Weekly Update #140

Editor's Note

So I will be introducing this week five new series of ongoing posts. They are all going to be relatively short (<500 words) and will be quick bites to eat around 3 or 4 PM CST after the main course at 11 CST. Here is a brief description of all of them:

Map Monday: Essentially I am splitting off the Map Gallery segment from Weekly Update and turning into its own post. I probably will only focus on one map, but I might give some honorable mentions to maps I saw during the week before.

Amazing Stories Tuesday: Doesn't exactly fit the name scheme, as you will see, but I got a lot of hits when I promoted my last Amazing Stories article with its own post on The Update. So you will see a brief description of my work there so you can decide whether you want to check it out. I also am more willing to talk about SF in general over there than I am here.

What If Wednesday: Back on the name scheme! In these posts I will ask a common "what if" question and give my opinion about what I feel are the likely consequences. Then I will sit back and most likely watch people tear it apart. Yay!

Timeline Thursday: These will sort of be mini-Showcases where I recommend a timeline I or someone else likes and give a brief description. Not a review per se, just a "hey you might like this and here is why".

Flag Friday: Much like Map Monday, I take an alternate flag I saw last week and discuss why I liked it. Pretty simple and good way to end the week.

Now this means will be posting twice as often as I usually do. I haven't done something like that since The Update's one year anniversary in 2012. Wish me luck!

And now the news...

Out Now: The Time Traveler's Almanac edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer 

Last week The Time Traveler's Almanac edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer was released. Here is a brief synopsis in case you missed it:

The Time Traveler's Almanac is the largest and most definitive collection of time travel stories ever assembled. Gathered into one volume by intrepid chrononauts and world-renowned anthologists Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, this book compiles more than a century's worth of literary travels into the past and the future that will serve to reacquaint readers with beloved classics of the time travel genre and introduce them to thrilling contemporary innovations. 

This marvelous volume includes nearly seventy journeys through time from authors such as Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, Michael Moorcock, H. G. Wells, and Connie Willis, as well as helpful non-fiction articles original to this volume (such as Charles Yu's "Top Ten Tips For Time Travelers"). 

In fact, this book is like a time machine of its very own, covering millions of years of Earth's history from the age of the dinosaurs through to strange and fascinating futures, spanning the ages from the beginning of time to its very end. The Time Traveler's Almanac is the ultimate anthology for the time traveler in your life.

A lot of articles were also published last week to promote the collection. You can check out an interview with one of the authors in the collection, Jason Heller, and read what Ann VanderMeer thinks the power of great time travel story can do. Tor also posted a list on BuzzFeed showing the 13 reasons why time travel would be the best thing ever. I personally liked numbers 1, 4 and 12.

Don't forget, if you are thinking of buying Almanac click through the link provided above or through out Amazon banner on the top right and help support The Update!

Cover Art Revealed for Michael J. Martinez's The Enceladus Crisis

Friend of the Update Michael J. Martinez just revealed the cover for his new book The Enceladus Crisis, sequel to The Daedalus Incident. You can see it to your immediate right and read the description right below:

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.

You can check out Michael's interview with the cover artist Lauren Saint Onge at his site. If you plan to pre-order The Enceladus Crisis please do so by clicking...well you know what I am going to say.

Video Gallery

Two videos this week. First up some game footage from Wolfenstein: The New Order featuring just how messed up the psychology of this alternate Third Reich can be:

We end this week with another video from Friend of The Update Cody Franklin. This time he asks what if Islam never existed?

Calendar

April 1: Deadline to submit your short story to the 2014 Historical Novel Society International Award.

April 11: Last day to fund Ray Chou's Skies of Fire Kickstarter.

April 26: The 2nd Annual Black Science Fiction and Fantasy Youth Symposium in Atlanta, GA.

April 30: Deadline to submit your entry into the Church of Dissecting Worlds competition.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Big Bang Discovery Opens Doors to the "Multiverse" by Dan Vergano at National Geographic.
Why You Should Care About The Plan To Break Up California by Robert T. Golzalez at io9.

Books

2014 Arthur C. Clarke Award Short List Announced at SF Scope.
A Bloody Mashup: A Review of Kim Newman’s “Anno Dracula” at Amazing Stories.
Chris Wooding asks ‘What Is Steampunk, Anyway?’ at SF Signal.
e-Book Cover Design Awards, February 2014 by Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer.
Pantheon Inspirations by James Lovegrove at Civilian Readers.
REVIEW: Altered Pasts: Counterfactuals in History by Richard J Evans at London Evening Standard.
Star Wars: Episode V gets the Shakespearean treatment at AV Club.
The Truth About -Punk by Leo Elijah Cristea at Fantasy Faction.
Vladimir Putin's many faces, in fiction by John Dugdale at The Guardian.
When and where are George RR Martin's Game of Thrones novels set? by Adrian McKinty at The Guardian.

