Weekly Update #56

Editor's Note

Sorry for the late post.  I just got back from a friend's wedding in Peoria.  I had a great time and would like to wish Dan and Kim Pelphrey the best of luck as they start their new life together.

Thanks to Doc Quincy E. Quartermain who runs the Alternate History Track at Dragon Con.  He was kind enough to let me post updates the blog at the Track's Facebook group.  It is a good place to get info on alternate history, especially Steampunk, and get updates about what the Track has planned for the Con.  I highly reccomed you go check it out.

This week we will have New Releases on Tuesday, a Chris Nuttall article on the CSA on Wednesday, a review of Land of Hope and Glory by Geoffrey Wilson (who was kind enough to send a signed copy of his novel to review) on Thursday and a run down of why you can expect over the month of June as we get closer to the one month anniversary.

We also got our first reader from Namibia.  Welcome!

And now the news...

Mike Tymczyszyn to sign copies of Titan

Screenwriter and author Mike Tymczyszyn will be signing copies of his graphic novel Titan: An Alternate History on Saturday June 2nd at Chapters on Queensway.  For those who have not read Titan, here is a brief description:

“Professor Peter Tytan wasn’t even a blip in history. He taught archeology to largely unengaged students, and lived a largely unassuming life. That life changed when a brutal mugging left him broken, bloodied and hallucinating. Did the lives he saw really happen? Could a tribe of nomads have been gathered together from the Steppes of ancient Russia and marched to war across Asia? Could a single slave have changed the outcome of The Crusades? Who really profited from the Industrial Revolution, and was his death just the beginning of an empire that will eventually control the world?”

Those hoping to learn more about the graphic novel can read my review of Titan or this one at TdotComics by Ryan C. Burgess.  When asked about Titan 2 on Twitter, Mike replied: "we're working on it. Hope to have at least one issue done by fan expo this August!"

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Counterfactual by Arthur Goldhammer at French Politics.

If Britain had joined the euro by Jeremy Warner at The Telegraph.

Writing the alternate history historical by K. Reed at Writers and Authors.

Books

Brave New World: Revolution – The Trilogy Begins, is it a “A New Hope” or a “Phantom Menace”? by What Jonas Thinks.

Literary Look Ahead: The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Michael Schaub at NPR.

Review: 'Geared for Pleasure' by Rachel Grace done by Jessie Potts at USA Today.

Review of Goliath by Scott Westerfeld done by Calico Reaction.

Review of The Mongoliad, Book One done by Marlene Harris at Reading Reality.

S.M. Stirling's Emberverse Series by Ross Arlen at A Threatening Noise From The Sea.

Online AH

1636: The Kremlin Games – Snippet 41 by Eric Flint.

Ad Astra Per Aspera at TV Tropes.

May 24, 1789 – Irish Rebels Take Dublin by This Day in Alternate History.

May 25, 1521 – Martin Luther Assassinated by This Day in Alternate History.

Video Games

What If Square Never Left Nintendo? by Todd Ciolek at 1Up.

What If Steam Hadn't Recovered From Its Shaky Launch? by Dennis Farrell at 1Up.

Television

Hope for Revolution by My Green Misadventure.

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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.

Best of 2011

I know I said I would not post anything until 2012, but I thought I should take a moment and list some of the best of 2011.  Now there is nothing scientific about the selection criteria (I do not even limit winners to those works published in 2011) and I probably never will have any official rules if I do this again next year.  The one constant is that AH Weekly Update discussed them at some point.  This is still my opinion, so feel free to disagree (in fact I encourage it). 

Anyway here are the winners of the best alternate history for 2011:

Best Novel: I am going to have to go with When Angels Wept by Eric G. Swedin (certainly this is a greater honor then winning the Sidewise Award).  War Blogger, however, might disagree with me and go with East Wind Returns by William Peter Grasso.  They are both good books and I highly recommend that you read them if you get the chance. 

Best Anthology: While there were only two anthologies reviewed this year, I have to give the nod to Robert Cowley's What if? series.  It is still an excellent series of counterfactuals and a must read for any legitimate alternate historian.

Best Short Story: "Coil Gun" by Matthew Quinn gets the nod, but by default since we did not review any short stories separately this year.  Next year I will try and bring you more reviews of short stories.

Best Showcase: This is a difficult category to rate, especially since an online timeline does not get a showcase unless the reviewer already believes this is an excellent piece of alternate history.  So to make things simpler I am going to give it to the most viewed showcase, which is Dominion of Southern America by Glen from Alternatehistory.com.  Congrats!

Best Comic: Titan by Michael Tymczyszyn and Andy Stanleigh also gets the nod for best comic by default, but let me stress the fact that getting the nod this way does not mean it is a bad book.  It just means that we need to review more comics.

