Weekly Update #154

Editor's Note

Two apologies today. First up, sorry for trolling all of my American viewers on the 4th. I still thought it was funny.

Second, sorry for the lack of content last week. Things sort of fell apart, but I am hoping for a better week this week. Remember, I did warn you that due to my upcoming move that I would be disappearing for stretches of time.

One more random thought: man is my lap top filthy.

And now the news...

Titan Book Acquires The LA Trilogy by Adam Christopher

Titan Books has acquired Adam Christopher's The LA Trilogy which is set in an alternate 1960s Los Angeles and stars a robot detective and his boss. The deal was struck between Titan Editor Natalie Laverick and Stacia Decker at the Donald Maass Literary Agency. The trilogy is inspired by Raymond Chandler's parody of science fiction in a letter to his agent, from whence Christopher's protagonist was born.

Laverick said, "I'm thrilled to be bringing Adam Christopher's robot PI trilogy over to the UK, and I think Ray and Googol will be right at home at Titan, alongside our Hard Case Crime heavy hitters and fresh sci-fi voices."

"I'm chuffed to bits that Raymond Electromatic has found a second home at Titan," says Christopher, celebrating the deal. 'It's going to be a lot of fun bringing his twisted, alt-universe version of Hollywood to life."

Christopher has written other alternate history novels before, including his debut novel, Empire State, which was SciFiNow’s book of the year and a Financial Times book of the year 2012. The first novel in this new trilogy will be published in September 2015. A novelette set in the same universe, titled Brisk Money, is set to be published by Tor on July 23.

Videos for Alternate Historians

Only one video this week. It is a review of Ignition City by Warren Ellis at Pulp Crazy.

If you know of any videos you think I should check out, shoot me a message. I am always on the lookout for good YouTube videos.

Links to the Multiverse

Books

Acquisitions Announcement from Titan Books by darkphoenix1701 at Geek Syndicate.
Excerpt of The Time Roads by Beth Bernobich.
FINALISTS: 2014 Chesley Awards at SF Signal.
Mark Charan Newton on The Fantasy Of Ancient History at SFX.
Norse Fire: The Nazi Civil War of 1991 by Chris Nuttall at The Chrishanger.
REVIEW: 'Archduke Franz Ferdinand Lives!': Counterfactual Examination of a World Without World War I -- and World War II at HuntingtonNew.net.
Shortlisted for the 2014 Self-Published Book of the Year Award by Alison Morton.
What Is Dieselpunk? by Misty Massey at Magical Words.
What is Punk Fiction? by Stephanie Sauvinet at World Weaver Press.

Counterfactual and Traditional History (Plus News)

Alternate endings: America could be vastly different if Founders had failed by Greg Jordan at Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
Bonnie King Charlie: An Alternate History Speculation by Chris Nuttall at The Chrishanger.
China Seeks Great Power Status After Sea Retreat by David Tweed at Bloomberg.
"Counter-Revolution of 1776": Was U.S. Independence War a Conservative Revolt in Favor of Slavery? at Democracy Now.
Kaaron Warren Celebrates Angry Robot’s 5th Birthday by Naming The 5 Most Horrendous Real People You May Not Have Heard Of (+ Giveaway!) at SF Signal.
These Soviet Concept Vehicles Are Clearly From An Alternate Universe by Vincze Miklós at io9.
What If America Had Lost the Revolutionary War? by Uri Friedman at The Atlantic.

Film and Television

The 10 Least Terrible Episodes of "The Time Tunnel" by Andy Hughes at Topless Robot.
Fox cancels sexy Egypt fantasy 'Hieroglyph' before premiere by James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly.
Getting What We Paid For: Penny Dreadful’s Season 1 Finale, “Grand Guignol” by Ryan Britt at Tor.
The Infinite Man Is A Skillfully Amusing Time-Travel Romance by ProjectCyclops at io9.

Games

Dieselpunk RPG InSomnia returns to Kickstarter, and it's not an MMO by Andy Chalk at PC Gamer.
Fox News rips off BioShock Infinite logo, irony ensues by Sam Barsanti at AV Club.

Interviews

Greg van Eekhout at My Bookish Ways.
Jo Walton at Boing Boing.

* * *

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.

