Weekly Update #70.2

Editor's Note

Grab your goggles and fire up that boiler. Time for the steampunk edition of Weekly Update.

Clockwork Angels by Kevin J. Anderson

So I am sure we have all heard about the literary team-up between author Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart of Rush. Anderson's new novel Clockwork Angels is based off Rush's new album with the same name, inspired by the story and lyrics of the album and expanding it into a full-length story. Here is the description from Amazon:

A remarkable collaboration that is unprecedented in its scope and realization, this exquisitely wrought novel represents an artistic project between the bestselling science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson and the multiplatinum rock band Rush. The newest album by Rush, Clockwork Angels, sets forth a story in Neil Peart’s lyrics that has been expanded by him and Anderson into this epic novel. In a young man’s quest to follow his dreams, he is caught between the grandiose forces of order and chaos. He travels across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy with lost cities, pirates, anarchists, exotic carnivals, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life. The mind-bending story is complemented with rich paintings by the five-time Juno Award winner for Best Album Design, Hugh Syme.

Wait, there's more! Anderson actually wrote a guest post on John Scalzi's blog describing the novel and it turns out he is a bigger Rush fan then I realized. You can learn even more about the novel during an interview Anderson did over at io9 where he discusses his love of Rush, collaborations, steampunk and dystopias.

Tai Chi 0 reviews

The first reviews of the steampunk, martial arts film Tai Chi Zero (check out the full trailer here) are in and they are not good. Film Business Asia said Tai Chi Zero "is poorly directed, weakly written and iffily cast, and tries way too hard to be different and cheeky, overloading the viewer with visual information while ignoring basic elements like structure, storyline and character development." Ouch. The Hollywood Reporter was only marginally better when they said "[h]ardcore teenage fantasy fans and video-gamers may find director Stephen Fung’s brand of irreverent comedy irresistible, but viewers past the youngest demographics will tune out to the threadbare comic book-style story and childish characters, though not without a few amazed laughs at the inventive audacity of the project."

O well. Interesting concept, but I guess it fails in execution.

Clockwork Empires

Gaslamp Games, Inc. have announced their upcoming new game, Clockwork Empires. A steampunk themed city-building game, Clockwork Empires begins with you building a colony for your steampunk empire and defending it from malevolent entities from "Beyond the Stars" (that damn squid god!). Here is the premise:

It's sad times in the Empire. The Queen is locked up - for her own good or her Prime Minister's is impossible to say - and the Church of the Holy Cog prophesies ruin as it prays for the salvation of the Empire. However there are options; the Colonies offer riches and fame, for those bold enough to emigrate.

The game will feature many tropes from the genre including street urchins, aristocrats, zeppelins and mad scientists. Unlike our own imperial age "here, there be dragons" should be taken literarly and you never know what those pesky scientists are doing behind closed doors (is that chanting I hear?).

It has been a while since I played a city-sim like this, but I might have to pick up a copy when it comes out.

Things to do

Today until Sept 23: See a steampunk version of "Wizard of Oz" in Glendale, AZ.

Sept 15-16: Steampunk Weekend of the Old West Festival in Ohio.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Egyptian Influences in Victoriana and Steampunk by Maeve Alpin at Steamed!

The Literary Steampunk: A Market Defined by Karina Cooper at Steamed!

Mars Rover Curiosity is a Steampunk Creation by Ian O'Neill at Astro Engine.

Nautical Steampunk by Maeve Alpin at Steamed!

What's steampunk? by Julia Eccleshare at The Guardian.

Books

'Dark Unwinding' and the promise of secret passages by Diane Petryk Bloom at Examiner.com.

Fiction Review: That Darn Squid God by Nick Polotta and James Clay done by Leanne Tough at Steampunk Magazine.

Non-Fiction review: The Art of Steampunk by Art Donovan done by Leanne Tough at Steampunk Magazine.

Review: 'The Iron Wyrm Affair' by Lilith Saintcrow done by Jessie Potts at Happy Ever After.

Review of Vampire Empire 3: The Kingmakers by Clay and Susan Griffith done by Falcata Times.

Games

Herocraft's Steampunk inspired game The Tiny Bang Story drops Sony exclusivity by Mystery Manor.

Watch the Origins of Dishonored's Dark Steampunk World in this New Trailer by Dave Thier at Forbes.

Music

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing release new single today by Jack at Alt Sounds.

* * *

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 #69

Editor's Note

Hehe...69...hehe.

