New Releases 9/6/16

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

Hardcovers

Everfair: A Novel by Nisi Shawl

Everfair is a wonderful Neo-Victorian alternate history novel that explores the question of what might have come of Belgium's disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier. Fabian Socialists from Great Britian join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo's "owner," King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.

Nisi Shawl's speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history. Everfair is told from a multiplicity of voices: Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans in complex relationships with one another, in a compelling range of voices that have historically been silenced. Everfair is not only a beautiful book but an educational and inspiring one that will give the reader new insight into an often ignored period of history.

MJ-12: Inception by Michael J. Martinez

It is a new world, stunned by the horrors that linger in the aftermath of total war. The United States and Soviet Union are squaring off in a different kind of conflict, one that’s fought in the shadows, where there are whispers of strange and mysterious developments. . .

Normal people across the United States have inexplicably gained paranormal abilities. A factory worker can heal the sick and injured. A schoolteacher bends emotions to her will. A car salesman alters matter with a simple touch. A former soldier speaks to the dying and gains their memories as they pass on.

They are the Variants, controlled by a secret government program called MAJESTIC-12 to open a new front in the Cold War.

From the deserts of Nevada to the palaces of Istanbul, the halls of power in Washington to the dark, oppressive streets of Prague, the Variants are thrown into a deadly game of shifting alliances. Amidst the seedy underbelly of nations, these once-ordinary Americans dropped in extraordinary circumstances will struggle to come to terms with their abilities as they fight to carve out a place for themselves in a world that may ultimately turn against them.

And as the MAJESTIC-12 program will soon discover, there are others out there like them, some with far more malevolent goals.

Prince of Outcasts by SM Stirling

John Arminger Mackenzie wanted to be a troubadour, but fate made him the son of the king of Montival. His sister Princess Órlaith will deservedly inherit the throne of the High Kings, and it will only pass unto him in the event of her death, leaving the young Prince on an unknown path to discover his true role in the family.

The opportunity to prove his mettle comes when John’s ship, the Tarshish Queen, is caught in the fierce storm raised against the enemies of the alliance. When the clouds recede and the skies clear, John and his crew find themselves on the other side of the Pacific, in the island chains of the Ceram Sea, fighting to survive against vicious pirates and monstrous creatures of the deep, meeting new allies and mysterious enemies of this world and another.

Now, Prince John must seize his birthright and lead his people in battle against the darkest forces man and nature can conjure against them.

Paperbacks

101 Stumbles in the March of History: What If the Great Mistakes in War, Government, Industry, and Economics Were Not Made? by Bill Fawcett

An all-new compendium of 101 historic screw-ups from the author of 100 Mistakes that Changed History.

DID I DO THAT???

When asked to name a successor, Alexander the Great declared that his empire should go “to the strongest”. . . but would rival factions have descended into war if he’d been a little more specific?

What if the Vienna Academy of Art took a chance on a hopeful young student named Adolf Hitler?

If Pope Clement VII granted King Henry VIII an annulment, England would likely still be Catholic today—and so would America.

Bill Fawcett, author of 100 Mistakes That Changed History, offers a compendium of 101 all-new mammoth mistakes—from the ill-fated rule of Emperor Darius III to the equally ill-fated search for WMDs in Iraq—that will, unfortunately, never be forgotten by history.

E-Books

Our Heroes Through Tomorrow by Dan Gainor

Six scintillating stories from a modern master of speculative fiction!

Unintended Consequences: In a future where nuclear weapons no longer function, conventional warfare rears its ugly head as America becomes the target of a hostile invasion, and a young computer wiz finds himself in the thick of the fight.

We The People: A billionaire rancher seeks to rekindle the spirit of America... by cloning the Founding Fathers!

Soul Tracker: A science-fiction epic of alien worlds, conjoined souls, and one man's quest to become the ultimate warrior.

Original Sin: College students set out on a quest to prove that time travel is possible, only to find themselves stranded in an all too familiar past, with a crucial decision to make about altering fate.

Just Desserts: Aliens seek to neutralize the "human threat" through a virus that makes "zombies" all too real... only, what will be the true consequence of this bio-warfare?

Drawing A Line: In a future where humanity is conquered and fragmented amidst the stars, the last soldiers must hold the line between warrior and pirate as they struggle to fight for freedom and survival.

Ragnarok by Chris Nuttall

The Nazi Civil War rages on ...

The Provisional Government has scored a significant victory, driving the Waffen-SS back from Berlin and winning itself time to plot a counteroffensive. But Karl Holliston - the self-declared Fuhrer of the Greater German Reich - isn't about to give up so easily. As mighty armies prepare for the final campaign, winter sweeps down from the east and both side prepare their ultimate weapons, the fate of the world hangs in the balance ...

... And if the Reich burns, the rest of the world may burn too.

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.

Weekly Update #246! Alternate Histories to Read in September

Editor's Note

It's hard to believe summer is ending. Although I am indoor kind of guy, I do love summer. The early sunrises, the barbecues, the festivals, the beach days, the picnics and the all-around beautiful weather that lets me read outside in comfort. I had a great time this summer and I will be sad to see it go.

Recommendations from last week include Sam McDonald's review of the anime: Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. I am still surprised by the number of anime works that feature alternate history content and will probably need to sit down and watch some of them in the future. In the meantime, my thanks to Sam for bringing these obscure works of alternate history to my attention.

Don't forget that you can support The Update by buying through Amazon. Click on the banner to your right when you go to purchase something and we will get a little something something to fund our mission of bringing you the best alternate history news and reviews on the Internet. If you are looking for something to buy, may I recommend some of last week's new releases or maybe some of the books below?