Book Giveaway: The Adjacent by Christopher Priest

The good folks at Titan Books gave us the opportunity for a book giveaway. I will be giving away a hardcover copy of The Adjacent by Christopher Priest to someone in the United States or Canada. For those who don't know, here is the description from Amazon:

The eagerly anticipated new novel from “one of the master illusionists of our time.” (Wired)

In the near future, Tibor Tarent, a freelance photographer, is recalled from Anatolia to Britain when his wife, an aid worker, is killed—annihilated by a terrifying weapon that reduces its target to a triangular patch of scorched earth. 

A century earlier, Tommy Trent, a stage magician, is sent to the Western Front on a secret mission to render British reconnaissance aircraft invisible to the enemy.

Present day. A theoretical physicist develops a new method of diverting matter, a discovery with devastating consequences that will resonate through time.

So if you live in the USA or Canada, email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com with your address and "The Adjacent Giveaway" in the subject line of the email by May 20th. Winner will be announced on May 21st at 3 PM CST. Good luck everyone.

* * *

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.

Review: A Feast Unknown by Philip José Farmer

If you are not interested in reading a book where Tarzan get raped by an overweight Albanian, stop reading this review now.

Still with me? Good, lets go.

Our review today covers A Feast Unknown by Philip José Farmer. If you have not read anything by Farmer, I highly recommend you do so immediately. My fellow Bradley alum (go Braves) is one of history's most underrated science fiction authors. His works push the boundaries of what SF is allowed to cover and A Feast Unknown is no exception. The novel is part of his Wold Newton Universe of novels. This series of fictional mash-ups, where many pulp heroes can trace their ancestry to those present at a meteor strike in Wold Newton, Yorkshire, England on December 13, 1795. This universe predates other fictional mash-up series like Anno Dracula and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

We learn about our world's secret history through the eyes of Lord Grandrith, the legendary "Apeman" and bastard son of Jack the Ripper, who was the basis for the fictional character Tarzan. His world is upset when his home in Kenya is attacked by both the Kenya government and a group of Albanian mercenaries. Grandrith, however, can't hide and lick his wounds. He has a meeting with "the Nine", the secret order of immortals who control the world through their monopoly of a life sustaining elixir and they wait for no one.

As he travels west into Uganda to the lair of the Nine, Grandrith finds himself hunted by Doc Caliban, the historical Doc Savage. Savage blames Grandrith for the death of his lover (and cousin) and will not stop until the Lord of the Jungle is dead. As the two pulp titans battle against each other, questions abound. Why can't Grandrith or Savage get an erection unless they commit an act of violence? What role does the Nine have in the conflict? What is the mysterious connection that links the lives of Grandrith and Caliban?

Titan Books has sent me many great novels and with A Feast Unknown they didn't disappoint. Marketing material for this reprint (originally published in 1969 by erotic publisher Essex House) has described the novel as being "controversial". Even for someone of my desensitized generation, this novel is not for the faint of heart. Murder, rape, nudity, ejaculation, bestiality, incest and cannibalism are just a few of taboos referenced or experienced in this story. In some sense I feel this novel did for pulp action the same thing The Dark Knight Returns did for comics or A Game of Thrones did for high fantasy. It took the genre out of the hands of children and transformed it into something adults could enjoy.

Grandrith himself is a complicated fellow. At one point he seriously considers genocide in order to save the environment (including the last remaining "Folk", the hominid species that raised him as a child) and is yet devoid of any racial prejudice, since he does not consider himself human in the first place. If Grandrith morality seems confusing, at least it is his own, and that is the point of the novel. Whether they be the Nine or the Ethicals of Riverworld, Farmer does not like beings demanding obedience simply because they claim to be older and wiser. Rebellion against the gods is a common theme in Farmer's works and while not many will subscribe to his philosophy, I think Farmer believes the best type of morality is the one you create for yourself.

Is this book for everyone? Probably not. I still recommend it, however, because every once in a while it is healthy to step outside your comfort zone and test your deeply held ideas and beliefs. If you can do it in an entertaining and engaging manner, than more power to you. Anywho, I am never going to be able to look at Tarzan the same way again after reading A Feast Unknown.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update 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.

