Weekly Update #110

Editor's Note

So I realize now I need to rethink my reddit strategy. For those who don't know, The Update has their own subreddit at /r/ahwupdate/. I don't post to it often although I have gotten better recently due to my fear of being considered a spammer by most of the reddit community. I could probably avoid said stigma if I just commented more and posted other things beside my own blog posts. The problem is, however, I have a day job and a lot of other writing responsibilities, so my ability to surf the Internet and interact with other people is extremely limited.

So if you are an experienced redditor, hit me up at ahwupdate at gmail dot com. I just want to ask some questions about using reddit to promote The Update. Also if anyone can suggest any subreddits that are more tolerant about blog promotion, I would love to hear about them as well.

So this week I have cancelled New Releases due to a lack of new books coming out, but I will be announcing the winners of the DBWI contest tomorrow along with my plans for future contests. I also have four different reviews coming out this week, one of them a 2012 Sidewise nominated work, so stay tuned.

And now the news...

Monster Earth 2 Is Coming!

Mechanoid Press, a small imprint specializing in science fiction and more, is publishing the sequel to their giant monster anthology Monster Earth, titled appropriately Monster Earth 2. Editors include James Palmer (Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars) and Jim Beard (Captain Action and the Riddle of the Glowing Men).

“This is going to take the monster action to a whole new level,” explains Palmer. “I thing fans of the first book are really going to love this one.”

I am intrigued by these anthologies because of the alternate history setting of the series. According to Mechanoid's press release, the new anthology will bring the action closer to the present day, with the nations of the world experimenting with genetic manipulation of the various monsters. Add a secret death cult trying to herald the end of days, and you've got a volatile recipe for mayhem and destruction.

Returning for this volume are Edward M. Erdelac (Mighty Nanuq), Jeff McGinnis (The Beast’s Home) and Fraser Sherman (Peace with Honor). Joining them will be Thomas Dejah (How the West Was Weird). Just as in the previous anthology, Beard and Palmer will also contribute stories.

Artist Eric Johns is also returning to do the cover. “Jim did a great job with the bible on this one,” says Palmer. “Between that and all the readers who have asked about a sequel, I knew we just had to do another book.”

Monster Earth 2 is scheduled for either a late December or early January release, and will appear in both Kindle and trade paper formats.

Update: Cold Steel by Kate Elliott

Recently released Cold Steel by Kate Elliott, the final book in the Spiritwalker Trilogy, has gotten some buzz on the Internet. In case you missed it, here is the description from Amazon:

Trouble, treachery, and magic just won't stop plaguing Cat Barahal. The Master of the Wild Hunt has stolen her husband Andevai. The ruler of the Taino kingdom blames her for his mother's murder. The infamous General Camjiata insists she join his army to help defeat the cold mages who rule Europa. An enraged fire mage wants to kill her. And Cat, her cousin Bee, and her half-brother Rory, aren't even back in Europa yet, where revolution is burning up the streets. 

Revolutions to plot. Enemies to crush. Handsome men to rescue. 

Cat and Bee have their work cut out for them.

Paul Weimer on SF Signal gave the book 4 out of 5 stars and said: "A satisfying and strong conclusion to the Spiritwalker trilogy." In case you would like to learn more about the author and the series, you can read a guest post Kate did on Orbit's website.

Telos Moonrise Launches with Steampunk and Horror

Telos Publishing has a new Digital and POD imprint, Telos Moonrise, launching this September with two new titles. David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker, Editorial Directors of Telos Publishing, have acquired world rights in a collection of Victorian-themed ghostly short horror stories, and in a trilogy of steampunk novella-length adventures.

Raven Dane's collection Absinthe & Arsenic is a varied and spooky selection of horror fiction. "I love ghost stories," said David J. Howe, "and Raven manages to effortlessly capture the sense of the Victorian fascination for ghosts and spirits. Her tales chill and terrify while remaining rooted in an English sensibility of honour and propriety. I love her writing and imagination. These are fabulous stories in a classic tradition!"

Next we have Dr Tripps’ Kaiju Cocktail, the first in a trilogy of steampunk novellas by noted comedian and big-game hunter Kit Cox, whose alter ego Major Jack Union penned a guide to some of the fantastic creatures he has encountered on his expeditions around the world.

Telos' Commissioning Editor Sam Stone said, "The minute I started to read Kit's story I realised it would be perfect for Telos' Steampunk imprint. Dr Tripps' Kaiju Cocktail merges both the Steampunk and Dieselpunk genres and is an all round, satirical medley of fantasy fun. I was in awe of Kit's imagination and creativity. We believe it will make an excellent addition to the line-up of new fiction being assembled for Telos Moonrise."

Telos Moonrise is offering an attractive 60% eBook royalty to authors for books published in its Moonrise imprint, so aspiring authors should check them out. "We felt it was important to offer our authors the best deal we could," said David J. Howe. "It's always been one of our driving forces that Telos Publishing be turned to by readers for the quality of the books we publish, and by authors for the quality of the deals we offer."

Brazil Gets Some More Genre

I don't get many readers from Brazil, but for my few Brazilian fans out there in the aether, I have some news you might be interested in. Charlotte Humphrey, Rights Manager at HarperCollins, has sold exclusive Portuguese language rights for Brazil in The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt (book one of six Jackalian novels) to Portuguese publisher, Saída de Emergência (Emergency Exit), who are setting up an office in Brazil.  This will be one of their first titles.

Saída de Emergência, Portugal’s largest genre fiction publisher, is becoming one of the first European publishers to attempt to break into the rapidly expanding Brazilian fiction market. As well as setting up a local office there, Saída de Emergência will be launching a Brazilian edition of their genre fiction magazine Bang! In Portugal, Saída de Emergência published a number of leading British and American genre authors into Portuguese, including George R.R. Martin (Wild Cards), and others.

