Weekly Update #152

Editor's Note

Short editorial today, not much really to talk about. Just wanted to let you know I am also reading The Windsor Faction by DJ Taylor, another Sidewise nominee. Expect a review soon.

And now the news...

Harry Turtledove to Be Recognized as Literary Guest of Honor at Dragon Con 2014

Dragon Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy and SF convention, has selected author and Master of Alternate History Harry Turtledove as its Literary Guests of Honor. He will be recognized at the Guests of Honor Awards Banquet on Aug. 30.

“With the increasing popularity of alternative history, Harry Turtledove was chosen as our Literary Guest of Honor for his popular tales that take readers to alternate worlds and immerses them in fantasy action," said Convention Co-chair Rachel Reeves. Although this blogger is still surprised when he hears that alternate history is popular, he can't disagree with the gist of Reeves praise.

Turtledove is probably best known for his novel, Guns of the South, which combines time travel, social commentary, and a Confederate victory into a widely praised and internationally top-selling novel. For more than four decades, Turtledove has been at the forefront of many innovations in science fiction literature, equally at home writing about alien invasions or historically based epics. His many well-received series even include an alien race invading Earth in the midst of WWII.

Congrats to Harry Turtledove for receiving this honor and hopefully he will add another Sidewise Award to the mix as well at Worldcon.

Paradox Unveils New Europa Universalis IV Mini Expansion to the Public

Paradox Interactive revealed the third expansion for Europa Universalis IV. The new mini expansion, entitled Res Publica, will introduce new systems of governance and trade to the game, including an all-new government type and several new Idea Groups for ambitious strategists to explore. The mini expansion is scheduled to release this summer for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs.

Res Publica, a Latin phrase meaning “Public Affairs,” provides players with even more ways to rewrite history and tell their unique stories of conquest. In Res Publica, dictators and diplomats will discover new ways to manage and govern their empires, including additional ways to influence growth, sway the balance of power, and maintain – or shatter – a nation’s stability.

Res Publica adds the following features to the game’s affairs:

• Republic Affairs: Grow your influence with the Merchant Republic faction to create new trade posts and reap bonuses, or exploit the inner power struggles of the Dutch Republic and their unique election events
• Meet the New Boss: Try the all-new Republican Dictatorship government type, and decide between increases in power or Republic Tradition in new in-game opportunities and events
• Don’t Fight the Power: Retain power for the ruling family by backing heirs in Elective Monarchies; boost your growth with the National Focus bonus and spend your points on Administrative, Diplomatic, or Military Power

Res Publica will provide grand strategy fans with their broadest set of choices and tactics yet when it releases this summer. If you plan to check it out, please let us know.

Video Gallery

Several good videos this week. First up, Epic Rap Battles of History returns featuring a battle between Isaac Newton and Bill Nye (featuring Weird Al Yankovic):

Next up, another shout out to Paradox with their War of the Vikings: Berserker trailer:

And we finish with How to: Papers Please, from the always funny guys at Rooster Teeth:

Links to the Multiverse

Books

‘1636’ is great as stand-alone part of series by Mark Lardas at The Daily News.
The Peril of Making eBooks Free by Mark Lord.
Review: Afrika Reich by Guy Saville at Other Times.
Review: California Bones by Greg Van Eekhout at The Qwillery.
Review: The Madonna and the Starship by James Morrow at The Little Red Reviewer.
SUCCESSIO goes on a blast! by Alison Morton.
Why Do We Love Sherlock Holmes? by Maeve Alpin at Steamed.

Comics

Preview: Steampunk Battlestar Galactica: 1880 #1 (Unlettered) at Comic Book Resources.
Review: Brass Sun #2 at Geek Syndicate.
That Time The United Nations Condemned Superman (In Real Life) by Mark Strauss at io9.
What If Batman Had Been In Watchmen? by Lauren Davis at io9.

Counterfactual and Traditional History (Plus News)

Beware the Confident Counterfactual by Jay Ulfelder at Dart-Throwing Chimp.

Games

E3 2014: Hands on The Order: 1886 by Reagan Morris at Stuff.co.nz.

Interviews

Gail Carriger and Cindy Spencer Pape at USA Today.
SM Stirling at Nightflier's Bookspace.
Daniel Suarez at SF Signal.
Greg Van Eekhout at SF Signal.

Podcasts and Audio Dramas

Aztec Steel by Jordan Harbour at Twilight Histories.
The Springheel Saga Audio Drama Takes the Gold at Geek Syndicate.

Television

Fight on for TV's fantasy throne by Sarah Hughes at The New Zealand Herald.
Shoot-Out at the Undead Corral: Penny Dreadful Ep. 6 “What Death Can Join Together” at Tor.

