Weekly Update #89

Editor's Note

So I am moving "New Releases" back to its own post. You will see the list of the newest alternate histories stories tomorrow in its own post once again. I felt like the titles were not getting enough attention being shoved in with all of the news stories. As always, feedback is appreciated.

Welcome to our newest reader from Aruba. As I look out over the frozen pond near my house I have the urge to pack up and leave for your home. As it is, I am stuck in frozen Chicago. O well, hopefully I can warm myself up by reading some of the great content I have coming up this week along with my last alternate history post at Amazing Stories (well for the time being at least). Next month I am going to be writing on SF detectives. I hope you all enjoy it as I need a change of pace in my reading.

And now the news...

Bioshock Infinite News

In my quest to bring more video game content to this blog, here is some important announcements for Bioshock Infinite. This is the third game in the Bioshock series. It is set in 1912 during the era of American Exceptionalism. The game's protagonist, former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, is sent to the floating air-city of Columbia to find a young woman, Elizabeth, who has been held captive there for the last twelve years. Though Booker rescues Elizabeth, the two are pursued by the city's warring factions; the nativist and elite Founders that strive to keep the city for pure Americans, and the Vox Populi, a rebel grouping representing the common people. Booker finds Elizabeth to be central to this conflict, and that she also holds strange powers to manipulate rifts in the time-space continuum that ravage Columbia.

Now I know I said I would provide more content on games, but let's face facts: this is literary blog. So for people who like books and games you can check out BioShock Infinite: Mind in Revolt the prequel ebook coming on February 12th. This 30-page e-book provides a back story to the flying city of Columbia and a better understanding of the fued between the Founders and Vox Populi. However, don't completely overlook the game just because it is not a book. A lot went into writing the game including the revamped morality system. Check out the interview with Drew Holmes and find out how Bioshock Infinite was written.

The Tyranny of King Washington Releases on Feb 19th

The official release date for Assassins Creed 3 alternate history DLC, The Tyranny of King Washington, has been announced. On Feb 19, 2013, players can download episode 1, titled "The Infamy". The main character Connor will find himself in an alternate universe where George Washington became a tyrannical monarch of the young United States. Although I can only guess what the plot will be for the next two episodes, I assume it will involve you as the player working to overthrow the evil dictator and reestablish the republic.

Update: The Aylesford Skull by James P. Blaylock

Last week I talked about steampunk legend James P. Blaylock is returning to the universe of Langdon St. Ives for the first time in 20 years. Well I got some more info about the book and the author. Falcata Times wrote a review of the novel saying "the twists will more than satisfy and if you love Steampunk its going to more than hit the spot, but when you get a writing style that is hard to follow until you get used to the way the authors prose comes across, it’s going to be a story that is going to take some time to get behind."

Not exactly a five star review. The Times almost seem to be suggesting this book should not be the first steampunk work you dip into. Still hardcore steampunk fans should enjoy the novel. If you want more information about Ives, Blaylock and his writing you can read the interviews he did at Fantasy Matters and My Bookish Ways.

Paradox News

Some more news from the leader in grand-strategy games. Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio have announced that Crusader Kings II is now available for Linux. It is the first ever game from Paradox to be launched on the platform and they plan to bring other titles to Linux in the future. Crusader Kings II for Linux is currently available on Steam. Check out the trailer below:

Meanwhile, Paradox has released a new update to War of the Roses which adds new armor and weapons to the game, designed in the style of Scottish mercenaries from the middle ages. The “Gallowglass Mercenary Pack” can be downloaded as a free content update.

Covered in mail and ready to cut down Englishmen for cold hard coin, the Scottish Gallowglass mercenaries brought brute force and fighting spirit to the battlefields like none could. Now is your chance to become one of them, with the Gallowglass mercenary gear pack, which includes the Gallowglass mail armor and helmet. Two new axes are also available to wield, along with the deadly Halflang Sword, ready and able to slay any Englishman in its path.

