines what would happen if Hilter were reborn in present-day Germany. The book was a massive success in Germany, selling more than 1.5 million copies. It was subsequently published for the first time in English by Quercus in the UK to strong sales and even stronger media attention.

In the novel, Adolf Hitler wakes up in 2011 from a 66-year sleep in his subterranean Berlin bunker to find the Germany he knew entirely changed: Internet-driven media spreads ideas in minutes and fumes celebrity obsession; immigration has produced multicultural neighborhoods bringing together people of varying race, ethnicity, and religion; and the most powerful person in government is a woman. Hitler is immediately recognized . . . as an impersonator of uncommon skill. The public assumes the fulminating leader of the Nazi party is a performer who is always in character, and soon his inevitable viral appeal begets YouTube Stardom, begets television celebrity on a Turkish-born comedian's show. His bigoted rants are mistaken for a theatrical satire-exposing prejudice and misrepresentation-and his media success emboldens Hitler to start his own political party, and set the country he finds a shambles back to rights.

With daring and dark humor, Look Who's Back skewers the absurdity and depravity of the cult of personality in modern media culture.

A Long Time Until Now by Michael Z Williamson

Book 1 in a new series from the creator of the best-selling Freehold Universe series.  A military unit is thrust back into Paleolithic times with only their guns and portable hardware.

Ten soldiers on convoy in Afghanistan suddenly find themselves lost in time. Somehow, they arrived in Earth's Paleolithic Asia. With no idea how they arrived or how to get back, the shock of the event is severe. They discover groups of the similarly displaced: Imperial Romans, Neolithic Europeans, and a small cadre of East Indian peasants. Despite their technological advantage, the soldiers only have ten people, and know no way home. Then two more time travelers arrive from a future far beyond the present. These time travelers may have the means to get back, but they aren't giving it up. In fact, they may have a treacherous agenda of their own, one that may very well lead to the death of the displaced in a harsh and dangerous era.

Straits of Hell: Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson

New York Times bestselling author Taylor Anderson’s phenomenal alternate history Destroyermen series continues as a game-changing conspiracy throws the hope of honor, trust, and survival into chaos....

Matt Reddy’s old Asiatic Fleet destroyer USS Walker has been mysteriously transported to an alternate version of earth. Here WWII is no longer raging, and Reddy and his crew have been trying to find a new place for themselves in this strange new world.

Now, along with the felinoid Lemurians and Imperial allies, they fight to keep the reptilian Grik, a race growing in supremacy, from reconquering the Lemurians’ ancestral home on Madagascar. Reddy and his crew are exhausted, far from reinforcements, and wildly outnumbered, so the odds seem greater than ever before. As for the fate of the Americas, Don Hernan and the evil Dominion have gathered to annihilate the forces behind the walls of Fort Defiance as a shadowy power with an agenda all its own rises with chilling resolve.

As the war teeters on a knife-edge, a tipping point may have been reached at last—and cold steel and hot-blooded valor will remain the ultimate weapons.

Paperbacks

Aurelia by Alison Morton


Late 1960s Roma Nova, the last Roman colony that has survived into the 20th century Aurelia Mitela is alone - her partner gone, her child sickly and her mother dead - and forced to give up her beloved career as a Praetorian officer. But her country needs her unique skills. Somebody is smuggling silver - Roma Nova's lifeblood - on an industrial scale. Sent to Berlin to investigate, she encounters the mysterious and attractive MiklĂ³s who knows too much and Caius Tellus, a Roma Novan she has despised and feared since childhood. Barely escaping a trap set by a gang boss intent on terminating her, she discovers that her old enemy is at the heart of all her troubles and pursues him back home to Roma Nova...

The Death of Napoleon by Simon Leys

As he bore a vague resemblance to the Emperor, the  sailors on board the Hermann-Augustus Stoeffer had nicknamed him Napoleon. And so, for convenience, that is what we shall call him.

Besides, he was Napoleon. . . .

Napoleon has escaped from St. Helena, leaving a double behind him. Now disguised as the cabin hand Eugène Lenormand and enduring the mockery of the crew (Na­po­leon, they laughingly nickname the pudgy, hopelessly clumsy little man), he is on his way back to Europe, ready to make contact with the huge secret organization that will return him to power. But then the ship on which he sails is rerouted from Bordeaux to Antwerp. When Napoleon disembarks, he is on his own.