Cough. Sorry about that. Had to get the immaturity out of my system. I apologize to my new readers from Bangladesh and Lebanon for having to see that. Please don't stop reading Weekly Update.

So it looks like we are on track again to beat the monthly record. Thank you to all my fans and don't forget to continue to show your support by voting for us at the Battle of the Book Review Blogs. Also please vote in the poll to your right so I can get a better idea on how you follow Weekly Update. If the vote continues as it is I will have to stop advertising on Reddit.

Chicon 7 is this weekend. I know a few readers are going there so hopefully we will have a chance to meet face to face this weekend. I will be the one dressed as a young attorney who went straight from work to a science fiction convention. Very original.

This week we have New Releases, updates from Chicon 7 and lots of steampunk.

And now the news...

Clockwork Angels by Kevin J. Anderson

In June I talked about how SF author Kevin J. Anderson and the rock band Rush were teaming up to produce a steampunk book and album. Since then I haven't talked about the project much, but last week Anderson was busy promoting the novel by doing an interview with Phil Simon at The Huffington Post and Sue Carter Flinn at Quill & Quire where he discusses collaborating with Rush, steampunk and other topics. Those wondering if the book is any good should check out Larry Ketchersid's review over at SF Signal. He gave it 4 out of 5 stars and said "[n]ot just for Rush and KJA fans, but enjoyable for those who like different worlds and allegorical fables."

The Army of Dr. Moreau by Guy Adams

Two weeks ago I discussed The Army of Dr. Moreau by Guy Adams. Well a couple more reviews of the book were published last week. Marleen at More Than a Reading Journal said that the novel is "very well written and smooth to read. The pages almost turn themselves as the story shifts between investigation, deduction and action. It is easy for the reader to get drawn into this story, get immersed in Victorian London and the sewers underneath it. And, as always, the readers will find themselves, like Watson, trailing behind the great detective when it comes to solving the mystery." Falcata Times posted a review as well saying "Its witty, it’s clever and of course brings the full flavour of the time period which when added to solid action, great pace and no nonsense combat all in makes for a very satisfactory read."

Thieftaker by D. B. Jackson

One last book to talk about before I move on to other topics and that is the historical fantasy called Thieftaker by D.B. Jackson. Bookworm Blues posted a review of the novel giving it 4 out of 5 stars and said that "[i]t’s a tricky thing to blend history and fantasy so seamlessly, especially when it’s a piece of history that many people are very passionate and (somewhat) well informed about. It’s hard for an author to take this event and add fantasy without making readers pause, and D.B. Jackson does it wonderfully. Fantasy and reality blend naturally under his well-practiced hand."  Those wanting to learn more can listen to episode 175 of AISFP where Jackson is a guest and discusses "real life thieftakers from times long past, complicated magic systems, the accessibility of dialogue in epic fantasy, urban fantasy VS epic fantasy, how a Ph.D. has helped him create political and economic systems, and his work as David B. Coe."

Arcane Empires

People who enjoy playing games on their smart phones should check out the fantasy/steampunk strategy game Arcane Empires by Kabam. The game involves you leading a civilization through a war-ravaged world. You can build steampunk-themed weapons to defeat your enemies such as flying submarines, mechanical attack elephants and mechagriffs. And it is free as well, so I might have to check it out since I stopped playing Words with Friends.

Here is the trailer if you want to learn more:

Where in the world is S.M. Stirling?

With his new novel Lord of Mountains coming out on September 4th, S. M. Stirling is out and about the US of A marketing the crap out of it. If you are going to Dragon*Con, here is where you can find him from Aug 31st to Sept 2nd:

Title: The Abundant World of Alternate History: An Overview
Description: Not just "Steampunk 101" this panel will survey it all: Speculative Fiction, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Post-Apocalypse, and much more!
Time: Fri 01:00 pm Location: International BC - Westin (Length: 1 Hour) 

Title: Autograph Session
Time: Fri 05:30 pm Location: M301 - M304 - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour) 

Title: 101 Fascinating Ways to Kill a Character
Description: From blood and guts to more subtle ways to knock of characters...Writers tell all.
Time: Fri 10:00 pm Location: Embassy D-F - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour) 

Title: Meet the Authors of Alternate History
Description: A wide array of Steampunk authors as they discuss their various Steampunk worlds and what to consider when writing your own.
Time: Sat 02:30 pm Location: Augusta 1-2 - Westin (Length: 1 Hour) 

Title: Reading: S. M. Stirling
Time: Sat 05:30 pm Location: Marietta - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour) 