The Gallowglass Mercenary Pack joins several other free additions that Paradox has released for War of the Roses since its debut in October 2012. Over the cruel winter months, players have gained access to new snow-covered maps, experienced the unforgiving “Pitched Battle” mode, and steadily gained more weapons, armor, and customization options. These additions and more are showcased in a new trailer for War of the Roses:

Call for Submissions

Two new publications have come to my attention last week, each with multiple upcoming anthologies. First we have Gray Haven Comics which is looking for new artists and writers. As I said they have multiple projects but alternate historians should be interested in the Alternate History and Steampunk volumes.

Next we have Metahuman Press which has numerous anthologies ranging from alien encounters to pulp heroes. Seriously if you can't find something you are looking for with those two presses you are not trying hard enough.

Need some advice? Tor has a list of writing tips from their top authors including Cherie Priest (who was recently interviewed at Tor as well).

Links to Multiverse

Articles

3 Things Kim Harrison's Looking Forward to in 2013 by Jeremy Cesarec at Barnes & Noble.

6 Alternate Album Covers You Won't Believe Almost Happened by Evan V. Symon and Kier Harris at Cracked.

The Alternate Histories of the Norman Conquest, Part 1  and Part 2 by Rosanne E. Lortz at English Historical Fiction Authors.

Auto Polo: The Most Steampunk Sport That Isn't Steampunk by Austin Sirkin at Steampunk R&D.

Counterfactual History: Asking Your Students to Consider "What If?" at Brian Rock at HubPages.

Jules Verne, From The Earth To The Moon, and Space Opera by J Jay Jones at Amazing Stories.

More Famous Historical and Cultural Figures Who Could Become Monster Hunters by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.

My hero: George Orwell by Margaret Atwood at The Guardian.

Steampunk Hits the Mainstream! (Again) by Ay-leen the Peacemaker at Tor.

Steampunk Is More Accurately Vernian, Not Victorian! by Veronique Chevalier at Steampunk R&D.

Time Travel Defined: A device for repairing a poorly thought out plot. Usually. by Michael Webb at Amazing Stories.

Vanished Kingdoms – Roseneau by Oldcat at Kilobooks.

Book Reviews

Dominion by CJ Sansom at Existential Ennui.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson at Publishers Weekly.

Osama by Lavie Tidhar at Geek Syndicate.

Interviews

Kevin J. Anderson at Amazing Stories.

Hour 25 clips with Harry Harrison, Anne McCaffrey, Robert A. Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Ben Bova, Frederik Pohl, Fritz Leiber. August 17, 1984.

Podcasts

The Ratchet Retrocast Episode 1 – Our First Leap into a Wretched Hive of Scum & Villainy at Earth Station One.

Television

NBC Orders “The Sixth Gun” Pilot by Leo Johnson at Geek Syndicate.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Weekly Update #84

Editor's Note

I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss my personal definition of alternate history and the definition I use for this blog and the social media sites I run. Now I will go into my personal definition of alternate history when Amazing Stories goes live (they have been letting me play with new website, it looks nice), but the definition I use when presenting news and reviews to you is what is causing me problems.

I talked about it during my guest appearance on Dissecting Worlds and the guys have alluded to it in later episodes. Essentially I consider alternate history, from the point of view of this blog, to be any speculative fiction that requires an appreciation of history to fully enjoy. That is why I feature steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel, parallel universes and other genres, even if actual allo-historical content is minimal. I do this because there are a lot of great things in this world and we alternate historians should not be narrow minded. I see it as this blog's mission to help spread awareness about books, films, television shows, games, etc. that we as alternate historians can enjoy.

With that mind, if you don't like the way I run my blog, then you don't have to read it. Just don't be like the guy who left this message on the "Alternate History" Facebook page. If you want to leave, fine. Just don't be a troll and post a passive aggressive message before leaving. I still appreciate feedback, but I assume people who give constructive criticism are going to stay and see what happens.