He revisits the battlefield of Waterloo, now a tourist destination. He makes his way to Paris. Mistakes, misunderstandings, and mishaps conduct our puzzled hero deeper and deeper into the mystery of Napoleon.

Deadly Shores: Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson

The Destroyermen series continues from the New York Times bestselling author of Straits of Hell.

The ambitious, long-planned raid on the Grik Empire has grown dangerously ill defined. Only Matthew Reddy, commander of the old destroyer USS Walker, seems focused on the original intent.

While many Lemurians see an opportunity to reconquer their stolen homeland, others—Lemurian and human—have their own agendas, which could compromise the Alliance. Complicating matters further is Reddy’s suspicion that his task force is being stalked by some unknown power bent on aiding the Grik for reasons of its own.

As the raid begins and chaos reigns, Reddy has no choice but to risk everything in a desperate act that results in a sprawling, nightmare battle on the beaches of “Grik City,” on the very decks of Walker, and in the labyrinthine passageways of the Celestial Palace itself. The final cost could be more than Matt Reddy—or the Alliance—can bear.

Unseemly Science: The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, Book 2 by Rod Duncan

In the divided land of England, Elizabeth Barnabus has been living a double life - as both herself and as her brother, the private detective. Witnessing the hanging of Alice Carter, the false duchess, Elizabeth resolves to throw the Bullet Catcher's Handbook into the fire, and forget her past. If only it were that easy!

There is a new charitable organisation in town, run by some highly respectable women. But something doesn't feel right to Elizabeth. Perhaps it is time for her fictional brother to come out of retirement for one last case...? Her unstoppable curiosity leads her to a dark world of body-snatching, unseemly experimentation, politics and scandal. Never was it harder for a woman in a man's world...

The Venusian Gambit: Book Three of the Daedalus Series by Michael J Martinez

[Editor's Note: Check out my review over at Amazing Stories.]

The last chapter of the dimension-spanning Daedalus series brings the 19th and 22nd centuries together for an explosive finale in the jungles of Venus!

In the year 2135, dangerous alien life forms freed in the destruction of Saturn's moon Enceladus are making their way towards Earth. A task force spearheaded by Lt. Cmdr. Shaila Jain is scrambling to beat them there while simultaneously trying to save crewmember Stephane Durand, who was infected during the mission to Saturn and is now controlled by a form of life intent on reopening a transdimensional rift and destroying the human race. But Jain doesn’t realize that the possessed Stephane has bigger plans, beaming critical data to other conspirators suspiciously heading not for Earth, but for Venus…

In 1809—a Napoleonic era far different from our own—the French have occupied England with their Corps EternĂ©lle, undead soldiers risen through the darkest Alchemy. Only the actions of Lord Admiral Thomas Weatherby and the Royal Navy have kept the French contained to Earth. But the machinations of old enemies point to a bold and daring gambit: an ancient weapon, presumed lost in the jungles of Venus.

Now, Weatherby must choose whether to stay and fight to retake his homeland or pursue the French to the green planet. And Shaila must decide if it’s possible to save the man she loves, or if he must be sacrificed for the good of two dimensions. In the dark, alien jungles of Venus, humanity's fate in both dimensions hangs in the balance—forcing past and present to once again join forces against an ancient terror.

E-books

The Brass Giant: A Chroniker City Story by Brooke Johnson

Sometimes, even the most unlikely person can change the world

Seventeen-year-old Petra Wade, self-taught clockwork engineer, wants nothing more than to become a certified member of the Guild, an impossible dream for a lowly shop girl. Still, she refuses to give up, tinkering with any machine she can get her hands on, in between working and babysitting her foster siblings.

When Emmerich Goss--handsome, privileged, and newly recruited into the Guild--needs help designing a new clockwork system for a top-secret automaton, it seems Petra has finally found the opportunity she's been waiting for. But if her involvement on the project is discovered, Emmerich will be marked for treason, and a far more dire fate would await Petra.

Working together in secret, they build the clockwork giant, but as the deadline for its completion nears, Petra discovers a sinister conspiracy from within the Guild council ... and their automaton is just the beginning.