Comics

REVIEW: Chronos Commandos: Dawn Patrol at SciFi Mafia.
REVIEW: Clockwork Angels #1 at Comic Bastards.

Counterfactual/Traditional History

If History Is a Guide, Crimeans’ Celebration May Be Short-Lived by Olesya Vartanyan and Ellen Barry at The New York Times.
A Massive Solar Superstorm Nearly Blasted The Earth In 2012 by George Dvorsky at io9.
The Strange History of Sci-Fi Super Fuels by Steve Weintz at Medium.
Tales of Futures Past: Soviet Science Fiction of the Cold War by Jill Scharr at Space.com.
A Tour of the Eerie Villages France Never Rebuilt After WWI by Mark Byrnes at The Atlantic.

Films

The 10 Weirdest Marvel Movies That Almost Got Made by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Does Frozen Include an Homage to Watchmen? by Forrest Wickman at Slate.
Jodorowsky's Dune Is A Monument To Divine Madness And Doomed Beauty by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Terry Gilliam on Snyder’s Watchmen: I thought Zack’s Film Worked Well by Russ Burlingame at ComicBook.com.

Games

REVIEW: Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land at Geek Syndicate.

Interviews

James S. Dorr at Three Cents Worth.
Daniel Levine at The Qwillery.
Frank Pavich at Gotcha Movies.
Charles Wilcox at Three Cents Worth.

Short Fiction

Battalion 202: Worm in the Apple by Jonathan Doering – Free Story Extract at Alt Hist.
Paradox Short Story Contest 2014 - The Winners! by Tomas H at Paradox.
REVIEW: Kaiju Rising edited by Nick Sharps and Tim Marquitz at SF Signal.
REVIEW: Through A Distant Mirror Darkly by Mark Lord at SF Site.

Television

'Da Vinci's Demons' exists in a 'mad' world by Brian Truitt at USA Today.
Revolution 2.17: Arabic Writing on the Wall at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.

* * *

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.

New Releases 3/18/14

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

Hardcovers

Hyde by Daniel Levine

What happens when a villain becomes a hero?

Mr. Hyde is trapped, locked in Dr. Jekyll’s surgical cabinet, counting the hours until his inevitable capture. As four days pass, he has the chance, finally, to tell his story—the story of his brief, marvelous life.

Summoned to life by strange potions, Hyde knows not when or how long he will have control of “the body.” When dormant, he watches Dr. Jekyll from a remove, conscious of this other, high-class life but without influence. As the experiment continues, their mutual existence is threatened, not only by the uncertainties of untested science, but also by a mysterious stalker. Hyde is being taunted—possibly framed. Girls have gone missing; someone has been killed. Who stands, watching, from the shadows? In the blur of this shared consciousness, can Hyde ever be confident these crimes were not committed by his hand?

“You may think you know Dr. Jekyll, but this Hyde is a different beast altogether."—Jon Clinch, author of Finn

"Prepare to be seduced by literary devilry! Go back to Victorian times to find a very postmodern whodunit. Visceral prose, atmosphere you could choke on, characters who seem to be at your very shoulder."—Ronald Frame, author of Havisham

"Hyde brings into the light the various horrors still hidden in the dark heart of Stevenson’s classic tale of monstrosity and addiction. Devious and ingenious, it is a blazing triumph of the gothic imagination."—Patrick McGrath, author of Asylum

The Pilgrims by Will Elliott

Eric Albright is a twenty-six-year-old journalist living in London. That is to say he would be a journalist if he got off his backside. But this luckless slacker isn’t all bad—he has a soft spot for his sometimes friend Stuart Casey, the homeless old drunk who mostly lives under the railway bridge near his flat. Eric is willing to let his life just drift by…until the day a small red door appears on the graffiti-covered wall of the bridge, and a gang of strange-looking people—Eric's pretty sure one of them is a giant—dash out of the door and rob the nearby newsagent. From that day on Eric and Case haunt the arch, waiting for the door to reappear.

