Editor's Note
So I think New Releases is here to stay. War Blogger informed me that it was this new series of posts that introduced him to
Timewreck Titanic, which I featured
two weeks ago. War Blogger found it, read it and then
reviewed it. Since then the novel's rank on Amazon has increased and I will be doing an interview with the author.
Wow, just wow.
New Books (paperbacks and e-books)
By the Blood of Heroes by Joseph Nassise
Description from Amazon.
Train them . . . Arm them . . . Then turn them loose on the zombies!
At the tail end of 1917, the Germans introduced a new type of gas to the battlefield, T-Leiche, or "corpse gas," and changed the face of the war by resurrecting the bodies of the dead, giving the enemy an almost unlimited source of fresh troops.
When the American ace Major Jack Freeman—poster boy for the war against the Kaiser's undead army of shamblers—is downed over enemy lines and taken captive, veteran Captain Michael "Madman" Burke is the only man brave and foolish enough to accept the mission to recover Freeman. Burke assembles a team of disparate members, from his right-hand man, Sergeant Moore, to big-game-hunter-turned-soldier Clayton Manning, who funds the mission for an opportunity to confront this most dangerous zombie game, to professor Dan Richards, one of Tesla's top men and the resident authority on all things supernatural. With the help of a highly advanced British dirigible war machine to infiltrate enemy territory, the team faces incredible danger as it struggles to reach the prison camp and strike at the heart of the enemy.
But they are pitted against the most deadly enemy of all: Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Having risen from the dead with his abilities enhanced but his mind on the brink of madness, Richthofen has plans for victory that give no quarter to soldiers or civilians.
New Books (paperbacks)
Aurorarama: A Novel by Jean-Christophe Valtat
Description from Amazon.
In the defense of steampunk comes a literary adventure unlike anything you’ve read before. 1908, New Venice: An ominous black airship hovers in the sky, and the city is hunting for the author of a radical pamphlet calling for revolt. The lead suspect is Brentford Orsini, one of the city’s most prominent figures. As the net around him tightens, Orsini receives a mysterious message from a long-lost love that compels him to act.
Brilliant in its conception, masterful in its prose, thrilling in its plot twists, and laced with humor, suspense, and intelligence, Aurorarama marks the beginning of a great new series of books.
Corner of a Round Planet by E. Stoops
Description from Amazon.
In an alternate universe where the twentieth century gave rise to individuals with psychic talents and World War II never happened, the Gulf Wars of the late twentieth and early twenty-first are fought with Great War tactics and equipment. The medics, a prime target for the enemy, are dying at a far greater rate than the other soldiers. War is in need a facelift. Meredith Clase, an electronics engineer, might have just the thing. But Sergeant Wens Lillenthal has been holding a grudge against Clase for almost eight years and he doesn't plan on dropping it soon. When Clase arrives and insists that he become the hero he plays to his men, Lillenthal is dragged along a path to fame he never wanted, and into a world he can't ever leave.
Land of Hope and Glory by Geoffrey Wilson
Description from Amazon.
An original new fantasy in which The Indian Rebellion of 1857 takes place in a very different England—one where magic rules, and the only hope for the future lies in the story of King Arthur
It is 1852 and the Indian empire of Rajthana has ruled Europe for more than 100 years. With their vast armies, steam-and-sorcery technology, and mastery of the mysterious power of sattva, the Rajthanans appear invincible—but a bloody rebellion has broken out in a remote corner of the empire, in a poor and backward region known as England. At first Jack Casey, retired soldier, wants nothing to do with the uprising, but then he learns his daughter, Elizabeth, is due to be hanged for helping the rebels. The Rajthanans offer to spare her, but only if Jack hunts down and captures his best friend and former army comrade, who is now a rebel leader. Jack is torn between saving his daughter and protecting his friend, and he struggles just to stay alive as the rebellion pushes England into all-out war.
Titanic with ZOMBIES by Richard Brown
Description from Amazon.