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.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Preview: Martinez's The Venusian Gambit and Young's Acts of War

I got two new books I am going to be reviewing in the upcoming weeks. First up, the final book in Michael J Martinez's Daedalus series, The Venusian Gambit. Here is the description from Amazon:

The last chapter of the dimension-spanning Daedalus series brings the 19th and 22nd centuries together for an explosive finale in the jungles of Venus!

In the year 2135, dangerous alien life forms freed in the destruction of Saturn's moon Enceladus are making their way towards Earth. A task force spearheaded by Lt. Cmdr. Shaila Jain is scrambling to beat them there while simultaneously trying to save crewmember Stephane Durand, who was infected during the mission to Saturn and is now controlled by a form of life intent on reopening a transdimensional rift and destroying the human race. But Jain doesn’t realize that the possessed Stephane has bigger plans, beaming critical data to other conspirators suspiciously heading not for Earth, but for Venus…

In 1809—a Napoleonic era far different from our own—the French have occupied England with their Corps EternĂ©lle, undead soldiers risen through the darkest Alchemy. Only the actions of Lord Admiral Thomas Weatherby and the Royal Navy have kept the French contained to Earth. But the machinations of old enemies point to a bold and daring gambit: an ancient weapon, presumed lost in the jungles of Venus.

Now, Weatherby must choose whether to stay and fight to retake his homeland or pursue the French to the green planet. And Shaila must decide if it’s possible to save the man she loves, or if he must be sacrificed for the good of two dimensions. In the dark, alien jungles of Venus, humanity's fate in both dimensions hangs in the balance—forcing past and present to once again join forces against an ancient terror.

This is one of my favorite historical fantasy series and the thought of Napoleon leading an army of zombies to conquer Britain just fills me with glee! Next up, we have James Young's Acts of War, book two in The Usurper's War series. Here is the description from Amazon:

Somehow I doubt that this is quite how anyone expected Adolf Hitler's death to turn out...--Squadron Leader Adam Haynes, No. 303 (Polish) Squadron

August 1942. London is in flames. Heinrich Himmler's Germany stands triumphant in the West, its "Most Dangerous Enemy" forced to the peace table by a hailstorm of nerve gas and incendiaries. With Adolf Hitler avenged and portions of the Royal Navy seized as war prizes, Nazi Germany casts its baleful gaze across the Atlantic towards an increasingly isolationist United States. With no causus belli, President Roosevelt must convince his fellow Americans that it is better to deal with a triumphant Germany now than to curse their children with the problem of a united, fascist Europe later.

As Germany and Japan prepare to launch the next phase of the conflict, Fate forces normal men and women to make hard choices in hopes of securing a better future. For Adam Haynes, Londonfall means he must continue an odyssey that began in the skies over Spain. American naval officer Eric Cobb finds that neutrality is a far cry from safety. Finally, Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi must prepare himself and his men to fight a Pacific War that is far different than the surprise attack Imperial Japan had once planned but never executed.

Acts of War is the first novel of the Usurper's War series, which charts a very different World War II. As young men and women are forced to answer their nation's call, the choices they make and risks they take will write a different song for the Greatest Generation.

I had fun interviewing James and I look forward to reading his novel. You guys can also check out James' article "Nagumo’s Missing Turkey: The Kido Butai’s “Third Strike” at Pearl Harbor".

Do you have an alternate history novel, short story, graphic novel, comic, etc. that you want reviewed on Alternate History Weekly Update? Let us know at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Weekly Update #146

Editor's Note

Being a blogger can be frustrating sometimes. You work hard on an article on a topic you are passionate about, but you get few page views and the feedback in unhelpfully vague. Then you put together something at the last minute and watch the page view count skyrocket. This phenomenon is not new to me. I learned about it early on in my writing career. I would still love to have a crystal ball that could accurately tell me what my audience wants.

Okay I am done with my first world problems. Got some good stuff coming up this week that I think you guys will (hopefully) enjoy.

And now the news...

NBC's Revolution Cancelled

Last week it was announced that NBC had cancelled Revolution after two seasons. The post-apocalyptic drama took place 15 years after the start of a worldwide, permanent electrical-power blackout. This plot has many similarities with SM Stirling's Emberverse series, but the two universes are not related. The pilot episode was not well received by alternate historians, but some SF&F fans continued to follow and review the series like author Paul Levinson. Nevertheless, the show could not keep the popularity that gave it a second season going.