Finally, I am posting this a little early due to my Labor Day plans. I hope no one minds (and I don't care if you do). Map Monday also may come out later than usual.

And now the news...

Books to Read in September

So there are a lot of good books coming out in September that I am excited to read. In fact I decided to preview a few of them in case you want to read along with me. The first one is Michael J. Martinez's MJ-12: Inception which is coming out tomorrow. Now you can already read my thoughts on the book by checking out my review on Amazing Stories, but here is the description from Amazon:

It is a new world, stunned by the horrors that linger in the aftermath of total war. The United States and Soviet Union are squaring off in a different kind of conflict, one that’s fought in the shadows, where there are whispers of strange and mysterious developments.

Normal people across the United States have inexplicably gained paranormal abilities. A factory worker can heal the sick and injured. A schoolteacher bends emotions to her will. A car salesman alters matter with a simple touch. A former soldier speaks to the dying and gains their memories as they pass on.

They are the Variants, controlled by a secret government program called MAJESTIC-12 to open a new front in the Cold War.

From the deserts of Nevada to the palaces of Istanbul, the halls of power in Washington to the dark, oppressive streets of Prague, the Variants are thrown into a deadly game of shifting alliances. Amidst the seedy underbelly of nations, these once-ordinary Americans dropped in extraordinary circumstances will struggle to come to terms with their abilities as they fight to carve out a place for themselves in a world that may ultimately turn against them.

And as the MAJESTIC-12 program will soon discover, there are others out there like them, some with far more malevolent goals.

Also coming out tomorrow is Bill Fawcett's 101 Stumbles in the March of History: What If the Great Mistakes in War, Government, Industry, and Economics Were Not Made? Although Bill wrote most of the essays in this book, there are many other contributors from the alternate history genre who are participating like Harry Turtledove, Eric Flint, Mike Resnick and Charles E. Gannon. I actually have a couple posts about the book coming out tomorrow, but in the meantime, here is the Amazon description:

DID I DO THAT???

When asked to name a successor, Alexander the Great declared that his empire should go “to the strongest”. . . but would rival factions have descended into war if he’d been a little more specific?

What if the Vienna Academy of Art took a chance on a hopeful young student named Adolf Hitler?

If Pope Clement VII granted King Henry VIII an annulment, England would likely still be Catholic today—and so would America. 

Bill Fawcett, author of 100 Mistakes That Changed History, offers a compendium of 101 all-new mammoth mistakes—from the ill-fated rule of Emperor Darius III to the equally ill-fated search for WMDs in Iraq—that will, unfortunately, never be forgotten by history.

Coming out tomorrow as well (the first Tuesday of any month is usually a big day for new releases) is a book I have been very excited to read: SM Stirling's The Prince of Outcasts. This is the next book in the Emberverse series, which I have gushed about on numerous occasions and I have even reread the first three books a couple of times. In case you are interested, here is the description from Amazon:

John Arminger Mackenzie wanted to be a troubadour, but fate made him the son of the king of Montival. His sister Princess Órlaith will deservedly inherit the throne of the High Kings, and it will only pass unto him in the event of her death, leaving the young Prince on an unknown path to discover his true role in the family. 

The opportunity to prove his mettle comes when John’s ship, the Tarshish Queen, is caught in the fierce storm raised against the enemies of the alliance. When the clouds recede and the skies clear, John and his crew find themselves on the other side of the Pacific, in the island chains of the Ceram Sea, fighting to survive against vicious pirates and monstrous creatures of the deep, meeting new allies and mysterious enemies of this world and another. 

Now, Prince John must seize his birthright and lead his people in battle against the darkest forces man and nature can conjure against them.

And now we get to our last, but certainly not least, book coming out in September that I wanted to talk about. Its What Ifs of Jewish History: From Abraham to Zionism edited by counterfactual historian, Gavriel D. Rosenfeld. I actually just started reading this book and I am enjoying it. Its even given me a few ideas for what if videos (like a Protestant Christian state founded in Palestine in a world where Germany won WWI). More on that later, but for now, here is the Amazon description:

What if the Exodus had never happened? What if the Jews of Spain had not been expelled in 1492? What if Eastern European Jews had never been confined to the Russian Pale of Settlement? What if Adolf Hitler had been assassinated in 1939? What if a Jewish state had been established in Uganda instead of Palestine? Gavriel D. Rosenfeld's pioneering anthology examines how these and other counterfactual questions would have affected the course of Jewish history. Featuring essays by sixteen distinguished scholars in the field of Jewish Studies, What Ifs of Jewish History is the first volume to systematically apply counterfactual reasoning to the Jewish past. Written in a variety of narrative styles, ranging from the analytical to the literary, the essays cover three thousand years of dramatic events and invite readers to indulge their imaginations and explore how the course of Jewish history might have been different.

Well I hope you guys find something to read this month and if it is any of the books I mentioned, please let me know what you think about them.

Video of the Week

Today's video of the week is AlternateHistoryHub's "What if Gunpowder Never Existed?":

And let's not forget my recent video where I asked what if the America First Committee kept America out of WWII?

You Should Also Check Out

• What Snopes has to say about whether the Star Spangled Banner enshrines slavery.
• Mussolini's message to future that was revealed under a Rome obelisk (via BBC).
• The alternate history map stolen by a Danish publishing company and put in an actual history textbook, which I may do a video about in the future. (via Kultur)
• Vice's profile of The Great War, the YouTube history series telling the story of WWI in real time and one of my favorite channels.
• What would have happened if Mark Hamill & Carrie Fisher didn’t want to return for Star Wars: Episode VII (via /Film).