By the way, this is my first week at my new job so once again I request that you be patient as I get used to my new routine. As I said before I am taking a lot of time off in December so it will next month where we find out if I can balance my new jobs and the Update.

And now the news...

New Trailers

Two trailers you guys might be interested in. First the trailer for Assassin's Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington DLC:

I have talked about this DLC before and the plausibility of Washington as king, yet I have to admit the "evil" Washington and his guards do look cool. It will be interesting to see what the storyline is behind this alternate history and what events caused America's first president to go bad.

And then we have After Earth:

This is first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s SF adventure. Here is the synopsis from SciFiNow:

One thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind’s new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son, Kitai (Jaden Smith). When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai’s craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.

I talked about this film last July, so if you are wondering why I am showing this trailer on the Update, go click the link.

Submissions Wanted

More chances to get published and more writing tips for those aspiring authors out there.

First up are the opportunities to get published. Here is a better link for the Horrific Histories anthology I posted about last week and the submission guidelines for Wily Writers Audible Fiction. If you ever wanted to hear your work published in audio format, you might want to check these guys out.

For those authors actually looking to write an alternate history, check out Present day, alternate world, different rules by Alison Morton (author of Sample Something a Little Alternative) where she discusses the importance of research and accuracy. For more general advice read Top Ten Tips for People Thinking about Writing a Book by Guy Kawasaki and, if you already have a finished manuscript, The Five Mistakes Killing Self-Published Authors by Kristen Lamb.

Good luck!

Things to do

With a new year coming there are already a slew of conventions and events planned for 2013.

Boskone 50, NESFA's regional science fiction convention, will be held on February 15-17 in Framingham, MA. You might even see some of the people behind Amazing Stories there. Meanwhile, for those steampunk fanatics out there, we have the Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention on March 8-10 in Old Tucson, AZ and the music festival Steamstock on July 27-28 in San Francisco, CA. Check out there Kickstarter if you are interested in contributing.

This just in from LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention, rates will increase from January 1, 2013. So if you are going to see the Sidewise Awards get presented next year, make sure you bring enough cash.

New Releases

Hardcovers

The Merchant of Dreams by Anne Lyle
When Mal’s dream about a skrayling shipwreck in the Mediterranean proves reality, it sets him on a path to the beautiful, treacherous city of Venice – and a conflict of loyalties that will place him and his friends in greater danger than ever.

E-books

Black Sun Reich: The Spear of Destiny by Trey Garrison
The first novel in a new steampunk, horror, alternate history, action-adventure series set in a 1920s where the Nazis have begun their subjugation of the world using the occult, advanced science, and a holy relic with awesome powers.

Generation Null by Wendi K. Bennett
Whenever your time machine begins to smell like this, you know you are in trouble.

Substitution Cipher by Kaye Chazan
Spies can change the course of history, and and in the six thrilling stories of Substitution Cipher, they do. Check out my review of the anthology and my interview with Update contributor Tyler Bugg, whose short story "From Enigma to Paradox" appears in the anthology.

Comics

Time Samplers #1 - Escape from Jekyll Island by Thomas Gorence, David Pinckney, and Erik Koconis, with art by Nicolas Colacitti
Two musicians investigate historical conspiracy theories through psychedelic time travel. Check out my review of the comic and stay tuned for my upcoming interview with one of the creators of the comic.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate History: The final frontier by Sandwich Warrior at Live Journal.

Alternative History and Inciting Incidents by Ray Dean at Steamed!

The Birth of a New Steampunk by Austin Sirkin at Steampunk R&D.

Laika, An Alternate History by Miss Cellania at Neatorama.

The Seattle That Could Have Been: Now At MOHAI by Knute Berger at Seattle Magazine.

There’s a Little Real History in my Alternate History #4 by M. Fenn.

This pre-Internet chatroom conversation between Jim Henson, Ayn Rand, Yoko Ono and Sidney Nolan is fake. But it’s amazing by  Robert T. Gonzalez at io9.

