Map Monday: United States of Europe by Zek Sora

Zek Sora returns to Map Monday, this time with a map without zombies (shocking, I know). I present the "United States of Europe":

In this timeline, Napoleon decides to preserve the preserve the Continental System rather than conquer anymore of Europe. Although Zek does not go into too much detail in the description that went with the map, my guess is that Napoleon never invaded Russia in this alternate history. Eventually the Continental System evolves into a more centralized European Union-esque organization known as the "United States of Europe".

To be fair, this is perhaps one of the more plausibly optimistic timelines involving a victorious Napoleon. Direct French control of most of Europe probably wouldn't have lasted long, but uniting them under a confederation where France was essentially the leader among equals could have worked. While I am curious to know how the USE governs its colonial possessions (since they apparently do have some according to the map), I still found this 1868 hybrid political/election map to be a good way of presenting the alternate history. I also like the color pallet Zek uses, which is similar to some of his other maps.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "World War 2.5" by RvBOMally and "Union of Islamic Republics" by Doctor President.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr, DeviantArt and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: What Remains, Part 3: Last of the Vikings by Zek Sora

Picking today's map was easy since I already featured Part 2 on a previous Map Monday. So with that said, lets take a look at "What Remains, Part 3: Last of the Vikings" by Zek Sora:

In case you weren't around for the last one, What Remains is a map series inspired by a mod for Victoria 2 where you can lead a 19th century nation through a zombie apocalypse. "Part 3" acts as sort of a retcon since it shows more areas of Scandinavia surviving. That being said, it is a lot more detailed than the world map we last saw, which really gives you a chance to see what a skillful alternate cartographer that Zek is.

As for the scenario, Scandinavia in the What Remains universe is divided between the British and Swedish blocs, with the British controlling all the territory bordering the North Atlantic thanks to the Royal Navy, with the Swedes in turn controlling the islands in the Baltic thanks to their navy. Presumably neither has the resources or will to kick the other out of the region, but as the zombie hordes are driven further back, perhaps open warfare against living humans may one day resume. Sort of the sad reality of this and other timelines like it.

Honorable mention this week goes out to "Greater Imperial Germany" by SoxWithPotatoes, "Der Kontinent Europa 1950 AD" by Falkanner, "Cover of  Randy McDonald's Tripartite Alliance Earth" by Bruce Munro and "The Colonial States of Australia in the Year 1700" by Doctor President.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Top 5 Posts from March 2016

This list of the most viewed articles in March is not an April Fools joke. So enjoy!

1) Map Monday: What Remains, Part 2: 1961 A.D. by Zek Sora by Matt Mitrovich.

2) Map Monday: Constantinople Not Istanbul by Rvbomally by Matt Mitrovich.

3) Flag Friday: US Imperial Naval Ensign by Hellerick by Matt Mitrovich.

4) Anime Review: The Place Promised in Our Early Days by Sam McDonald.

5) Was a "Man In The High Castle" Scenario Ever Possible? by Dale Cozort.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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: What Remains, Part 2: 1961 A.D. by Zek Sora

Sorry for not posting a Map Monday last week. I just didn't have anything interesting say about the maps I shared on social media. Thankfully that hasn't been the case over the last few days and now we have something we can really sink our teeth into:

This is "What Remains, Part 2: 1961 A.D." by Zek Sora and it is a sequel of another map he did, which in turn was inspired by a mod for Victoria 2 where you can cause a zombie outbreak (O zombies. Alternate historians love you as much as they do HP Lovecraft and 1984.). In this timeline a zombie outbreak happens in the early 1890s and spreads across the globe. Those countries that survived were either island based or could rely on natural borders to protect them. Think Emberverse except with zombies (in fact I'm surprised Stirling has never written a zombie story yet. You would think it would be right up his alley.)

Back to the map, its nicely drawn, but its a big map. If you really want to see all of the small details, especially around the Mediterranean Sea, you are going to have to check out the full sized version so you can zoom in. Otherwise its just a lot of green, blue and white with some colors on the peripheral.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "Western Europe as of 2016" by Gian, "The Commonwealth of Altis" by Rebecca "Upvoteanthology" Stirling and "Map of the Louisiana S.A.R. in 2016" by ComradeFrunze.

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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.