New Releases 6/14/16

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Hardcovers

Blood In the Water by Taylor Anderson

Taylor Anderson’s enthralling New York Times bestselling series of alternate history continues as game-changing revelations upend the Grand Alliance in a potentially cataclysmic war.

Ever since the USS Walker came from another world war to defy the terrifying Grik and diabolical Dominion, Matt Reddy and his crew have given their all to protect the oppressed Lemurians. But with the Walker in desperate need of repairs just as the Grik’s First General is poised to strike, Reddy is desperate.

With more enemies than ever before arrayed against them, the crew of the Walker needs new allies. That means combing the lethal wilds of Madagascar to find the Lemurians’ fabled ancestors, as well as the enigmatic dwellers east of the Pass of Fire. But what Reddy’s crew unearths may be more than they can handle—discoveries so shattering they could tilt the balance of the war in either direction.

But Reddy’s greatest adversary is from his past: a madman named Kurokawa whose single-minded mission of revenge will shake the Alliance to its core and raise the stakes to the most personal and terrifying levels Reddy has ever faced.

The Book of Esther by Emily Barton

What if an empire of Jewish warriors that really existed in the Middle Ages had never fallen—and was the only thing standing between Hitler and his conquest of Russia?

Eastern Europe, August 1942. The Khazar kaganate, an isolated nation of Turkic warrior Jews, lies between the Pontus Euxinus (the Black Sea) and the Khazar Sea (the Caspian). It also happens to lie between a belligerent nation to the west that the Khazars call Germania—and a city the rest of the world calls Stalingrad.

After years of Jewish refugees streaming across the border from Europa, fleeing the war, Germania launches its siege of Khazaria. Only Esther, the daughter of the nation’s chief policy adviser, sees the ominous implications of Germania's disregard for Jewish lives. Only she realizes that this isn’t just another war but an existential threat. After witnessing the enemy warplanes’ first foray into sovereign Khazar territory, Esther knows she must fight for her country. But as the elder daughter in a traditional home, her urgent question is how.

Before daybreak one fateful morning, she embarks on a perilous journey across the open steppe. She seeks a fabled village of Kabbalists who may hold the key to her destiny: their rumored ability to change her into a man so that she may convince her entire nation to join in the fight for its very existence against an enemy like none Khazaria has ever faced before.

The Book of Esther is a profound saga of war, technology, mysticism, power, and faith. This novel—simultaneously a steampunk Joan of Arc and a genre-bending tale of a counterfactual Jewish state by a writer who invents worlds “out of Calvino or Borges” (The New Yorker)—is a stunning achievement. Reminiscent of Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union and Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America, The Book of Esther reaffirms Barton’s place as one of her generation’s most gifted storytellers.

League of Dragons by Naomi Novik

With the acclaimed Temeraire novels, New York Times bestselling author Naomi Novik has created a fantasy series like no other, combining the high-flying appeal of Anne McCaffrey’s Pern saga and the swashbuckling derring-do of Patrick O’Brian’s historical seafaring adventures. Now, with League of Dragons, Novik brings the imaginative tour de force that has captivated millions to an unforgettable finish.

Napoleon’s invasion of Russia has been roundly thwarted. But even as Capt. William Laurence and the dragon Temeraire pursue the retreating enemy through an unforgiving winter, Napoleon is raising a new force, and he’ll soon have enough men and dragons to resume the offensive. While the emperor regroups, the allies have an opportunity to strike first and defeat him once and for all—if internal struggles and petty squabbles don’t tear them apart.

Aware of his weakened position, Napoleon has promised the dragons of every country—and the ferals, loyal only to themselves—vast new rights and powers if they fight under his banner. It is an offer eagerly embraced from Asia to Africa—and even by England, whose dragons have long rankled at their disrespectful treatment.

But Laurence and his faithful dragon soon discover that the wily Napoleon has one more gambit at the ready—one that that may win him the war, and the world.

The Long Cosmos by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

The thrilling conclusion to the internationally bestselling Long Earth series explores the greatest question of all: What is the meaning of life?

2070-71. Nearly six decades after Step Day, a new society continues to evolve in the Long Earth. Now, a message has been received: “Join us.”

The Next—the hyper-intelligent post-humans—realize that the missive contains instructions for kick-starting the development of an immense artificial intelligence known as The Machine. But to build this computer the size of an Earth continent, they must obtain help from the more populous and still industrious worlds of mankind.

