New Releases 8/2/16

You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon!

Paperbacks

1636: The Chronicles of Dr. Gribbleflotz by Kerryn Offord and Rick Boatright

A sparkling addition to the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire alternate history series created by Eric Flint. An alchemist of the 17th century confronts modern science with often amusing results.

Phillip Theophrastus Gribbleflotz, the world's greatest alchemist and a great-grandson of Paracelsus—and a Bombast on his mother's side—was a man history had forgotten. But when the town of Grantville was transported by a cosmic accident from modern West Virginia to central Germany in the early seventeenth century, he got a second chance at fame and fortune.

The world's greatest alchemist does not make household goods. But with suitable enticements Gribbleflotz is persuaded to make baking soda and then baking powder so that the time-displaced Americans can continue to enjoy such culinary classics as biscuits and gravy. Applying his superb grasp of the principles of alchemy to the muddled and confused notions the Americans have concerning what they call “chemistry,” Gribbleflotz leaves obscurity behind.

In his relentless search for a way to invigorate the quinta essential of the human humors, Gribbleflotz plays a central role in jump-starting the seventeenth century’s new chemical and marital aids industries—and pioneering such critical fields of human knowledge as pyramidology and aura imaging. These are his chronicles.

Camera Obscura by Lavie Tidhar

CAN'T FIND A RATIONAL EXPLANATION TO A MYSTERY? CALL IN THE QUIET COUNCIL. The mysterious and glamorous Lady De Winter is one of their most valuable agents. A despicable murder inside a locked and bolted room on the Rue Morgue in Paris is just the start. This whirlwind adventure will take Milady to the highest and lowest parts of that great city - and cause her to question the very nature of reality itself.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it – for the first time, also includes "Titanic", a short story from the Lost Files of the Bookman Histories.

Crooked by Austin Grossman

Acclaimed novelist Austin Grossman reimagines the ultimate American antihero.

Richard Milhous Nixon lived one of the most improbable lives of the twentieth century. Our thirty-seventh president's political career spanned the button-down fifties, the Mad Men sixties, and the turbulent seventies. He faced down the Russians, the Chinese, and ultimately his own government. The man went from political mastermind to a national joke, sobbing in the Oval Office, leaving us with one burning question: how could he have lost it all?

Here for the first time is the tale told in his own words: the terrifying supernatural secret he stumbled upon as a young man, and the truth behind the Cold War. What if the man we call our worst president was, in truth, our greatest? Combining Lovecraftian suspense and international intrigue, Crooked is a masterwork of alternative history, equal parts mesmerizing character study and nail-biting Faustian thriller.

Deep Roots by Beth Cato

From the author of The Clockwork Dagger and The Clockwork Crown comes a compilation of short works set in the same world: The Deepest Poison, Final Flight, and the Nebula-nominated Wings of Sorrow and Bone.

THE DEEPEST POISON

Octavia Leander, a young healer with incredible powers, has found her place among Miss Percival’s medicians-in-training. Called to the front lines of war, the two women must uncover the source of a devastating illness that is killing thousands of soldiers.

WINGS OF SORROW AND BONE

After being rescued from the slums of Caskentia, Rivka Stout is adjusting to her new life in Tamarania. But when Rivka stumbles into a laboratory run by the powerful Balthazar Cody, she also discovers a sinister plot involving chimera gremlins and the violent Arena game Warriors.

FINAL FLIGHT

Captain Hue hoped he was rid of his troubles once Octavia Leander and Alonzo Garrett disembarked from his airship, but then the Argus is commandeered by a Clockwork Dagger and forced on a deadly mission. Hue must lead a mutiny that might bring down his own ship…. perhaps for good.

Swords v. Cthulhu edited by Jesse Bullington and Molly Tanzer

What hope has a humble adventurer when faced with a fight against Cthulhu himself? No matter; the true swordsperson cares only for the bite of steel against flesh, whether that flesh be eldritch or more conventional. From the hottest voices in Lovecraftiana comes a collection that will take readers on a journey from ancient Rome to feudal Japan and from Dreamlands to lands that do not have names in any of the tongues of men. Glory awaits! The contributors include: Natania Barron, Eneasz Brodski, Nathan Carson, Michael Cisco, Andrew S. Fuller, A. Scott Glancy, Orrin Grey, Jason Heller, Jonathan L. Howard, John Hornor Jacobs , John Langan, L. Lark, Remy Nakamura, Carlos Orsi, M. K. Sauer, Ben Stewart, E. Catherine Tobler, Jeremiah Tolbert, Laurie Tom, Carrie Vaughn, Wendy N. Wagner, Caleb Wilson

E-Books

1066 Turned Upside Down: Alternative fiction stories by nine authors by various

Ever wondered what might have happened if William the Conqueror had been beaten at Hastings? Or if Harald Hardrada had won at Stamford Bridge? Or if Edward the Confessor had died with an heir ready to take his place? Then here is the perfect set of stories for you. ‘1066 Turned Upside Down’ explores a variety of ways in which the momentous year of 1066 could have played out differently.