* * *

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 #147

Editor's Note

Thanks for all of the feedback I have been getting after the announcement of the Voices from Alternia podcast. I already got some volunteer panelists, some new ideas for topics and plenty of people looking forward to subscribing. Remember, this is a podcast for YOU, the alternate historian. What do you want to hear us talk about? You are our potential audience and we want to hear from you.

A reminder, tomorrow is the last day to enter your name into the The Adjacent book giveaway! Not many people have entered yet, so the odds are very good for someone to win.

And now the news...

Phoenix Pick releases "Aethers of Mars" by Eric Flint  and Charles E. Gannon

Phoenix Pick released the next installment in the Stellar Guild series: "The Aethers of Mars" by Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon.

In this steampunk, alternate history version of events, circa 1900, Cecil Rhodes rules Mars and is on his way to transforming the British Empire into his vision of a powerful force, managed by the “right” type of people. But all is not well. As the Aethership Agincourt races from Earth to Mars, it may be bringing along the legendary assassin and revolutionary, Savinkov, who may single-handedly change the course of history once again. And hot on the heels of Savinkov come secret Russian agents whose agenda may be quite different from everyone else’s.

This story was actually released last week, but for some reason it escaped my notice. Nevertheless I thought you guys would be interested in checking out a work co-written by one of the biggest names in alternate history and a Nebula finalist.

War of the Vikings Adds Fearsome Female Warriors with Shieldmaiden Mini-Expansion

Paradox Interactive announced the addition of female characters to War of the Vikings, the close quarter combat game developed by Fatshark. The Shieldmaiden mini-expansion adds new maps, new weapons and the option to play as female combatants in a new pre-defined class for both the Viking and Saxon factions, with designs inspired by history and real-world accounts of brave warrior women, and comes at no cost to all players.

“Out of all of the research and study that went into designing War of the Vikings, the history surrounding shieldmaidens was some of the most fascinating and controversial,” said Gordon Van Dyke, Executive Producer for Paradox’s War series. “Our design reflects the preparations that any warrior, male or female, would have made for battle: practical protection, not sexualized fantasy. We’ve saved the physics for the combat, where it belongs.”

This update launches alongside a new DLC package that adds a wealth of customization options to the new female warriors – absurd and nonsensical ‘boob armor’ not included. Owners of the of the Blood Eagle and Valhalla editions of the game will have this customization DLC already included, base game owners can purchase the customization DLC for $4.99.

Video Gallery

This week we begin our video gallery with another video from the AlternateHistoryHub, featuring a timeline where Best Korea won the Korean War:

We continue with another shout out to Glorious Leader with a game called Glorious Leader!:

We end with a look at the new trailer for Nolan's Interstellar:

Although the film looks more SF than alternate history, some preliminary research done by myself suggests that time travel and parallel universes play a part. Only time will tell what the plot of this secretive film really is, but I will keep an eye on it in case we find ourselves with a big budget alternate history film on our hands.

Links to the Multiverse

Books

AMAZING PEOPLE In the News: John Dodds Releases The Mechanikals at Amazing Stories.
Ben Blattberg on WOLFHOUND CENTURY by Peter Higgins at SF Signal.
The Enceladus Crisis (Excerpt) by Michael J. Martinez at Tor.
Guest Post: A Case of Spontaneous Combustion at The Chrishanger.
Hayford Peirce's Alternate Histories "Napoleon Disentimed" and "The Burr in the Garden of Eden" at Ifnicity.
How the Cover Was Decided for V. E. Schwab’s New Book A Darker Shade of Magic at Tor.
If the British Won… by Paul Aron at Common-Place.
Review: 'The Blonde': Marilyn Monroe Reinvented as Soviet Spy in Counterfactual Thriller/Biography at Huntington News.
Review: Liberty 1784: The Second War for Independence by Robert Conroy at Ifnicity.
Review: V-S Day by Allen Steele at Thinking about books.
Trudi Canavan: Multiple Worlds Stop Fantasy Travel Boredom at SciFiNow.
What Michael J. Martinez Learned from “The Empire Strikes Back” at SF Signal.

Comics

REVIEW: Madame Frankenstein #1 at Geek Syndicate.

Counterfactual and Traditional History (Plus News)

Another Clockstopper Counterfactual: Russians Rehabilitate "Good Hitler" by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
Another Rhetorical Counterfactual: Could India's Partition Have Turned Out Even Worse? by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
Great War was world's first sci-fi war, says Pat Mills at BBC.
Half of People Surveyed by the ADL Don't Know What the Holocaust Is by Danielle Wiener-Bronner at Yahoo.
The Mexican-American war in a nutshell by NCC Staff at Yahoo.
The Premier League Standings if Only Goals by English Players Counted by John Zongmin Chow and Kevin Quealy at The New York Times.

