A side effect of Game of Thrones becoming such a phenomenon is that people have become more interested in the history of Europe in the Middle Ages. So much so that the folks at Huff Post created this map featuring the real world equivalents of the kingdoms of Westeros:
I found this map to be very creative. They based their deductions off of a George RR Martin quote that compared Westeros to Western Europe and when it came to places like The Reach or Dorne, they were pretty spot on when linking them to France and Spain respectively. That being said, we shouldn't necessarily ignore Westeros' connection with British history. Perhaps the different regions of Britain and their unique history deserve a closer look.
For example, while The North does have a lot of similarities with Scotland, after experiencing the North-South rivalry in England first hand, its not hard to imagine The North just being northern England. In fact, considering The Wall is based off Hadrian's Wall, which separated the Roman province of Britannia from the lands of the Picts/Scots to the north, it is easy to imagine that the lands Beyond the Wall is more like Scotland than Greenland, especially with the Wildling "clans".
That's not all. Did you know the most thunderstorms in Britain happen in South East England? In fact judging from the Wikipedia map, doesn't South East England look more like the Stormlands than Wales? When you consider Wales' unique culture, language and history, it may make a better stand in for Dorne than Spain. That's not to say that Joe and Tiara's map isn't well done. Far from it in fact. Its just we shouldn't forget how many different places and periods of history George RR Martin pulled from when creating his epic fantasy.
If you want to submit a map for the next Map Monday, email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com with your map attached and a brief description in the body of the email.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
I didn't want to end the week without posting about something related to alternate history, so lets watch some videos. First up, here are five facts on the steampunk game, The Order: 1886:
Next up, it may not be alternate history, but Game of Thrones (and the books they are based on, A Song of Ice and Fire) sure are inspired a lot from real history. Lets take a look at the wars that inspired them:
And finally, Thug Notes reviews Alan Moore's Watchmen:
Got any videos or YouTube channels that you want to recommend? Let us know in the comments or at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Editor's Note So after the disaster that was last week, I am back and itching for some new speculation. I have a slate of articles this week that I think you are going to enjoy. Before we get in to the news, let me remind everyone that you can support The Update by buying stuff through Amazon. It doesn't cost you anything extra because Amazon just gives us a piece of their profit for leading you to them. It is a quick and painless way for you to support your favorite alternate history blog.
And now the news...
Science Fiction Trails #11 now available
Science Fiction Trails, a western themed SF magazine, has released their eleventh issue and it has some stories that might interest alternate historians. According to the press release, the issue features a different take on a Martian invasion, a Sioux warrior exploring parallel dimension, a rancher’s widow getting help from a colder past and more changes to the Wild West.
The issue features works by Sam Knight, C. J. Killmer, J. A. Campbell, Lyn McConchie, Henrik Ramsager, R. A. Conine, and Jackson Kuhl with an article by David Lee Summers. The issue also includes the results of the "Wild West Writing Challenge" by contributors David Boop, Joel Jenkins, John Howard, and others that showcase "some amazing and really short gunfights".
More on Altered America
Martinus' Altered America anthology continues to be popular with the alternate history community. Last week, editor Martin T. Ingham announced on his blog that the anthology reached #1 on Amazon Kindle’s “Alternative History” listing late Monday night. The anthology has also been getting a good number of 4-5 star reviews on the US and UK Amazon pages. This comes despite this poor review, but Martin wrote a response to that review about why he thought the reviewer was wrong.
If you are planning to review this anthology, please consider submitting it to The Update. I am already behind again in my reviewing, but would still love to post an actual review on this blog. Also I have a question for everyone else: is Martinus Publishing setting itself up to be the #1 publisher of alternate history?
Video Gallery
Wow. Just freaking wow. Last week was a great time for alternate history videos on YouTube. You guys are in for a treat. First up, ComicBookGirl19 reviewed Jodorowsky's Dune, a documentary about the greatest SF film never made:
God I hate Hollywood sometimes! That move really could have been awesome. Well let's cure our depression by turning to Cracked and learn how Game of Thrones stole from history:
Next up we have a steampunk inspired song called "Shatter Me" from hip-hop violinist Lindsey Stirling (no relation) featuring Lzzy Hale:
I believe she is coming to Chicago later this summer and I hope to check it out with my wife, who is also a fan. Now, however, we get to the real reason why I thought last week was a good time to be an alternate historian. My favorite multi-channel network, Rooster Teeth, featured a Wolfenstein: The New Order inspired short where one of their employees accidentally travels back in time and inadvertedly helps the Nazis win WWII:
Now that is why we need to see more comedy and alternate history. In fact, Rooster Teeth has been promoting the hell out of Wolfenstein through their Achievement Hunter brand. Check out this introduction to the game and its Xbox achievements:
And if you need more info, here are five facts:
As I have said more than once on Twitter, I am not affiliated with Rooster Teeth, but I really do appreciate their support of alternate history gaming.
Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