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and 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.

Flag Friday: Flag of the Domination of Draka by KingWillhamII

I get nostalgic about the era when I first discovered alternate history. Soc.history.what.if was slowly being replaced by AlternateHistory.com and everyone seemed to have a GeoCities page. It was during that time when I first read Ian Montgomerie's take on SM Stirling's Draka books. Trying to make those books more "plausible" is a popular past time for alternate historians, but this was the first one I ever read.

So when I heard that Lynn Davis, one of my favorite alternate cartographers, was making a map based on Ian's version, I was excited. As I write this post the map hasn't come out yet, but here is the flag that goes with it:

It was created by KingWillhamII of DeviantArt and is the flag of the Domination of Draka after it won its independence from Britain. Per the description Lynn provided: The coat of arms is Sir Francis Drake's, modified with an orange band to represent the Orange River and a dragon, the self-styled symbol of the Draka, above.

All things considered, I like the flag. The design is simple, but I do like how stylized the dragon is. More importantly, it keeps me excited for another Lynn Davis map.

What do you think of the flag?

* * *

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 5/3/16

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

Hardcovers

Providence, Act 1 by Alan Moore

Alan Moore’s quintessential horror series has set the standard for a terrifying examination of the works of H.P. Lovecraft. It is being universally hailed as one of Moore’s most realized works in which the master scribe has controlled every iota of the story, art, and presentation. The result has been a masterpiece like no other, unparalleled in tone and content, and a true must have addition to his essential works in the field. For a limited one-time run, Avatar Press is presenting a collected Providence Act 1 Hard Cover edition that contains Providence issues #1-4, and all the back matter, which is limited to 6,666 copies. This edition will not be reprinted, there will not be a softcover edition, and this material will not be printed again until the complete collection is available in the far distant future. Don't miss your chance to enjoy the first piece of a true horror masterpiece and enter the creeping world of Providence.

Ring of Fire IV by Eric Flint

NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR. CONTAINS A STORY BY DAVID BRIN AND AN ALL-NEW STORY BY ERIC FLINT. Collection #4 of rollicking and idea-packed alternate history tales written by today’s hottest science fiction writers and edited by New York Times best-seller Eric Flint. After a cosmic accident sets the modern-day West Virginia town of Grantville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe, these everyday, resourceful Americans must adapt – or be trod into the dust of the past.

Let’s do the “Time Warp” again!  Another anthology of rollicking, thought-provoking collection of tales by a star-studded array of top writers such as David Brin and Eric Flint himself – all set in Eric Flint’s phenomenal Ring of Fire series.

A cosmic accident sets the modern West Virginia town of Grantville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe.  It will take all the gumption of the resourceful, freedom-loving up-timers to find a way to flourish in a mad and bloody time.  Are they up for it?  You bet they are.  The fourth rollicking and idea-packed collection of Grantville tales edited and introduced by Eric Flint, and inspired by his now-legendary 1632.  Plus: contains an all-new story by Eric Flint.

Stories by Eric Flint, David Brin, David Carrico, Virginia DeMarce, Charles E. Gannon and more.

Paperbacks

The Change by SM Stirling

“[A] vivid portrait of a world gone insane,”* S. M. Stirling’s New York Times bestselling Novels of the Change have depicted a vivid, utterly persuasive, and absorbingly unpredictable postapocalyptic wasteland in which all modern technology has been left in ashes, forcing humankind to rebuild an unknowable new world in the wake of unimaginable—and deliberate—chaos.

In The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth, S. M. Stirling invites the most fertile minds in science fiction to join him in expanding his rich Emberverse canvas. Here are inventive new perspectives on the cultures, the survivors, and the battles arising across the years and across the globe following the Change—from the ruins of Sydney to the Republic of Fargo and Northern Alberta to Venetian and Greek galleys clashing in the Mediterranean.

These adventures revisit beloved people and places from Stirling’s fantastic universe, introduce us to new ones, and deliver endlessly fascinating challenges to conquer.

*Statesman Journal (Salem, OR)

Straits of Hell (Destroyermen) by Taylor Anderson

New York Times bestselling author Taylor Anderson’s phenomenal series of alternate history continues as a dangerous scheme throws the hope of honor, trust, and survival into chaos....

Transported to an alternate version of earth where WWII no longer rages, Matt Reddy and the crew of the Asiatic Fleet destroyer USS Walker have been trying to find their place in a strange new world—only to now face a game-changing conspiracy.

Reddy and his crew fight alongside the felinoid Lemurians and Imperial allies to keep the reptilian Grik, a race growing in supremacy, from reconquering the Lemurians’ ancestral home on Madagascar. But exhausted, far from reinforcements, and wildly outnumbered, the odds seem greater than ever before.

As for the fate of the Americas, Don Hernan and the evil Dominion have gathered to annihilate the forces behind the walls of Fort Defiance as a shadowy power with an agenda all its own rises with chilling resolve.

As the war teeters on a knife-edge, a tipping point may have been reached at last—and cold steel and hot-blooded valor will remain the ultimate weapons.

E-Books

Sons of Liberty (Royal Sorceress Book 4) by Chris Nuttall

The long-dreaded war between Britain and France has finally begun. French soldiers have landed on English soil and the British Army – and the Royal Sorcerers Corps, led by Lady Gwen – is moving to meet them. But when an inexperienced major disobeys her orders and sends two hundred hussars to their deaths, Gwen accidentally uses her magic to permanently damage his mind and sparks a political crisis at the worst possible time.