All Portuguese language editions of Saída de Emergência will be further translated into Brazilian to accommodate differences in the written word between Portugal and Brazil, prior to publication.

This news got me thinking about Portuguese language alternate history and Uchronia actually has an extensive list of works that have been either published or translated into Portuguese. Hopefully with Saída de Emergência expanding into Brazil we might see even more alternate history works in that language.

Europa Universalis IV - With God on Your Side

If your dreams of leading a global empire have lain dormant for too long, the time to take action has arrived now that God is on your side. Paradox released a brand new video developer diary for upcoming empire-building game, Europa Universalis IV, focused on the power of religion. Check it out below:

Project Lead Thomas Johansson details the intricacies of religion in countries throughout the world, and how differences between sects can both benefit and hinder your progress to historical greatness. Will you allow reformation when it rears its head in Europe or stand your ground for Catholicism? Will you forego Christianity entirely and become a champion of the Muslim or Buddhist faiths?

Strategy fans can fulfill their quest for global domination by pre-ordering Europa Universalis IV. The pre-order bonus for the month of July has been revealed today—The Purple Phoenix DLC. Anybody who pre-orders Europa Universalis IV, regardless of when they pre-order, will receive all DLC included in the pre-order campaign including secret, yet-to-be-revealed pre-order bonuses.

Europa Universalis IV is the latest installment in the award-winning series, with more than a million copies sold, and will release worldwide on August 13, 2013. The game gives you control of a nation to guide it through the years and create a dominant global empire in the age of exploration. Following on the success of the critically acclaimed Crusader Kings II, Paradox Development Studio is ready to make you experience the drama that only the grand stage of history can provide.

Calender of Events

July 9-13: D.B. Jackson on Tour for Thieves’ Quarry.

July 14-18: Dirigible Days will screen at this year’s annual Whitaker St. Louis (MO) Filmmaker’s Showcase.

August 12: Last day to fund the ASSAULT:19XX - A game of epic 1930s dieselpunk action Kickstarter.

Also check out a list of steampunk events in July made by Steampunk Romance.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

12 Epic Quotes From Terry Pratchett at GearFuse.
BLACK MASQUERADES: Steamfunk, Dieselfunk & Rococoa Step Out In Style For Black Speculative Fiction Month! at Chronicles of Harriet.
BOOK TRAILER: William Shakespeare’s Star Wars at SF Signal.
Cover designs for books that don't exist (but should) by Lauren Davis at io9.
Genre Mashups by Michael J. Martinez at Bryan Thomas Schmidt's website.
Graham Storrs on The Physics of Time Travel (+ Worldwide Giveaway!) by John DeNardo at SF Signal.
Harry Turtledove on Writing at Vickey Kalambakal.
Lists: Alternate History Fantasy by Stephanie Whelan at Views From the Tesseract.
Mark Hodder, A Finalist for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History! at JABberwocky.
TOC: ‘The Mammoth Book of Time Travel SF’ Edited by Mike Ashley at SF Signal.
Southampton Artist Expands Popular Steampunk Book by Brendan J. O'Reilly at Southampton Patch.

Book Reviews

The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen at British Weekly.
Mainspring by Jay Lake at Shelf Inflicted.

Counterfactuals

Debunking the Myths of Gettysburg, 150 Years Later: Historian Allen Guelzo at Yahoo! News.
Rick Perry's Counterfactual Cheap Shot by Gavriel Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
Unreal Worlds: Two Americas by Kennon “the Universe” Bauman at The Illuminerdy.
Use Counterfactual Thinking for a Creativity Boost by Adam Dachis at Life Hacker.
What If Robert E. Lee Accepted Command of the Union Army? by Thomas Fleming at History News Network.
Why America would have been better off without its revolution at Yahoo! News.

Films

15 Scifi Mockumentaries That Will Leave You Questioning Reality by Lauren Davis at io9.
An engineer tries to flee a dark storm in this stylish steampunk short by Lauren Davis at io9.

Games

Bioshock Infinite Review: Existence, Choice, and Alternate Histories by Esther Wright.
Enter a gothic world of steampunk in our review of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing by Charlotte Woolley at Gamercast.
The Order: 1886: Everything we know so far by Prarthito Maity at GameNGuide.

Interviews

Alison Morton at Book Professor.
Richard Ellis Preston, Jr. at Clarkesworld Magazine.
Bee Ridgway at TNB Fiction.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. 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 #109

Editor's Note

So did I mention last month we reach 22,031 page views? That is the highest monthly page view count in The Update's history. Thank you to all of the contributors and fans who made this possible. I couldn't have asked for a better gift to mark our two year anniversary. I look forward to exceeding all expectations when we break that record again!

This week I am taking July 4th off so a little less speculative goodness is coming your way. No worries, I think you will enjoy what I have in store for you, which includes announcing the winners of the DBWI contest and The Place of Dead Kings book giveaway.

And now the news...

Update: The Daedalus Incident by Michael J. Martinez

So last week I shared some info on The Daedalus Incident by Michael J. Martinez. For those who missed it, here is the description from Amazon:

Mars is supposed to be dead… 

Bizarre quakes are rumbling over the long-dormant tectonic plates of the planet, disrupting its trillion-dollar mining operations and driving scientists past the edges of theory and reason. However, when rocks shake off their ancient dust and begin to roll—seemingly of their own volition—carving canals as they converge to form a towering structure amid the ruddy terrain, Lt. Jain and her JSC team realize that their routine geological survey of a Martian cave system is anything but. The only clues they have stem from the emissions of a mysterious blue radiation, and a 300-year-old journal that is writing itself. 