Meanwhile, on a trek in the High Meggers, Joshua Valienté, now nearing seventy, is saved from death when a troll band discovers him. Living among the trolls as he recovers, Joshua develops a deeper understanding of this collective-intelligence species and its society. He discovers that some older trolls, with capacious memories, act as communal libraries, and live on a very strange Long Earth world, in caverns under the root systems of trees as tall as mountains.

Valienté also learns something much more profound . . . about life and its purpose in the Long Earth: We cultivate the cosmos to maximize the opportunities for life and joy in this universe, and to prepare for new universes to come.

Paperbacks

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure from a spectacular debut author.

One thing any Librarian will tell you: the truth is much stranger than fiction...

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London. Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. The problem: By the time they arrive, it's already been stolen.

London's underground factions are prepared to fight to the death to find the tome before Irene and Kai do, a problem compounded by the fact that this world is chaos-infested—the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic to run rampant. To make matters worse, Kai is hiding something—secrets that could be just as volatile as the chaos-filled world itself.

Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option—because it isn’t just Irene’s reputation at stake, it’s the nature of reality itself...

FEATURING BONUS MATERIAL: including an interview with the author, a legend from the Library, and more!

E-Books

Hellfire by Jeff Provine

Locomotive fireman, Nate Kemp, uncovers a conspiracy around the miraculous Newton’s Catalyst, a powder that makes fires burn hotter than they should—secretly releasing the fires of Hell. Now, more is beginning to slip through, and the Rail Agency tries to tuck him away in a mental institution. Nurse Ozzie Jacey helps him escape. They must warn the capital, Lake Providence, before Hell literally breaks loose.

To readers, authors and publishers...

Is your story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.

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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.

The World of Destroyermen (Plus A GIVEAWAY!)

Guest post by Taylor Anderson.

I love “what if.”  Not only is it the ultimate foundation of all fiction, it’s the prime mover behind every technological advancement in human history.  “What if I tie this sharp rock to the end of this stick?”  The spear, arrow, axe, grubbing hoe – virtually every early weapon and modern garden tool is born.  “What if we harness the power of the atom?”  Nuclear bombs and, incidentally, an efficient, relatively benign, and virtually inexhaustible energy source are created.   “What if I had a phone that would fit in my shirt pocket?”  Voila!  Cell phones allow instant communication and inescapable aggravation.  (One might consider that almost every “what if” inspired beneficial leap comes with a dark side).

“What if” is also a useful tool to the explorer and open-minded paleontologist, archeologist, and geologist.  Diabolical as it may seem to some purist historians, I propose that “what if” might even benefit them from time to time.  (Speaking as an historian myself, I can cite numerous examples of how that simple question has constructively redirected my own research on occasion).  And asking “what if” has certainly led to many of the stunning breakthroughs over the last generation regarding our understanding of the prehistoric world.  I still have a few of my childhood “dinosaur books” which depicted those fascinating creatures as bloated lizards with the reflexes of a sloth, stumping about, dragging their tails.  And they expressed no real theory at all as to why they “suddenly” went extinct.  Since then, (I won’t say how long ago), largely by pursuing ever-expanding networks of “what ifs,” dinosaurs and megafauna, even early man and ancient civilizations have been increasingly revealed to be infinitely more fascinating than we ever imagined.

Currently, the majority of paleontologists and geologists support the theory that, about 66 million years ago, something whacked our planet.  The jury remains out regarding what it was, (the level of certainty fluctuates and that’s NOT a bad thing), but whether it was a comet or an asteroid, a single strike or half a dozen, it was a hellova big punch.  The jury considering the immediate results remains out as well, with new evidence ranging from the awkward to the genuinely thought-provoking arising all the time.  Still, there’s no doubt our world has taken a number of serious cosmic beatings, all of which would’ve been unwelcome by its inhabitants. Therefore, regardless of whether it happened overnight or over millennia, or if a resultant global firestorm cooked most life, an ash cloud choked it out, or gradual climate change caused by a battered and wildly volcanic planet was ultimately to blame, my money’s on the Chicxulub impact either directly or indirectly knocking off most species on Earth.  And though I stand willing and happy to be convinced otherwise, I personally lean toward the gradual (likely more excruciating) process, with Chicxulub as the trigger.  But “what if” . . . whatever happened . . . never did?

That question opens a fantastically vast array of fictional possibilities to explore.  Since something certainly did happen in “our” universe, I was compelled to explore another possibility that seems to become more mainstream all the time; the theory that multiple, perhaps an infinite number of universes exist at the same time.  This is not a new concept and has been used in fiction for many decades, but most often it seems to focus on subtle differences, sometimes even difficult to detect.  I imagined that the farther back in history the “divergent event” occurred, the more profound the differences would be, and was drawn back to that cataclysmic event 66 million years ago as an obvious example, but I went a step beyond.