Review: Dracula Cha Cha Cha by Kim Newman

When I discovered a package containing Dracula Cha Cha Cha (originally titled Judgment of Tears) by Kim Newman my first thought was "I need to get some red wine." Weird, I know, but I always drank red wine while reading the first two books in the Anno Dracula series. It put me in the mood to really enjoy this horror/comedy/alternate history epic. Too bad they don't let you drink at work.

For those who don't know, the Anno Dracula series can be described as an "alternate fictional history". The heroes of Bram Stoker's Dracula fail to defeat the title character of the horror masterpiece. Dracula goes on to marry Queen Victoria, allowing vampires to come out of the shadows and walk openly among their prey. Those expecting some horrible vampire apocalypse as seen in I Am Legend by Richard Matheson will be disappointed (sorry Will Smith). Humans learn to adapt to the nocturnal monsters and discover that despite their powers, vampires can be killed. Vampires, meanwhile, discover that medieval notions of justice and superiority can get them killed in a world where they no longer have the defense of being dismissed as a myth.

Dracula Cha Cha Cha is the third book in the series. Failing to hold onto to throne of Britain or conquering Europe through Germany during WWI, Dracula got a reprieve from exile to help the allies defeat the Nazis in World War II. For his help he was given a palace just outside of Rome where he holds court as "King of the Cats". In 1959, the world's notable vampires and warm celebrities gather in Rome for the wedding of Count Dracula to Princess Asa Vadja. The pending union has worried the global intelligence community who fear Dracula will use the influence gained from marrying such a notable elder to try again for world domination.

Reporter Kate Reed, heroine from The Bloody Red Baron, has traveled to Rome to cover the wedding an ends up a witness to a brutal murder of two vampire elders. A vigilante known as the "Crimson Executioner" is killing vampire elders in Rome, but is he the true mastermind of the slayings or is someone else pulling the strings? Someone more powerful? Kate's investigation is hampered by the dying Charles Beauregard, former agent of the Diogenes Club and Kate's unrequited love. He is being tended by the eternally young elder vampire Geneviève Dieudonné who is concerned that the British agent Hamish Bond is putting undue stress on Charles who refuses to turn vampire to save his life. He may not have a choice if his former fiance and current head of the Dracula household, Penelope Churchward, has a say. She has become a powerful vampire in her own right and through the King of Vampires wields untold influence over the vampire community.

Kate deals with love, loss and murder as we meet a cast of historical and fictional characters, including a football player from Kansas named Kent and the Vatican's best exorcist. Her trail will take her to the true ruler of the Eternal City, a being who does not wish to share power with the elder vampires. Despite Newman's vampires being natural beings within his universe, he leaves it open for a little magic in the world. Its not the magic of wand wavers and quasi-Latin spells, but a darker and far older magic that even elder vampires fail to understand (What's that? Something is rising out of the Pacific? I'm sure its nothing.)

Dracula Cha Cha Cha has more in common with Anno Dracula then series The Bloody Red Baron. Vampires are being killed and the unsolved murders are throwing politics in disarray as vampires and humans compete for power. Though I am still a big fan of military AH, I have to admit that it is refreshing to read something besides battles and special forces missions. People will enjoy this supernatural mystery, although plausibility hounds will be frustrated by the lack of meaningful change to the timeline despite the existence of vampires. If you pick up a copy of the Titan Books reprint you will also get to enjoy a copy of the new short story "Aquarius", set in 1968 in Britain. Review on that one later. In the meantime, go and buy a bottle of red wine and open up the best vampire book for any alternate historian.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is a long-time fan of alternate history, founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Masquerade Crew. 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 (@MattMitrovich).

Review: The Martian War by Kevin J. Anderson

I was originally introduced to the writings of Kevin J. Anderson through his Jedi Academy trilogy, which I read when I was just a wee lad. Okay, when I say "wee lad" I mean high school teenager. Yeah, that's right. When all the other guys were partying, watching sports and chasing after girls, I was neck-deep in the Star Wars expanded universe. Who won high school now?

They did, obviously.