Vanished Kingdoms – Sabaudia by Oldcat at Kilobooks.

Why Jon Stewart almost left ‘Daily Show’ by Dylan Stableford at Yahoo! News.

Art

Tetsuo wins and Gotham lies in ashes in Alternate Ending art by Lauren Davis at io9.

Why Chinese Needs Post-Apocalyptic Steam Punk (with Dinosaurs) by John at Sinosplice.

Books

Review of 1945 by Newt Gingrinch and William R Forstchen at The Indefinite Emu.

Review of Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess by Phil and Kaja Foglio at Travels Through Iest.

Review of The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris at Fantasy Book Review.

Review of The Royal Sorceress by Chris Nuttall at The World According to Quinn.

Review of Salvage and Demolition by Tim Powers at Thinking about books.

Comics

The Steampunk Gotham Comic From Sean Gordon Murphy That Wasn’t by Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool.

Games

The Best Steampunk Games (Then and Now) by Patrick Hyland at Star Pulse.

Steampunk fantasy game Edge of Twilight back in production after three year hiatus by Naren Hooson at VG 24/7.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Weekly Update #78

Editor's Note

O boy, we got a lot to cover this week. So much has been going on, I don't even know where to start.

How about on a high note? For those who did not catch it, we broke our monthly pay view record for the sixth time in a row. Our new record is 12,649 and, of course, I have every intention of breaking it again. What I need from you is help spreading the word. Please continue to share our posts on Facebook, Twitter and other sites.

If you scroll down you might notice something odd about this Weekly Update. I have merged our popular New Releases segment into Weekly Update in an effort to free up more time for all of the excellent contributors who have been waiting to see their works get published. Feedback is appreciated so feel free to tell me whether you like the new setup or not.

Speaking of changes to the blog, you should check out our Facebook group where an important decision about the blog is being left up to you. If you want your voice heard, join the group and cast your vote. You might even win something for your trouble.

Now for some self-promotion, my new flash fiction piece "Revenants in Warfare" was published last week at The Were-Traveler. Read an excerpt from best-selling historian Jorge Roman's new book where he details the use of the dead in warfare from the dawn of civilization to the United Technate's "War on Chaos". Again feedback is appreciated.

I like to welcome our first reader from Côte d’Ivoire. Don't forget everyone to enter our contest to win an e-book copy of Substitution Cipher. The deadline is 2pm CST and I will be announcing the winners at 3pm today. This week we will be rounding off our coverage of alternate American presidents before finally returning to our regularly scheduled program.

And now the news...

Aztecs invade Europe in Crusader Kings II

Just when Europe thought it was safe from troublesome Eastern foes, a new blood-curdling threat looms off the Western coast in Crusader Kings II: Sunset Invasion. In the latest DLC for the strategy/RPG Crusader Kings II, Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studios pose the question: what would have happened if the Aztecs invaded 13th Century Europe (mid- to late-game time)?

For the first time ever, Paradox Development Studio is introducing an alternate history scenario in their strategy games. Introducing new features, the upcoming Crusader Kings II DLC brings the Aztec civilization to European shores, determined to wreak carnage on its inhabitants. If readers think Paradox has unleashed the Tsalal on Europe, you are not far off. The invaders even come with a strange new disease, creating a reverse Columbian exchange.

How plausible, however, will this scenario be? How did the Aztecs gain transatlantic transportation or immunity from Old World diseases? Some long lost colony of Carthaginians or more aggressive Chinese exploration?

Regardless, one must answer the question: are we living in the golden age of alternate history DLC? Are game creators less interested in adding to already existing canon and instead want to have fun with their product by creating imaginative parallel timelines? God I hope so. Anyway I'm off to update my Christmas list and you should return on Thursday to see Chris Nuttall's review of Aztec Century, which has a similar plot to this DLC.

Assassin's Creed 3: Is Washington the Best Choice for King?