Written by nine well-known authors to celebrate the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, the stories will take you on a journey through the wonderful ‘what ifs’ of England’s most famous year in history.

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.

* * *

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.

New Releases 6/7/16

You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon!

Hardcovers

Hell's Gate: A Thriller by Bill Schutt and J. R. Finch

When a Japanese submarine is discovered abandoned deep in the Brazilian wilderness, a smart, adventurous, and tough zoologist must derail a catastrophic plot in Hell’s Gate.

1944. As war rages in Europe and the Pacific, Army Intel makes a shocking discovery: a 300-foot Japanese sub marooned and empty, deep in the Brazilian interior. A team of Army Rangers sent to investigate has already gone missing. Now, the military sends Captain R. J. MacCready, a quick-witted, brilliant scientific jack-of-all-trades to learn why the Japanese are there—and what they’re planning.

Parachuting deep into the heart of Central Brazil, one of the most remote regions on the planet, Mac is unexpectedly reunited with his hometown friend and fellow scientist Bob Thorne. A botanist presumed dead for years, Thorne lives peacefully with Yanni, an indigenous woman who possesses mysterious and invaluable skills. Their wisdom and expertise are nothing short of lifesaving for Mac as he sets out on a trail into the unknown.

Mac makes the arduous trek into an ancient, fog-shrouded valley hidden beneath a 2000-foot plateau, where he learns of a diabolical Axis plot to destroy the United States and its allies. But the enemy isn’t the only danger in this treacherous jungle paradise. Silently creeping from the forest, an even darker force is on the prowl, attacking at night and targeting both man and beast. Mac has to uncover the source of this emerging biological crisis and foil the enemy’s plans . . . but will he be in time to save humanity from itself?

Paperbacks

Back To The Future: Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines by various

Back to the Future creator/screenwriter Bob Gale returns with all-new tales from the twisting and turning timeline that made Back to the Future a, well… TIMELESS pop-culture phenomenon! Take a trip back to 1985 and be there when Doc Brown and Marty McFly first meet, and then jump even farther back, to 1945, to witness Doc’s involvement in the super-secret Manhattan Project. Collects issues #1–5.

The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar

When his beloved is killed in a terrorist atrocity committed by the sinister Bookman, young poet Orphan becomes enmeshed in a web of secrets and lies. His quest to uncover the truth takes him from the hidden catacombs of a London on the brink of revolution, through pirate-infested seas, to the mysterious island that may hold the secret to the origin, not only of the shadowy Bookman, but of Orphan himself...

File under: Steampunk [Alternate Victorian London | Reptilian royalty | Diabolical anarchists | Extraordinary adventure!]

Just One Damned Thing After Another: The Chronicles of St. Mary’s Book One by Jodi Taylor

The first book in the bestselling British madcap time-travelling series, served with a dash of wit that seems to be everyone’s cup of tea.

“History is just one damned thing after another.” —Arnold Toynbee

Behind the seemingly innocuous facade of St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, a different kind of academic work is taking place. Just don’t call it “time travel”—these historians “investigate major historical events in contemporary time.” And they aren’t your harmless eccentrics either; a more accurate description, as they ricochet around history, might be unintentional disaster-magnets.

The first thing you learn on the job at St. Mary’s is that one wrong move and history will fight back—sometimes in particularly nasty ways. But, as new recruit Madeleine Maxwell soon discovers, it’s not only history they’re often fighting.

The Chronicles of St. Mary’s tells the chaotic adventures of Max and her compatriots—Director Bairstow, Chief Leon Farrell, Mr. Markham, and many more—as they travel through time, saving St. Mary’s (too often by the very seat of their pants) and thwarting time-travelling terrorists, all the while leaving plenty of time for tea.

From eleventh-century London to World War I, from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria, one thing is for sure: wherever the historians at St. Mary’s go, chaos is sure to follow in their wake.

Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

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.

* * *

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.

New Releases 3/15/16

You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon!

Hardcovers

A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar

The novel that stunned—and scandalized—Europe comes to America

Wolf, a low-rent private detective, roams London’s gloomy, grimy streets, haunted by dark visions of a future that could have been—and a dangerous present populated by British Fascists and Nazis escaping Germany. Shomer, a pulp fiction writer, lies in a concentration camp, imagining another world. And when Wolf and Shomer's stories converge, we find ourselves drawn into a novel both shocking and profoundly haunting.

At once a perfectly pitched hard-boiled noir thriller (with an utterly shocking twist) and a “Holocaust novel like no other” (The Guardian), A Man Lies Dreaming is a masterful, unforgettable literary experiment from “one of our best and most adventurous writers” (Locus).

Neo-Victorian Freakery: The Cultural Afterlife of the Victorian Freak Show by Helen Davies

Neo-Victorian Freakery explores the way in which contemporary fiction, film, and television has revisited the lives of nineteenth-century freak show performers. It locates the neo-Victorian freak show as a crucial forum for debating the politics of disability, gender, sexuality and race within the genre more broadly.