Best Television Show: I was not sure whether I should have changed the title of this category to "Worst" instead of "Best", but I decided to go with "Best" for sake of conformity.  I have to admit this year was a bad year when it came to watching alternate history on television, so as much as I hate to do this, I have to given the nod to Spike TV's Alternate History.  Sure it was overly dependent on bad special facts and loaded with implausible gibberish, it still managed to maintain a shred of dignity by not forcing me to stare at underage crotches!

Best Interview: Well this is a very difficult category to choose from.  I did some great interviews over this year and certainly Matthew Quinn would win if I just did it by the number of page views (by the way everyone should read the end of this interview where Matt gives some good advice about how to deal with arguments on the Internet).  Yet I think I will call it a tie and also give a nod to Dale Cozort, the long time alternate history fan who I just had a great time talking with.

Best Contributor: I cannot make this decision by myself, but if you look to your right you will see a poll where you can help select the best contributor of 2011.  I will announce the winner in two weeks time.

Well everyone I had a great time this year and I am very happy with how far this blog has come.  I look forward to making 2012 an even more remarkable year for Alternate History Weekly Update!

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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.

Weekly Update #18

Editor's Note

This week is nuclear war themed.  I will be posting a review of the Sidewise award winning novel When Angels Wept: A What-If History of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Eric G. Swedin and interviewing the author himself.  I will also be doing a showcase on one of my favorite online alternate histories: 1983: Doomsday.

We got 2,397 page views for the month of August, a new record!  We also have new first-time readers from Turkey and Myanmar (or Burma depending on your preference).  Welcome!  More importantly, we are only one Facebook fan away from reaching 50 Facebook fans.  If you have enjoyed Alternate History Weekly Update and have a Facebook account, than please help us reach this important milestone.

And now the news...

Update on Cornell's Counterfactual Class

Last week I discussed a history class at Cornell University that used counterfactuals to teach history.  Well I did not give you the complete story, but thankfully PhD Candidate Irene Vrinte straightened me out:

It is not a regular course, however, but a First-Year Writing Seminar. Cornell offers dozens of these each semester, and all freshmen are required to enroll in two of them. Only freshmen are allowed to enroll, and there is a strict cap on the number of people allowed to enter the course. As a writing seminar, about 50% of my time is spent teaching students writing skills, and during the other 50% my teaching is more content-related. My course is by no means a coverage course in (alternative) history that any Cornell student who wants to can enroll in, as your article on the blog may lead people to think.

She also explained what the class attempts to take a neutral stance on the importance of using counterfactuals in an academic setting:

...although I hope and believe that "imagining otherwise" can help my students further develop their critical thinking and creative writing skills (the main aims of the course), we also read extensively on the counterarguments academics have offered against using thought experiments. In my class we "respect" counterfactual history, in other words, but that does not mean we can never be critical of it.

So there you have it, a description of "What Ifs": Counterfactual History and the American Century that is probably more informative than anything I could write.  Good luck this year Irene and I hope your dissertation goes well.

President Al Gore

Have I ever talked about the problems of alternate US presidential elections?  Well the last week has given me several articles that proved my point: it is a very easy way to produce sub-par alternate history.  The character featured in this alternate history debate is President Al Gore.

Al Gore after George W. Bush concedes the 2000 presidential election.

Brent Budowsky at The Hill produced an argument on why the United States would be better off if Al Gore was elected president in 2000.  Budowsky paints a world in where President Gore prevents 9/11, won the war in Afghanistan by 2003, never invades Iraq, never makes the same tax cuts as Bush, improves the economy and win a Nobel Prize for the environment (for his actions take to improve the environment as President).  The entire article reads like a Gore-wank, where he can magically do no wrong.  Yet consider America's decision to go to war with Iraq.  Steve Kornacki of Salon makes a credible argument that President Gore might have gone to war as well.

Critics of Budowsky's vision, however, make the same mistake that he did.  Bill S at RedState posted a review of Budowsky's article.  With comments such as "rife with silliness", Budowsky implies that President Gore would create a world with a crippled American economy and much worse terrorism problem.  His only support for some of these predictions was a link to an article published by a magazine with a convervative bias, though at least he made an attempt to provide some support for his argument unlike Budowsky.

Political alternate histories are the examples of when an author's political bias really shines.  They do not attempt to produce a plausible alternate history, they instead are preaching their beliefs...usually to the choir.  A good alternate historians will use these articles I posted above not as the truth of a President Gore timeline, but as sources for their own alternate history where Al Gore wins the 2000 United States presidential election.  A good alternate historian listens to both sides and ignores his own bias.

If you would like to see some other alternate Al Gore, the Alternate History Wiki has a good list.

Fan Expo Canada Updates

We have two updates coming out of Fan Expo Canada that should make both comic book fans and alternate historians happy.