This is the story...
of a shipbuilder who designed the greatest ocean liner ever imagined.
of a captain on the final voyage of his long and distinguished career.
of a crew dedicated to the safety and well-being of all passengers.
of an unsinkable woman who stood up when everyone told her to sit down.
Oh, and there's an infection that turns hundreds of passengers into violent, flesh-eating ghouls.
That's right. This ain't no love story.
This is the story of the Titanic with ZOMBIES.
All aboard. It's about to go down!
A Traitor's Loyalty: A Novel of International Intrigue by Ian C. Racey
Description from Amazon.
It is 1971, twenty-five years after Germany’s victory in the Second World War, and Hitler has just died. Four years ago, Simon Quinn walked away from a brilliant career with MI-6, the British Secret Intelligence Service, but now, MI-6 has blackmailed him into returning to Berlin. His mission: locate Richard Garner, a British spy who has disappeared and is suspected of defecting. He enlists the help of Ellie Voss, a German woman who opposes Nazi rule but still considers herself a German patriot. Soon, Ellie finds out Quinn’s secret: that he was born in Germany, not England, and that his family fled to London soon after Hitler came to power--because they were Jewish.
No sooner do the two of them find Garner than he is assassinated by British operatives who have been secretly shadowing Quinn. Quinn discovers a startling truth-- why Garner went into hiding. A secret treaty between Britain and Germany is about to be signed, which will end the Cold War by making Britain a German satellite state. Pursued by both the Gestapo and MI-6, Quinn and Ellie’s only hope of stopping the treaty is to get news of it to Reinhard Heydrich, a powerful Nazi angling to become Hitler’s successor. But that means Quinn will have to come to terms with the fact that he is helping to become ruler of Germany the man who was essentially the architect of the Holocaust.
New Books (e-books)
After America: Rebuilding by Larry Porter
Description from Amazon.
The United States of America has collapsed and the continent is breaking into individual sovereignties based on geography, culture, political persuasion and economics. The story is told through the eyes of Sam Buckwalter, one of the founders of Appalachian America, a new nation forming in the true Appalachian Mountains of the continent.
He visits many of the other new nations to learn what they did and how they were created. Then he helps Appalachian America through a Constitutional Convention where they write a constitution for their new nation.
An Alternative War by Stanley Evan Black
Description from Amazon.
In this World War 2 story, author Stan Black has woven an interesting mix of facts and "what if" together, based on his lifetime interest in WW2 history.
He has looked deeply into what could have happened to change the outcomes of real battles and events of the War and where it may have led history.
In his novel Stan wanted to explore an alternative version of history using characters from the occupying forces and the local civilian population.
His desire was not to dwell on matters that have been covered many times before, such as War Crimes and blood-thirsty battles of World War 2, but wanted to create an interesting story to stir the mind.
Anyone with even a passing interest in the events of World War 2 and how it unfolded should make this a must read, a great mix of facts and fiction.
Angels Revolting by Charles L. Weatherford
Description from Amazon.
It all began in the year 1700 in the western wilds of North Carolina when a man with unusually strong mental powers fell to Earth in a meteor. This man took the name Matthew West and made a reputation for himself, thrusting upwards into the nobility of England and later creating a domain within the Holy Roman Empire that his descendants might marry the crowned heads of Europe.
By 1763, he has become a major player in European and American history. He also has generations of descendants spread throughout Europe and North America, some of whom are exhibiting the same sort of psychic abilities that have allowed his rise in society. Angels Revolting, the second volume in the Hidden Angels series, follows Matthew West, his progeny, and those whose lives he has influenced from the year 1763 through 1778 as they twist the history of the world in new directions and the powers of those who become known as Angels are unleashed.
Double Barrel: Episode 2 by Grey West
Description from Amazon.
"The Walking Dead meets True Grit..."
From the mind of author Grey West comes a groundbreaking saga that wildly re-imagines America's past. Set twelve years after the Civil War, the Double Barrel series puts readers on a collision course with history...and zombies.