Paperbacks

Jani and the Great Pursuit by Eric Brown

Jani and her stalwart companions Lieutenant Alfie Littlebody and Anand Doshi find themselves chased from India, via Greece, to London by the British authorities, Russian spies and a Hindu priest - who all want what Jani carries, the ventha-di: the key that will open the door to other worlds. In London she attempts to rescue the imprisoned alien Mahran - the only person who might help her save the Earth from the invasion of the merciless Zhell, the self-styled Masters of the Cosmos. But will she escape London and reach Tibet before the forces of evil capture her - and before she is betrayed by someone she considers loyal to her cause?

Ides of March by Bob Mayer

What does it take to change history and destroy our reality? The same date; six different years.

44 BC. Caesar heads to the Senate for his date with death.

1493 AD: Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after ‘discovering’ the New World. But more than acclaim awaits him.

1917 AD: The Last Czar, Nicholas II, abdicates. He, and his family, are supposed to be taken prisoner; but some have other plans.

493 AD: The First King of Italy, Odoacer, is executed by Theodoric, an event considered the end of the Western Roman Empire. But if the sword goes the other way?

480 BC: A massive Persian Army is invading Greece. Standing in its way: King Leonidas and 300 Spartans. And whispering in Leonidas’ ear is a priestess from the Oracle of Delphi. But what is she telling him?

The Time Patrol must send an agent back to each day, with just each having 24 hours to defeat the Shadow’s plan to disrupt our time-line, creating a time tsunami and wiping our present out.

E-Books

Dreams of the Space Age by Ian Sales

Yuri Gagarin goes to Mars. The Voyager 1 space probe carries an astronaut to the edge of the Solar System. The first man in space is an American boxer. These are just some of the re-imaginings of the Space Race contained in this slim collection of tautly-written tales. Rigorously researched, they feature rocket sleds, Space Age fashion and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programmes. This is the Right Stuff, it put twelve men on the Moon and could have put a husband and wife on Mars. But all that ended in 1972, when the crew of Apollo 17 splashed down in the Atlantic. All we have now is nostalgia, a slowly fading yearning for more adventurous and optimistic times. All we have now are... DREAMS OF THE SPACE AGE.

Union Forever by William R. Forstchen

The defeat of the Tugar horde by Andrew Keane, his Civil War regiment and soldiers from the now-liberated Russian city Rus was cause for great celebration (RALLY CRY, Book 1 in The Lost Regiment series). However, Andrew once again must mobilize his American and Russian troops, as another terrifying horde called the Merki have attacked Roum, with the help of human troops from Cartha, a Carthaginian city hostile to Rome back on Earth before both Romans and Carthaginians were transported to this strange planet.

Andrew Keane insists the existing alliance of Rus and Roum must be honored, and so the army of Rus and American soldiers begins a long march towards Roum to help defend it. While Andrew’s troops are successful in saving Roum with the help of the Patrician Marcus and his freed slaves, Andrew and his colleagues realize they’ve been tricked. The Horde’s strategy was to divert the Rus/American army, sending them South, so the horde and their Cartha allies can destroy Rus. It’s a race against time as Andrew and his army of Rus, Roum and American soldiers struggle to return in time.

Politics – Rus, Roum and Merki – add to the fun of this brilliantly-conceived alternate world novel.

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.

* * *

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.

Weekly Update #196

Editor's Note

I really want to make an important announcement today, but I am not sure if I am allowed too yet. So you guys are stuck with this teaser for now. Nevertheless, I am very excited and can't wait to share the good news.

I hope everyone had a fun Father's Day weekend. Due to all the fun I had with my Dad and family, I didn't have as much time as usual to write for The Update. So my apologies for any days where I have nothing to post.

And now the (just okay) news...

Update: A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar

Lavie Tidhar's A Man Lies Dreaming is one of the winners of the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. For those who don't know what A Man Lies Dreaming is, here is the description from Amazon:

Deep in the heart of history's most infamous concentration camp, a man lies dreaming. His name is Shomer, and before the war he was a pulp fiction author. Now, to escape the brutal reality of life in Auschwitz, Shomer spends his nights imagining another world - a world where a disgraced former dictator now known only as Wolf ekes out a miserable existence as a low-rent PI in London's grimiest streets. An extraordinary story of revenge and redemption, A Man Lies Dreaming is the unforgettable testament to the power of imagination.

As for the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, it is an annual prize fund of £40,000 divided between eight British authors. Lavie's novel was the alternate historian represented among this group and our hearty congratulations go out to him.

What you may have missed...

Three articles shined across social media last week. First up, Mark Johnson wrote a long article on the "alternate history aesthetics" in the Command & Conquer: Red Alert series. Its a cool article featuring a combination of concept art and in-game footage. Fans of perhaps the most well-known alternate history RTS should definitely check it out.

Next up, ever wondered what the plan is in case an asteroid is ever on a collision course with the Earth (you know, besides panicking and looting)? Well now we know thanks to David S. F. Portree who shared with us how a group of MIT students tried to prevent exactly that. Thanks also to David for not treating me like a complete idiot when I originally said "meteor".