First, Andy Stanleigh, Chief Visual Engineer at Alternate History Comics Inc., has informed me that Titan: An Alternate History got a huge response at the Fan Expo Canada and they expect the debut the sequel to Titan in August 2012.  If you would like more information regarding this excellent piece of alternate history, you can check out my review or go to the book's website.

Second, Dan DiDio of DC Comics announced that James Robinson and Nicola Scott are working on a new Justice Society of America book that takes place on Earth-Two.  Prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths, the entire DC universe was divided into an infinite multiverse, but following Crisis that multiverse was replaced by just one Earth to make the DCU more accessible to new readers.  Recent mini-series have reestablished the multiverse

The Justice Society of America right before they destroy a city block.

The problem with major comic book companies is that their massive continuity and numerous retcons turns these universes into printed soap operas that are difficult to get caught up if you are new reader or someone who stopped reading comics for a short period.  If you do not believe me, check out this article on Newsarama as they struggle to find a name to call the post-Crisis period.

Reminder: Stirling in Portland

I mentioned this before, but just a friendly reminder that for any of my readers in the Pacific Northwest, you can meet author S. M. Stirling at Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, Beaverton, OR on September 7th at 7 pm.  He will be reading from the next installment of the Emberverse series: The Tears of the Sun.  I already have it pre-ordered for my Kindle and I am looking forward to reading it when it comes out this Tuesday.

Links to the Multiverse

Books

Review of Island in the Sea of Time by S. M. Stirling at The Archaeologist's Guide to the Galaxy.. by Thomas Evans.

Video Games

Alternate History Moments in Gaming, 1 at The War Blog.

Resistance: Burning Skies Interview at IGN.

Articles

Explainer: String theory by Dean Rickles at Explainer.

Imagining the Rolling Stones Without Keith Richards by Ben Ratliff at The New York Times.

That's oil she wrote at The Economist.

Review: Titan

Grade: B+

Sometimes important events occurred (or failed to occur) all because of the choice of one person. For example, what if Patrick Ferguson took his shot when he had General George Washington in his sights? Some could even say that our history is nothing but the sum of our choices. But what if that history was all because of one man?

History professor Peter Tytan inhabits a world similar, yet different, from our own. The Pope resides in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Benjamin Franklin Buter was the 22nd President of the United States. Yet Peter does not take this for granted, this is all he has ever known. When one of his graduate students writes a paper suggesting that their history does not make sense and seems to be all be the results of the action of one man, he tries to talk her out of it to prevent her from ruining her career.

That was before, however, he was robbed, beaten and drugged. Suddenly Peter begins to hallucinate and starts reliving memories of past lives. A Scythian king who tried to conquer China, a slave who stood against the armies of the First Crusade and a wealthy industrialists with dreams of being the next president of the United States. Peter is changing and learning his true destiny...and the entire world shudders because of it.

Titan: An Alternate History (by Michael Tymczyszyn and Andy Stanleigh) is the first book published by Alternate History Comics, Inc. and represents what I love about independent comics. They are not held down by the censorship and confusing continuity of the major publishers. Instead they present to you a rich and compelling world which does not ignore the darker parts of humanity and leaves the reader wanting more. Meanwhile, the artwork was beautiful. Each era of time had their own style. Sadly I do not have an appreciation for art that will enable me to give you a good explanation of what I saw, but trust me, you will like it.

As an alternate historian, however, I have to knock down Titan's grade due to plausibility. Purists will not like the fact that even with changes reaching as far back as the B.C. era, history has still not diverged greatly from our own. In the present day of the comic we do have a United States of America, despite the fact that it would likely have been butterflied out of existence.

Nevertheless, I still recommend Titan for comic book fans and alternate historians alike. It is a fresh breath of air in a medium that is often dominated by way too many capes. By the way, the guys at AHC are running a special where if you order your copy before August 26th, it will be signed by both authors. You can also check out the animated trailer for Titan on YouTube.

Breaking News: "Titan: An Alternate History" to be released on August 19

Remember when I talked about a new alternate history comic book company?  Well the fine gentlemen at Alternate History Comics Inc. were kind enough to provide me with some important details about their new graphic novel: Titan: An Alternate History.

Titan  was written by Toronto author and screenwriter Michael Tymcyzyszyn and art by Toronto artist Andy Stanleigh, who gave each time period its own unique style.  The plot of Titan is as follows:

Professor Peter Tytan wasn't even a blip in history. He taught archeology to largely unengaged students, and lived a largely unassuming life. That life changed when a brutal mugging left him broken, bloodied and hallucinating. Did the lives he saw really happen? Could a tribe of nomads have been gathered together from the Steppes of ancient Russia and marched to war across Asia? Could a single slave have changed the outcome of The Crusades? Who really profited from the Industrial Revolution, and was his death just the beginning of an empire that will eventually control the world?