Lt. Thomas Weatherby of His Majesty’s Royal Navy is an honest 18th-century man of modest beginnings, doing his part for King and Country aboard the HMS Daedalus, a frigate sailing the high seas between continents…and the immense Void between the Known Worlds. 

With the aid of his fierce captain, a drug-addled alchemist, and a servant girl with a remarkable past, Weatherby must track a great and powerful mystic, who has embarked upon a sinister quest to upset the balance of the planets—the consequences of which may reach far beyond the Solar System, threatening the very fabric of space itself.

Since sharing with you what I found out about this book, the Internet has exploded with content on The Daedalus Incident. Paul Weimer at SF Signal called it "[a]n ambitious and fun romp whose enthusiasm outweighs its flaws." Justin Landon at Staffer's Book Review also wrote a (sort-of) review where he said "I really enjoyed it despite an extremely unconventional narrative."

What I have read about this book intrigues me greatly and I have moved it near the top of my reading list and have contacted Michael J. Martinez to get the ball rolling on an interview, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, you can check out an excerpt of the book at Tor.com, listed to an interview with Mike at the always good SF Signal Podcast and read's Mike guest post on Staffer's Book Review entitled "Napoleonic Bechdel Tests".

"We Are The World" Campaign Initiated for East vs. West: A Hearts of Iron Game 

Paradox Interactive kicked off the start of the “We Are The World” campaign for East vs. West: A Hearts of Iron Game, an upcoming Cold War simulation game developed by BL-Logic in collaboration with Paradox Development Studio. New screenshots for the title have also been released and the game’s official website has launched.

The "We Are The World" campaign will allow players to create and submit their own historical or alternate history character for East vs. West, with the favorites picked by the devs to be used in-game. Will your leader be a benevolent soul with a fervent vision of unity or will they be a ruthless dictator bent on the nuclear destruction? Players are encouraged to participate and help shape the mold of East vs. West during its development and can even submit pictures of themselves.

For those who don't know, East vs. West: A Hearts of Iron Game takes place during the Cold War era between 1946-1991. Crafted by BL-Logic with the support of a dedicated group of modders and in collaboration with Paradox Development Studio, the game is based on the Clausewitz engine and allows players to relive the diplomatic, economical and military tension of the Cold War in this grand strategy game. Bring issues before the U.N. Security Council, plot the removal of foreign leaders, initiate espionage to stay ahead of your rivals, and, above all else, prepare your country for nuclear war.

East vs. West: A Hearts of Iron Game is currently slated for a Q1 2014 release. For more information, check out the recent stream for the game and the developer diaries.

Calender

July 5: Opening day for the steampunk-themed run of Sweeney Todd at Pasadena Town Square Mall in Pasadena, TX.

August 4: Last day to see the Antipodeans Steampunk Show at the Tweed River Art Gallery in Australia.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Cover & Synopsis: ONCE UPON A TIME IN HELL by Guy Adams at SF Signal.
Excerpt: SORCERER: A Novel of Queen Elizabeth’s Alchemist by Geoffrey James at Amazing Stories.
Jim Musgrave Releases Mystery Series DISAPPEARANCE AT MOUNT SINAI at BooksWorld.com.
Steampunk Quips and Tips by Maeve Alpin at Smart Girls Love Sci Fi and Paranormal Romance.
Time for a trip to the dark side for new paranormal reads by Joyce Lamb at USA Today.
What did I learn from preparing Book 2? by Alison Morton.

Book Reviews

Apex Magazine, Issue 49, June 2013 at SF Signal.
Be My Enemy by Ian McDonald at Falcata Times.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld at book!
The Long War and The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter at Barnes & Noble Review.
Oz Reimagined edited by John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen at Travels Through Iest.
The Revolution Trade by Charles Stross at Falcata Times.
Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal at Thinking about books.

Comics

COMIC REVIEW: Clockwork Watch Vol. 2, Breakaway at Geek Syndicate.
Review of I Killed Adolf Hitler by Jason at Fine Print.

Counterfactuals

10 ‘What Ifs’ That Could Have Changed The Course Of Doctor Who by James T. Cornish at WhatCulture!
Dave would not have become PM if he’d held out for a minority Conservative government by Mike Smithson at Politicalbetting.com.

Interviews

Robert McCammon on his blog.

Films

Instead of Monsters University we could have had a Monsters Inc sequel by Lauren Davis at io9.
Real-Life Magazines Portrayed As If the Avengers Were Real at Geeks are Sexy.

Games

Hotline Miami Devs Reboot Steampunk Chaos Engine by Adam Gauntlett at The Escapist.
Laika Believes: The Sun at Night offers an alternate history of dogs in space by Emily Gera at Polygon.
MicroVolts Releases a Steampunk Fantasy Update at MPOGD.com.
Wolfenstein: The New Order – Trailer by Gameuber Trailers.
A Zombie Steampunk Wizard Of Oz? Sure, Why Not. by Luke Plunkett at Kotaku.

Podcast

Coming Soon! The Apex Magazine Podcast! by jasonb57 at Apex Magazine.

Television

A Thin Line Between Revolution and Confusion by Madeline Barnicle at Fantasy Matters.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. 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 #108

Editor's Note

I always smile when I see someone thank me for publishing their work on The Update.

That's it. Just wanted to start off on a positive note.

And now the news...

Aluna Trilogy in the Works

Comic book fans who are looking for something other than the well-muscled, spandex wearing, euro-centric demigods should take note. Aluna, the Latin American superhero created by actress Paula Garces (Maria from the Harold & Kumar franchise) and her creative partner, Antonio Hernandez will be released as a trilogy starting with book one this Fall.