Not everyone is excited about the upcoming Assassin's Creed 3 DLC, The Tyranny of Washington. Alex Theologidy wrote an article on Gaming Illustrated explaining why George Washington was a bad choice to be king. Despite some historical support from Continental Army officers and members of the Continental Congress, Alex points out that Washington was a staunch republican and even if he had accepted the crown would have likely based his monarchy on the British model and would not have become a tyrant. Alex instead puts forward Benedict Arnold as a better choice. Having never played the games I don't understand his logic completely, but veterans of the franchise should check it out and get back to me to see if it makes sense.

Those wishing to learn more about the game should check out LA Times review of the game, which praises its historical accuracy. You should also check out Gameplay's interview with game designer Steven Masters where they do discuss the madness of King George DLC:

Or would you rather find out how big of perv Ben Franklin was:

Daughters hid your mothers.

More on Clockwork Angels by Kevin J. Anderson

“The best place to start an adventure is with a quiet, perfect life…and someone who realizes that it can’t possibly be enough.”

That is the opening line to Clockwork Angels by Kevin J. Anderson, the new steampunk novel based on the band Rush's new album by the same name. We have covered this book in past updates, but if you want to learn more about how writing with a legendary rocker was like you can by checking out Anderson's interview with Marshall Ward at Rock Cellar Magazine. Of course Anderson is obviously biased to his own work, so if you want to know if the book is good read Kelly McManus' review at The Globe and Mail. Kelly called the novel "good fun" and added "Clockwork Angels could even carry a message for other artists: Don’t stop thinking big."

I think that is good message for everyone, not just rock stars.

Full Steam Ahead on Kickstarter

There is a new kickstarter for the game The Ship: Full Steam Ahead, which will be a steampunk sequel to the popular 1920's-themed computer game, The Ship.  Like the original game, Full Steam Ahead will be available on PC (other platforms may follow) and will task players with finding and killing other players before said other players kill them, except this time you do it in a steampunk Victorian/Colonial Era Britain. The game will be released in April 2014 if funding can be secured on Kickstarter.

Submissions Wanted

Aspiring authors take notice. Steve Berman is reading submissions for several projects, you can see a complete list on his website. I am thinking of submitting something for Zombies: Shambling Through History.

You can also enter AndWeWereHungry's inaguaral issue and short story contest: The Flying Elephant. Stories should be between 3k to 6k words and the deadline is Nov 30. More rules can be found on their website as well. I am also planning on submitting something, which I covered in my most recent writing update.

Or you can check out Richard Small's (author of Musings on an Independent Confederacy, Part 2) new small press Signal Star Publishing. Their mission: "Using media to calm an insane planet". Dust off your manuscript everybody.

As always, good luck.

Things to do

There is always something to do in this wide, wonderful world (mostly steampunk):

Nov 7-11: Steampunk Antigone will play at Inver Grove Heights, MN.

Nov 9: Steampunk Street V in Mesa, AZ.

Nov 9-11: See a steampunk version Peter Pan in Las Vegas, NV.

Nov 9-11: Memphis! Comic and Fantasy Convention will feature the steampunk band V is for Villains.

Nov 9-11, 16-17: A steampunk version of The Pirates of Penzance will play in Mount Desert, ME.

New Releases

Hardcover

Bronze Summer: The Northland Trilogy by Stephen Baxter
Stone Spring drew readers into an alternate prehistoric scenario that now continues with Bronze Summer. Thousands of years have passed. And a wall that was built to hold back the sea, must now hold back the advancing armies of a reviving Troy…

Paperback

Emily Dickinson, Superhero - Vol. 1 by Eric Nixon
Emily Dickinson is widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in history. The world saw her as a withdrawn, reclusive writer with a desperate need for privacy. That’s exactly what she wanted you to think.

E-book

A New Birth Of Freedom: The Translator by Robert G Pielke

Noam Chomsky argues that communication with aliens would be impossible. Steven Hawking argues that it would be extremely unwise even to try. What if it were absolutely necessary to do so? This question arises with extreme urgency at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. [See my review of A New Birth of Freedom: The Visitor.]

