Map Monday: 2016 Turtledove Award Nominees

Since my Flag Friday post covering the Turtledove Awards nominees for the best alternate history flag went so well, lets take a look at the best maps of 2016. You may even recognize some of the alternate cartographers from previous Map Mondays.

"Theaters of the Second Greco-Latin War" by Rebecca "Upvoteanthology" Stirling

Rebecca "Upvoteanthology" Stirling has been featured on The Update multiple times, although this map has not appeared yet on Map Monday. Shame that it didn't because I enjoy the alternate history of a Greece united by Alexander fighting an alternate Punic Wars with Rome in the place of Carthage. You can also tell by the incredible details that she put a lot of effort into this one.

"All-Indian Union" by Nanwe

In case you ever wondered what would happen if Indian history reflected the creation of the European Union, you have the "All-Indian Union" by Nanwe. This is a massive map when it was originally posted on AlternateHistory.com, which makes me wonder how the hell did I miss it. This map was even created with some help by Althistoria's James "Krall" Fitzmaurice who designed the emblem.

"Cartographic History of the Khoi-San Population of the Cape" by Alex Richards & Reagent

The above map is a collaboration between Alex Richards and Reagant, whose map "Route of Diogo de Teive's 1452 Voyage" was previously featured on Map Monday. It focuses on an alternate South Africa, but not on the antics of an expansionist white minority. Instead it and the scenario that goes with it discuss how the indigenous population and their lands decreased with time. Kudos to this map for focusing on the plight of African peoples instead of just more geopolitics.

"The continent of Europe in the year 1860" by Thande

This is a map from prolific poster Thande's timeline, "Look to the West". To be fair, I don't really think this map can compete with the other nominees. I have certainly seen worse, but it lacks the complexity and detail of the other maps. Still Thande is a veteran member of the site and the map's timeline is quite popular, so I can see why it made the cut over other maps, even if I think there may be more deserving examples out there.

"Peru-Bolivia Confederation" by Zalezsky

Zalezsky is another Map Monday alum and his "Peru-Bolivia Confederation" map is strikingly similar to his "Theocracy of Paraguay (Jesus Strikes Back)" that appeared on Map Monday. This map, however, is actually a map from our own timeline. It is a nation that no longer exists, but it could have and that is the heart of alternate history.

"The Colony of Nova Scotia" by Tsar of New Zealand

We finish with another Map Monday alum, Tsar of New Zealand, featuring a map where the South Island of New Zealand was settled by a large number of Scots. I should point that none of the nominees are maps of North America and its cool to see some global diversity,

Don't forget to vote for your favorite map as polls close on March 2nd.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Theocracy of Paraguay (Jesus Strikes Back) by Zalezsky

Editor's Note: No Weekly Update today because I had too much fun this Halloween. Instead, you get to see Map Monday a little earlier than usual.

Okay...I may have picked this map because of the title. Don't get me wrong, its a good map, but I laughed out loud when I first read "Jesus Strikes Back". Admittedly its not the funniest thing ever produced by the alternate history community, but being able to create such a strong emotional reaction from myself by the title alone is worth a shout out on Map Monday. Enough said, here is the map:

The above is "Theocracy of Paraguay: Jesus Strikes Back" by Zalezsky. There really isn't any story to comment on since Zalezsky hasn't provided one. This was submitted as part of the MotF 126: Nix the Notion of Nation contest and it likely has something to with the Jesuit reduction in Paraguay, but that is all speculation on my part. This is certainly a Paraguay-wank and I would love to learn more about this timeline, but I will have to wait until Zalezky provides all of us with more info.

As for the map itself, its beautifully done. Zalezsky is a veteran of Map Monday and has a style I usually associate with Lynn Davis, which I would consider the highly detailed, artistic style of map making. I also like the flag in the lower left corner as well. Simple, but striking. All in all another great map by a talented alternate cartographer.

Honorable mention this week goes out to "Decline of Colonialism (1771-1826)" by Lynn Davis.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Top 5 Posts from May 2015

In terms of page views, May wasn't one of our best months, but we still had a lot of great articles. Lets take a look at the Top 5:

1) The Audio File: The Drabblecast by Sam McDonald.

2) Historians talk about Rome all the time, but what if Ancient Egypt never fell? by Rebecca Stirling.

3) Map Monday: League of the Defiant by Zalezsky by Matt Mitrovich.

4) Weekly Update #190 by Matt Mitrovich.

5) Map Monday: Dutch's America by Bruce Munro and Mumby by Matt Mitrovich.

Glad to see some of guest contributors take the top spots.

* * *

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.

Map Monday: League of the Defiant by Zalezsky

I like finding new alternate cartographers and featuring their work on Map Monday. Case in point, Zalezsky and his map of the "League of Defiant":

There really isn't a lot of background about this scenario given to us by Zalezsky. Essentially several Native American tribes unite to stop European encroachment on their lands and with the help of Genoese traders gets the guns to actually stop them. Through success and setbacks, everything eventually comes to a climax at the Battle of Watala...or Waterloo. If you haven't figured it out from the map itself, that name alone should really give you hint of what era of history this scenario is paralleling. It is very subtle and I love it. The story is told from the art itself and the detail is great (go here to see a map you can zoom in on).

Honorable mentions this week go out to Rvbomally's "Empire of the Sun" and Bruce Munro's "World of the Yiddish Policeman's Union" (see a longer description here). Don't forget to check out the map of the most popular book set in each state. If you want to submit a map for the next Map Monday, email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com with your map attached and a brief description in the body of the email.

* * *

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.