Finally, if you ever worried about what to do in case you accidentally traveled back in time or stepped into a parallel timeline, here is some good advice from Mallory Ortberg of The Toast.

Video of the Week

Didn't I say I would be doing a video of the week? For our inaugural video of the week we have Part Two of How the Avengers: Age of Ultron should have ended:

I am surprised it took me this long to start sharing videos from How It Should Have Ended (HISHE). Granted its alternate fictional history, but we have all wondered at some point about what if our favorite characters made different choices.

* * *

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.

New Releases 2/24/15

You can support The Update by clicking the banner to your right or the links below if you are purchasing through Amazon!

Hardcovers

A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab

From V.E. Schwab, the critically acclaimed author of Vicious, comes a new universe of daring adventure, thrilling power, and parallel Londons, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic.

Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands.

There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London...but no one speaks of that now.

The Violent Century: A Novel by Lavie Tidhar

They never meant to be heroes.

For seventy years they guarded the British Empire. Oblivion and Fogg, inseparable friends, bound together by a shared fate. Until one night in Berlin, in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a secret that tore them apart.

But there must always be an account...and the past has a habit of catching up to the present.

Now, recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowledged heroism, - a life of dusty corridors and secret rooms, of furtive meetings and blood-stained fields - to answer one last, impossible question:

What makes a hero?

Weird Belfast: A Miscellany, Almanack and Companion by Reggie Chamberlain-King

Did you know that Herr Dobler, Wizard of the World, appeared at the Victoria Hall in Belfast in 1883? Did your granny ever try Dobbin's Blood Purifier, only available at Dobbin's Chemist, North Street? And did you hear about the arrest of Jack the Ripper in Memel Street in Belfast in 1888? Drawing on newspaper articles, ballads, playbills, and advertisements as well as anecdote, hearsay, and rumor, this is a vivid and endlessly fascinating account of the weird and wonderful and wonderfully weird in Belfast.

Paperbacks

1636: Seas of Fortune by Iver Cooper

National Best Seller in Trade Paperback. A new addition to the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. After carving a place for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia, the up-timers and their allies take on continental America and the Japan!

A cosmic catastrophe, the Ring of Fire, strands the West Virginia town of Grantville in the middle of Europe during the Thirty Years War. The repercussions of that event transform Europe and, in a few years, begin spreading across the world. By 1636, the Ring of Fire's impact is felt across two great oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific.

Stretching Out: The United States of Europe seeks out resources -- oil, rubber and even aluminum ore -- to help it wage war against the foes of freedom. Daring pioneers cross the Atlantic and found a new colony on the wild coast of South America. The colonists hope that with the up-timers' support and knowledge they can prosper in the tropics without resort to Indian and African slavery. Then a slave ship visits the colony, seeking water.... and the colonists must make a fateful choice.

Rising Sun: In 1633, the wave of change emanating from the Ring of Fire reaches Japan. The Shogun is intrigued by samples of up-time technology, but it's a peek at what fate had in store for Japan in the old time line that has the greatest impact -- setting events in motion whose tremors are felt thousands of miles away and for years to come, as Japan pulls back from a policy of isolation and stakes out its own claim in the brave new world created by the Ring.

Elementary: The Ghost Line by Adam Christopher

Summons to a bullet-riddled body in a Hell’s Kitchen apartment marks the start of a new case for consulting detectives Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson. The victim is a subway train driver with a hidden stash of money and a strange Colombian connection, but why would someone kill him and leave a fortune behind?

The search for the truth will lead the sleuths deep into the hidden underground tunnels beneath New York City, where answers—and more bodies—may well await them...

What Makes This Book So Great by Jo Walton

As any reader of Jo Walton's Among Others might guess, Walton is both an inveterate reader of SF and fantasy, and a chronic re-reader of books. In 2008, then-new science-fiction mega-site Tor.com asked Walton to blog regularly about her re-reading—about all kinds of older fantasy and SF, ranging from acknowledged classics, to guilty pleasures, to forgotten oddities and gems. These posts have consistently been among the most popular features of Tor.com. Now this volumes presents a selection of the best of them, ranging from short essays to long reassessments of some of the field's most ambitious series.

Among Walton's many subjects here are the Zones of Thought novels of Vernor Vinge; the question of what genre readers mean by "mainstream"; the underappreciated SF adventures of C. J. Cherryh; the field's many approaches to time travel; the masterful science fiction of Samuel R. Delany; Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children; the early Hainish novels of Ursula K. Le Guin; and a Robert A. Heinlein novel you have most certainly never read.

Over 130 essays in all, What Makes This Book So Great is an immensely readable, engaging collection of provocative, opinionated thoughts about past and present-day fantasy and science fiction, from one of our best writers.

To fans, 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.

* * *

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.