In the aftermath of the battle, Lord Mycroft suggests she leave Britain and head to the North American colonies, where British forces are anxiously awaiting a French offensive. The local sorcerers have been poisoned, the local government is barely keeping the colonies under control, the slaves are mutinous and revolution against the crown is brewing. The few locals with any known magical talent are untrained and certainly not ready for combat, but – if they can be trained in time – they may be all that stands between the colonies and defeat.

Accompanied by Irene Adler and Raechel Slater-Standish, agents of the British Crown, Gwen heads to North America. But it may be too late to save the colonies from a disaster that has been long in the making …

In ‘Sons of Liberty’, Gwen is sent from the relative safety of London to the colonies, where an undercurrent of revolution still abounds and intrigue and espionage are essential to keep the enemy at bay. But who exactly is the enemy? In the latest book in this exciting alternate history series, Christopher Nuttall expands Gwen’s horizons beyond Europe into the New World.

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.

Weekly Update #223! And Carry A Big Stick, A Fair Use Rant and More.

Editor's Note

Last week my name and this blog appeared several times on SF Signal. In case you missed it, I was part of a panel of writers who talked about what makes for good alternate history. Then there was Sam McDonald's The Audio File: Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine and Far-Fetched Fables, which was linked to on Friday's SF/F/H Link Post, while my Plausibility Review of Stephen King's 11/22/63 was linked to on the Saturday post.

I've been reading SF Signal before I even started blogging myself, so you can imagine how cool it is to see them following my own work. Thanks John and the rest of the SF Signal staff!

And now the news...

SM Stirling Writing New Alternate History Novel: And Carry A Big Stick

SM Stirling announced on Facebook that he has written the first few chapters of a new novel tentatively titled And Carry a Big Stick. Here is the direct quote:

Am doing up the first few chapters for AND CARRY A BIG STICK, the working title for my AH novel where Taft dies of a heart attack in 1912 and Teddy Roosevelt and the Progressives take over the Republican party, then crush Wilson in November. Teddy is a character, but not the central one. The plot involves the Black Chamber, which in this timeline is a sort of proto-CIA founded in 1914, and retaliation for the sinking of the Mauretania by a U-boat. There are airships!

This is kind of a big deal because while I do consider the Emberverse series to be alternate history (in a "what if alien space bats did X to Earth" sort of way) Stirling hasn't published any alternate history books outside of that series since 2008 when he published the In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, the second and last book in The Lords of Creation series. That is eight years ago, so I'm excited to see him delve into a new world.

Plus Theodore Roosevelt is one of those patron saints of the Internet (along with Tesla and Deadpool) so its cool seeing another alternate history story involving him. I'm looking forward to And Carry a Big Stick and will keep you posted on anything else I learn about it.

Video(s) of the Week (Plus A Fair Use Rant)

I already mentioned this earlier, but I posted a new video on my channel where I discussed how plausible Stephen King's 11/22/63 is. Check it out below:

Sorry for the long wait between videos. My plan to have a video up once a week didn't work out as I imagined, even with my new emphasis on guest posts for this blog. I'm going to aim for an every other week schedule for now and see how I do. I plan to do another Plausibility Review of Dick's The Man in the High Castle and post a final thoughts episode with Alana on the Amazon adaptation that will cover the remaining episodes and what we thought of the series as a whole. Plus I plan more Trope Talks and I want the next one to cover space filling empires.

Currently I don't monetize my videos on YouTube, but that could always change. If I make more money I can invest in better equipment and software. I would love to even use clips for the shows and films I plan to review...but that runs the risk of running afoul of YouTube's copyright claims system, which doesn't tend to take Fair Use into account at all. I could talk more about it, but I think the Nostalgia Critic and other YouTubers can explain it better:

Now blogging and making videos isn't my career. I have a day job, but I would love one day for this to be what I do for a living. That being said, I can sympathize with those who do make content for the Internet and how their livelihoods are threatened by it. Part of the problem stems from how difficult it is just to talk to someone at YouTube, as Cody Franklin of the AlternateHistoryHub found out when he was unable to monetize his videos for several weeks.

We all know that expressing criticism is an important part of living in a free society, and while I do not condone stealing someone else's copyrighted material, using said material in a review is excepted under Fair Use. YouTube and other sites that rely on producers like the Nostalgia Critic and Cody to draw in audiences to watch their ads need to know that such unfair treatment is not to be tolerated.

I'm not sure how to wrap up this rant (my original plan was just to tell you to check out the Critic's video, but things sort of spiraled out of control) so I will just end by saying that if you don't like it when videos from your favorite channels are taken down, spread the #WTFU hashtag and let Google know you are not happy.

You should also check out...

• How the American media would report Justice Scalia's death if it happened in another country (via Slate).
• The 10 people who almost became President of the United States (via Yahoo).

* * *

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.

Book Review: The Desert and the Blade by SM Stirling

Many of you who follow my reviews know that I am a big fan of SM Stirling's Emberverse (or Change) series. Hell I am responsible for creating the Wikipedia article on the series (O the things you can do when you are an intern and have nothing to do at work). You know what I like most about this series? Unlike many post-apocalyptic tales, the Emberverse isn't dreary or depressing with cliche stories about pointless survival. The Emberverse is not just about people surviving, but rebuilding and creating a new world in the process. Its an alternate history series as well, but of the alien space bats variety. Enough about the series as a whole, lets take a look at The Desert and the Blade, the newest installment in the Emberverse.