Film and Television

9 'Game Of Thrones' Moments That Actually Happened In History by William Rosen at Huff Post Books.
10 Alternate History Movies by Leigh Singer at IGN.
Da Vinci's Demons 2.8: The Talking Head at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
Elementary: Season 2, Episode 24. The Great Experiment (2014) at Thinking about books.
​Is The CW's Reign Secretly A Fantasy Show? by Genevieve Valentine at io9.
Penny Dreadful: Intelligent, Shocking, and Promising at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
Review: Timecrimes at Sci-Fi Fan Letter.
Review: War of the Worlds: Goliath at Dieselpunk.
This Could Have Been The Face Of The New Godzilla by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.

Gaming

Even More Awesome Video Game Alternate Timelines by Eriq Martin at IGN.
In The Grim Darkness of the 1940s, There Is Only War... by Matthew Quinn at The World According to Quinn.
Review: GURPS Alternate Earths 2 at Other Times.

Short Fiction


Hitler is Coming by Martin Roy Hill – Free Story Extract at Alt Hist.
Inaugural Publication for ‘Witty Bard’ – Steampunk by Ray Dean at Steamed.

* * *

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 4/15/14

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

Paperbacks

Age of Shiva by James Lovegrove

Zachary Bramwell, better known as the comics artist Zak Zap, is pushing forty and wondering why his life isn t as exciting as the lives of the superheroes he draws. Then he s shanghaied by black-suited goons and flown to Mount Meru, a vast complex built atop an island in the Maldives. There, Zak meets a trio of billionaire businessmen who put him to work designing costumes for a team of godlike super-powered beings based on the ten avatars of Vishnu from Hindu mythology. The Ten Avatars battle demons and aliens and seem to be the saviours of a world teetering on collapse. But their presence is itself a harbinger of apocalypse. The Vedic fourth age of civilisation, Kali Yuga, is coming to an end, and Zak has a ringside seat for the final, all-out war that threatens the destruction of Earth.

E-books

Antioch Burns by Daniel Ottalini

When a scouting expedition goes disastrously wrong, Marius Quinctius Regillus finds himself in a horde of trouble. With the Mongols encircling the grand fortress city of Antioch, Regillus and his men are trapped between a governor’s ambitions and the Mongolian weaponry. With nowhere to turn, can they save the city, or will Antioch Burn?

Discover a new threat to the industrial Imperium of Rome in Antioch Burns, the latest novella by award-winning author Daniel Ottalini.

Audio

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Cherie Priest's long-awaited steampunk debut, Boneshaker, opens in the early days of the Civil War when rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.

But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.

Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.

His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.

Games

War of the Vikings by Paradox

War of the Vikings delivers the next generation of Paradox’s close quarter combat focused brands that moves the setting to the Viking Age. All of these factors enabled us to create a game experience that has an increased intensity, improved accessibility, and more intuitive combat experiences ensuring you’re always presented with interesting choices.

Launch onto the battlefields of the Viking Age in intense close quarter combat, where skill beats strength and the possibility of death is always one opponent away.

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 #138

Editor's Note

I like to remind readers that this is a blog about alternate history, not secret history, conspiracy theories, ancient aliens or other pseudo-histories. Alternate history deals with changes to history as we know it, for example, JFK surviving his assassination.

Those other types of histories only deal with different reasons for why history happened the way it did. So to use my JFK example again, a conspiracy theorist might suggest someone other than Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy, but Kennedy will still be dead. His death will lead to LBJ, the Civil Rights Act, the Great Society, escalation in Vietnam, etc. Knowing the "truth" doesn't change the events of history, only our understanding of it.

Nevertheless, speculative fiction often uses secret history, conspiracy theories, ancient aliens or other pseudo-histories to tell a story. Alternate history fiction, is no exception, and while we may at times touch on these subjects, they are not in the same category as alternate history and thus should not be treated the same.

And now the news...

New Release: Emilie and the Sky World by Martha Wells

Last week Emilie and the Sky World by Martha Wells, the sequel to Emilie and the Hollow World, was released. For those who don't know, here is the description from Amazon:

When Emilie and Daniel arrive in Silk Harbor, Professor Abindon, an old colleague of the Marlendes, warns them that she’s observed something strange and potentially deadly in the sky, a disruption in an upper air aether current. But as the Marlendes investigate further, they realize it’s a ship from another aetheric plane. It may be just a friendly explorer, or something far more sinister, but they will have to take an airship into the dangerous air currents to find out. 

Emilie joins the expedition and finds herself deep in personal entanglements, with an angry uncle, an interfering brother, and an estranged mother to worry about – not to mention a lost family of explorers, the strange landscapes of the upper air, and the deadly menace that inhabits the sky world. 

Paul Weimer reviewed the book for SF Signal and said it was "[a] sequel that provides an entertaining second visit to Wells’ world and strengthens some of the weaknesses of the first novel." Pretty decent review for Sky World. If you would like to learn more check out Martha Wells' interview at Stellar Four and, as always, if you have read either of the books, let us know in the comments below or submit the review to be posted on The Update!