Released in six cliffhanger episodes (50 pages each), Double Barrel is a thrill ride that will keep you clinging to the edge of your seat.
IN THE WEST: Twin brothers John and James Barrel are the nation's deadliest Regulators--gunslingers with a license to kill from Abraham Lincoln. When an urgent telegraph from the President is cut off by a zombie attack, the Barrel Brothers must set out to find and kill the man responsible for the zombie scourge.
IN THE EAST: Seventeen-year-old Violet Drake and her mute brother Sam have seen nightmares before, but nothing like the evil flooding the streets of New York City. After learning of a possible cure for the zombie scourge, the Drakes must race against time to find the one person who can help, a man known as the Wizard of Menlo Park. But first they must escape Manhattan before it's overrun by the undead.
Four survivors.
Two adrenaline-laced stories.
One incredible journey that will pit them against the world.
Nevermore by Brent Monahan
Description from Amazon.
Only one of history's most famous detectives - Allan Pinkerton - could investigate the death of one of literature's most famous writers - Edgar Allan Poe. In this fictional imagining of the events following Poe's death, Allan Pinkerton, a real-life embodiment of Poe's own sleuth Auguste Maupin, embarks on a journey into the life and mind of the author and poet to uncover the secrets of Poe's life and untimely - and mysterious - death.
Other Paths: Alternate Outcomes of the Second World War by Alexander Rooksmoor
Description from Amazon.
‘Other Paths’, in 20 chapters, is a collection of alternative outcomes that could so easily have occurred in the era of the Second World in place of the history we know. It considers a wide range of ‘what if?’ topics including, among others, the consequences of Winston Churchill’s death in 1931, the war between Germany and Czechoslovakia in 1938, the Soviet invasion of Norway in 1940, Lord Halifax as a fighting premier, a successful defence of France from German invasion, Italy remaining neutral, the failed invasion of Britain, the use of poison gas weapons at Leningrad, Japanese victory in the Pacific War and the imposition of the Morgenthau Plan leading to the creation of three pastoral Germanies.
‘Other Paths’ draws on Alexander Rooksmoor’s two decades researching and teaching history and uses the analysis and debate into counter-factuals from his blog over a period of 5 years. Mixing fact and fiction it looks at both the detailed changes that could have occurred as well as much broader potential outcomes. This is a book that will fascinate anyone with an interest in why a central event of modern history unfolded the way it did. Fans of alternate history will find ‘Other Paths’ a book they cannot put down and will rush to discuss once they have finished reading it.
The Reluctant Nazi by Alan Guzzetti
Description from Amazon.
This is the story of an unusual spy. Arnold, the brother of Adolph Hitler, is a fictitious character placed in an historical and partly factual account of World War II. Many of the characters, names, events, battles, places, and philosophies are real, and are representative of the how and why this war was won by the Allies.
The beliefs held by Hitler, Himmler, and other Nazi henchmen are accurately revealed. Some of the events leading to important battles really happened. The names of the key players working at the Bletchley Park secret code facility, and the MI6 British Secret Service, for the most part, are real, as are the roles they play.
The biblical metaphor of the two brothers was unconscious, but, it worked well in the story.
It was the intention of the author to draw the reader in to the essence of the characters, particularly, the protagonist who is both a coward and a hero. He is not a bumbling and awkward anti-hero, but some of his antics and misdirected decisions may give the reader pause at times. He is a somewhat sympathetic character, possessed of the same survival skills many of us might exhibit under similar unusual circumstances. But, like most of us, he occasionally needs a little luck.
The story places Arnold in numerous dangerous positions, sometimes seemingly hopeless, but always thought provoking and tense. Hopefully, the reader will be held, intrigued by this convoluted plot.
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@gmail.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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Mitro is founder, editor and contributor of Alternate History Weekly Update. When he is not busy writing about his passion for alternate history, he spends his time working as a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois and dreams of being a published author himself one day.