Title: Alternate Apocalypse: How Many Ways Can The World End?
Description: Will impending doom come from zombies, asteroids, or Elder Gods? Come discuss these and more fantastical ways it could all end.
Time: Sat 08:30 pm Location: International BC - Westin (Length: 1 Hour) 

Title: Emberverse and Other Worlds With S.M. Sterling
Description: Spend an hour with S.M. Stirling. Bring your questions about his take on Alt. History, morality and collaborative writing.
Time: Sun 04:00 pm Location: International A - Westin (Length: 1 Hour)

Not going to be in Atlanta this weekend? Neither am I, but other parts of the country will be hosting appearances by Stirling. On Sept 5th Stirling will be at Powell's Books in Beaverton, OR and on Sept 6th he will be at Books & Co. in Beavercreek, OH. At this rate, other towns named after the prolific dam builders should also be on the lookout for a wild Stirling coming to their town!

Submissions Wanted

Aspiring authors have another chance to get published. The Masquerade Crew is looking for 5k to 10k short stories involving time travel to the future. Deadline is the end of September and while you can send them a character driven story, they are more interested in the actual setting. More details can be found here.

As always, good luck!

Links to the Multiverse

Books

Changing gears and a shiny new cover by Cindy Spencer Pape at Steamed!

The Economic Record of the McCain Presidency by Justin Fox by Harvard Business Review.

Forthcoming Steampunk (and a bit free to read) by Rachael Acks at 4.5 Billion Years of Wonder.

A Northern (or Maybe Bronx?) Cheer for the South’s Independence by Janet Maslin at The New York Times.

Review of The Harry Houdini Mysteries: The Houdini Specter by Daniel Stashower at David Marshall at Thinking about books.

Review of The Rift Walker by Clay and Susan Griffith done by Suzanne Lazear at Steamed!

Comics

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: 1996 would include Dana Scully and Zack Morris by Cyriaque Lamar at io9.

Films

Alternate History Films by Steve at Deadly Computer.

Games

New Dishonored Screenshots Show Creepy Baby Hat-Mask by Greg Tito at The Escapist.

Interviews

Geoffrey Wilson done by Mihir Wanchoo at Fantasy Book Critic.

Podcasts

Flatwater Forever: Protect and Survive Middle America Podcast #1 by Chipperback.

* * *

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.

New Releases 6/19/2012

New CDs

Clockwork Angels by Rush

Description from Amazon.

Legendary rock band Rush have unveiled details of its highly anticipated 2012 album, Clockwork Angels. The recording of Clockwork Angels began with Grammy Award winner Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones) who collaborated with the band on their 2007 studio album, Snakes and Arrows - and Rush co-producing. Lyrically, Clockwork Angels chronicles a young man's quest across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy as he attempts to follow his dreams. The story features lost cities, pirates, anarchists, exotic carnival, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life. With more than 40 million records sold worldwide and countless sold-out tours, Rush - Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart - is not only one of the most inventive and compelling groups in rock history, but remains one of the most popular.

New Paperbacks

English-Turn by Thomas Christian Williams

Description from Amazon.

We Live in a World of Unexpected Big Events English-Turn, Détour-Anglois isn’t just an alternative fiction novel. It’s a metaphor for the modern day—Clash of Civilizations. Religious Conflict. The Rise of Capitalism, Democracies and Free Trade. The Emergence of the Arab Spring—all these contemporary events are folded into a single mind-warping history-changing epic adventure: New Orleans, 1802: Queen Marcella, a mixed-blood voodoo priestess, finds herself swept into a hurricane vortex of international intrigue, personal ambition and religious strife as Volney, an agoraphobic French revolutionary, and Napoleon Bonaparte, Premier Consul of the French Republic, challenge Thomas Jefferson for control of Louisiana. Empires Rise if Government Allows Enlightened Self-Interest to Flourish In the early days of the French Revolution, Constantin-Francois Volney, a member of the first National Assembly and friend of Thomas Jefferson, published Ruins of Empires, a post-Enlightenment review of human history. The book’s central premise, italicized above, represents not only a refutation of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract—and hence Socialism—but also provides the basis for a solution to the world’s enduring religious conflicts. Jefferson liked the book so much he translated it into English. But he also insisted on complete anonymity due to the book’s controversial religious content. This little known but well-documented fact becomes the fulcrum event of the English-Turn story—the slight tweak to historical events that result in Napoleon Bonaparte’s decision to sail to New Orleans and change the destiny of the world.