And don't forget if you are thinking of buying this or any other book, please click through the Amazon banner at the top right and put some wind in The Update's sails.

War of the Vikings Confirms Incoming Invasion on April 15

Real quick!

Paradox Interactive has confirmed the release date for War of the Vikings, the upcoming close combat game developed by Fatshark. War of the Vikings, currently available as a Steam Early Access title, will be fully released on April 15, 2014.

For more information, you can visit warofthevikings.com.

See, I told you it would be quick.

Map Gallery

Map time! First up, a map by Future8 inspired by current events where every host nation of the Winter Olympics invades a neighbor two weeks after the closing ceremony:

Wow, that was a lllloooonnnnggg one. Anywho, our next map is a balkanized North America from a new map maker to AH.com, EliBarrowBoy, that I thought was just really well done and featured a few twists on the old trope:

Finally we finish this week's map gallery with the winning entry to Europa Universalis's most recent Alternate History Friday: The Might of Japan (and Ukraine looks to be doing good as well)!

Submit your maps to ahwupdate at gmail dot com.

Video Gallery

Time now for some videos. Up first we have another video from Friend of The Update, Cody Franklin of the Alternate History Hub. This is the second alternate countries video he has created and though some of the countries showcased can be silly, I think you will enjoy it:

Next up, I have recently become a fan of Cinema Sins, a YouTube channel where popular movies are mercilessly dissected. They had two movies torn apart this week that I think alternate historians will enjoy. First is the most historically inaccurate film of all time, 300:

There have been a lot of 300 related stuff last week now that the sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire, is in theaters. I have decided, however, not to write anything on it until the next Weekly Update. If you are still interested though, here is a review of the film from The Philippine Star.

The second video this week from Cinema Sins featured a brutal review of this fan made film set in the Indiana Jones universe called Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:

I mean that was a fan made film right? The one with the Harrison Ford look alike? I mean there is no way a talented director like Spielberg would attach his name to something that bad...he wouldn't...would he?

Calendar

March 24: Last day to fund Steampunked Time Machine - The Mad Scientist's Card Game on Kickstarter.

March 25: Last day to fund Alternate Hilarities on Kickstarter.

March 28: Last day to fund Ripples in the Chalice on Kickstarter.

April 1: Last day to fund Cranky Ladies of History anthology on Pozible.

April 20: Last day to fund World War Cthulhu: A Collection of Lovecraftian War Stories with Illustrations on Indiegogo.

April 26: Friend of the Update, Chris Nuttall, will be at AuthorCon UK at the Elsewhen Press table.

May 11: Series premiere of Penny Dreadful on Showtime.

Links to the Multiverse

Books and Short Fiction

1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies – Snippet 01 by Eric Flint.
Altered America: Cover and Contents by Martin T. Ingham at Three Cents Worth.
Cover Reveal for Cherie Priest’s Maplecroft at Tor.
Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon – Tor catalog copy by David Barnett at Postcards from the Hinterland.
Guest Post: Peter Higgins, author of Woflhound Century and Truth and Fear at My Bookish Ways.
History and science fiction theme to debut children's novel by Su Carroll at Western Morning News.
Steampunk Gorillas by Maeve Alpin at Steamed!
Tansy Rayner Roberts on “Cranky Ladies” at SF Signal.
What is Steampunk? And why I love it. by John Stanton.
Writing Historical Fantasy: Guest Post by Barb Galler-Smith at Suzenyms.

Counterfactual/Traditional History


5 Badass People Who Stood Up to Infamous Dictators by Pat Carnell and Eric Yosomono at Cracked.
5 Near Deaths That Would Have Changed the Face of History by Jacopo della Quercia and Matthew Moffitt at Cracked.
Counterfactual Constructions by Eve Bachrach at Boom.
Fur flies over 16th century 'rocket cats' warfare manual at The Guardian.
Let’s play the Niall Ferguson First World War Counterfactual Game by Jonathan Boff at Thoughts on the First World War.
Were the Spartans truly the greatest warriors of all time? by Esther Inglis-Arkell at io9.
Why a Nuclear Ukraine is an Empty Counterfactual by Anton Strezhnev at Casual Loop.

Films

6 Things Movies Don't Show You About Being an Archeologist by Robert Evans and Hadas Levine at Cracked.
‘300: Rise of an Empire’: Ancient history becomes fantasy-action movie by Brylle B. Tabora at Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Could You Travel Through Time Like They Do in Movies? by Kevin Carr at Film School Rejects.
H.P. Lovecraft Describes the Unspeakable Things He Witnessed in the Star Wars Films by Zack "Geist Editor" Parsons at Something Awful.
Let’s Unpack Zack Snyder’s Ugly, Mean-Spirited Terry Gilliam Slam by Jason Bailey at Flavor Wire.

Games

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land Slithers on to Steam by Casey Douglass at Geek Syndicate.
Yes, This Nazi-Killing Video Game Hero Was Of Jewish Descent by Stephen Totilo at Kotaku.