Aluna is the story of a young woman, taken from the New World by the Spaniards and raised as royalty in Spain during the 1500s. As if by fate, she is forced to travel back to the New World, only to discover that she has great powers that she must harness to defend her new homeland.

The creators tapped Seattle based Allegory to develop and publish the series. Allegory is a transmedia company engaged in several aspects of entertainment including publishing, children’s education, games, applications, television and digital platforms.

“I’ve always been a fan of comic books but felt that strong female Latina leads were lacking, so along with my creative partner, Antonio Hernandez, we created Aluna. We’re so happy with how well the character has been received by fans playing the Aluna character in Heroes of Newerth that we can’t wait to release the first of three books this Fall” comments Paula Garces.

Allegory’s publishing imprint will develop the books and will eventually produce a portfolio of digital products and merchandise based on the title.

“We’ve wanted to create a compelling female heroine for two years now. A character who is strong and has a complex back story. When Paula and Tony shared the story of Aluna with us, we knew we needed to be apart of this franchise. This is a groundbreaking book and we feel honored to be apart of it” said Chad Smith, CEO of Allegory.

Dooma Wendschuh and Corey May, founders of sekretagent Productions (yes it is supposed to be a small "s"), have been attached to write all three books. This writing duo is the creative force behind such popular game titles as Assassin’s Creed and Army of Two.

“This story is full of action, but it also has pretty epic romance elements. Aluna is a badass. She’s tough as nails given everything she’s been through. We’re going to help her find her softer side”, remarks Dooma Wendschuh.

Ibraim Roberson, whose recent credits include X-Men, Hellraiser and mostly recently, Max Brooks’s, The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, has been attached to create the art.

“Ibraim Roberson is just the right artist for Aluna.  His work on The X-Men and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser has consistently demonstrated a pacing and organic style that is a perfect mesh to Dooma’s writing. Giving the adventures of Aluna a whole new level of realism, action, and drama. Plus, the artwork produced by Ibraim is going to be lush and beautiful and will perfectly capture the majesty of the old world” remarked Lee Koshe, Allegory’s Creative Director.

Additionally, S2 Games, the creators of the popular online game series, Heroes of Newerth have partnered with Paula Garces’ Further Lane Productions and Allegory to develop an ongoing portfolio of avatars for the Heroes of Newerth game based on the Aluna character. The first avatar, Stardust Aluna, was recently released by S2 games.  The second avatar will be released at Comic Con International this July and will be followed by future avatars.

World SF Blog shuts down after four years of operation

The World SF Blog, a near-daily blog operating continuously from February 2009 to June 2013, will be shutting its doors for good. Published by Lavie Tidhar (author of Osama and other alternate history works), it was dedicated to highlighting international speculative fiction. Over its run it has published hundreds of posts, interviews, articles and, since 2010, over 60 short stories, many of them available in English for the first time. Editors included Charles Tan, Debbie Moorhouse and Sarah Newton.

Initially set up to promote Tidhar’s Apex Book of World SF anthology, the blog had since spawned two further anthologies (with Volume 2 published in 2012 and Volume 3 due next year), as well as the annual World SF Travel Fund, for facilitating the visit of international genre people to a major convention.

In his farewell letter, Tidhar wrote, “It felt to me that we were able to partly-initiate, and to encourage, a conversation that the genre had not had before, and in a very real way is only now beginning to seriously engage in.” He added, “The change I have seen in the four years of the blog is heartening. In a way, I have decided to stop now because the blog has fulfilled everything I ever wanted it to, and so much more.”

The World SF Blog won a 2012 BSFA Award for Best Non-Fiction. It was also given a Kitschies Special Achievement Award, and was a 2011 nominee for the World Fantasy Award.

The blog archive remains online and will also be added to the Merril Collection archives.

Coming Soon: The Daedalus Incident by Michael J. Martinez

Historical fantasy is a close cousin of alternate history, hence why I am including this piece on The Daedalus Incident by Michael J. Martinez. Here is the description from Amazon:

Mars is supposed to be dead… 

Bizarre quakes are rumbling over the long-dormant tectonic plates of the planet, disrupting its trillion-dollar mining operations and driving scientists past the edges of theory and reason. However, when rocks shake off their ancient dust and begin to roll—seemingly of their own volition—carving canals as they converge to form a towering structure amid the ruddy terrain, Lt. Jain and her JSC team realize that their routine geological survey of a Martian cave system is anything but. The only clues they have stem from the emissions of a mysterious blue radiation, and a 300-year-old journal that is writing itself. 

Lt. Thomas Weatherby of His Majesty’s Royal Navy is an honest 18th-century man of modest beginnings, doing his part for King and Country aboard the HMS Daedalus, a frigate sailing the high seas between continents…and the immense Void between the Known Worlds. 

With the aid of his fierce captain, a drug-addled alchemist, and a servant girl witha remarkable past, Weatherby must track a great and powerful mystic, who has embarked upon a sinister quest to upset the balance of the planets—the consequences of which may reach far beyond the Solar System, threatening the very fabric of space itself.

Edi of Edi's Book Lighthouse called the novel an "amazing mix of alternate history, science fiction and mystery is highly entertaining and stands out like a lighthouse in the fog of books." Available now on Kindle, you can learn more about the book and the author if you check out Michael's guest post on SF Signal where he discusses some of the issues when writing historical fantasy.