Weekly Update #167

Editor's Note

Even though my Halloween celebrations prevented me from posting the next Weekly Update, I have no regrets. Not only did we surpass 500,000 page views, we also broke our monthly page view record AGAIN. The new record is 24,095. Thanks again everybody.

Well enough chat. Make sure you check out the Links to the Multiverse. There are a lot of them from the past two weeks.

And now the news...

Out Now: A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar

Out in the UK now is a new alternate history novel by Lavie Tidhar called A Man Lies Dreaming. Here is the description from Amazon:

Deep in the heart of history's most infamous concentration camp, a man lies dreaming. His name is Shomer, and before the war he was a pulp fiction author. Now, to escape the brutal reality of life in Auschwitz, Shomer spends his nights imagining another world - a world where a disgraced former dictator now known only as Wolf ekes out a miserable existence as a low-rent PI in London's grimiest streets.

An extraordinary story of revenge and redemption, A Man Lies Dreaming is the unforgettable testament to the power of imagination.

So what do the reviewers think of this book? Adam Roberts of The Guardian called it a "twisted masterpiece". Meanwhile, Mahvesh Murad of Tor said "[t]here is eloquence and gravitas in the sparselness and brevity of noir fiction when it is good, and Tidhar’s is quite incredible." Finally David of Blue Book Balloon said it was "[b]y far and away the best book I've read this year."

Wow that is some high praise, although Americans might have to wait a while before we can get our hands on a copy.

Out Now: Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger

For steampunk fans, Gail Carriger's Waistcoats and Weaponry is out as well. Here is the description from Amazon:

Class is back in session...

Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school in style--with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Such a fashionable choice of weapon comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and the charming Lord Felix Mersey stowaway on a train to return their classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. No one suspected what--or who--they would find aboard that suspiciously empty train. Sophronia uncovers a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos and she must decide where her loyalties lie, once and for all. 

Gather your poison, steel tipped quill, and the rest of your school supplies and join Mademoiselle Geraldine's proper young killing machines in the third rousing installment in the New York Times bestselling Finishing School Series by steampunk author, Gail Carriger.

So what do the critics have to say? John DeNardo of SF Signal fame listed as one of the books you should check out in November. Karin Kross of Tor, on the other hand, said it wasn't the strongest entry in the series, but Karin did like the "depiction of friendship among a group of very different young women."

So not as great of praise as was received for Lavie's book, but fans of the series probably won't be disappointed,

Videos for Alternate Historians

Two trailers were the talk of the web over the last two weeks. First up is the new trailer for Assassin's Creed: Unity:

So it looks like we are going to see some time travel to World War II. Interesting. Next up, a new teaser trailer was released for Iron Sky: The Coming Race. Let's check it out:

It looks like they are going for the lizard people/hollow Earth conspiracy theories. Will it work? I guess we will just have to find out.

Links to the Multiverse

Books and Short Fiction

7 Reasons Why Steampunk Is Totally "Now" by Desirina Boskovich at Huffington Post.
Cover & Synopsis: CROOKED by Austin Grossman at SF Signal.
Cover Reveal: The Temporal Element II by Martin T. Ingham at Three Cents Worth.
Harry Harrison! Harry Harrison! (Excerpt) by Harry Harrison at Tor.
Hell with the Lid Off — The Perfect Setting for Steampunk by Gail Z. Martin and Larry N. Martin at Risingshadow.
Lisa Mantchev: "It Started with a Pocket Watch" at Amazon Blogs.
New Story Live and More by Lauren C. Teffeau (he has a story in The Change).
Review: The Allied Invasion of France 1942-1943 by Paul Robinson at The Wargamer.
Review: Curious Notions by Harry Turtledove at The Great Adventure.
Review: The Time Roads by Beth Bernobich at Mania.
Richard Ellis Preston, Jr. on Airship Versus Flying Kraken Battle Tactics: A Steampunk Primer (Plus: Bonus Deals and Content) at SF Signal.
"Ruins of Time" wins Chinese sci-fi award at English.news.cn.
Table of Contents: CRANKY LADIES OF HISTORY Edited by Tehani Wessely and Tansy Rayner Roberts at SF Signal.
Up Now–The Mind’s Eye by Chris Nuttall at The Chrishanger.
The Well-Mannered Woman’s Guide to Kicking Ass Whilst Wearing a Corset by Gail Z. Martin at Dwelling in Probabilities.

Comics

Comic Review & Interview: Creature Cops: Special Varmint Unit by Bob Leeper at Nerdvana.