When it does, both Eric and Case choose to go through…to the land of Levaal. A place where a mountain-sized dragon with the powers of a god lies sleeping beneath a great white castle. In the castle the sinister Lord Vous rules with an iron fist, and the Project, designed to effect his transformation into an immortal spirit, nears completion. But Vous's growing madness is close to consuming him, together with his fear of an imaginary being named Shadow. And soon Eric may lend substance to that fear. An impossibly vast wall divides Levall, and no one has ever seen what lies beyond. Eric and Casey are called Pilgrims, and may have powers that no one in either world yet understands, and soon the wall may be broken. What will enter from the other side?

Pilgrims is no ordinary alternate-world fantasy; with this first volume in The Pendulum Trilogy, Will Elliott's brilliantly subversive imagination twists the conventions of the alternate-world fantasy genre, providing an unforgettable visionary experience.

Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson

The Bluebeard fairy tale retold. . . .

When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation—on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting—from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi.

Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives—all with hair as red as her own—in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she’s trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac’s intoxicating world.

Glowing strands of romance, mystery, and suspense are woven into this breathtaking debut—a thrilling retelling of the “Bluebeard” fairy tale.

The Time Traveler's Almanac by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer

The Time Traveler's Almanac is the largest and most definitive collection of time travel stories ever assembled. Gathered into one volume by intrepid chrononauts and world-renowned anthologists Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, this book compiles more than a century's worth of literary travels into the past and the future that will serve to reacquaint readers with beloved classics of the time travel genre and introduce them to thrilling contemporary innovations.

This marvelous volume includes nearly seventy journeys through time from authors such as Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, Michael Moorcock, H. G. Wells, and Connie Willis, as well as helpful non-fiction articles original to this volume (such as Charles Yu's "Top Ten Tips For Time Travelers").

In fact, this book is like a time machine of its very own, covering millions of years of Earth's history from the age of the dinosaurs through to strange and fascinating futures, spanning the ages from the beginning of time to its very end. The Time Traveler's Almanac is the ultimate anthology for the time traveler in your life.

William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher

Hot on the heels of the New York Times best seller William Shakespeare’s Star Wars comes the next two installments of the original trilogy: William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back and William Shakespeare’s The Jedi Doth Return. Return to the star-crossed galaxy far, far away as the brooding young hero, a power-mad emperor, and their jesting droids match wits, struggle for power, and soliloquize in elegant and impeccable iambic pentameter. Illustrated with beautiful black-and-white Elizabethan-style artwork, these two plays offer essential reading for all ages. Something Wookiee this way comes!

Paperbacks

Clockwork Lies: Iron Wind by Dru Pagliassotti

Taya, the metal-winged icarus whose investigation helped defeat a plot against Ondinium and its populace, is assisting her exalted husband Cristof Forlore on his fi rst ambassadorial mission. They must learn about Mareaux’s experiments in airship technology and determine whether the ostensibly scientifi c vehicles might be used for warfare — a taboo for Ondiniums, whose domination of the air is tempered by a deep cultural abhorrence toward airborne weapons after the devastation of the Last War a thousand years ago.

E-books

Questionable Practices: Stories by Eileen Gunn

Light fuse and get away!

Good intentions aren’t everything. Sometimes things don’t quite go the way you planned. And sometimes you don’t plan. . . . This collection of sixteen stories (and one lonely poem) wittily chart the ways trouble can ensue. No actual human beings were harmed in the creation of this book.

"Gunn manages to perfectly balance themes of thought paradox, gender politics, corporate culture, time travel, steampunk, with a storyteller’s ability to immediately draw the reader in."
—Jeffrey Ford, author of Crackpot Palace

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.

Weekly Update #74

Editor's Note

Short note today because I am a little under the weather. Want to give a shout out to our first reader from Laos. I hope our new friend and all of our readers enjoy our trips down the rabbit hole.

And now the news...

Assassin's Creed 3 DLC presents "King Washington"

A picture is worth a thousand words:

That is the epic promotional art for Assassin's Creed III's new DLC "The Tyranny of King George", an all-new single-player campaign told through three episodic content packs that lets gamers experience an alternate history of the events following the American Revolution. Here is the plot summary from the press release:

As the revolution comes to a close, a new and most unexpected enemy emerges. Driven by the desire to secure the fate of the colonies, the greatest hero of the revolution, George Washington, succumbs to the temptation of infinite power. The new King is born and his reign leaves no one untouched. To return freedom to the land our new hero must dethrone a tyrant he once called friend. 