Hmm? O yes, my review, where was I...the story of the The Martian War rests on the assumption that all of the characters and settings created by H.G. Wells actually existed and inspired his writings. The story follows Wells,  just beginning his career as an author and living with his his fiance Jane, as he is recruited by his mentor Thomas Huxley to join the Imperial Institute. The best scientific minds of Britain, including Dr. Cavor and Hawley Griffin, are preparing the Empire for a predicted war with Germany. Plans are derailed, however, when the disgraced scientist Dr. Moreau crashes a symposium at the Institute with startling news: we are not alone. Moreau describes how, with the help of astronomer Percival Lowell, they were able to make contact with an alien civilization on Mars, which is planning to invade Earth at the opposition of the two planets. Wells becomes caught up in a race against time to save humanity and will travel farther than any human being to prevent a war between the worlds. See what I did there? Heh.

This is another fictional mash-up, focusing entirely on the works of H.G. Wells. Not every story of his is represented. For example, The Time Machine is referenced and themes from the novel are apparent, but Wells' famous and nameless time traveler remains absent. Unlike some of the other examples of fictional mash-ups that have been reviewed on this blog, this novel does not involve zombies or vampires. So instead of gory horror, you get a good piece of fiction written in the style of an era when it looked like science would lead humanity to new heights. While many of their predictions failed to come true, you can't help but be delighted by their naive optimism, like how you can travel between planets and not have to worry about pesky things like radiation and lack of oxygen.

The novel also comes with some social commentary (visuals of a society that is desecrating their planet in an effort to maintain their civilization) and some OTL history references (apparently no one can walk on the moon without saying the word leap). If I had one major nitpick about the novel, it was the Martian technology (I can only suspend disbelief for so long). Everyone knows about the towering Martian battle tripods, armed with their unstoppable heat ray, but on Mars we get a glimpse of Martians using smaller walkers just to get around. Did I mention the walkers only have two legs? Why, after seeing the advantages of a two legged travel, would the Martians go with the more unwieldy tripod model for their primary war machine?

Of course who can fathom the mind of an alien anyway. Fans of adventures into the golden age of science will enjoy this episode into the secret life of one of the forefathers of science fiction. The sky is the limit...as long as you have some cavorite on hand!

* * *

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 #70.1

Editor's Note

So last week I took Monday off to celebrate Labor Day, but this Monday I am back with a double-helping of Weekly Update. This post will focus primarily on alternate history, but steampunk fans should stay tuned for part 2 which will focus on the steampunk news of the last two weeks.

Thanks to everyone who voted in our last poll. Based on your answers I will no longer be promoting Weekly Update on Reddit. Sorry to everyone who followed on Reddit, but there was not enough of you following from that site. In the meantime, please check out our new poll on the right. Your votes will help decide what recurring segments continue or are resurrected.

Some good news now, we broke our monthly page view record for the 4th time in a row. Our new record stands at a whopping 11,712 page views in the month of August. This is on top of celebrating our 80,000th page view ever.

Congrats to winners of the Battle of the Book Review Blogs. Although AH Weekly Update did not place, I believe we did end up in 5th place out of dozen or more blogs. That is pretty impressive for such a young site in as niche of market as alternate history. This is a testament to our great fans and I thank you for your continued support from the bottom of my heart.

And now the news...

Update: Eric Flint

I actually got a chance to sit in on a panel headed by Eric Flint at Chicon about electronic publishing. Interesting topic and boy can the man talk, but I will share more details later this week when I publish my recap of Chicon.

That man can write as well. WCG at That's interest... reviewed his recent novel 1636: The Kremlin Games. Although WCG gave a good review of the novel, he did have this to say: "If you're a fan of the series, and haven't gotten tired of the whole thing, I'm sure you'll want to read this book. It's lots of fun. It's just that, for better and for worse, it's series fiction that's been going on for a long time now."

And the series will be going on. Eric has been posting snippets to the next installment of the 1632 series, 1635: The Papal Stakes. You can check out snippets 35, 36 and 37 there if you want.

Alternate Historians remember Neil Armstrong by envisioning his early death

Astronaut and first man on the moon Neil Armstrong died late last month. The 82-year old man was part of an elite club, having traveled farther from home than any other human. Mourning in a way that is unique to alternate historians, we remembered the famous pioneer by speculating about what if he had died earlier. Just check out the article What if Neil Armstrong Had Died on the Moon? by Mark Whittington at Examiner.com where he shares an AH story about such a tragedy along with a link to Nixon's back-up speech in case Neil and Buzz remained stuck on the moon. There is an even a February 2012 dramatization of such an event called Moon Graffiti that made the rounds following the announcement of Armstrong's death.