Paradox News

Two big announcement from our friends at Paradox. First, War of the Roses, the medieval squad combat title from Fatshark, has a new content update. The latest addition to War of the Roses is entitled “Guns of Burgundy,” and adds a new weapon type: handgonnes, the world’s first portable firearm. Capable of cutting down fleeing foes and punching damaging holes in a knight’s shield, handgonnes come in four types and can be wielded by knights with a steady arm and reliable flint. A new map and new armor pieces are also included in this update, which is now available for download in War of the Roses.

In “Guns of Burgundy,” the new Ravenspurn map is ready for war in Conquest, Team Deathmatch, and Pitched Battle modes, where the sounds of explosive fire from new handgonne weapons will punctuate the ongoing chaos. Combatants will have to rely on their wits and their armor to stay alive, making use of new items such as Brigandine Armour, the Kettle Sallet Helmet, Hand Pavise Shield, and the Burgundian Side Sword.

New user interface (UI) features are also included in this update, including a popup system to alert players of in-game events and news – such as the new 500 coin bonus awarded when a round is successfully won.

Texas Artist Vincent Villafranc​a Announced as Designer of the 2013 Hugo Award Trophy Base

The 2013 Hugo Award base will be designed by Texas-based artist Vincent Villafranca. Villafranca is a Chesley Award-winning sculptor who produces futuristic and fantastic bronzes using a traditional lost-wax casting process. Production of the 2013 bases is already well under way, although in keeping with tradition, the design will not be revealed until the convention.

The actual Hugo Award trophy takes the form of a silver rocket. The original concept by Jack McKnight and Ben Jason was inspired by the gleaming finned rocketships of Willy Ley. The exact design has become standardized in recent years and the rockets are currently produced by British fan Peter Weston. The base on which the rocket is mounted is, however, the responsibility of each Worldcon committee, and the design changes each year, usually inspired by the location of the convention.

LoneStarCon 3 is also pleased to announce that fans may now submit their final Hugo Award ballots online. The voting deadline is Wednesday, July 31, 2013, at 11:59 p.m. CDT.

The Hugo Awards are the premier award in the science fiction genre, honoring science fiction and fantasy literature, media, artists, and fans. The Hugo Awards were first presented at the 1953 World Science Fiction Convention in Philadelphia, PA (Philcon II), and they have continued to honor science fiction and fantasy notables annually for 60 years.

Calender

July 5-7: The 3rd annual GEAR Con steampunk festival in Portland, OR.

July 13: Off the Beaten Path, a steampunk bookstore, opens in Farmington, CA.

July 14: Last day to fund Time Traveled Tales: A Speculative Fiction Anthology Kickstarter.

August 1: Submission period begins for Alchemy Press' World War I/horror anthology Kneeling in the Silver Light.

August 12: Last day to fund the World War Kaiju graphic novel Kickstarter.

October 26: Deadline for submissions for the Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol.9.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

The 5 Most Unjustly Overshadowed Sci-Fi Classics by Robert Brockway  at Cracked.
7 Bizarre Early Versions of Famous Characters by Joe Oliveto, Maxwell Yezpitelok and Robert Rosati at Cracked.
Andrea Cremer Goes Steampunk With 'Inventor's Secret': Check Out The Cover! by Amy Wilkinson at MTV.
Cold Names by Kate Elliott at Shadowhawk's Shade.
The Coolest Flags in Human History by Vincze Miklos at io9.
Everything You Know About Jules Verne is Probably Wrong by Ron Miller at io9.
Heere be Monsters by John Birmingham at Cheeseburger Gothic.
Just when you thought the editting was just about done... by Grant Gardiner at Tommy Thunder.
Not all self-published work is grey in the night by Alison Morton.
NY Votes To Bring Back The Old Steampunk Lever Voting Machines by Rebecca Fishbein at Gothamist.
Read an Excerpt of The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter at Harper Voyager.
Steampunk Vs. Dieselpunk by Daylina Miller at New Port Richey Patch.
Story behind Necessary Evil by Ian Tregillis at Upcoming4.Me.
Why your world needs History (and probably already has it) by Juliette Wad at TalkToYoUniverse.

Book Reviews

The Last Full Measure by Jack Campbell at Thinking about books.
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson at The Counterfactual History Review.
Once Upon a Clockwork Tale at Blog Critics.

Comics

Review of Before Watchmen by Sean Korsgaard.

Counterfactuals

49ers alternate history: Bill Walsh to the Seahawks? by David Fucillo at SB Nation.
An Alternate History of the Syrian Civil War by John Tabin.
Manziel - Suspended Before the 2012 Season - Nearly Transferred from A&M by John Pennington at Mr SEC.
Ranking the Biggest 'What-Ifs' in the NBA Draft of the Last Decade by Jared Wade at Bleacher Report.
The White House that never was: A behind-the-scenes tour of the would-be Romney administration by Rick Klein, Olivier Knox, Richard Coolidge, and Jordyn Phelps at Yahoo!

Films

'After Earth II' Tanks At Box Office at The Onion.
Iron Sky Director’s Cut at Dark Matter.

Games

The Best Video Games of 2013 (So Far) by Hanuman Welch, Larry Hester and Michael Rougeau at Complex Gaming.
The Bitmap Brothers’ classic steampunk shooter The Chaos Engine is getting a remake/reboot by Tom Sykes at PC Gamer.
Hornblower meets Steampunk in Guns of Icarus Online by Kieran Salsone at The Chronicle.
March of War Dieselpunk Title Puts Players In Charge Of Story by Adam Gauntlett at The Escapist.
My Top 5 Alternate History Games by Cimmaron Spirit at Gaming Furever.
The Order: 1886's alternate Victorian London detailed by Steve Watts at Shack News.
A return to Nazi-shooting good times: We go hands-on with Wolfenstein at E3 by Patrick Stafford at Games.on.net.
Teslagrad puzzler platformer announced for Wii U release at VG 24/7.
Trials Evolution: Trials Files #61 at Achievement Hunter.