New E-books

Bottled Demon by Matthew Rossi

Description from Amazon.

Like his first work, Things That Never Were (Monkeybrain Books, 2004) Matthew Rossi's Bottled Demon is a collection of speculative essays asking What If and answering Why Not, more at home playing with ideas than trying to convince itself or anyone else of any truths. Alternate history, weird fiction, and never was scenarios collide with each other and their only goal is to romp all over each other.

North Reich by Robert Conroy

Description from Amazon.

American military forces are focused on fighting Japan after Pearl Harbor. Hitler's army has taken Stalingrad, defeated opposing countries in Western Europe, England has surrendered, and German troops, including the terrifying Gestapo, now control Canada, with a puppet government in Ottawa.

Many historians consider Hitler's greatest blunder was declaring war on the United States in 1941. Award-winning author Robert Conroy presents an exciting alternate history scenario, where Hitler did not declare war on the U.S. and American armed forces stayed out of the European conflict, focusing its military might on the Pacific.

In NORTH REICH, border skirmishes with Nazi-occupied Canada and saboteur efforts within U.S. escalate into a Nazi invasion. This novel presents a moving picture of Nazi-occupied Canada, what the U.S. response might have been, and how warfare on American soil could have played out.

The Unholy Grail by M.E. Brines

Description from Amazon.

Special Ops Captain Stuart Mackenzie is good at what he does and what he does is kill. But he no longer sees the medals on his chest, only the blood on his hands. He is convinced Nazi victories are due to their possession of the Spear of Destiny, the very one plunged into the side of Christ at the crucifixion and believed to have tremendous occult powers. Hitler has used it first to conquer half of Europe and now to stave off otherwise certain defeat. Stuart is convinced that the war will drag on indefinitely with ever-increasing casualties until someone wrests control of the spear from Hitler.

But his superiors dismiss his fantastic claims as combat fatigue. Dejected that his fiancé has been arrested by the Gestapo (and presumed dead) and convinced that he can never redeem himself in the eyes of God for all the killing he has done in his military service, Stuart nonetheless is convinced the fate of the world rests on his undeserving shoulders. He takes matters into his own hands, subverting his assigned mission into a quest for the Unholy Grail. But along the way, will he find absolution?

He recruits a crew of misfits including a naive college professor, a Negro cook, a drunken coward and two thieves. With obsolete cast-off weapons and equipment, they set out into the middle of the fiercest fighting of the Battle of the Bulge. Their assigned mission: find and secure advanced enemy technology. But Stuart’s real self-assigned mission is to locate and secure control of the spear.

But can mundane weapons defeat an enemy armed with supernatural powers summoned from the very pit of Hell? Or does any hope of an Allied victory depend on Captain Mackenzie and his quest for the Unholy Grail?

New Short Stories

Like a DUKW to Water by Erik Henriksen

Description from Amazon.

What if "The War to End All Wars" never ended? The great Global War lasted for decades until an armistice was signed creating the Global Armed Forces (not unlike the League of Nations or the U.N.) to police the world’s hot spots. In order to do so, they initiated the Terra Games, an Olympic like event used to determine the best of the best land, air and sea military units from around the world. These units are to become part of the greatest military force the world has ever known. Now three friends, each from a different branch of the U.S. military, use their combined inventiveness to give their country an edge in the upcoming games.

The Sisters by Judy Corner Franklin

Description from Amazon.

Alternate history short story about Col. and Mrs. George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of Little Big Horn.

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.

*       *       *

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.

Weekly Update #57

Editor's Note

Good we are back on track.  We broke our monthly page view record in May, so now the new record to beat is 6463.  Thanks again everybody and this is on top of surpassing 100 Twitter followers.  Speaking of social networking, those of you who use Digg can also find me posting updates on Weekly Update there.

Please also check out the Historical Novel Society and read my guide to alternate history.  It is the first of what I hope to be many guest posts I make on other websites in the near future as I continue to promote Weekly Update.

And now the news...

Clockwork Angels by Kevin J. Anderson...and Rush?

I'm not joking, here is the press release from Kevin J Anderson's blog:

In an innovative combination of music and literature, the new album Clockwork Angels by legendary rock band Rush has been converted into a full-length “steampunk” science fiction novel by international bestselling SF author Kevin J. Anderson and Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.