Things to do

Sept 27: At the London Megastore you can attend the Titan Books Signing Bonanza, featuring such authors as Guy Adams (The Army of Dr. Moreau) and Kim Newman (Anno Dracula series).

October: What if Mary Todd Lincoln had a chance to defend her sanity under modern legal principles? The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL will host a courtroom performance between Abraham Lincoln's widow and her son Robert over whether or not she was really insane and needed to be committed to an asylum.

Submissions Wanted

Two more opportunities to get published:

• Spellbound, a quarterly fantasy magazine for children 8-12, is looking for submissions up to 2500 words. Find more details here
• The final anthology to be published by Jake's Monthly has been announced. There is no theme for this one, so dust off that old chestnut and help Jake celebrate his goal of publishing an anthology once a month for a year.

As always, good luck.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate History by Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog.

Alternate Histories: 7 Ways the World Could Be Completely Different by Mark Juddery at mental_floss. And check out this rebuttal.

A Counterfactual History: Rick Perry Speaks At the Republican National Convention by Zac Crain at D Magazine.

Guest Post: An Alternate History of Israeli-Turkish Reconciliation by Dov Friedman at Ottomans and Zionists.

Politics & Alternative Reality Fiction by Mike LaBossiere at Talking Philosophy.

Books

Alternative History, Mystery: Dust to Blood by @tmycann at The Masquerade Crew.

Michaele Jordan Reviews Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations at Black Gate.

Review: COUP D’ETAT by Harry Turtledove done by K. Burtt at Geek Speak Magazine.

Review by Seamus Sweeney of Resistance by Owen Sheers at Alt Hist.

Review of Bitter Seeds (Milkweed #1) by Ian Tregillis done by My Bookish Ways.

Review of Northlands 3: Iron Winter by Stephen Baxter done by Falcata Times.

Films

What if The Dark Knight Rises took place in 1930s Shanghai? by Cyriaque Lamar at io9.

Maps

The separatist map of Africa: interactive by Luc Torres, Clar Ni Chonghaile, Finbarr Sheehy and Paddy Allen at The Guardian.

Music

Billy Joel Meets Stephen King Meets The Simpsons by Matt Selam at Time Entertainment.

* * *

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.

Review: "The Houdini Specter" by Daniel Stashower

Grade: B

This is not the first Harry Houdini fiction I read.  That honor goes to "Imprisoned With the Pharaohs" by weird fiction author H. P. Lovecraft, which I read last month. The story is allegedly based on a true experience Houdini had in Egypt.  It is unlikely Houdini actually experienced the horrors presented in the story since Lovecraft believed the original story was fabricated and he took significant artistic license.  Nevertheless, Houdini was impressed by the story and continued to offer Lovecraft writing opportunities up until his death in 1926.  I don't believe, however, that Houdini would look kindly on his portrayal by Daniel Stashower in The Houdini Specter, volume three of The Harry Houdini Mysteries.

That is not to say that I did not enjoy the novel.  The Houdini Specter was an intriguing murder mystery in the style of Sherlock Holmes, a style that Stashower is familiar with having written several stories in that universe.  This story is told from the perspective of Houdini's brother Theodore "Dash" Hardeen, a fellow magician who works hard promoting his brother's struggling magic career in turn-of-the-century New York.

When a friend of a friend requests assistance in exposing the tricks of  medium Lucius Craig who is taking advantage of a recently widowed heiress, Houdini jumps at the chance to solve a mystery just like his hero Sherlock Holmes.  They sit in on a seance and witness Craig, while tied to a chair by Houdini himself, conjure a "spirit".  Figuring out how he did that becomes less important than discovering how that apparition was able to stab an audience member, turning their investigation into murder case.

Houdini was certainly an excellent magician and escape artist, and with the help of Stashower's own experience as a magician, shows how common tricks could be used to duplicate alleged paranormal events.  Yet Houdini is a complicated character.  He can be vain, arrogant and fails to understand why no one else can see his greatness.  In many ways he reminded me of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, with his lack of social skills.

He can, however, show compassion for others, keep an open mind on controversial topics and be impressed by those less talented than him.  Nevertheless, he is no Holmes, that honor goes to his brother.  Though history does not remember Dash as they do Houdini, he is the one with the analytically mind necessary to solve a crime.  He is the one who looks for motive, collects evidence and avoids flights of fancy like his brother.

