New Releases 9/9/14

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Paperbacks

The Bloodline Feud: A Merchant Princes Omnibus by Charles Stross

Bloodline Feud: an omnibus edition of the first two novels in Charles Stross's The Merchant Princes series

The six families of the Clan rule the kingdom of Gruinmarkt from behind the scenes. They are a mixture of nobility and criminal conspirators whose power to walk between their world and ours makes them rich in both.

Miriam, a hip tech journalist from Boston, discovers her alternate-world relatives with explosive results that shake three worlds. Now, as the prodigal Countess Helge Thorold-Hjorth, she finds herself ensnared in schemes and plots centuries in the making. She is surrounded by unlikely allies, lethal contraband, and—most dangerous of all—her family.

To avoid a slippery slope down to an unmarked grave, Miriam must build a power base of her own—with unexpected consequences for three different time lines, including the quasi-Victorian one exploited by the hidden family.

World War Kaiju by Josh Finney

What if Doctor Strangelove created Godzilla? World War Kaiju is the story of an alternate history, one in which the atom bomb was never created and the ultimate weapon of mass destruction is the kaiju fifty foot tall radioactive beasts spawned from the mysterious KAI-235 isotope. Follow the journey of one journalist as he teams up with a retired CIA operative to uncover the truth about the conspiracy behind the monsters... ...who are the architects of the inevitable Kaiju War? ...what is the shocking secret behind the mysterious KAI-235 isotope? ...where did Cuba manage to hide a crab monster the size of an aircraft carrier? ...why are rogue monsters appearing all over the world? ...how long can Tricky Dick keep these truths from the people?

E-Books

From a Foreign Shore: Stories of History and Alternate History by Andrew Knighton

What if someone had conquered the Vikings, someone claiming to be their gods?

What if King Arthur's knights met a very different metal-clad warrior?

What if you were ordered to execute a statue, and hanging just didn't seem to work?

These short stories explore different aspects of history, some of them grounded in reality, some alternative takes on the past as we know it. Stories of daring and defiance; of love and of loss; of noble lords and exasperated peasants.

This short collection contains five stories:

Holy Water – a pair of medieval peasants struggle with faith and futility as they try to execute a statue.

Farewell to a Foreign Shore – a Viking sets sail from the raiding lands.

Odin’s Mirror – Vikings face the image of the divine in an alternative Dark Ages.

From the Sea – a messenger is plagued by visions on his run from Marathon.

Sir Cai, the Shining Knight – an Arthurian warrior proves to be more than he appears.

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.

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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.

Weekly Update #100

Editor's Note

Did something different this week:

Sorry for all the times I slammed my hand on the desk, haha. Enjoy the rest of today's Weekly Update without having to hear my Midwestern/Chicago accent.

And now the news...

Update: The Bloodline Feud by Charles Stross

The first two stories in Charles Stross' Merchant Princes series are being bundled in a new book titled The Bloodline Feud. Here is the description from Falcata Times:

The Family Trade and The Hidden Family - The first two installments of the Merchant Princes series combined in one volume. Miriam Beckstein is a successful reporter for a hi-tech magazine. So when she discovers a huge money-laundering scam, she thinks she's hit the big time. But when she takes it to her editor, not only is she fired, but she starts to receive death threats. And that's just the beginning. To distract her furious daughter, Miriam's adoptive mother unearths mementos from her real mother, murdered when she was an infant. But these reveal a secret that will ultimately throw entire governments into disarray. For what Miriam thinks is a simple locket has the power to fling her into an alternate timeline. In this less-developed world, knights on horseback wield automatic weapons, and world-skipping assassins lurk -- all on the other side of our reality. Here, her true family runs a criminal empire -- and they want her back. But Miriam has other plans.

Falcata Times also reviewed the new collection calling it "one hell of a ride". If you want to learn more about the republishing, check out Stross' article on Tor where he discusses how his series came about. You also might like this joint interview he does with Cory Doctorow to promote their novel The Rapture of the Nerds.

Out now: PC steampunk arcade shooter Admiral Nemo

The internationally operating multiplatform publisher Immanitas Entertainment announced last week the worldwide release of the PC title Admiral Nemo.

Steampunk is a growing subgenre of SF&F. It combines the elements of the Victorian Era with modern technology and ideas. Writers such as Jules Verne, Hans Dominik and Robert E. Howard with their groundbreaking visions are considered to be "inventors" and their visions can be rediscovered in multiple movies, comics and games up to this day.

The Ukrainian developer, Applejuice Studios, has also dedicated itself to that topic and has thereof created an action packed arcade shooter. The object of the game is to stop diverse invaders, who are trying to attack from the sea, from capturing the lands with the last remaining battleship and to rebuild the capital city for the purpose of strengthening your own forces. For combating the attackers, which are are attacking from above and below the water as well as from the air, there is a stationary defense weapon available which fires different types of ammunition. After every level, there is a possibility to restore buildings which increases your own combat power.

Admiral Nemo is available for download for 9.99 EUR (12.99 USD) on the following portals: Gamersgate, RAINdg and GetGamesGo.

Calender

April 24: Lavie Tidhar will be interviewed by Edward James in London, UK.

April 27: Inaugural “Wild West Fest” at Calico Ghost Town in California.

May 1: Deadline for submitting to Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond.

May 28: Indie-rock group Imaginary Cities is releasing its second album, Fall of Romance.

August 15-17, 2014: Alt-Fest, steampunk music festival, in Northamptonshire, UK.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

The forgotten man who almost became president after Lincoln by Scott Bomboy at Yahoo.

Herodotus' Alternate History by J.M. McDermott at Welcome to the Maze.

Justin Bieber believes Anne Frank would have been a big fan of his, if only the Holocaust hadn't happened by Sean O'Neal at AV Club.

Rewriting history: How UK might have been without Thatcher by Simon Hooper at CNN.

Seattle knitters weave steampunk, needlecraft into book by Katya Yefimova at The Seattle Times.

Speculative Fiction's Love Affair with Sherlock Holmes-It's Not a Mystery (Part 1) by John DeNardo at Kirkus.

Steampunk Cannons by Zoë Archer and Nico Rosso at Steamed!

What if he had become Egypt’s President Shafiq? by H.A. Hellyer at Al Arabiya.

Book Reviews

Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L Powell at Fantasy Book Review.

Necessary Evil by Ian Tregillis at Falcata Times.

Comics

The 10 Best TIME-TRAVELING VILLAINS of All Time! by George Marston at Newsarama.

Sci-Fi Web Series Dirigible Days Announces Comic Book Sequel at Stltoday.com.

Films

‘Tai Chi Hero’ Poster Shows Off the Film’s Villain by Russ Fischer at /Film.

Games

Bioshock Infinite and the Components of Video Game Storytelling by Chris Gerwel at The King of Elfland's Second Cousin.

Here's A Look At 'Diesel Tactics,' A Steampunk Turn-Based Strategy Game by Brad Nicholson at Touch Arcade.

Interviews

Alan Moore at The Beat.

Character interview with a Hero–Connor MacKay, from Cards & Caravans at Steamed!

Podcasts

Ratchet Retrocast Episode 7: Was that a Terminator or a naked Barbarian? Either way, it’s the Schwarzenegger Action Hour! at Earth Station One.

Television

‘Revolution’ Finale Pushed To June After Pre-Emption For Bombing Coverage by Nellie Andreeva at Yahoo.

Theater

Review: ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ revival a beautiful steampunk take that’s overwrought _ in a good way at The Washington Post.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. 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.