Counterfactuals, History and News

5 Backup Plans That Would Have Changed Modern History by Evan V. Symon at Cracked.
11 Intriguing Ways World War I Could Have Turned Out Differently by George Dvorsky at io9.
Alternate History: What If Catherine of Aragon Agreed to the Divorce With Henry VIII? by Alexandria Ingham at Wizzley.
Bob Dylan Wanted to Make an Album With the Beatles and Rolling Stones by Andy Greene at Rolling Stones.
Did A Pope And An Emperor Team Up To Erase 300 Years Of History? by Esther Inglis-Arkell at io9.
Friedman's Counterfactual Comparison of ISIS and Vietnam by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
How One Soviet Submarine Commander Averted World War III by Mark Strauss at io9.
It's Looking More and More Likely That We Live in a Multiverse by Annalee Newitz at io9.
Ned Kelly Under the Microscope unravels bushranger myths by Cris Kennedy at The Sydney Morning Herald.
The One Basic Fact About History That Time Travelers Always Forget by Annalee Newitz at io9.
The Plots to Destroy America by Kurt Eichenwald at Newsweek.
Revealed: How the Soviets Planned To Go To War with America's Navy by Sam Roggeveen at The National Interest.
Vladimir Putin's Batshit Crazy Attempt To Create an Alternate History by George Dvorsky at io9.
What if ...? by Ron Eachus at Statesman Journal.
What Would Two Floridas Look Like? by Dallas Jensen at Slate.
Who Would Have Health Insurance if Medicaid Expansion Weren't Optional by Kevin Quealy and Margot Sanger-Katz at The New York Times.

Film and Television

1983: The Brink of Apocalypse at Far Future Horizons.
Just How Different Was Nolan's Third Batman Movie Supposed To Be? by Kit Simpson Browne at Movie Pilot.
Man Conquers Space by Alex Michael Bonnici at Far Future Horizons.
Review: Doctor Who, S8, E10: In the Forest of the Night and E11: Dark Water at Geek Syndicate.
Will 'Marco Polo' Be Netflix's 'Game of Thrones'? by Laura Rosenfeld at Tech Times.
You Have Chosen…Poorly: A Ranking Of Alternate Horror Film Endings by Mark Strauss at io9.

Games

'Dust.Evolution' Announced, Seeks Crowd Funding - Trailer by Rainier at Worth Playing.
Why Gandhi Is Such An Asshole In Civilization by Luke Plunkett at io9.

Interviews

Richard J. Evans at  Dublin Festival of History 2014.
Nicola Griffith at Tor.
Dan Jones at Word & Film.
Alison Morton at Unusual Historicals.
Diana M. Pho at Tor.
Anne Valente at The Collagist.

Podcasts


The 17 Greatest Movie Scenes Deleted from History at Cracked.
Dissecting Worlds Series 9 Episode 2: Game of Shadows (of the Apt) at Geek Syndicate.

* * *

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.

New Releases 10/29/13

Hardcovers

The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar

Description from Amazon.

For seventy years they guarded the British Empire. Oblivion and Fogg, inseparable friends, bound together by a shared fate. Until one night in Berlin, in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a secret that tore them apart. But there must always be an account...and the past has a habit of catching up to the present. Now, recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowledged heroism, - a life of dusty corridors and secret rooms, of furtive meetings and blood-stained fields - to answer one last, impossible question: What makes a hero?

Paperbacks

Katabasis by Joseph Brassey, Cooper Moo, Mark Teppo and Angus Trim

Description from Amazon.

The death of the fearsome Ögedei Khan has brought the Mongol invasion of the West to an abrupt halt. Exhausted, plagued by uncertainty and self-doubt, and reeling from betrayal by one of their own, the surviving Shield-Brethren struggle across a frozen, shattered wasteland to return home after their desperate battle in Mongolia.

Their mission is complete—Christendom has been saved—but new and terrible questions haunt each member of the company: Are they heroes or villains? Or just pawns in a larger game, trapped in a world gone mad in the wake of the unspeakable devastation visited upon it by the Mongol horde?

And most poignant of all, where—and what—is “home” now, and what will be their place in the world they fought to defend?

Katabasis, a new novel in the acclaimed Foreworld Saga, follows the survivors as they struggle to confront their own fears and decide who they truly are—and whom they will ultimately serve.

Rising Sun by Robert Conroy

Description from Amazon.

By the author of breakout WW II era alternate history Himmler’s War, another compelling alternate history thriller. With an American loss at the Battle of Midway, Japan runs rampant in the Pacific.

It is the summer of 1942 and what our historians have called the Incredible Victory in the Battle of Midway has become a horrendous disaster in this world. Two of America’s handful of carriers in the Pacific have blundered into a Japanese submarine picket line and have been sunk, while a third is destroyed the next day. The United States has only one carrier remaining in the Pacific against nine Japanese, while the ragtag remnants of U.S. battleships – an armada still reeling from the defeat at Pearl Harbor – are in even worse shape.

Now the Pacific belongs to the Japanese. And it doesn’t stop there, as Japan has thrust her sword in to the hilt. Alaska is invaded. Hawaii is under blockade. The Panama Canal is nearly plugged. Worst of all, the West Coast of America is ripe for destruction as bombers of the Empire of the Sun bombard west coast American cities at will.

Despite these disasters, the U.S. begins to fight back. Limited counterattacks are made and a grand plan is put forth to lure the Japanese into an ambush that could restore the balance in the Pacific and give the forces of freedom a fighting chance once more.

A Study in Darkness by Emma Jane Holloway

Description from Amazon.