The Houdini Specter was a good page-turning mystery, but the ending could have been better.  Dash ends up captured by the true villain of the story and with our hero in his clutches the murderer...monologues.  He explains in detail how and why he did everything and lets Dash in on the long and drawn out process he will use to kill Dash as well.  The ending makes the villain less a Holmesian antagonist and more a cliche comic book supervillain.  Still the story was good overall and fans of turn-of-the-century tales of ghosts, murder and magic will enjoy Stashower's yarn.

*       *       *

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.

Preview: "The Houdini Specter" by Daniel Stashower

"This is charming...it might have amused Conan Doyle." 

- The New York Times

"In his first mystery, Stashower paired Harry Houdini and Sherlock Holmes to marvelous effect." - Chicago Tribune

"Stashower's clever adaptation of the Conan Doyle conventions - Holme's uncanny powers of observation and of disguise, the scenes and customs of Victorian life - makes it fun to read."

-Publishers Weekly

The third thrilling adventure for the legendary magician from award-winning author Daniel Stashower! IN THE HARRY HOUDINI MYSTERIES: THE HOUDINI SPECTER (Titan Books, June 2012) the Great Harry Houdini is still struggling to make a name for himself in turn-of-the-century New York. He sees an opportunity for glory in exposing the tricks of the medium Lucius Craig - if only he can work out how the medium managed to conjure a "spirit" while tied to a chair by Houdini himself or how the apparition was able to stab an audience member to death and then disappear!

Daniel Stashower www.stashower.com is a novelist and magician. A two-time Edgar Award-winning author of Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle and (co-author) Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life of Letters. His works also include Elephants in the Distance, The Beautiful Cigar Girl, the Sherlock Holmes novel, The Ectoplasmic Man and (as co-author) the Sherlock Holmes anthology, The Ghosts of Baker Street. He resides in Bethesda, MD.

The good people at Titan Books were kind enough to give me a review copy of The Houdini Specter and I should be posting a review next week.  Stay tuned.

*       *       *

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.

Review: "Anno Dracula: The Bloody Red Baron" by Kim Newman

Grade: A

Creatures from our darkest nightmares are unleashed on the closest thing to hell on Earth from human history.  Monsters own the skies and tanks can be brought down by a single, blood-thirsty soldier.  Women surrender their silver for the war effort and creatures lurk in No Man's Land that you could not imagine.  This is World War I envisioned by horror and alternate history author Kim Newman.  This is Anno Dracula: The Bloody Red Baron.

Some backstory for those not familiar with the Anno Dracula series.  The Bloody Red Baron is the sequel to the first book in the series, Anno Dracula.  The series is ann alternate history, except the point of divergence comes from literary history and not real history.  In the first book, the heroes in Dracula fail to defeat the world's most famous vampire.  The Count goes on to marry Queen Victoria, becoming Price Consort of the British Empire.  The upper crust of British society willingly become vampires, while older vampires step out into the moonlight (because sunlight is bad for them you know) feeling comfortable that no one is going to stab them in the heart with a stake.  Dracula's reign, however, is far from peaceful and a revolution sends him into exile.

Now Dracula is back and he has the combined armies of the Central Powers under his command.  In this alternate World War I, vampires fight on both sides and their unique ability to see at night means the war is fought 24/7.  Silver is hoarded by both sides as it is one of the few substances lethal to the undead.  I am glad I finished this book before watching episode 189 of Mythbusters which featured silver bullets.  Because silver tends to shrink and deform as it cools after molding, silver bullets may acquire shape irregularities that affect their flight.  This means they are incredibly inaccurate, which makes the idea of a machine gun loaded with a silver bullet every seventh bullet an ineffective weapon against a horde of fanged troopers.

The Bloody Red Baron begins in the winter of 1918 and everyone on the Allied side of the lines is awaiting the dreaded Spring Offensive, the Kaiserschlacht.  A million men have been freed from fighting on the Eastern Front and are being moved for one last push in the West.  An important piece of the offensive is Manfred von Richthofen and his all-vampire Jagdgeschwader 1.  Charles Beauregard, member of the ruling cabal of the Diogenes Club, has sent his protege Edwin Winthrop to find out what the German's plan is for their squadron of undead aces.  Kate Reed, vampire reporter, is also on the tail, but it will be vampire Edgar Poe who will get to meet Germany's secret weapon and witness first-hand the next evolution of vampire-kind.