What did you think about Revolution? How do you feel about its cancellation? Let us know in the comments below.

More on The Enceladus Crisis by Michael J. Martinez

Last week friend of The Update, Michael J. Martinez, celebrated the release of his new book and second installment in the Daedalus series, The Enceladus Crisis. In case you missed it, you can check out my review of the book at Amazing Stories. You can also learn a little bit more about the book and Martinez thanks to a bunch of book promotion he has been doing across the Internet.

First, I would check out Everything about the The Enceladus Crisis in one handy post! that Mike posted on his website. You can also learn Mike's favorite bit of his book at Mary Robinette Kowal's site. Finally, learn a little bit more about the author as he takes the Pop Quiz at the End of the Universe at Tor.com.

Congrats again to Mike and I hope you all check out The Enceladus Crisis (after you purchased it through Amazon by click on the banner above, of course)!

Video Gallery

Some good videos this week. First, Epic Rap Battles of History returns with a fictional mash-up featuring Rick Grimes and Walter White:
Next, Ghost Trains Games introduces us to their alternate Civil War game ACW:
Then you can watch London evolve from a tiny village to the metropolis it is today:
Finally, Cody Franklin returns from his three week hiatus with a new video featuring a world where Godzilla exists:

Links to the Multiverse

Books

15 Things a Writer Should Never Do by Zachary Petit at Writer's Digest.
1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies – Snippet 30 by Eric Flint.
In Search of Historical Fantasy by Mark Lord.
INSATIABLE: Marie Antoinette as Alternate History by Ginger Myrick.
New Book Review: Richard Ned Lebow's "Archduke Franz Ferdinand Lives!" at The Counterfactual History Review.
The Story Behind The Revolutions by Felix Gilman at Upcoming4.Me.

Counterfactual and Traditional History (Plus News)

5 Ridiculous Myths You Probably Believe About the Midwest by Adam Tod Brown at Cracked.
California School District Under Fire for Holocaust-Denial Assignment by Beth Greenfield at Yahoo.
Dien Bien Phu: Did the US offer France an A-bomb? at BBC.
Five items Congress deleted from Madison’s original Bill of Rights at Yahoo.
How Germany Could Have Won World War I by Michael Peck at The National Interest.
In New Video, Boko Haram Leader Declares War On World Leaders And Abraham Lincoln by Nick Robins-Early at The Huffington Post.
What Common Medieval Fantasy Tropes Have No Basis In Actual History? by Lauren Davis at io9.
What if people told European history like they told Native American history? by Kai at An Indigenous History of North America.

Films and Television

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Concept Art Reveals Alternate Rhino, Goblin by Charles Webb at Nerdist.
Da Vinci's Demons 2.7: Four Stories at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
Elementary: Season 2, Episode 23. Art in the Blood (2014) at Thinking about books.
Murdoch Mysteries at Steampunk Scholar.

Games

Giana Sisters Goes Dieselpunk in an Exclusive Kickstarter Crossover at Gamasutra.
Wolfenstein The New Order Achievements revealed by Tom Ivan at CVG.

Interview

Christopher Priest at SFFWorld.com.
SM Stirling at The Wild Hunt.

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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.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

New Releases 5/6/14

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

Hardcovers

Deadly Shores: Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson

National bestselling author Taylor Anderson’s explosive WWII alternate-history series continues as a do-or-die battle is waged that risks far more than anyone bargained for. 

The long-planned raid on the heart of the Grik Empire has grown more ambitious—and dangerously ill defined. Only Matthew Reddy, commander of the old destroyer USS Walker, seems focused on its original intent.

Many Lemurians see an opportunity to reconquer their sacred homeland, which was stolen long ago, and have no intention of simply striking a blow and then pulling back. Others, Lemurian and human, have their own agendas—which may not be in the best interests of the Alliance. Complicating matters further is Reddy’s suspicion that his task force is being stalked by an unknown power bent on aiding the Grik for reasons of its own.

As the raid begins and chaos reigns, Reddy has no choice but to go all-in, risking everything in a desperate act that results in a sprawling, nightmarish battle on the beaches of “Grik City,” on the very decks of Walker, and in the labyrinthine passageways of the Celestial Palace itself.