Interview

Everett Maroon at Diversity in YA.
Ramona Wheeler at The Qwillery.

Podcasts

Dissecting Worlds: Series 8, Episode 3 ‘RPGs and Religion’ at Geek Syndicate.
Episode 180: Kelley Eskridge, Nicola Griffith, Hild, historicity and genre… at The Coode Street Podcast.

Reviews

Divide by William Overgard at Other Times.
Dominion by CJ Sansom at JulzReads.
Elementary 2.16 and 2.17 at Thinking about books.
Homeward Bound by Harry Turtledove at Geekbrarian.
Revolution 2.15 at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.

Televisions

BBC’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Noel Green.
Get Ready for Revolution's Dreamcatcher Episode with Featurettes and Clip by Erin Willard at SciFiMafia.com.
Sitcom Counterfactuals: Episodes from "The Big Bang Theory" and "Community" by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
Steampunk on the Runway by Ray Dean on Steamed!

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his list of 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 #127

Editor's Note

It is difficult for a huge fanboy of the genre to not be confused as a "shill". Is there anything I can say, that I haven't said already, to defend myself? I don't get paid directly by anyone. Since posting those ads I have only had one payout of $100 and that remains separate from my own personal account. I do occasionally receive review copies and I try to announce to you when I get them. Plus I make sure the authors/publishers know that I will not hold back on giving an honest review.

If you don't believe me, nothing I can do about it. I recommend not reading this blog or subscribing to any of the pages, groups or accounts I manage. I am who I am. I will express my feelings about alternate history in the only way I feel comfortable with and I really don't give a damn if you don't agree.

So with that rant over, please check out my poll to the right. I am planning to make some changes to The Update so I can make things easier to myself and more digestible to our fans.

And now the news...

Why you should check out Lost States

I have referenced it before, but Lost States is quickly becoming one of my new favorite blogs on Blogger. Edited by author Michael J Trinklein, although it appears to have been originally created to promote his book, the blog has become a source on 51st state movements across the United States. Colorado, of course, has been in the news lately as a state with a headline grabbing secessionist movement (from Colorado, not for the US itself). Trinklein wrote two posts about them, one where he discussed the real reason for the calls of secession and a fact check on recent Denver Post article.

Hopefully we will continue to see more posts from Lost States in the future. This also give me the idea about reviewing alternate history (or related) sites on the Internet. Would you be interested in those kind of reviews? Let me know in the comments.

Paradox Announcements

Paradox made two announcements last week. First, they revealed details on the first expansion to Europa Universalis IV. The new expansion, Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise, offers players the chance to discover a completely randomized American continent, so you can't rely on prior knowledge about where all the good bits are located.

Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise also makes it possible for you to play as a Native American nation and master the federation mechanics, as well as unique national ideas, buildings and events. You may also take command of a Colonial Nation, declare colonial war, or even strive for liberty from your motherland.

Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise will release on all major digital-download portals on December 11th, 2013. I would also like to point out that Patch 1.3 was and you can read the patchnotes here.

Next, Paradox has added new advances to the ongoing Early Access program for War of the Vikings, the upcoming close-combat game from Fatshark. The new phase is entitled “Bloðorn,” meaning “Blood Eagle,” and includes weapon looting from fallen warriors in the middle of matches, providing additional combat options for players quick enough to scavenge them.

New blood effects have also been added to the game, covering warriors, weapons, and the environment in crimson as the battles rage on. A new arena map, set on a small crag atop a mountain, joins the rotation in this update, as well as the reintroduction of the Monastery map, where Vikings and Saxons will shed blood on sacred grounds. Three new profile loadouts for players to try, complete with new perks and appearances, have also been added into the update.

Video Gallery

Videos last week include the most recent Epic Rap Battles of History featuring Miley Cyrus and Joan of Arc:

Next we have episode two of the steampunk web series Progress:

Crusader Kings II: Sons of Abraham has a new developer diary out:

And finally we have a quick history lesson on the Cold War from America's perspective with some neat animations:

Calendar

Nov 15: Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly launches and is still accepting applications.

Dec 25: Last day to fund the InSomnia Kickstarter, a tactical Online RPG in dark dieselpunk universe.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Philip K. Dick on Science Fiction at Rigid Squares of Paper.

Books

Abe Lincoln: Public Enemy No. 1 On Tour at Thoughts in Progress.
Fiddlehead by Cherie Priest: Interview and Free Extract at Tor Books Blog.
The Gravity of the Affair Excerpts by Michael J. Martinez.
Rewriting human history: Jews and alternate fiction by Jingyuan Fu at The Daily Campus.
Up Ship! Airship 27 Productions launches Zeppelin Tales! by Ron Fortier at Airship 27 Productions.
What-Iffings of Futures Past: Some Reflections on Counterfactual Fiction by Seth Studer at The Fair Jilt.