The Bloody Red Baron is exceptionally well-written, gore-filled, alternate history masterpiece.  There were scenes in the book, such as Isolde's grisly performance in a dilapidated Paris theater, that sent my imagination into some dark places.  Unlike the prissy, sparkled vampires that infect popular culture today, Newman's vampires are bloody and dark.  They do not just prefer human blood, they desperately need it.  Yet despite its horror setting, one can't help but notice the humor in the over-arcing story.  The Bloody Red Baron is amusing as it is horrifying.

Like Back in the USSA, Newman's collaboration with Eugene Byrne, The Bloody Red Baron features a great deal of intertextuality.  Historic events and people are combined with fictional characters  from popular culture.  Part of the fun of the novel is to try and figure out all of the references.  An appendix is provided in this edition, but it is only for characters that Newman feels were too obscure.  After reading a more complete list on the Internet, it made me ashamed about how little-read I am compared to Newman.

Despite being separate timelines, I cannot help comparing The Bloody Red Baron to By the Blood of Heroes by Joseph Nassise.  Both alternate histories are set in World War I, have steampunk elements and feature horror monsters being used as weapons.  Both novels also feature Manfred von Richtofen, the Red Baron, as one of the antagonists.  In By the Blood of Heroes, Richtofen is an egoistical, reanimated monster bent on not just winning the war, but conquering the world.  If this presentation of the Baron seems like a cliche super-villain, that was intentional.  On the other hand, Newman's vampiric Richtofen is much more straightforward.  He is a killer, pure and simple.  There is nothing else but the war, the fight, the kill.  He has no plans for the future, he lives for the hunt.  Personally I think I liked this version of Richtofen better.  He was more frightening as an undead serial-killer then as a power-mad zombie.

I highly recommend reading The Bloody Red Baron and if you get the Titan Books edition you will also get the new novella, Vampire Romance, included in the back.  I will be writing a review of that story next week, so stay tuned.

*       *       *

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 and Jake's Monthly Anthology. When not writing he works as an attorney and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.

Preview: "Anno Dracula: The Bloody Red Baron" by Kim Newman

“How could World War I be made even grislier? Add vampires, as Newman does with great skill in this sequel to his Anno Dracula.” – Booklist

Written by the critically acclaimed novelist Kim Newman, The Bloody Red Baron [Titan Books, April 2012] is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the bestselling Victorian vampire novel, Anno Dracula. Filled with literary and historical characters from the early 20th century, this second book in the groundbreaking series on the War of the Great Powers in Europe sees an alternate Europe in a pitched war between the living and the undead!

It is 1918 and Dracula is commander-in-chief of the armies of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Diogenes Club is at the heart of the British Intelligence and Charles Beauregard and his protégé Edwin Winthrop go head-to-head with the lethal vampire flying machine that is the Bloody Red Baron.

This brand-new edition of The Bloody Red Baron includes a special added bonus: a lengthy new novella, Vampire Romance, which is set in the 1920s between the events of The Bloody Red Baron and the third novel in Anno Dracula Series, Dracula Cha Cha Cha. This volume also boasts intriguing new annotations from Kim Newman and an action-packed outline for a film version of The Bloody Red Baron called Red Skies.

On first publication in 1992, Kim Newman’s brilliantly imagined story Anno Dracula was praised by critics and won numerous prizes, including the prestigious International Horror Guild Award for Best Novel. Now, due to the modern reader’s fascination with vampires and speculative histories, this enduring classic Dracula series is brought to a new generation of fans.

Praise for Anno Dracula:

“It was the first mash-up of literature, history and vampires, and now, in a world in which vampires are everywhere, it's still the best, and its bite is just as sharp. Compulsory reading, commentary, and mindgame: glorious."  — NEIL GAIMAN

“Politics, horror and romance are woven together in this brilliantly imagined and realized novel.” — Time Out

Anno Dracula The multi-award winning series depicts an alternative history in which the heroes of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula fail to stop Count Dracula’s conquest of Great Britain. Titan will publish a brand new edition of the third book, Dracula Cha Cha Cha, in Fall 2012. The eagerly awaited fourth novel, Johnny Alucard, will be published for the first time in 2013.