Railroad Spine by Geonn Cannon
In a world where a little knowledge truly is a dangerous thing, Candice “Dice” Bodger is about to get an awful education.

A Tour With The Devil by Brian Turner
During the second World War we were close to losing a number of key battles. This dramatic story assumes the Normandy landings failed and the Allies were driven back into the sea. The Nazis then counter attacked and quickly overran Britain and eventually other key parts of the World.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

And it wasn’t just Cuba… by Jim Smith at Conceptual Historian.

Ben Bova: Alternate history by Ben Bova at Naples News.

Nightmare on Nuke Street by Jeffrey Lewis at FP: National Security.

Vanished Kingdoms – Alt Clud by Kilobooks.

Books

Author Update: William Peter Grasso by Sebastian Breit at his website.

Countries… Culture… the Wicking Effect by Raye Dean at Steamed!

Great Black Authors of Science Fiction & Fantasy: Past & Present at Chronicles of Harriet.

Review of Dominion by C.J. Sansom done by Alison Morton.

Review of Gettysburg by Gingrich and Forstchen at Conceptual Historian.

Review of Grant Comes East by Gingrich and Forstchen at Conceptual Historian.

Review of Never Call Retreat by Gingrich and Forstchen at Conceptual Historian.

Review of Opening Atlantis by Harry Turtledove at Yahoo Voices.

Vintage Tomorrows -- What Can Playing With the Past Teach Us About the Future? by Mark Frauenfelder at boingboing.

Films

10 Things, Mostly Involving Witch Punching, About The Red Band Hansel and Gretel Trailer by Alasdair Stuart at Bleeding Cool.

Review of Tai Chi Hero or 太极2英雄崛起 (2012) at Thinking about books.

Games

Browser-based steampunk: City of Steam enters closed beta in November by Giancarlo Valdes at Venture Beat.

First Dishonored DLC announced by Soulfinger at Geek Syndicate.

Hakuoki returns as a PSP action game by JC Fletcher at joystiq.

'Pressure' - 22 New Screens by Rainier at Worthplaying.

Television/Webseries

Elementary: Season 1, Episode 2. While You Were Sleeping review by David Marshall at Thinking about books.

The World of Steam by Matt King at Kickstarter.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is a long-time fan of alternate history, founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Weekly Update #77

Editor's Note

In a first for Alternate History Weekly Update, I will be announcing a free book give-away this afternoon. I will be making the official announcement with the details on how you can win at 3 pm CST.

In the meantime lets welcome our first readers from Barbados and Cambodia. I hope you guys enjoy today's  weekly recap of last week's alternate history news.

Since Americans make up more than half of my readership, we will continue our coverage of alternate presidential elections in the lead up to election day (Nov 6). We have articles and book reviews featuring alternate election outcomes and I might even skip next week's Weekly Update and New Releases posts to give you even more political AH.

As they say in my hometown: vote early and often!

And now the news...

Assassin's Creed 3 DLC: Alternate history chosen to avoid fracturing fan base

Ubisoft announced that the reason they created an alternate history setting where George Washington becomes king of the United States to their Assassin's Creed 3 DLC was to avoid fracturing the fan base. Lead designer Steve Masters said:

For me, the DLC has always been a touchy thing for putting important story moments into. Ultimately it fractures the audience and makes it really difficult for people to keep up with what is the canon of the series.

For us, we want to have a little fun with it, and have a less serious experience, a less earnest experience, and setting it in an alternate history environment gives us room and freedom to play around with things in a more whimsical manner.

We think people are going to enjoy it, have fun with it - we've just got to remember it's not part of the canon, it's just there as something for players to enjoy.

This means that the Assassin's Creed franchise will remain a secret history, but fans of the game and alternate history can still get a chance to explore other timelines if Ubisoft releases more AH DLC. Those looking to learn more about King George I of America should check out my article Kings of the United States of America and King Washington the Wicked by Robert Rath over at The Escapist where he goes over some of the historical basis for believing Washington could have been America's fist king.