The Desert and the Blade takes up right after The Golden Princess. Órlaith, Crown Princess of Montival, and her followers are helping Reiko, Empress of Japan, and her band of loyal samurai recover the "Grass Cutting Sword", one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan. The sword is being kept in a "castle" somewhere in California, which was devastated and depopulated by the Change, except for a few Montival colonies, some tiny survivor communities and several tribes of Eaters (cannibalistic offspring of the few people who survived the loss of modern technology in 1998 by feasting on the only remaining source of readily available meat: humans).

Their quest is not an easy one as they are hounded by Haida pirates and Korean warriors, who are ruled by the grandson of Kim Jong-il (and remind me a lot of the Russians from The Peshawar Lancers, if you know what I mean) and want to stop the Japanese from recovering the sword. On the way the questors will battle armies of Eaters, be aided by Saxon warriors, meet Jewish desert nomads and come upon a community of aging hippies who worry about how the modern world will change their way of life...which is actually kind of funny when you come to think of it.

Like most long running series, The Desert and the Blade suffers from lengthy reintroductions to characters and settings that anyone who started from the beginning should already be familiar with. I know authors do it on the off chance that there is a reader who is entering the series from this book and you see this a lot in comics, but for long time readers it can be a slog to get through. There are also some references to events from previous stories, which are not given lengthy explanations, so new readers are going to be confused at times anyway.

In fact, Stirling works in a lot of characters and places from The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth anthology and I don't mean just quick cameos. Many characters originally introduced in those stories have become important, plot-turning characters. This isn't a bad thing (and I enjoyed the quick epilogue to Walter John Williams‘ “The Venetian Dialectic”, which was my favorite story from the anthology) since it shows Stirling is happy to have other authors play around in his universe, but it means one more book new readers have to pick to get the full enjoyment of The Desert and the Blade.

Common issues with long running series aside, The Desert and the Blade is still a good book. I would say its even better than The Golden Princess, since that book featured a lot of characterization and worldbuilding, and little action. This book balances all three better, giving us fun neo-Medieval conflict and Clarksian magic, along with character development and beautiful descriptions of post-Change California and its peoples. I especially liked the Jewish nomads and hope to see more of them in the future, but then again I have always been a sucker for nomadic people ever since I took a class on them in college. Perhaps that is why I always preferred the Bearkillers perspective over the Clan Mackenzie in the original Emberverse trilogy, even if they were only briefly migratory.

If there was one major issue I had with the book overall, it was the ending. It wasn't bad per se, but it just felt rushed. I will try to be as vague as possible to avoid spoilers, so if you haven't read the book yet and your worried I will give something away, I recommend skipping the next paragraph and just go to the conclusion.

Anywho, one character discovers her brother, who was missing and presumed dead, is alive and under the spell of the bad guys. This could have been an intense, emotional scene, but weakened by the fact that we really didn't know much about the brother and some more time sharing how he was important to the character and giving a couple more pages to the emotional trauma the character was experiencing would have made the ending all the more powerful. Additionally, after the issue with the brother was resolved, that same character comforts another character who just got his hand chopped off by saying she thinks his son would make a good husband. Perhaps given the context of their culture and relationship this is a perfectly normal conversation...but wouldn't it be a more appropriate conversation for when he is recovering in a hospital and feeling bad about losing his hand? Again, it wasn't a bad ending, it just felt rushed.

Despite the usual issues that come with long-running book series and my own issues with the ending, The Desert and the Blade still earns a recommendation from me. Stirling continues to impress me with his world-building skills, while featuring strong, yet complex, female characters in speculative fiction. The next book in the Emberverse is going to be titled Prince John and I assume its going to involve Órlaith's younger brother helping John Birmingham, who is the king of Darwin, battle bad guys in the South Pacific (alternate history is weird). Tune in next year for that review.

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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.

Weekly Update #204! Tajikistan, The Desert and the Blade, David SF Portree and More.

Editor's Note

I am happy to announce I am back from my Labor Day break. I didn't mean to skip posting so many days, but sometimes life just throws unexpected obstacles in your way. The important thing is I am back and looking forward to returning to my old routine.

I am doubly happy to announce that I broke our monthly page view record again. Last August we received 27,213 views, which surpassed our previous record of 26985 in April. Thanks to everyone for following the blog and welcome to all the newcomers who no doubt stumbled upon this blog because of this map. I hope you guys liked what you saw and decided to stay, because I have a lot of good content coming your way, including a new episode on Trope Talk.

And now the news...

Headline: Tajikistan Discovers New Planet and Names it After Itself

You read that title right. A couple weeks ago Boing Boing ran a story regarding how astronomers inside the nation of Tajikistan discovered a new planet between Mars and Jupiter and named it after their home country. This bizarre claim, according to the article, is believed to have been a feeble attempt by the government to boost their country's scientific reputation, although I could think of a dozen other ways to accomplish that goal that doesn't involve inventing heavenly bodies that anyone can point a telescope at confirm its nothing but bovine feces.

I mean I know people and countries boast and brag all the time. Its also not unusual for these claims to be outright lies, but claiming you discovered a new planet and even being arrogant enough to name it after yourself is a kind of lunacy that I expect from North Korea, not Tajikistan. Although Tajikistan fought a bloody civil war in the 1990s and is rife with corruption, they have actually managed to stay off the world stage. If they were trying to get some limelight then this...was a god awful way to do it.

If you are interested in other stories from the past two weeks, don't forget to check out this Egyptian mogul's plan to house refugees on Mediterranean islands.