When a bomb goes off at 221B Baker Street, Evelina Cooper is thrown into her uncle Sherlock’s world of mystery and murder. But just when she thought it was safe to return to the ballroom, old, new, and even dead enemies are clamoring for a place on her dance card.

Before Evelina’s even unpacked her gowns for a country house party, an indiscretion puts her in the power of the ruthless Gold King, who recruits her as his spy. He knows her disreputable past and exiles her to the rank alleyways of Whitechapel with orders to unmask his foe.

As danger mounts, Evelina struggles between hiding her illegal magic and succumbing to the darker aspects of her power. One path keeps her secure; the other keeps her alive. For rebellion is brewing, a sorcerer wants her soul, and no one can protect her in the hunting grounds of Jack the Ripper.

To fans, 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.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new short story "Road Trip" can be found in Forbidden Future: A Time Travel Anthology. 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 #113

Editor's Note

Well I am back from Washington, DC. It was a great trip. My nation's capital is a treasure trove of American history and, surprisingly, foreign culture and cuisine. My wife and I had an amazing time, but I'm glad to be back home.

I even found a lot of inspiration for potential PODs when walking around the city. From a different Washington architecture based on the mind of Frank Lloyd Wright, to the currency that could have been used by the different states in a balkanized North America and even what a Soviet cosmonaut would have looked like on the Moon.

Yes, even on vacation, I can't get my mind out of the multiverse. Sadly my hope of bringing you a massive, even epic, Weekly Update has met the reality of what happens when you have a tired and sore Mitro. So not as much commentary today, but still some interesting press releases and a lot of links. Enjoy.

And now the news...

Tidhar's Adler

Announced at San Diego Comic-Con, Lavie Tidhar (author of the World Fantasy Award winning Osama) will be writing a five-part creator-owned mini-series for Titan Comics for release next year.

Adler has been described by Titan as “ladies of literature action-adventure” and “The League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen”. It focuses on Irene Adler as the titular character, with a host of other female figures from classic Victorian literature.

Tidhar said, “I felt disgruntled enough with recent depictions of Irene Adler (in films/tv) as a sort of Sherlock/Moriarty plaything, to actually do something about it – and in some miraculous way, it worked!” Tidhar described the project as “a predominantly a fun (I hope!) self-contained serial (it will be collected into a trade graphic novel at the end of the run), kind of steampunky, with a vibe a little similar to the Bookman novels.”

He will be working with artist Paul McCaffrey (Zombies Vs. Robots, TMNT: The Fugitoid). The two had previously collaborated on adult picture book Going To The Moon, about a boy with Tourette’s who wants to become an astronaut.

Revelations: The Steampunk Film

"Ranjana", a Bournemouth University postgraduate student, is producing a short steampunk drama for his Masters project. It's a short 20-minute film called Revelations. It has been described as "a Neo-Victorian style love story with Cyberpunk elements, which makes it a Jane Austin-esque costume drama that is more accessible, entertaining and interesting to those who might be more into Sci-Fi, the subculture or just curious in general."

The film is set in an alternate history where World War I never ended and the UK is running on a war economy. The story follows Amelia, who has found herself helplessly stuck within the oppressive walls of status, fueled by her authoritarian mother, Jane; her love interest, Cassius, who has recently returned from the war; and his rival, Hugo, the high ranking corporate official whom Jane adores. Amelia struggles to satisfy her duty as a daughter as well as her duty to herself and satisfying her own wants and needs. Below is a more detailed description:

Within a grand countryside estate, resides a girl full of melancholy. Amelia Grayson sits day in and day out, waiting for the news that will tell her whether her soldier boyfriend, Cassius Verne is dead or alive. But now, Amelia’s mother, Jane will not allow her daughter to revel in her depression any longer. Jane arranges a ‘reveal party’ and for her to court Hugo Wells, a high-ranking military official. When Cassius miraculously returns from the war unscathed, Amelia rebels against her mother’s wishes only to witness Jane exercising the full extent of her powers over her. She will wed Hugo Wells, or report Cassius as AWOL. Defeated, Amelia sinks back into depression as she attends the ball and courts Hugo Wells, when an unexpected face shows attendance, revealing bigger truths than Amelia could ever imagine and sends everything into chaos.

According to Ranjana, the film blends a lot of themes, including love and coming of age, but with a steampunk aesthetic. I look forward to learning more about Revelations in the future. You can learn more about it on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Coming Soon: Europa Universalis IV

Europa Universalis IV is almost here! The newest entry in the grandest strategy series (God, I still remember playing EU I) is coming this summer on August 13, and will challenge conquerors everywhere to build their empires using expanded mechanics for religion, exploration, diplomacy, conquest, and more. A pre-order edition is available with special features not available when the game is finally released, including a Saved Game Converter for Crusader Kings II, which will read the details of a saved game from a Crusader Kings II and convert that into a game that can be played in Europa Universalis IV.