Join Alternate History Comics as we explore a world similar and yet very different from our own. Where the history one teaches is also the reality he inhabits. With every hallucination Peter sees, his world spins further and further away from the one we recognize. But the most astounding changes are the ones that overcome him, transform him, and make him a Titan among men.

Titan  will be available to purchase beginning this Friday at a retail price of $19.99CDN at the book's website or at Amazon.ca.  Titan will also be distributed to comic book stores and Chapters/Indigo locations throughout Canada and the United States.

If you would life to meet the guys behind Titan, Alternate History Comics Inc. will be occupying a premium booth at this year's Fan Expo Canada, August 25-28 at the Metro Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, Canada.

I for one am looking forward to reading Titan and will hopefully have a review of the graphic novel in the coming week or so.

AHWU #13

Editor's Note

I hope you guys liked Teramis' post. The second part of her series should be posted tomorrow and remember that if you would like to contribute all you have to do is contact us at ahwupdate@gmail.com.

So apparently author John Birmingham reads the blog (see the comments). I am not afraid to admit that I did nerd out when I first read the comment. After gushing to my friends (most who did not know who the hell I was talking about) I responded with a calmly written response to his comment. Of course I probably ruined Birmingham's opinion of me with this entry...crap.

Meanwhile, people from Argentina, Switzerland, South Korea, Portugal, Romania and Brazil now reads my blog. Check out this updated audience map:

Now I know I promised to publish my theory on why Back to the Future only makes sense if you use the multiverse theory, however I decided to publish that on Wednesday as an individual post. I originally planned to publish it as a part of AHWU, but due to its length (which continues to grow) I decided to split it off as a lone post. So look for that later this week...but now I bring you the news.

SF Gateway: A New Digital Library

Do you want to expand your alternate history library, but just do not have the cash? Well you are in luck because Gollancz will be launching a new digital science fiction and fantasy library called SF Gateway, which will make thousands of out-of-print science fiction classics available as e-books. It launches this fall, and will be integrated with the online launch of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.

The goal is to have 5,000 free novels in their library by 2014. Now the exact titles which will be on the site is unknown, but some recognizable alternate history authors include Poul Anderson, L. Sprague de Camp, Philip K. Dick, Harry Harrison, Murray Leinster, Ward Moore and the master of alternate history himself, Harry Turtledove. You can see a complete list of the authors here.

I personally am looking forward to this, especially since I got a Kindle for my birthday. If you would like to find out more information you can follow the news from Twitter and/or Facebook.

An Alternate History Comic Publisher?

It is not unusual for comics to tackle the alternate history genre, but they usually tend to be one-shot deals or short series. DC did have there Elseworlds imprint and Marvel had What If, but the works produced under those titles tended to focus divergences in the continuity of the main universe and not our history. Essentially what I am trying to say is that there is no organization out there dedicated to producing only alternate history content in the comics medium.

Until now, apparently. I present to you Alternate History Comics Inc. and its publication Titan: An Alternate History. Here is the plot summary of Titan:

Professor Peter Tytan wasn't even a blip in history. He taught archeology to largely unengaged students, and lived a largely unassuming life. That life changed when a brutal mugging left him broken, bloodied and hallucinating. Did the lives he saw really happen? Could a tribe of nomads have been gathered together from the Steppes of ancient Russia and marched to war across Asia? Could a single slave have changed the outcome of The Crusades? Who really profited from the Industrial Revolution, and was his death just the beginning of an empire that will eventually control the world?

Is it any good? Well the response on Facebook was rather good, which is all I can say since I have not read the book myself. You can order the graphic novel yourself here.

I will let you know if ever pick up Titan, but for now I wish Alternate History Comics Inc. the best of luck in reaching out to alternate history community.

New Releases: Red Wheels Turning

You guys remember Hugh Ashton right? Well his new book Red Wheels Turning on Smashwords and Amazon. Set in the same universe as Beneath the Gray Skies, it is a prequel to that novel. The story follows British Secret Service agent Brian Finch-Malloy in Tsarist Russia, as he works to prevent the Russian secret war-winning weapons from falling into the hands of the Bolshevik henchman, Kolinski, who makes his way across Europe, leaving a trail of blood and corpses behind him.

Hugh was kind enough to send me an advanced copy of his new novel, and while I have yet to finish it, I am impressed by what I have read so far and recommend that you go check it out.

Links to the Multiverse

Review of Jackboots on Whitehall - An WWII alternate history...with puppets.

Hollywood's Summer of Retro Sci-Fi - Benjamin Mercer thinks these films count as alternate history, but sadly most are secret history or borderline. What do you think?

Review of 1632 by Eric Flint - A video review of the famous Flint novel.