Book of the Week: The Desert and the Blade by SM Stirling

The nod for book of the week goes to SM Stirling's newest addition to his Emberverse series: The Desert and the Blade. For those who don't know anything about this book, here is the cover description:

In his Novels of the Change, New York Times bestselling author S.M. Stirling presents “a devastated, mystical world that will appeal to fans of traditional fantasy as well as post-apocalyptic SF.”* Continuing their quest that began in The Golden Princess, two future rulers of a world without technology risk their lives seeking a fabled blade… 

Reiko, Empress of Japan, has allied herself with Princess Órlaith, heir to the High Kingdom of Montival, to find the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the Grass-Cutting Sword, a legendary treasure of an ancient dynasty that confers valor and victory to its bearer. Órlaith understands all too well the power it signifies. Her own inherited blade, the Sword of the Lady, was both a burden and a danger to her father, Rudi Mackenzie, as it failed to save the king from being assassinated.  

But the fabled sword lies deep with the Valley of Death, and the search will be far from easy. And war is building, in Montival and far beyond.

As Órlaith and Reiko encounter danger and wonder, Órlaith’s mother, Queen Matildha, believes her daughter’s alliance and quest has endangered the entire realm. There are factions both within and without Montival whose loyalty died with the king, and whispers of treachery and war grow ever louder.

And the Malevolence that underlies the enemy will bend all its forces to destroy them.

I have always enjoyed this series and looked forward seeing more stories, even from other authors, so expect a review of this one shortly. In the meantime, you can learn what author Alyx Dellamonica thought of The Desert and the Blade and read her interview with Stirling over on her site. Also The Wild Hunt posted a review and interview as well.

Honorable mention goes out to the Wild Card series, which was called by io9 one of the best works George RR Martin created that wasn't Game of Thrones.

Alternate Historian of the Week: David S.F. Portree

I'm pleased to announced that I have chosen David S.F. Portree to be the Alternate History of the Week. David is known for writing about spaceflight history. Some may remember him for his Beyond Apollo segment on WIRED, but today he writes his own blog called DSFP's Spaceflight History. If you don't follow it, you really should, as David publishes both traditional and alternate history articles regarding space exploration. One recent post I enjoyed was his Failure Was an Option: What If a Crew Became Stranded On Board the Skylab Space Station? (1972), but that is just one of many what ifs he has tackled.

Remind me to ask him what he knows about the planet Tajikistan.

Photo of the Week

Duffel Blog ran a funny article on the issues with the F-35 and it can be summed up entirely by the picture below:

So could a propeller-driven tri-plane really take down a modern jet? No, but a fun what if to consider is the possibilities of someone from the past travelling to the present or future. We are so quick to think people from the present can "fix" or "improve" the past that we never stop and think if there is anything people from the past can help us with. Just a thought for people looking for new story ideas.

Honorable mention this week goes out to Stan Mott's land-based aircraft carrier for seaplanes.

Video of the Week

This week's nod goes to Test Tube's How Much History Has ISIS Destroyed? Check it out below:

Why is this video important? To create alternate history, you need to know real history and if real history is being destroyed, our genre dies with it. I'm not sure what we can do to stop this, but maybe in our own little ways we can work to preserve what history remains from those who wish to rewrite the past.

Honorable mention goes to the gameplay trailer for Conflicks, because sometimes we need to laugh to survive all the seriousness of the real world.

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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.

New Releases 9/1/15

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

Hardcovers

The Desert and the Blade: A Novel of the Change by SM Stirling

In his Novels of the Change, New York Times bestselling author S.M. Stirling presents “a devastated, mystical world that will appeal to fans of traditional fantasy as well as post-apocalyptic SF.”* Continuing their quest that began in The Golden Princess, two future rulers of a world without technology risk their lives seeking a fabled blade…

Reiko, Empress of Japan, has allied herself with Princess Órlaith, heir to the High Kingdom of Montival, to find the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the Grass-Cutting Sword, a legendary treasure of an ancient dynasty that confers valor and victory to its bearer. Órlaith understands all too well the power it signifies. Her own inherited blade, the Sword of the Lady, was both a burden and a danger to her father, Rudi Mackenzie, as it failed to save the king from being assassinated.

But the fabled sword lies deep with the Valley of Death, and the search will be far from easy. And war is building, in Montival and far beyond.

As Órlaith and Reiko encounter danger and wonder, Órlaith’s mother, Queen Matildha, believes her daughter’s alliance and quest has endangered the entire realm. There are factions both within and without Montival whose loyalty died with the king, and whispers of treachery and war grow ever louder.

And the Malevolence that underlies the enemy will bend all its forces to destroy them.

Germanica by Robert Conroy

Best-selling alternate history master Robert Conroy returns to World War II, this time for a dangerous last stand of the Nazis in the heart of the Alps.

GERMANICA, ÜBER ALLES!

Deep in the heart of Europe's Alps in the redoubt called Germanica, Nazi propaganda master Josef Goebbels and a battalion of Nazi zealots hold out against a frantic final Allied push to end World War II. With Churchill losing his election, De Gaulle consolidating his rule over a newly liberated France, and Stalin asserting his own nefarious land-grab in Eastern Germany, only America, led by its untried new president Harry Truman, remains to face the toughest of Nazi warriors as they hunker down for a bitter fight to the last man.

Goebbels knows that if he can hold out just a bit longer, the war weary of the Western nations will back away from unconditional surrender for Germany, and he and his zealots can remain in power never to answer for their war crimes, and able to prepare for the moment when their hateful Nazi ideology is ready once again to rise from its alpine grave and strike at the heart of humanity!