This news came with the announcement that Ubisoft was offering the Assassin's Creed III Season Pass, granting access to all five upcoming downloadable content packs to gamers owning the original game on PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Microsoft's Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and Windows PC. You can however purchase the DLC without buying the pass.

Alternate historians are already salivating over this new game, but there are plenty of opportunities to play around with history in the Assassin's Creed universe. Although the franchise is a secret history, the ability to play out cloak and dagger scenarios in histories that went differently won't be a difficult transition for Ubisoft. Perhaps you might find yourself fomenting a slave rebelled in Richmond, Virginia, CSA or taking out top Nazi officials in a Berlin where Germany won World War II?

Those interested in learning about other possible American monarchs should check out my counterfactual article on the subject.

More on Iron Sky

If you enjoyed Sean's review on Iron Sky then I highly recommend you check out the Geek Syndicate's coverage on the film. Christi Kassity said the film "has all the necessary elements to become a cult-classic."

But wait, there's more! Geek Syndicate is giving away DVD copies of Iron Sky. All you have to do is send them an email with title of ‘I Want The Iron Sky’  and your name and address to comps at geeksyndicate dot co dot uk by October 31st.  The first 5 entries they pick will each win a DVD. The competition is open to US residents only.

Submissions Wanted

Trying a new format. All submissions below are listed in order of their submission period. Good luck:

Now - Dec 1: Bad Seeds: Evil Progeny. Stories of evil kids, come on we all have a few.

Nov 15 - Dec 31: The Time Traveler’s Almanac. Reprint only, so only famous authors need to apply.

Jan 1 - March 31: The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes volume II, 3000-8000 words.

Things to do

Check out these upcoming alternate history inspired events:

Oct 12: The Pendleton Historic Foundation steampunk-themed fundraiser in Anderson, SC.

Oct 20-Nov 11: A steampunk version of Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus” in Cincinnati, OH.

Oct 26-28: Steamcon IV in Seattle, WA.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate history at the Historical Novel Society Conference 2012 by Alison Morton at Write a novel? I must be mad!

Alternate Histories: 7 Ways the World Could Be Completely Different at mental_floss.

British New Assyria by Ben at Portable Homeland.

How Twitter Is Helping Major Brands Gather Steam by Trevor Davis at ClickZ.

Immigration: The Most Important Economic Issue by Brian Doherty at Hit & Run Blog.

Maritime Steampunk by Maeve Alpin at Steamed!

Obama was prepared to try bin Laden in court by Jake Tapper at Yahoo.

Professor Elemental Defines Steampunk (or, at Least Tries to) at Tor.com.

Why some technologies fail, and others succeed by Maggie Koerth-Baker at boingboing.

Books

So, I Run Into S.M. Stirling At Powell's Books One Day … by Samuel Klein at The ZehnKatzen Times.

Nisi Shawl’s Everfair: Into the Heart of Steampunk by Cat Rambo at Tor.com.

Review of Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis at Fantasy Faction.

Review of Duty: A Retelling of Waterloo by Michael Seeley at The War Blog.

Rockin’ That Steampunk by Kevin J. Anderson at Tor.com.

Two New York Times Bestselling Authors Release New Books Through Small Print-On-Demand Press at Red Orbit.

Writing Historical Fantasy by Kiki Hamilton at Steamed!

Comics

Trailer Released for Grandville: Bete Noire by dwgrampus at Geek Syndicate.

Films

Eight best time-travel flicks by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd at Salon.

Steaming Rad: Taichi 0 at Asian One.

Would you kill Baby Hitler? by Roger Ebert at Chicago Sun-Times.

Games

A Brief “History” Lesson by Grant Rodiek at Hyperbole!

Choose Your Own Dishonored Adventure With New Trailer by Sarah Leboeuf at The Escapist.

City of Steam Developers Release New Journal, Let You Blow Up Barrels by N at Flesh Eating Zipper.

“Deadlight” Comes to Steam This Month by dwgrampus at Geek Syndicate.

Review: Fortress America done by Blaine Pardoe at Notes From The Bunker.

‘We Never Really Felt The Need For Boss Monsters’ In Dishonored, Designer Says by Jason Schreier at Kotaku.

Interviews

Sebastian Breit at The Indie Spotlight.

Alexander S. Brown at Examiner.com.

Podcasts

Dissecting Worlds (Series 6, Episode 5): Secret History and Conspiracy Theories.

The SF Signal Podcast (Episode 154): Panel: History That Never Happened, Our Favorite Alternate History Stories.

Twilight Histories (Episode 8): Roma Islamica.

* * *

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.