Do you want to know more? Although the game gives you plenty of non-violent means to spread your borders around the globe, lets face it, we all like declaring war. A new developer diary showcases the wide world of open warfare in Europa Universalis IV, including the dire costs of protracted battle on your fledgling empire – such as money, manpower, and morale.

Europa Universalis IV Project Lead Thomas Johansson may not be an armchair general, though he does sit in an armchair as he explains the nuances of war strategy in this latest video diary. Paradox Development Studio has changed the pace, the balance, and the consequences of warfare in their latest creation, challenging tacticians everywhere to keep their nations together during times of strife. What price are you willing to pay to see your enemies slaughtered?

Calendar

August 18: Deadline for the Scrolls Flash Fiction challenge.

August 22: The Kenilworth Public Library (Kenilworth, NJ) and the Hudson Shakespeare Company present a steampunk twist on Macbeth.

August 31: Apex Magazine will close to unsolicited submissions.

November 22-23: A two-night burlesque performance is planned for Haworth, UK to coincide with a Steampunk weekend.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

5 Writing Exercises That Will Make You More Creative by Robert Brockway at Cracked.
1636: The Devil’s Opera – Snippet 25 and 30 by Eric Flint.
2013 Scribe Award Winners at SF Scope.
Adventures in Alternate History: Steampunking the Mormon Battalion by Suzanne Lazear at Steamed.
Cherie Priest Cover Reveal: Fiddlehead at Tor Books Blog.
Cover & Synopsis: “V-S Day: A Novel of Alternate History” by Allen Steele at SF Signal.
Does Steampunk Promote Violence? by Balogun at Chronicles of Harriet.
Excerpt Thursday: Thieves' Quarry by D. B. Jackson at Unusual Historicals.
Historical Science in Science Fiction by EH Kern at The Boomerang.
Ian's Top Ten Parallel Universes (Part 2) at Jo Fletcher Books.
If this theory is correct, we may live in a web of alternate timelines by George Dvorsky at io9.
INCEPTIO shortlisted for book award! by Alison Morton.
Kay Kenyon Brings a Sweeping Historical Fantasy Set in a Re-Imagined 19th Century in A Thousand Perfect Things at PR Web.
MMA Alternate History: What if Gina Carano Beat Cris Cyborg in 2009? by Matt Saccaro at Cage Potato.
More Information - Jay Lake's Process of Writing at Apocalypse Ink Productions.
Obama and the Economy: What Could Have Been by Josh Kraushaar at National Journal.
Punk'd by Obama and that Old Hobbit John McCain by John Ransom at Townhall Finance.
Steampunk 101: From Sci-Fi Sub-genre to Cultural Phenomenon by Scott Laming at Abe Books.
Steampunk Fashion In Popular Culture at Look Hunting.
When Counterfactuals Go Bad by Jonathan Bernstein at A plain blog about politics.
Why can't women time travel? by Anna Smith at The Guardian.

Book Reviews

The Art of Steampunk by Art Donovan at Unleash the Fanboy.
Brilliance by Marcus Sakey at io9.
Cold Steel by Kate Elliott at Falcata Times.
Himmler's War by Robert Conroy at Amazing Stories.
Storm Surge by Taylor Anderson at The Guilded Earlobe.
Theatre of the Gods by Matt Sudain at Falcata Times.
Thieftaker by D.B. Jackson at The Ranting Dragon.
Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone at Mind of the Geek.

Comics

Laika Believes pits one dog against an alternative history of Soviet Russia by Emily Gera at Polygon.

(Counterfactual) History

5 Iconic Scenes from History Everyone Pictures Incorrectly by Robin O'Lachlan at Cracked.
5 Myths You Probably Believe About Famous Landmarks by C. Coville and Ivan Farkas at Cracked.
Counterfactualis Interruptus by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
J.K. Rowling Revealed To Be Pseudonym For Newt Gingrich at The Onion.

Films

Blu-ray Review: Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox by Steve Anderson at Technology Tell.
The Butterfly Effect gets a reboot for reasons we can't comprehend by Meredith Woerner at io9.
SDCC 2013: I, Frankenstein at Nerd HQ by Sharlene Mousfar at Geek Syndicate.

Games

BioShock Infinite sells over 4m copies at The Gadget Website.
Black Gold Online secures $97M in funding from Chinese banks by Shawn Schuster at Massively.
Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches Looks Fantastically Steampunk by Ian Miles Cheong at Game Front.
Gratuitous Tank Battles Rolls Out At MGS at Inside Mac Games.
Truth and fantasy in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag by Colin Campbell at Polygon.

Interviews

John Joseph Adams at Bibliophile Stalker.
Clifford Beal at SF Signal.
Jonathan Doering at Alt Hist.
Robin Wyatt Dunn at The Pen Punks.
Kate Elliott at Tor.com.
Kat French at The Pen Punks.
Ella Grey at The Pen Punks.
Micah Hyatt at Alt Hist.
D.B. Jackson at Unusual Historicals.
Paul Levinson at The Morton Report.
Ian Tregillis at SF Signal.
Harry Turtledove at Suvudu.

* * *

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.