When the idea for the Destroyermen series popped in my head—on the movie set of the 2003 Alamo movie, oddly enough—I saw an opportunity to use hard history in a fanciful, exhilarating way.   I’d combine the “Alamo-like” ordeal of minor elements of the doomed U.S. Asiatic Fleet at the outbreak of WWII, already surrounded by the exotic, primordial setting of the Malay Barrier, with an alternate earth with momentous differences that only seem “subtle” at a glance.  There, I could incorporate many of the latest evolutionary and multi-universe theories that would be utterly unknown to the characters.  And these men and women would succeed or fail, in a radically revised world, based only on the character, equipment, attitudes, collective knowledge, and prevailing culture of early 1942.

Thus began Into the Storm, published in 2008.  It was followed by Crusade, Maelstrom, Distant Thunders, Rising Tides, Firestorm, Iron Gray Sea, Storm Surge, Deadly Shores, Straits of Hell, and now Blood in the Water.  Through all their adventures, the true heart of the ongoing series remains how they, the people, with their worldview, aboard a couple of dilapidated, battle-worn ships, cope with their situation and the beings they meet, (and how those beings cope with them). The result is a story possibly similar to others in some ways, (all novelists owe a debt to Homer), but also unique in other aspects which leave the characters--and hopefully readers--asking “what if” on every page.

And it’s not “just” a “dinosaur” story, or a “war” story, or any specific kind of story at all.  The best description I’ve come up with is “Alternate/Historical/Military/ Sci-Fi,” but even that’s not a perfect fit.  On the “Earth” where the crew of the old four-stacker destroyer Walker find themselves, the world doesn’t remain as it was when that massive celestial body passed it by; it continued to evolve as it would have – minus the impact.  The moon and tides move as they should and the stars remain unchanged.  Even the various continents have found themselves roughly where they ought to be, though water levels are different due to an altered climatic clock set in motion--or more precisely, left as it might have been.  There have been ice ages, droughts, and continental drift.  There have even been other “extinction events.”  Life has continued to evolve, but in an entirely different direction.  Mammals exist in places and climates they might be expected to since the dinosaurs have been beaten back just a bit, but the hot-blooded dinosaurs (I was a very early convert to THAT theory) continue to thrive, evolve and adapt to their environment as well.  Only a few creatures that had already achieved a virtually perfect form to take best advantage of their species’ “niche” have remained largely unchanged.  They may be bigger or smaller than their ancestors in the fossil record, but they still “do” what they did.

Through cooperative pack behavior, the “raptors” have risen to dominate many regions.  One “race” of these, the Grik, are particularly unpleasant.  But as the story unfolds, readers will discover that other races of “Grik-like” folk exist, with different temperaments and cultures, having experienced a diaspora similar to prehistoric humans.  This phenomenon was more limited across the vast, feral seas, which are a Darwinian delight of lethal adaptation.  Few creatures survived to drift across its reaches on logs, for example, so each land mass harbors wildly different life forms, isolated from others of their kind long enough to become vastly altered in many ways.

The “Lemurians,” or “Mi-Anaaka,” are relative latecomers--as were humans on this world. Possibly evolved from giant lemurs, they required an isolated land mass, such as Madagascar, on which to flourish.  Originally, as a more primitive species, they inhabited other places just as they did here.  One must sadly assume those outposts suffered extermination by earlier Grik incursions.  (Recently discovered specimens on “this” world have given rise to theories that modern lemurs and humans may have had a common ancestor!  I must admit considerable amusement concerning this post Into the Storm publication development, but I have valiantly resisted any claim of prescience.

Lemurian prehistory is similar to that of humans in some loose but very fundamental ways.  Look at the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament of the Bible.  Examine attributes of Celtic, Druidic, Norse, Ancient Greek, Native American, and many other religious and societal traditions, and you discover that many founding principles, myths and time-honored tales--regardless of inspiration--are universal among even the most isolated humans.  It’s therefore reasonable that almost any sentient, social species would incorporate at least vaguely familiar belief systems, devised to understand the natural world and create a functioning civilization.  A strong concept of right and wrong, for example, is essential to the maintenance of any society not ruled by fear.

For the Grik, this is not necessarily the case since the vast majority of them are arguably non-sentient . . . sort of.  Only a minority are self-aware in a manner humans--or Lemurians--would recognize, and there are reasons for that.  Those that are sentient do hold recognizable, precedented--if unappealing--belief systems.