Counterfactual/Traditional History

Joey Votto and Alternate History by ams78 at SB Nation.
Ridiculous Fantasy of the Day: What if the Nazis Had Not Supported Gun Control? by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
Thought Train: Pondering an alternate history of the future by Travis Willson at The Leader.
What would the world be like without Tendulkar? by SidinVadukut at ESPN.

Films

The 10 Best Time-Travel Movies by Nick Schager at Esquire.
15 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Inglourous Basterds at ShortList.com.
Fifth Element concept art reveals Prince's original look as Ruby Rhod by Meredith Woerner at io9.
Producers of Nazi Spoof ‘Iron Sky’ to Launch Franchise by Elsa Keslassy at Variety.

Games

Slitherine resurrects alternate history wargame Da Vinci’s Art of War by Owen Faraday at Pocket Tactics.

Interviews

Jeff Greenfield at Toledo City Paper.
Alison Morton at BBC Radio Kent.
Gareth L. Powell at The Little Red Reviewer.
Ian Tregillis at Disquieting Visions.

Reviews

Alternate Histories of the World by Matthew Buchholz at Geek Pittsburgh.
The Boleyn Deceit by Laura Andersen at I Am, Indeed.
The Prince of Lies by Anne Lyle at SF Signal.
Revolution 2.7 at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective at Geek Syndicate.
The Time Traveller’s Almanac by Niall Alexander at Tor.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new short story "Road Trip" can be found in Forbidden Future: A Time Travel Anthology. 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 #124

Editor's Note

So I am ending the Videos for Alternate Historians segment. It just did not produce the page views I was expecting. Currently there is nothing in the wings to replace, but if you have any ideas let me know on Facebook, Twitter or ahwupdate at gmail dot com.

At the moment I am interested in doing more with alternate history maps, but we shall see.

I'm on late shift this week, so my apologies if posts do not go up on their usual times.

And now the news...

The Politics of State Secession

Last week there was a lot more talk about state secession and the politics behind it. Although a majority of the current movements are strongly conservative, that is not always the case, especially with the liberal Baja movement who proposed the creation of the new state over disputes with the conservative Arizona government.

More importantly, it is incredibly difficult to create a new state out of an existing state. The American constitution requires both the approval of the state and federal Congress. In fact this has only happened twice in American history, once to prevent a war (Maine in 1820) and once during a war (West Virginia in 1863). Even the issues currently pushing liberals and conservatives to create a new state are not serious enough to make the majority of the people living in these regions to give up on the traditional democratic process. Nevertheless, some people have imagined what America might look like if the state secession movements got what they wanted:

Above is a map created by Nate Cohn at the New Republic. It features the electoral college breakdown of the 2012 Presidential election if some of the current statehood movements were successful. Although Obama would have still won, the Senate would have gone to the Republican party, giving them complete control of Congress. Nevertheless, Nate's map is incomplete.  Michael J. Trinklein, author of Lost States, pointed out that Nate forgot to include the one statehood movement most likely too succeed: Puerto Rico. I also want to point out that the statehood movements in South Florida and west/south Texas are not included as well. Do you see anymore that were missed?

Update: The Casebook of Newbury & Hobbes by George Mann

Who is George Mann? That was a question I asked myself as I saw his name pop up more than once this week. Here is a description of his most recent book, The Casebook of Newbury & Hobbes, from Amazon:

A collection of short stories detailing the supernatural steampunk adventures of detective duo, Sir Maurice Newbury and Miss Veronica Hobbes. 

Along with Chief Inspector Bainbridge, Newbury and Hobbes will face plague revenants, murderous peers, mechanical beasts, tentacled leviathans, reanimated pygmies, and an encounter with Sherlock Holmes.

If you want to learn more about the author, you should check out James Floyd Kelly of Geek Dad's review of his most stories where he said: "Whether you love or hate steampunk, if you love great characters, good plotting, twists and turns, and a large story-arc that slowly develops and grabs hold, you really owe it to yourself to give the Newbury and Hobbes novels a read." James also posted a short interview with George Mann and you can check other interviews with the author at SFX and Geek Girl.

War of the Vikings Adds New Classes in Early Access Update

Paradox has implemented a new phase in the ongoing Early Access program for War of the Vikings, the upcoming close-combat game from Fatshark. New content in the update, which is entitled “Veiðimaðr” or simply “The Huntsman,” will give players a chance to try three new profile loadouts on top of the starting three, including the Champion Class with access to the deadly Dane Axe. Several optimizations and adjustments have also been made as part of the ongoing development of War of the Vikings, which players are now experiencing firsthand through participation in Early Access, with their feedback directly affecting the course of the game.