The final cost could be more than Matt Reddy—or the Alliance—can bear.

Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson's Worlds edited by Greg Bear and Gardner Dozois

Poul Anderson (1926-2001) was one of the seminal figures of 20th century science fiction. Named a Grand Master by the SFWA in 1997, he produced an enormous body of standalone novels (Brain Wave, Tau Zero) and series fiction (Time Patrol, the Dominic Flandry books) and was equally at home in the fields of heroic fantasy and hard SF. He was a meticulous craftsman and a gifted storyteller, and the impact of his finest work continues, undiminished, to this day.

Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson's Worlds is a rousing, all-original anthology that stands both as a significant achievement in its own right and a heartfelt tribute to a remarkable writer--and equally remarkable man. A nicely balanced mixture of fiction and reminiscence, Multiverse contains thirteen stories and novellas by some of today's finest writers, along with moving reflections by, among others, Anderson's wife, Karen, his daughter, Astrid Anderson Bear, and his son-in-law, novelist and co-editor Greg Bear. (Bear's introduction, My Friend Poul, is particularly illuminating and insightful).

The fictional contributions comprise a kaleidoscopic array of imaginative responses to Anderson's many and varied fictional worlds. A few of the highlights include Nancy Kress's 'Outmoded Things' and Terry Brooks' 'The Fey of Cloudmoor,' stories inspired by the Hugo Award-winning 'The Queen of Air and Darkness;' a pair of truly wonderful Time Patrol stories ('A Slip in Time' by S. M. Stirling and 'Christmas in Gondwanaland' by Robert Silverberg); Raymond E. Feist's Dominic Flandry adventure, 'A Candle;' and a pair of very different homages to the classic fantasy novel, Three Hearts and Three Lions: 'The Man Who Came Late' by Harry Turtledove and 'Three Lilies and Three Leopards (And a Participation Ribbon in Science)' by Tad Williams. These stories, together with singular contributions by such significant figures as Larry Niven, Gregory Benford, and Eric Flint, add up to a memorable, highly personal anthology that lives up to the standards set by the late--and indisputably great--Poul Anderson.


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? Contains 33 full page pen and ink illustrations.

Paperbacks


Two dimensions collided on the rust-red deserts of Mars—and are destined to become entangled once more in this sequel to the critically acclaimed The Daedalus Incident.

Lieutenant Commander Shaila Jain has been given the assignment of her dreams: the first manned mission to Saturn. But there’s competition and complications when she arrives aboard the survey ship Armstrong. The Chinese are vying for control of the critical moon Titan, and the moon Enceladus may harbor secrets deep under its icy crust. And back on Earth, Project DAEDALUS now seeks to defend against other dimensional incursions. But there are other players interested in opening the door between worlds . . . and they’re getting impatient.

For Thomas Weatherby, it’s been nineteen years since he was second lieutenant aboard HMS Daedalus. Now captain of the seventy-four-gun Fortitude, Weatherby helps destroy the French fleet at the Nile and must chase an escaped French ship from Egypt to Saturn, home of the enigmatic and increasingly unstable aliens who call themselves the Xan. Meanwhile, in Egypt, alchemist Andrew Finch has ingratiated himself with Napoleon’s forces . . . and finds the true, horrible reason why the French invaded Egypt in the first place.

The thrilling follow-up to The Daedalus Incident, The Enceladus Crisis continues Martinez’s Daedalus series with a combination of mystery, intrigue, and high adventure spanning two amazing dimensions.


Can England be liberated if the Holy Grail is found? The hero of Land of Hope and Glory begins an epic quest to Scotland to find out.

It is 1855. The English revolt has failed, and brutal General Vadula governs England now. Only a few small bands of English rebels still hold out against the Rajthanan empire. Jack Casey survives in remote Shropshire, training young rebels to use the conqueror's magic, but he is gravely ill, with only two months to live. Then refugees bring with them news of a rogue Indian sorcerer in Scotland. Mahajan has discovered a mysterious power in the uncharted country to the north—a power that could be the legendary Holy Grail. The Rajthanans have already assembled an army to capture Mahajan. Jack has nothing to lose now. He agrees to lead his own men, disguised as porters for the conquerors, on the same grueling march. Their hope is to find a weapon that will free England from her oppressors. But they will find something even more powerful.

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.