As for the rest of the world, much remains unexplored--at least by the known characters in the tale.  It’s different, certainly, in thoughtful and sometimes unexpected ways.   It is not reasonable for readers to know much more about it than the characters do however, so I invite you to explore it with them.  I’m sure they’d appreciate the company.

GIVEAWAY

Want to win all 11 books in the Destroyermen series? Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Coming Soon in 2016

A new year means new alternate history books. Here are some of the highly anticipated works coming out in 2016 that you can preorder. Below you will see some names you recognize and some newcomers to our ranks.

1635: A Parcel of Rogues by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis

Book #20 in the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series.

When the diplomatic embassy from the United States of Europe was freed from the Tower of London during the Baltic War, most of its members returned to the continent. But some remained behind in Britain: Oliver Cromwell and a few companions, including the sharpshooter Julie Sims, her Scot husband Alex Mackay, and Cromwell’s Irish-American self-appointed watchdog Darryl McCarthy.

Soon, the hunt is on for the most notorious rebel in English history, with King Charles himself demanding Cromwell’s head. The new chief minister Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork, brings over from Ireland a notorious crew of cutthroats led by the man called Finnegan to track down and capture the escapees from the Tower.

The hunt passes through England and into Scotland, where the conflict between Cromwell and his companions and their would-be captors becomes embroiled in Scotland’s politics, which are every bit as savage and ruthless as Finnegan and his men. To make things still more conflicted and confused, the time Darryl McCarthy spends fighting alongside Cromwell forces him against his will to admire and respect—and even like—the man, despite Cromwell’s demonic reputation among all self-respecting Irish nationalist families like Darryl’s own.

It’s a Gordian knot anywhere you look—until Julie Sims brings out her rifle. Now it’s the turn of Scot partisans and English lords and Irish toughs to learn the lesson already learned on the continent:

A safe distance isn’t what you think it is. Not after the American angel of death spreads her wings.

At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Blood In the Water: Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson

Taylor Anderson’s enthralling New York Times bestselling series of alternate history continues as game-changing revelations upend the Grand Alliance in a potentially cataclysmic war.

Ever since the USS Walker came from another world war to defy the terrifying Grik and diabolical Dominion, Matt Reddy and his crew have given their all to protect the oppressed Lemurians. But with the Walker in desperate need of repairs just as the Grik’s First General is poised to strike, Reddy is desperate.

With more enemies than ever before arrayed against them, the crew of the Walker needs new allies. That means combing the lethal wilds of Madagascar to find the Lemurians’ fabled ancestors, as well as the enigmatic dwellers east of the Pass of Fire. But what Reddy’s crew unearths may be more than they can handle—discoveries so shattering they could tilt the balance of the war in either direction.

But Reddy’s greatest adversary is from his past: a madman named Kurokawa whose single-minded mission of revenge will shake the Alliance to its core and raise the stakes to the most personal and terrifying levels Reddy has ever faced.

A Criminal Magic by Lee Kelly

THE NIGHT CIRCUS meets THE PEAKY BLINDERS in Lee Kelly's new magical realism, crossover novel.

Magic is powerful, dangerous and addictive - and after passage of the 18th Amendment, it is finally illegal.

It's 1926 in Washington, DC, and while Anti-Sorcery activists have achieved the Prohibition of sorcery, the city's magic underworld is booming. Sorcerers cast illusions to aid mobsters' crime sprees. Smugglers funnel magic contraband in from overseas. Gangs have established secret performance venues where patrons can lose themselves in magic, and take a mind-bending, intoxicating elixir known as the sorcerer's shine.

Joan Kendrick, a young sorcerer from Norfolk County, Virginia accepts an offer to work for DC's most notorious crime syndicate, the Shaw Gang, when her family's home is repossessed. Alex Danfrey, a first-year Federal Prohibition Unit trainee with a complicated past and talents of his own, becomes tapped to go undercover and infiltrate the Shaws.

Through different paths, Joan and Alex tread deep into the violent, dangerous world of criminal magic - and when their paths cross at the Shaws' performance venue, despite their orders, and despite themselves, Joan and Alex become enchanted with one another. But when gang alliances begin to shift, the two sorcerers are forced to question their ultimate allegiances and motivations. And soon, Joan and Alex find themselves pitted against each other in a treacherous, heady game of cat-and-mouse.

A CRIMINAL MAGIC casts a spell of magic, high stakes and intrigue against the backdrop of a very different Roaring Twenties.