As a key component of War of the Vikings’ creation, Paradox and Fatshark are working to ensure that players’ in-game Vikings have access to the finest possible beards. This ongoing search for epic facial hair has culminated in the “Beastliest and Bestest Beard Competition” now being held within War of the Vikings’ community. Ambitious beard cultivators may submit their personal grooming achievements to the developers, with the winners’ real-life beards to be added to the final game. Details on the competition can be found here.

Calendar

Oct 22-26, 27, 29-Nov 2: Steampunk version of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Oct 24: Science of Fiction film fest hosted by Matthew Buchholz, author of Alternate Histories of the World, at Tuscon, AZ.

Oct 25-26: Steampunk version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at York, PA.

Nov 8-9: The Festival of Converging Histories at Walla Walla, Washington.

Dec 31: Deadline for your submission to Rite of Passage: Road to Nicodemus anthology.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

10 Blog Titles that drive MASSIVE TRAFFIC at The Masquerade Crew.

Books

The alternative universe of Silver Crescent Blues by András Gáspár (Wayne Chapman) at SF Mag.
Book Cover Smackdown! November Steampunk Edition: FIDDLEHEAD vs. ROMULUS BUCKLE & THE ENGINES OF WAR vs. UNCRASHABLE DAKOTA at SF Signal.
Cover & Synopsis: THE ENCELADUS CRISIS by Michael J. Martinez at SF Signal.
Jonathan L. Howard on The Appeal of Lovecraftian Horror at SF Signal.
Steampunk World Building at Worldcon by Maeve Alpin at Steamed!
A unique literary genre gains steam by Sheila Lisman at HutchNews.com.

Counterfactual and Real History

All the Evidence that Time Travel is Happening All Around Us by Vincze Miklos at io9.
Sobering Counterfactual Economic “Statistic” of the Day by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
Tough Call: The Americas That Might Have Been by Larry Smith at Tribune 242.

Films

Steampunk sci-fi film needs funds by Jess Etheridge at North Shore Times.

Games

Dieselpunk combat game Aerena: Clash of Champions now out on Steam Early Access by Emily Gera at Polygon.
Spice Road: an alternate history trading strategy game, now with demo by Tom Sykes at PC Gamer.
Steampunk Tower Is Our iOS Game Of The Week by Rob LeFebvre at Cult of Mac.

Podcasts

Ratchet Retrocast Episode 17 – Leaping Into a Cabin in the Woods Next to a Lake on the 13th…This Can’t Be Good at Earth Station One.

Reviews

Elementary 2.4: Poison Pen at Thinking about books.
Fiendish Schemes by KW Jeter at Locus.
If Kennedy Lived by Jeff Greenfield at Seattle PI.
Iron Sky at The Punkettes.
The Merchant of Dreams by Anne Lyle at SF Signal.
Odd Men Out by Matt Betts at SF Signal.
Revolution 2.4: Nanites and ... Maybe Aliens? at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar at Staffer's Book Review.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new short story "Road Trip" can be found in Forbidden Future: A Time Travel Anthology. 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 #122

Editor's Note

So if you haven't been following your favorite editor on Facebook, you probably didn't hear about the reason for the lack of content lately. Well here it is again:

Its a little blurry, but that is the first pic of my kid, due this May. So sorry guys, but my wife and my unborn child are going to be taking up more of my time. I am planning on introducing a new recurring segment this Wednesday so hopefully I can promise you at least three posts a week.

Thank you for your patience.

And now the news...

Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope is now on sale from Random House Audio

The fictional mashup that brought the bard and Lucas' Star Wars together is now an audiobook from Random House. Now you can relive the saga of Star Wars in iambic pentameter.

The book will be narrated by Daniel Davis, Jonathan Davis, January LaVoy, Marc Thompson, and author Ian Doescher. Here is the description from the press release:

[T]his saga of a wise (Jedi) knight, an evil (Sith) lord, a beautiful princess held captive and a young coming-of-age hero, abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. 

Full of feuding royalty, family melodrama, comical fools, and fantastic creatures, Star Wars has always been the most Shakespearean of Hollywood blockbusters. Now it’s presented in a manner that Shakespeare himself would recognize–with classic iambic pentameter and Elizabethan-style stage directions. 

Return once more to a galaxy far, far away with this sublime retelling of George Lucas’s epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon. The saga of a wise (Jedi) knight and an evil (Sith) lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. ’Tis a tale told by fretful droids, full of faithful Wookiees and fearsome Stormtroopers, signifying…pretty much everything. Reimagined in glorious iambic pentameter, William Shakespeare’s Star Wars will astound and edify Rebels and Imperials alike. Zounds! This is the audiobook you’re looking for.

So if you are one of those nerds who actually like reading Shakespeare in high school, this may be a great book for you.