The music throughout the Clockwork Angels album—the band’s 20th studio album—forms the backbone of a colorful adventure story, which is now fully realized in Clockwork Angels: The Novel (ECW Press, hardcover, September 2012). The story tells of a young man caught between the grandiose forces of order and chaos. On a quest to follow his dreams, he travels across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy, with lost cities, pirates, anarchists, exotic carnivals, airships and steam engines, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life.

Anderson (who has over 50 national and international bestsellers to his credit and has recently been named 2012’s Grandmaster by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers for lifetime achievement in the field) has often been influenced by music, particularly Rush.  His first novel, Resurrection, Inc., was directly inspired by the Rush album Grace Under Pressure, which sparked a long-term friendship with Peart. “You can find Rush references sprinkled through many of my Dune novels, the Saga of Seven Suns, my Terra Incognita trilogy,” Anderson says. “Probably more than even I can identify, because the music is so intertwined in my imagination.”

Peart, an accomplished author in his own right (Ghost Rider, Roadshow, Far and Away) and Anderson already co-wrote a short story, “Drumbeats” (WordFire Press), but the pair have always been looking for something more ambitious to combine their creative interests and talents.

Peart is also an avid reader of Anderson’s fiction. “For something like 20 years, Kevin and I discussed working on a project together that would marry music, lyrics, and prose fiction,” he says. “The right idea and timing eluded us for a long time, but at last, both converged perfectly.” Clockwork Angels: The Novel seemed a natural.

Peart approached Anderson with the idea several years ago, when Rush was in the early stages of creating the album. As the lyrics and music were completed, the two brainstormed the story, characters, setting, adventures, and ideas, sometimes with a flurry of a dozen e-mails per day.  The artist Hugh Syme—who created eight illustrations for the CD booklet and original works for the novel—also provided inspiration.

“This is a dream project for me,” Anderson says.  “I have always envisioned epic stories when listening to Rush music, and now working with Neil, it’s possible to translate those stories to the printed page. Clockwork Angels: The Novel turned out even better than we had hoped. I think it’s one of my very best books.”

“As my 38 years with Rush will attest, I very much enjoy collaboration with like-minded artists,” Peart says. “Working up this story with Kevin was one of the easiest, yet most satisfying projects I have ever shared—easiest, because we almost always simply agreed with each other’s ideas, and most satisfying because I am so proud of the result.”

The recording of Clockwork Angels began in April 2010 with Grammy Award–winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, DEFTONES) — who also collaborated with the band on their previous studio album, 2007’s Snakes & Arrows. RUSH co-produced both records.

In 2010, Rush released the first two tracks from Clockwork Angels, “Caravan” and “BU2B,” which formed the cornerstone of new material around their highly successful “Time Machine” world tour. The next single from Clockwork Angels, “Headlong Flight,” was recently released and immediately became #1 at Classic Rock radio.  The lyrics of those songs somewhat frame the story for what is Clockwork Angels: The Novel.

The album will be released on June 12.  Clockwork Angels: The Novel will be in stores in September to coincide with the launch of Rush’s North America tour.  ECW Press will publish the book in hardcover with full-color illustrations by Syme; the audiobook will be available from Brilliance Audio, narrated by Neil Peart; WordFire Press will release the eBook version.

Victorian-Steampunk Days

Those living near Fawnskin, CA can attend Victorian-Steampunk Days on June 9th and 10th.  Tickets are $15 for adults (discounts for seniors, students and kids).  Those attending will see 19th century Victorians, pioneers, old miners, literary characters, shoot-outs in the streets, strange devices, arrests and judgments.  Learn more here.

Links to the Multiverse

Article

In an alternate history, Barcelona just won the Champions League by scaryice at Climbing the Ladder.

What’s a thriller? by Alison Morton at Write a novel? I must be mad!

Interview

2012 Snapshot Interview: John Birmingham by kathrynlinge.

Sword Fighting with Neal Stephenson and His Mongoliad Co-Authors by Douglas Wolk at io9.

Books

1636 The Kremlin Games – Snippet 43 by Eric Flint.

CLASH of EAGLES Campaign Update 2 by Sebastian P. Breit.

Clockwork Reviews: Phoenix Rising—A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, by Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine done by Marie Andrews at Nevermet Press.

Guest Author: Joseph Nassise at Literary Escapism.

In High Places, by Harry Turtledove (fiction) - alternative history, time travel, danger done by Katy Manck at BooksYALove.

Online Alternate History

May 31, 1902 – Treaty of Vereeniging Assures Boer Independence by This Day in Alternate History.

Pictures

Superman, Spider-Man, and friends photobomb history by CNET at Yahoo Games.

*       *       *

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.