Kim Newman is a London-based author and movie critic. He makes frequent appearances on radio and TV. He has won the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, British Fantasy and British Science Fiction Awards and been nominated for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. He writes regularly for Empire Magazine and contributes to The Guardian, The Times, Time Out and others.

*          *          *

Titan Books was kind enough to consider me when sending out review copies of The Bloody Red Baron, so stay tuned because I will be posting a review of the novel in the near future.

*       *       *

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.

Review: "The Company of the Dead" by David Kowalski

Grade: B+

Just because something is improbable does not mean it is impossible.  That is a common phrase you will find in David Kowalski's The Company of the Dead.  Originally published in Australia, this award-winning novel is Kowalski first work to be published in the United States and a lot of hype has come with it, including praise from John Birmingham and S. M. Stirling.  So does the novel deserve the attention it has been getting?

The story begins when a time traveler from OTL goes back in time to prevent the sinking of the Titanic.  The result of his efforts is a world where the United States does not enter World War I leading to a German victory.  An increasingly troubled United States eventually splits between a reborn Confederacy centered around Texas and the Deep South, while the rest of country reorganizes itself into the Northern Union.  The Union is later defeated and occupied by Japan, which along with Germany, is one of the world's two superpowers.  By the present day, the two empires have conducted a long cold war with actually fighting played among their proxies.  Meanwhile, culture and technology has stagnated.  Decolonization, women's suffrage and civil rights all failed. There was never a space race (but this world does have giant airships called stratolites that act as airship carriers in the upper atmosphere) and nuclear weapons are a recent discovery.

The setting is the weakest part of the novel.  Despite its ASB point of divergence, the events blossoming out from the changes wrought by the time traveler are not always logical.  The idea that the Germans could be victorious in WWI simply because the United States stayed out of the war ignores the effect of British tanks on the fighting on the Western Front and Germany's own internal problems.  Japan being able to defeat and occupy half of the OTL USA is also given way to much credit to the Japanese Empire, even this alternate one.  On a related note, the book's jacket and promotional material appear to misquote the setting of the novel.  America is described as being split by the two superpowers, with Japan holding the West Coast and Germany holding the East Coast.  In reality Japan occupies the West Coast and New York, with the entire Northern Union being a client state.  The Confederacy, however, is independent and a nominal ally of Germany.  Not sure why that mistake was not caught before publication.

Despite the implausible history of the novel, The Company of the Dead is still a good book.  The meat of the story follows Confederate spy Joseph Kennedy as his plan to restore history to its rightful order unfolds.  By linking the plot with Roswell, Area 51, the sinking of the Titanic and the assassination of JFK; Kowalski managed to write an intriguing spy-thriller with mysteries abound.  More importantly, Kowalski presented an important message that all alternate historians should take to heart: changing the past does not always mean a better future.  This is especially true if your intention is to avoid an historical tragedy.  For example, what if you went back in time and killed Hitler before his rise to power?  Would that lead to a better world?  As bad as the Holocaust was, without it we probably never would have had world nations embrace human rights.  Or something worse could have happened, such as the Soviets invading Europe or someone competent taking charge of Germany.  Do you remember what the road to hell is paved with?

Kowalski's debut American novel is a good story with an important message for fans of the genre, as long as you are not bothered to much by plausibility issues.  You only have to remember that just because something is improbable, does not mean it is impossible.

* * *

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.

Breaking News: Goodreads Offers a Chance to Win a Free Copy of "The Company of the Dead"

I was checking out the Titan Books website and I came upon this contest to get a free copy of The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski.  Those interested need to go to the novel's Goodreads page and enter to win there.  You have until March 10th and if you do not already have a Goodreads account, you are going to need to sign up for one.  [Editor's Note: Also this offer is only open to residents of the US, UK and Canada].

I am reading the novel at the moment and though a full review will probably not be ready until next week, I have to say I am enjoying it.  In fact I was quite peeved when I could not read it on the train this morning due to some excessively noisy passengers.  So I do recommend you sign up for the chance to win a free copy.

Good luck!

* * *

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.