War of the Vikings Now Playable in Alpha via Steam Early Access

Fans of Paradox games will be pleased to know that they have opened War of the Vikings on Steam’s Early Access program. War of the Vikings, the upcoming multiplayer close-combat game from Fatshark, can be purchased and played immediately thanks to the Steam Early Access program, allowing players to follow the growth of the game firsthand as it makes its way through the development process. Early Access players will be able to shape the future of War of the Vikings from the inside, and will receive the finished product at no extra cost when complete.

“After the first well-received War of the Vikings Alpha we began planning for the next phase and explored all options available to us,” said Gordon Van Dyke, Executive Producer of the War franchise. “We already knew we wanted to do another public Alpha and Beta, and we’d planned to offer pre-orders. After consideration, it was a no-brainer to go with Steam Early Access and kill two birds with one axe, and give our community ample opportunity to help shape the final product.”

Multiple packages are available for purchase during Early Access, including a Standard Edition, or the Blood Eagle Edition that will include a digital concept art book and soundtrack alongside exclusive gear. The incredible Valhalla Edition, War of the Vikings’ most premium package, will come with all in-game content unlocked, and will also grant access to all future content at no extra charge – along with the digital concept art book and an extended Deluxe Edition soundtrack. Every edition also grants players membership in the Early Access Club, which includes bonus loot and an additional shield pattern when the game is released.

If you play the alpha, let The Update know how it went. We need more content on games.

Calendar

Oct 13: Last day to see the steampunk play "Navigator" in Atlanta, GA and the last day to enter the Alternate Histories Of The World by Matthew Bucholz giveaway.

Oct 16: Last day to fund the Li'l Eddie: Edgar Allan Poe for Kids Kickstarter.

Oct 31: Last day to submit your alternate history story to Fictionvale.

Nov 7: Last day to submit your story to the Irregularity anthology.

And, as usual, I am too lazy to list all of the upcoming steampunk events listed at Tor.com so just go to their site and check it out.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

10 Silliest Rules of Time Travel from Science Fiction by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Musings on Alternate History by unicornblues at Way too Fantasy.
Why I'm tired of seeing Nikola Tesla in science fiction by Lauren Davis at io9.

Books

Cover reveal: a world turned upside down in Guy Adams' 'Once Upon a Time in Hell' at The Solaris Editor's Blog.
The Genre of ‘Alternate History’ and Its Fictional Application by BJ Avilla.
Historical Research for Alternate History is....Challenging by j_cheney at In the Void.
How Human History Could Have Turned Out (And Probably Should Have) by Matthew Buchholz at Gizmodo.
OLD MARS ed .by George R.R. Martin, 50 Page Friday at Scribd.
Sobel Wiki: a state of forgetfulness by Johnny Pez.
Sudden Industries Releases New eBook Series Targeted at Reluctant Boy Readers at Consumer Electronics Net.
Using Archive.org to Research Your Novel by Mark Lord.
Why Writing Alternate History is Both Awesome and Soul Crushing by Elizabeth May at Corsets, Cutlasses & Candlesticks.

Comics

Gail Carriger’s Soulless The Manga: Volume 1 by Patrick Hester at SF Signal.

Counterfactual and Real History

If It Happened There ... the Government Shutdown by Joshua Keating at Slate.
John Judis's Counterfactual Reflections on World War II and the Federal Government Shutdown by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
On October 1st 2013, Nigeria celebrates its 53rd year of Independence. Tolu Ogunlesi imagines the circumstances if this year were to mark the first at Wings.
Richard Dawkins on Hitler and the Tenuousness of Human Existence by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
The Romneycare Counterfactual by Reihan Salam at National Review Online.
Swiss war game envisages invasion by bankrupt French by Henry Samuel at The Telegraph.
The Technological History of Science Fiction by Andrew Liptak at Kirkus.
Watch the Second World War unfold over Europe in 7 minutes by George Dvorsky at io9.
Why Doesn’t Science Fiction Care About the Threat of Nuclear Apocalypse Anymore? by Felicity Savage at Amazing Stories.

Films

Dimensions Release Date by Larry Amyett, Jr at Dieselpunk.

Games

Cedaria: Blackout is a Middle Eastern Steampunk RPG by Evvy Kube at Gaming Illustrated.
Youth Digital Students Win National STEM Challenge With Steampunk Platformer ‘Etiquette Anarchy’ at Gamasutra.

Podcasts

Dissecting Worlds Series 7, Episode 7: Conclusions at Geek Syndicate.
WtF a Broadcast Episode #13: Alternate History at Way too Fantasy.

Reviews

Elementary: 2.2: Solve For X at Thinking about books.
Johnny Alucard by Kim Newman at The Guardian.
Revolution 2.2: Reanimation at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
Sherlock Holmes: The Stuff of Nightmares by James Lovegrove at Fantasy Matters.
Steampunk Holmes by P.C. Martin at Geek Dad.
Steampunk Originals, Vol. 1 at Geeks of Doom.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new short story "Road Trip" can be found in Forbidden Future: A Time Travel Anthology. 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