But there are Americans and a few stalwart Europeans just as determined to put a final stake in the Nazi heart. It is now up to heroes in the making such as newly minted O.S.S. operative Ernie Janek, commando Captain Scott Tanner, and formerly enslaved Czech "Jew" Lena Bobek, to bring down the dark Nazi menace growing like a cancer in the mountainous heart of the continent.

Paperbacks

Chapelwood: The Borden Dispatches by Cherie Priest

From Cherie Priest, the award-winning author of Maplecroft, comes a new tale of Lizzie Borden’s continuing war against the cosmic horrors threatening humanity…

Birmingham, Alabama is infested with malevolence. Prejudice and hatred have consumed the minds and hearts of its populace. A murderer, unimaginatively named “Harry the Hacker” by the press, has been carving up citizens with a hatchet. And from the church known as Chapelwood, an unholy gospel is being spread by a sect that worships dark gods from beyond the heavens.

This darkness calls to Lizzie Borden. It is reminiscent of an evil she had dared hoped was extinguished. The parishioners of Chapelwood plan to sacrifice a young woman to summon beings never meant to share reality with humanity. An apocalypse will follow in their wake which will scorch the earth of all life.

Unless she stops it…

Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale

Perfect for fans of action-adventure and historical fiction—including novels by such authors as Bernard Cornwell, Steve Berry, Naomi Novik, and Harry Turtledove—this stunning work of alternate history imagines a world in which the Roman Empire has not fallen and the North American continent has just been discovered. In the year 1218 AD, transported by Norse longboats, a Roman legion crosses the great ocean, enters an endless wilderness, and faces a cataclysmic clash of worlds, cultures, and warriors.

Ever hungry for land and gold, the Emperor has sent Praetor Gaius Marcellinus and the 33rd Roman Legion into the newly discovered lands of North America. Marcellinus and his men expect easy victory over the native inhabitants, but on the shores of a vast river the Legion clashes with a unique civilization armed with weapons and strategies no Roman has ever imagined.

Forced to watch his vaunted force massacred by a surprisingly tenacious enemy, Marcellinus is spared by his captors and kept alive for his military knowledge. As he recovers and learns more about these proud people, he can’t help but be drawn into their society, forming an uneasy friendship with the denizens of the city-state of Cahokia. But threats—both Roman and Native—promise to assail his newfound kin, and Marcellinus will struggle to keep the peace while the rest of the continent surges toward certain conflict.

Dream Paris by Tony Ballantyne

Anna is doing her best: there are lots of other seventeen year olds who are living alone in the partially rebuilt ruins of London. She hopes that by keeping things clean and tidy and by studying hard she can keep the dreams away...But then a tall, dark stranger with eyes like a fly enters her life. He claims to know where the missing people of London have ended up. He might even know the location of Anna's missing parents. Anna can help, but to do that she will have to let go of what little normality she has managed to gather around herself and begin the journey to Dream Paris.

If Then by Matthew De Abaitua

James has a scar in the back of his head. It’s where he was wounded in the Battle of Suvla Bay in August 1915. Or is the scar the mark of his implant that allows the Process to fill his mind with its own reality?

In IF, the people of a small English town cling on after an economic collapse under the protection of the Process. But sometimes people must be evicted from the town. That’s the job of James, the bailiff. While on patrol, James discovers the replica of a soldier from the First World War wandering the South Downs. This strange meeting begins a new cycle of evictions in the town, while out on the rolling downland, the Process is methodically growing the soldiers and building the weapons required to relive a long lost battle.

In THEN, it is August 1915, at the Battle of Suvla Bay in the Dardanelles campaign. Compared to the thousands of allied soldiers landing on this foreign beach, the men of the 32nd Field Ambulance are misfits and cranks of every stripe: a Quaker pacifist, a freethinking padre, a meteorologist, and the private (once a bailiff) known simply as James. Exposed to constant shellfire and haunted by ghostly snipers, the stretcher-bearers work day and night on the long carry of wounded men. One night they stumble across an ancient necropolis, disturbed by an exploding shell. What they discover within this ancient site will make them question the reality of the war and shake their understanding of what it means to be human…

Lady of Magick by Sylvia Izzo Hunter

Sylvia Izzo Hunter brought “both rural Brittany and an alternative Regency England to vivid life”* in The Midnight Queen, her debut novel of history, magic, and myth. Now, in her new Noctis Magicae novel, Sophie and Gray Marshall are ensnared in an arcane plot that threatens to undo them both.

In her second year of studies at Merlin College, Oxford, Sophie Marshall is feeling alienated among fellow students who fail to welcome a woman to their ranks. So when her husband, Gray, is invited north as a visiting lecturer at the University in Din Edin, they leap at the chance. There, Sophie’s hunger for magical knowledge can finally be nourished. But soon, Sophie must put her newly learned skills to the test.

Sophie returns home one day to find a note from Gray—he’s been summoned urgently to London. But when he doesn’t return, and none of her spells can find a trace of him, she realizes something sinister has befallen him. With the help of her sister, Joanna, she delves into Gray’s disappearance, and soon finds herself in a web of magick and intrigue that threatens not just Gray, but the entire kingdom.