New BioShock Infinite Trailer

Check out the new Bioshock: Infinite trailer:

This new trailer shows off more details about the floating, steampunk American city of Columbia and, if T3 is to be believed, the game is likely to be a "Triple A blockbuster".

More on Dishonored

Wow, this Weekly Update has been heavy on video games, and we continue with our coverage of that medium with more reviews on Dishonored. Steve Blomkamp at The Vancouver Observer gave the game an 8 out of 10 and said: "Dishonored is a very strong new entry into the action stealth genre. With it’s intriguing setting, dastardly conspiracies and nail-biting escapades, I implore any of you on the fence to give it a try. You won’t be disappointed." Meanwhile, Doug Elfman at the Las Vegas Review Journal said "Dishonored" is so good, because its priorities are correct."

Have you played it yet?

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

10 Ideas for Alternate History Scenarios by Mark Ball at Sci Fi Ideas.

Alternate History, or what, how and when did it all go wrong? by Jim Smith at conceptualhistorian.

In Praise of the Implausible by Rose Fox at Genreville.

The JFK Library's Frightening Alternate History of the Cuban Missile Crisis at History News Network.

Steampunk Events for November 2012 by Ay-Leen the Peacemaker at Tor.com.

What Do You Do with an MA in Steampunk? by Suzanne Lazear at Steamed!

Books

Review of Every Inch a King by Harry Turtledove done by Mike's Reading Blog.

Review of Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card done by Kat Hooper at Fantasy Literature.

Review of Ruled Britannia by Harry Turtledove done by Jim Smith at conceptualhistorian.

Review of Substitution Cipher edited by Kaye Chazan done by Publisher's Weekly.

Review of Wake of the Bloody Angel by Alex Bledsoe done by Ian Shone at Alt Hist.

Games

Wolsung Steampunk Skirmish Game Indiegogo campaign.

Interviews

Adam Christopher at SF Signal Podcast.

Kim Newman at My Bookish Way.

David L. Parrott at JeanzBookReadNReview.

Lavie Tidhar at Audible.co.uk.

Television

CBS’s Elementary Gets a Full Season Order by Geek Syndicate.

Steampunk Thriller "PROGRESS" Launches Official Kickstarter Campaign at PR.com.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is a long-time fan of alternate history, founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Masquerade Crew. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Weekly Update #74

Editor's Note

Short note today because I am a little under the weather. Want to give a shout out to our first reader from Laos. I hope our new friend and all of our readers enjoy our trips down the rabbit hole.

And now the news...

Assassin's Creed 3 DLC presents "King Washington"

A picture is worth a thousand words:

That is the epic promotional art for Assassin's Creed III's new DLC "The Tyranny of King George", an all-new single-player campaign told through three episodic content packs that lets gamers experience an alternate history of the events following the American Revolution. Here is the plot summary from the press release:

As the revolution comes to a close, a new and most unexpected enemy emerges. Driven by the desire to secure the fate of the colonies, the greatest hero of the revolution, George Washington, succumbs to the temptation of infinite power. The new King is born and his reign leaves no one untouched. To return freedom to the land our new hero must dethrone a tyrant he once called friend. 

This news came with the announcement that Ubisoft was offering the Assassin's Creed III Season Pass, granting access to all five upcoming downloadable content packs to gamers owning the original game on PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Microsoft's Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and Windows PC. You can however purchase the DLC without buying the pass.

Alternate historians are already salivating over this new game, but there are plenty of opportunities to play around with history in the Assassin's Creed universe. Although the franchise is a secret history, the ability to play out cloak and dagger scenarios in histories that went differently won't be a difficult transition for Ubisoft. Perhaps you might find yourself fomenting a slave rebelled in Richmond, Virginia, CSA or taking out top Nazi officials in a Berlin where Germany won World War II?

Those interested in learning about other possible American monarchs should check out my counterfactual article on the subject.