Interviews

Alison Morton at Female First.
Dan Carroll at Steampunk Chronicle.
Christopher Priest (Part 1 and 2) at Amazing Stories.

Music

Dieselpunk Song of the Week - Happy Swingin by Shemian at Tommy Thunder.

Podcast

Ratchet RetroCast Episode 10 – Our pain, it runs deep, let us share it with you… at Earth Station One.
Unbound: Tania James and Kyle Minor on 'Alternate Histories' by Erin Keane atWFPL.

Television

Revolution Stars Talk Nora's Season 1 Finale Exit at omg!

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. 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 #107

Editor's Note

The Update had one of its best days in terms of page views last Tuesday. It began when a person named "seemoreglass" posted a link to One Way to Divide America: Ethnicity on MetaFilter. In that single day we got 4,837 page views and the link to the article spread to several Tumblr blogs. Pretty impressive for a one-mad blog in a niche market.

So what did I learn from the experience of going viral? Well I did see a slight increase in ad revenue, but barely saw any interest in any other articles on The Update or any surge in social media followers. Although there were a lot of comments on the actual MetaFilte page, I didn't read much of them, mostly because they started turning nasty early, but I did read some new comments we got on the article page itself and was not impressed by what I saw.

The oddest thing about all this is that it happened with an article I posted on February 8, 2012. That was more than a year ago and it only got noticed now. I guess we can write this off as one of those odd phenomenon's of the Internet. You just never know when something is going to become popular.

Barring any new entries into the DBWI writing contest, this week's post schedule is pretty much set in stone. New Releases return's to its regularly scheduled slot tomorrow and Wednesday, which happens to be the 2 year anniversary of The Update, I will publishing a short letter to the fans looking both into the past and future. Thursday we get to read Dimas Aditya Hanandito entry into the DBWI writing contest and Friday we get two articles on the Before Watchmen prequel series from Sean Korsgaard.

And now the news...

Tor UK buys interdimensional spy trilogy by Genevieve Cogman

I have to warn you that the rest of this Weekly Update will focus on video games since E3 happened last week. Since this is primarily a literary blog, however, I am going to start by talking about Pan Macmillan’s Tor imprint acquiring The Invisible Library by debut UK novelist Genevieve Cogman. Senior Commissioning editor Bella Pagan bought World rights in this novel and two others by Cogman from Lucienne Diver at The Knight Agency.

The concept behind these books has inspired comparisons such as “Doctor Who with librarian spies”. Here is how the story is described:

The redoubtable Irene is a secret agent for the ultimate inter-dimensional library, a covert organization that gathers knowledge from parallel worlds. Irene’s latest assignment posts her, and her enigmatic assistant, to an alternative Victorian London. Their goal being to retrieve an extremely dangerous book. But when she arrives, it’s already been stolen – and soon she’s up to her eyebrows in thieves, murderers and secret societies – with a dash of the supernatural in store.

Cogman said: “I’m incredibly excited that Tor will be publishing my books – I still can’t quite believe it’s true. I’m honoured to be in the company of authors such as Paul Cornell, Charles Stross, and other brilliant writers. I really hope that other people will enjoy this series, and be entertained by the Library.”

Pagan commented: “This book brings a new urgency to the term ‘must read’ – hugely entertaining, clever and a lot of fun. I just fell in love with the writing, which reminded me of Jasper Fforde by way of Gail Carriger’s Soulless, with the humour of Ben Aaronovitch.’

Still the concept sounds interesting and I think alternate historians, being the voracious readers that we are, might get a kick out of librarians battling it out across the multiverse.

The Order: 1886 Revealed at E3

Alright, I promised video games and lets start with the one blowing up the Internet: The Order: 1886. The game is being developed by Ready at Dawn and published by Sony Computer Entertainment which will be released exclusively for the upcoming PlayStation 4 (PS4), which sucks because I am an Xbox guy. Announced at E3, The Order is set in alternative Victorian Era London where the industrial revolution came about as an effort to win a centuries-old war against inhuman enemies (because humans just got tired of fighting each other, I suppose). Let us take a look at the trailer as it is revealed at E3 (the crowd sure does seem excited):

So the trailer gives us a glimpse at this steampunk, horror game featuring some epic mustaches and Victorian airships (at this point I am really upset with you Limeys for not inventing these earlier). We, of course, see the futuristic weaponry the genre is known for, including what looks like a Tesla coil gun, but whether it will be a poor copy of BioShock Infinite or a great game on its own remains to be seen. Exactly what gameplay is like is still unknown, although one commentator suggests the enemy may be werewolves and you will have to hunt them down in co-op. The game does not have a release date as of yet and in fact has been in development hell for years.

Want to learn more? Check out an interview with CEO of Ready at Dawn/Creative Director Ru Weerasuriya. He also spends some time breaking down the game's alternate history over at IGN.

Black Gold Equals Steampunk and Fantasy

The next big game to come out of E3 for alternate historians is the steampunk, fantasy Black Gold. Being produced by Snail Games, it is an MMORPG PC game inspired by the myths and fairytales throughout Northern Europe. Black Gold combines the magic-filled world of fantasy with the mechanized, gothic world of steampunk.

The game setting itself is divided between six races, each on the side of steam or sorcery. Players will be able to trigger more than 3,000 dynamic events and actions that can change the game world. Additionally, characters will have the ability to change forms and drive giant armored mechs in combat (or elephants). Black Gold also features cross-genre gameplay, including both first-person (FPS) and third-person shooter (TPS) elements.