Eagle in Exile: The Clash of Eagles Trilogy Book II by Alan Smale

Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Steve Berry, Naomi Novik, and Harry Turtledove, Alan Smale’s gripping alternate history series imagines a world in which the Roman Empire has survived long enough to invade North America in 1218. Now the stunning story carries hero Gaius Marcellinus deeper into the culture of an extraordinary people—whose humanity, bravery, love, and ingenuity forever change his life and destiny.

In A.D. 1218, Praetor Gaius Marcellinus is ordered to conquer North America and turning it into a Roman province. But outside the walls of the great city of Cahokia, his legion is destroyed outright; Marcellinus is the only one spared. In the months and years that follow, Marcellinus comes to see North America as his home and the Cahokians as his kin. He vows to defend these proud people from any threat, Roman or native.

After successfully repelling an invasion by the fearsome Iroqua tribes, Marcellinus realizes that a weak and fractured North America won’t stand a chance against the returning Roman army. Worse, rival factions from within threaten to tear Cahokia apart just when it needs to be most united and strong. Marcellinus is determined to save the civilization that has come to mean more to him than the empire he once served. But to survive the swords of Roma, he first must avert another Iroqua attack and bring the Cahokia together. Only with the hearts and souls of a nation at his back can Marcellinus hope to know triumph.

Fallout: The Hot War by Harry Turtledove

One act of folly. One poor decision. One moment of rage. The novels of Harry Turtledove show history balancing on single moments. In his astounding new novel, the unthinkable has come to pass. The Cold War turns hot—and the United States and the Soviet Union unleash their nuclear arsenals upon each other. Millions die. Millions more are displaced. Germans battle side by side with Americans, Polish freedom fighters next to Russian fascists. The genie is out of the bottle. And there’s no telling what fresh hell will come next.

At the heart of Fallout are Harry Truman and Josef Stalin. Even as Joe McCarthy rises in power, the president is focused elsewhere, planning to cut off the head of the Soviet threat by taking out Stalin. It’s a daring gambit, but the Soviets have one of their own. Meanwhile, Europe’s weak sisters, France and Italy, seem poised to choose the winning side, while China threatens to overrun Korea. With Great Britain ravaged and swaths of America in ruins, leaders are running out of options. When the United States drops another series of bombs to slow the Russian advance in Europe, Stalin strikes back—with horrifying results.

These staggering events unfold through the eyes of a sprawling cast of characters: a Holocaust survivor in a displaced persons’ camp in Washington; the wife of a bomber pilot and her five-year-old daughter starting a new existence on their own; a savage Soviet fighter waging war by his rules; a British pub owner falling in love with an American pilot. In the masterly hands of Harry Turtledove, this epic chronicle of war becomes a story of human struggle. As the armies of the world implode, the next chapter will be written by the survivors—those willing to rise up for an uncertain future.

League of Dragons by Naomi Novik

Naomi Novik delivers the final adventure in a New York Times bestselling series that has won fans of Napoleonic-era military history, Anne McCaffrey’s Pern novels, and Patrick O’Brian’s seafaring adventures. Since His Majesty’s Dragon, Capt. William Laurence and his fearless dragon, Temeraire, have been battling Napoleon and his armies . . . and now the time has come to stop him for good.

Paper and Fire: The Great Library by Rachel Caine

In Ink and Bone, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine introduced a world where knowledge is power, and power corrupts absolutely. Now, she continues the story of those who dare to defy the Great Library—and rewrite history...

With an iron fist, The Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion, forbidding the personal ownership of books in the name of the greater good.

Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower and doomed to a life apart.

Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library’s deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London.

But Jess’s home isn't safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon, Jess must choose between his friends, his family, or the Library willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control...

United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas

A spiritual sequel to The Man In The High Castle, focusing on the New Japanese Empire, from an acclaimed author and essayist.

The Axis won WWII and now, in the late 1980s, the Japanese Empire rules over the western US states, their power assured by technological superiority (giant mecha, etc.) But when a video game emerges that posits a world where the allies won, a game censor and an Imperial Government agent discover truths about the empire that make them question their loyalty.

What Ifs of Jewish History: From Abraham to Zionism edited by Gavriel Rosenfeld

What Ifs of Jewish History offers a compelling counter-factual history of the Jewish past. With chapters ranging from the analytical to the literary, leading Jewish historians address thousand years of dramatic events and invite readers to indulge their imaginations and explore how the course of Jewish history might have been different.

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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.