More on Iron Sky

If you enjoyed Sean's review on Iron Sky then I highly recommend you check out the Geek Syndicate's coverage on the film. Christi Kassity said the film "has all the necessary elements to become a cult-classic."

But wait, there's more! Geek Syndicate is giving away DVD copies of Iron Sky. All you have to do is send them an email with title of ‘I Want The Iron Sky’  and your name and address to comps at geeksyndicate dot co dot uk by October 31st.  The first 5 entries they pick will each win a DVD. The competition is open to US residents only.

Submissions Wanted

Trying a new format. All submissions below are listed in order of their submission period. Good luck:

Now - Dec 1: Bad Seeds: Evil Progeny. Stories of evil kids, come on we all have a few.

Nov 15 - Dec 31: The Time Traveler’s Almanac. Reprint only, so only famous authors need to apply.

Jan 1 - March 31: The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes volume II, 3000-8000 words.

Things to do

Check out these upcoming alternate history inspired events:

Oct 12: The Pendleton Historic Foundation steampunk-themed fundraiser in Anderson, SC.

Oct 20-Nov 11: A steampunk version of Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus” in Cincinnati, OH.

Oct 26-28: Steamcon IV in Seattle, WA.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate history at the Historical Novel Society Conference 2012 by Alison Morton at Write a novel? I must be mad!

Alternate Histories: 7 Ways the World Could Be Completely Different at mental_floss.

British New Assyria by Ben at Portable Homeland.

How Twitter Is Helping Major Brands Gather Steam by Trevor Davis at ClickZ.

Immigration: The Most Important Economic Issue by Brian Doherty at Hit & Run Blog.

Maritime Steampunk by Maeve Alpin at Steamed!

Obama was prepared to try bin Laden in court by Jake Tapper at Yahoo.

Professor Elemental Defines Steampunk (or, at Least Tries to) at Tor.com.

Why some technologies fail, and others succeed by Maggie Koerth-Baker at boingboing.

Books

So, I Run Into S.M. Stirling At Powell's Books One Day … by Samuel Klein at The ZehnKatzen Times.

Nisi Shawl’s Everfair: Into the Heart of Steampunk by Cat Rambo at Tor.com.

Review of Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis at Fantasy Faction.

Review of Duty: A Retelling of Waterloo by Michael Seeley at The War Blog.

Rockin’ That Steampunk by Kevin J. Anderson at Tor.com.

Two New York Times Bestselling Authors Release New Books Through Small Print-On-Demand Press at Red Orbit.

Writing Historical Fantasy by Kiki Hamilton at Steamed!

Comics

Trailer Released for Grandville: Bete Noire by dwgrampus at Geek Syndicate.

Films

Eight best time-travel flicks by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd at Salon.

Steaming Rad: Taichi 0 at Asian One.

Would you kill Baby Hitler? by Roger Ebert at Chicago Sun-Times.

Games

A Brief “History” Lesson by Grant Rodiek at Hyperbole!

Choose Your Own Dishonored Adventure With New Trailer by Sarah Leboeuf at The Escapist.

City of Steam Developers Release New Journal, Let You Blow Up Barrels by N at Flesh Eating Zipper.

“Deadlight” Comes to Steam This Month by dwgrampus at Geek Syndicate.

Review: Fortress America done by Blaine Pardoe at Notes From The Bunker.

‘We Never Really Felt The Need For Boss Monsters’ In Dishonored, Designer Says by Jason Schreier at Kotaku.

Interviews

Sebastian Breit at The Indie Spotlight.

Alexander S. Brown at Examiner.com.

Podcasts

Dissecting Worlds (Series 6, Episode 5): Secret History and Conspiracy Theories.

The SF Signal Podcast (Episode 154): Panel: History That Never Happened, Our Favorite Alternate History Stories.

Twilight Histories (Episode 8): Roma Islamica.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for Alt Hist and a contributor to Just Below the Law. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and his own writing blog. When not writing he works as an attorney and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.