The game sort of reminds me of Arcanum, a game I have only a little experience with after playing the demo once. From the screenshots it certainly looks impressive, but the fantasy elements are not my thing. The Order is still on the top of my list, unless...

More on Wolfenstein: The New Order

...you let me kill Nazis in a timeline where the Axis won World War II.

Although I've talked about this game previously, for those who don't know, Wolfenstein: The New Order is an upcoming first-person shooter video game in development by MachineGames to be published by Bethesda Softworks for most platform. The New Order is the ninth installment in the Wolfenstein series and is set for launch later this year.

More information on the game continues to be forthcoming. For example, you can check out a walkthrough of the game over at Game Trailers. You can also learn just how seriously MachineGames and Bethesda are taking the alternate history of New Order.

Calender

Am I done with video games already? O well, let's look at some things you can do in the real world:

June 29: Phantasmagorical Steampunk Extravaganza with Jim Kleefeld at the North Olmsted Library in Ohio.

Also this is the last day to see a steampunk-ified version of Into the Woods at Lake City Playhouse in Idaho.

July 7: The Guildhall in Cambridge, UK will be host to "a world in which Victoriana and steam-powered inventions collide spectacularly with ideas of the future."

August 1: Deadline to submit your entry for Dark Hall Press' ghost story competition. Max word count is 4k and I actually plan to submit a story that I hope to finish writing this week.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

5 Huge Mistakes Nobody Noticed for a Shockingly Long Time by Evan V. Symon at Cracked.
5 Lies About the Vietnam War You Probably Believe by Alex Hanton, Eric Yosomono and Adam Page at Cracked.
Alternate History: What If Henry Ford, and Not Edsel, Had Died Young? by Ronnie Schreiber at The Truth About Cars.
Author Nick Valentino announces arrival of new steampunk novel by Deborah Smith Ford at Examiner.
George Orwell back in fashion as Prism stokes paranoia about Big Brother by Stephen Moss at The Guardian.
Glenn Beck's Counterfactual Inanity by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
The H Word: Lovecraftian Horror by W.H. Pugmire at Nightmare Magazine.
Historical Fiction / Alternate History by Alex at Remind Me Twice.
How to build a Roman future by Alison Morton at Modern Papyrus.
If only Britain had joined the euro by Will Hutton at The Guardian.
Iraq’s Assault against the Kurds by Joost Hiltermann at World Peace Foundation.
A Ku Klux Klan rally kept Patrick Ewing from going to the University of North Carolina by Dan Devine at Yahoo!
Preliminary notes on the "Laonomicon." Or: Forbidden Knowledge in Laos? by Bryan Thao Worra at On The Other Side Of The Eye.
Romans and steampunk? by Daniel Ottalini at Alison Morton's Roma Nova.
Sobel Wiki: The old switcheroo by Johnny Pez.
Stories Outside History by Daniel Abraham by Daniel Abraham at nerds of a feather, flock together.
An Unusual "What if?" About the Battle of Tours from 1939 by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
What if Shakespeare wrote Star Wars? "Alas, poor Stormtrooper!" by Meredith Woerner at io9.

Book Reviews

In Thunder Forged by Ari Marmell at Thinking about books.
The People's Will by Jasper Kent at Falcata Times.

Comics

Superman & The New 52 Reveal Alternate History to World War 2! by fourcolors at pressdemocrat.com.

Films

“The Airship Potemkin” review by Roger Ebert at Not by the Direct Method.

Games

Meet the Hand-drawn Dieselpunk World of Terminus at NAG.

Interviews

Laura Andersen on the Tudors and Alternative History by Mark Evans at Historical Novel Society.

Television

BBC AMERICA Announces Four-Part Docu-Series on Science Fiction at BBC America.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. 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 #106 Part 2

Editor's Note

And now the rest of your alternate history news...

Reviews on After Earth

After Earth has premiered and the reviews are in...and its not looking good. The film is a science fiction adventure drama directed by M. Night Shyamalan that he co-wrote with Gary Whitta based on an original story idea by Will Smith, about a military father and son crash landed on Earth one thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to abandon it for a new home planet. The teenage son must save his dying father by trekking alone across the hostile terrain, encountering highly evolved creatures and a ruthless alien beast along the way, to recover their rescue beacon and also prove that he can live up to his father's reputation as a legendary soldier. It stars Smith and his son Jaden as Cypher and Kitai Raige, with Will Smith also acting as producer, and is distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Now lets ignore how implausible it is for evolution to change Earth wildlife so drastically after only 1000 years and focus on the fact that this is technically an alternate history film, since its based off an alien spaceship crash-landing on Earth in 1908, significantly advancing human technological progress. Now that we have gotten that out of the way (hopefully for the last time) what did people actually think of the film?

Friend of The Update Sean Korsgaard panned the film saying "it’s not only as bad as you've heard, its likely worse. The only upside to this I can see is that if this film crashes and burns – and from all accounts, it’s well on its way to doing so now – is that it will get M. Night Shyamalan handed his pink slip, get Jaden Smith his long-overdue retirement from acting, and get Will Smith his first real slice of humble pie." Meanwhile, Rob Bricken at io9 had an Amusing FAQ about the film. Here is a taste:

So some critics are calling After Earth godawful, while some are saying it’s not bad. Which is it?

Actually, I think Charlie Jane has it exactly right — After Earth is a disappointment, mainly because it’s not the schadenfreude-packed clusterfuck we’ve come to expect from M. Night Shyamalan. 

So it’s actually good?

Oh, goodness me, no! It’s quite bad.

Then there are the inevitable cries that is nothing more than Scientologist propaganda full of language, concepts and imagery plucked directly from the L. Ron Hubbard. My reaction is: so what? Are you trying to tell me a person's religion can influence the fiction they produce? Gasp! How is this different from the Christianity in The Chronicles of Narnia or the agnosticism in The Golden Compass? Regardless of the reputation Scientology has earned, you don't need to bring up religion to convince people not to see this film.

Well I probably won't watch After Earth, not even on Netflix.

Poor timing for Wolfenstein?

So the new trailer for Wolfenstein: The New Order came out last week. Lets watch:

So a nuked New York, Nazi sexual harassment on the streets, Nazi Washington, Nazi Beatles, Nazi mechs crushing protests, Nazis on the Moon...you get the idea. The trailer seems to suggest that the POD is the Nazis getting nuclear weapons first, which puts it dangerously close to becoming Spike's Alternate History, which has quickly become the marker for a bad WWII alternate history for me. For one thing, what happened to the other Axis powers like Italy and Japan? Let us hope there is more to the story when the game is finally released.

Still this trailer did show us some gameplay footage, which is nice. At least we can say this alternate history, completely single-player FPS is visually stunning, but what do the critics say? Joey Davidson of TechnoBuffalo said "Speaking as an American citizen, the imagery in this trailer is particularly chilling. Especially seeing an astronaut salute a Nazi flag on the moon. I’m not sure why that one affected me so much, but it did." That probably explains why we are seeing more focus on the Nazis instead of the Japanese. The swastika has a much powerful emotional impact for Americans when compared to the rising sun.

Some people have pointed out that the release of this trailer was poor timing on Bethesda's part due to the 69th anniversary of D-Day and even Bethesda was forced to comment on the timing. My suggestion is that people need to relax. This is alternate history and I doubt Bethesda was trying to dishonor the memories of the people who gave their lives during Normandy to defeat fascism. If anything, Axis victory timelines like Wolfenstein: The New Order highlight just how important it was for us to win World War II.

So calm down, its not a big deal.

Europa Universalis IV Release Date Announced and Pre-Order Launched

If your dreams of leading a global empire have lain dormant for too long, the time to take action is finally here!  Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio today announced that the empire-building game Europa Universalis IV will be released worldwide on August 13th, 2013. Europa Universalis IV is the latest installment in the award-winning series with more than a million copies sold worldwide and will be available on PC, Mac, and Linux at launch. Check out the trailer below:

Following on the success of the critically acclaimed strategy/RPG Crusader Kings II, Paradox Development Studio is ready to take you to worlds both old and new – each yours for the taking. Join the active  community of over half a million members and experience the drama and tension that only the grand stage of history can provide in Europa Universalis IV.

Europa Universalis IV gives you control of a nation to guide it through the years and create a dominant global empire in the age of exploration, providing unprecedented freedom through the use of exploration, trade, warfare and diplomacy to let you rule your nation however you see fit. Strategists will face ruthless AI in an extensive single-player campaign, or be able to backstab friends and foes in 32-player online matches.

Strategy fans can now take the first step to fulfill their quest for global domination by pre-ordering Europa Universalis IV from digital distribution channels everywhere for $39.99, with a Digital Extreme Edition available for $44.99.

LoneStarCo​n 3 Announces a Teaching Science Fiction Workshop for Teachers, Librarians​, and Parents

LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention ("Worldcon"), has announced "Teaching Science Fiction," a workshop for teachers, librarians, and parents on how to use science fiction as a teaching tool. The workshop is a collaborative effort with LoneStarCon 3, and is organized and presented by AboutSF, an organization based at the University of Kansas.

This workshop is a half-day seminar on developing a class on science fiction for primary or secondary students. Educators are the target audience for this course, whether they are interested in designing a class on SF, or want to incorporate SF readings into existing classes. No prior knowledge of the genre is assumed, and general attendees are welcome to attend as well.

"Teaching Science Fiction" covers what to teach, how to organize a class, and ways to promote the course. The workshop will answer questions teachers may have about this idea-oriented and thought-provoking body of speculative literature. Attendees will also receive handouts and CDs containing additional helpful material to take home with them. Workshop speakers will include Worldcon Guest of Honor Dr. James Gunn, with additional speakers to be announced.

The workshop will be held during LoneStarCon 3 in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, September 2, 2013. Worldcon members with an attending membership may participate at no additional cost, but must register in advance, as space is limited. Teachers, librarians, and parents who are not Worldcon members will need to purchase a Day Admission to LoneStarCon 3 for the day of the workshop. Monday Day Admissions cost $30 for adults, and $20 for Young Adults (those aged 21 or under on the day of the workshop).

Calender

June 22: Steam on Queen steampunk street fair in Toronto, Canada.

July 15: Deadline to submit your queries to Echelon Press for their 2014 steampunk anthology entitled Alchemy’s Dark Secrets.

August 4: Last day to see the Antipodeans Steampunk Show at the Tweed River Art Gallery in Australia.

Links to the Multiverse

Comics

DC and Marvel characters combine to form the ultimate superheroes by Lauren Davis at io9.

Films

My top 10 SF and fantasy picks for the big-screen treatment by Alex Kane at Amazing Stories.
Star Trek Into Darkness concept art shows off the rebooted Klingons by Meredith Woerner at io9.

Games

SteamWorld Dig Puts You In A Steampunk Town To Mine For Treasure by Ishaan at Siliconera.

Podcasts

GSN PODCAST: Dissecting Worlds Series 7 – Episode 3: Red Dawn and the Invasion Narrative at Geek Syndicate.

Television

Da Vinci's Demons Season 1 Finale: History, Science Fiction, and Time Travel at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
Revolution Season 1 Finale: Good Pivot at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. 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.