War Stories Volume 1 TP by Garth Ennis

For the first time in a decade, the original War Stories are back in print! Fully re-mastered, these stunning works have never looked so good. Featuring some of the finest war comics ever created, with scripts by Garth Ennis (Preacher, Crossed, The Boys) and art by some of the biggest names in comics. Johann's Tiger: Drawn by Chris Weston (The Filth).A German tank crew face their own damnation in the twilight of the Second World War, as old ghosts and old sins catch up with them. D-Day Dodgers: Drawn by John Higgins (Pride & Joy). British soldiers in the remote Italian campaign find themselves fighting a forgotten war, while others closer to home reap the glory. Screaming Eagles: Drawn by Dave Gibbons (Watchmen). Exhausted by years of combat, American paratroopers come to the end of the road- and are suddenly granted a strange reward. Nightingale: Drawn by David Lloyd (V for Vendetta). A Royal Navy escort ship on the nightmarish Arctic convoy run hits trouble - and only the ultimate sacrifice will earn her crew redemption.

E-Books

What Could Possibly Go Wrong by Jodi Taylor

Join Max in the sixth instalment in the off-the-wall bestselling Chronicles of St Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor.

Max is back! New husband, new job, and a training regime that cannot fail – to go wrong!

Take one interim Chief Training Officer, add five recruits, mix with Joan of Arc, a baby mammoth, a duplicitous Father of History, a bombed rat, Stone Age hunters, a couple of passing policemen who should have better things to do, and Dick the Turd.

Stir well, bring to the boil – and wait for the bang!

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.

New Releases 6/2/15

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

Hardcovers

The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth edited by SM Stirling

Now, in this startling new anthology, S. M. Stirling invites the most fertile minds in science fiction to join him in expanding his rich Emberverse canvas. Here are inventive new perspectives on the cultures, the survivors, and the battles arising across the years and across the globe following the Change.

In his all-new story “Hot Night at the Hopping Toad,” Stirling returns to his own continuing saga of the High Kingdom of Montival. In the accompanying stories are fortune seekers, voyagers, and dangers—from the ruins of Sydney to the Republic of Fargo and Northern Alberta to Venetian and Greek galleys clashing in the Mediterranean.

These new adventures revisit beloved people and places from Stirling’s fantastic universe, introduce us to new ones, and deliver endlessly fascinating challenges to conquer, all while unfolding in a “postapocalyptic landscape that illuminates both the best and the worst of which our species is capable,”** “a world you can see, feel, and touch.”

Paperbacks

The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

Throughout her studies, Ceony Twill has harbored a secret, one she’s kept from even her mentor, Emery Thane. She’s discovered how to practice forms of magic other than her own—an ability long thought impossible.

While all seems set for Ceony to complete her apprenticeship and pass her upcoming final magician’s exam, life quickly becomes complicated. To avoid favoritism, Emery sends her to another paper magician for testing, a Folder who despises Emery and cares even less for his apprentice. To make matters worse, a murderous criminal from Ceony’s past escapes imprisonment. Now she must track the power-hungry convict across England before he can take his revenge. With her life and loved ones hanging in the balance, Ceony must face a criminal who wields the one magic that she does not, and it may prove more powerful than all her skills combined.

The whimsical and captivating follow-up to The Paper Magician and The Glass Magician, The Master Magician will enchant readers of all ages.

Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson's Worlds edited by Gardner Dozois and Greg Bear

A tribute to the late great science fiction icon Poul Anderson, and a wonderful collection of stories by some of the genres top writers! Authors include Tad Williams, Terry Brooks, Greg Bear, Raymond Feist, Larry Niven, and Eric Flint.

Poul Anderson was one of the seminal figures of 20th century science fiction. Named a Grand Master by the SFWA in 1997, he produced an enormous body of stand-alone novels (Brain Wave, Tau Zero) and series fiction (Time Patrol, the Dominic Flandry books) and was equally at home in the fields of heroic fantasy and hard SF. He was a meticulous craftsman and a gifted storyteller, and the impact of his finest work continues, undiminished, to this day.

 Here is a rousing, all-original anthology that stands both as a significant achievement in its own right and a heartfelt tribute to a remarkable writerand equally remarkable man. A nicely balanced mixture of fiction and reminiscence, this volume contains thirteen stories and novellas by some of today's finest writers, along with moving reflections by, among others, Anderson's wife, Karen, his daughter, Astrid Anderson Bear, and his son-in-law, novelist and co-editor Greg Bear. (Bear's introduction, "My Friend Poul," is particularly illuminating and insightful.)

The fictional contributions comprise a kaleidoscopic array of imaginative responses to Anderson's many and varied fictional worlds. A few of the highlights include Nancy Kress's "Outmoded Things" and Terry Brooks' "The Fey of Cloudmoor," stories inspired by the Hugo Award-winning "The Queen of Air and Darkness"; a pair of truly wonderful Time Patrol stories ("A Slip in Time" by S. M. Stirling and "Christmas in Gondwanaland" by Robert Silverberg); Raymond E. Feist's Dominic Flandry adventure, "A Candle"; and a pair of very different homages to the classic fantasy novel, Three Hearts and Three Lions: "The Man Who Came Late" by Harry Turtledove and "Three Lilies and Three Leopards (And a Participation Ribbon in Science)" by Tad Williams. These stories, together with singular contributions by such significant figures as Larry Niven, Gregory Benford, and Eric Flint, add up to a memorable, highly personal anthology that lives up to the standards set by the late—and indisputably great—Poul Anderson.

The Shadow Revolution: Crown & Key by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith

A thrilling new Victorian-era urban fantasy for fans of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and the Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey, Jr.

They are the realm’s last, best defense against supernatural evil. But they’re going to need a lot more silver.

As fog descends, obscuring the gas lamps of Victorian London, werewolves prowl the shadows of back alleys. But they have infiltrated the inner circles of upper-crust society as well. Only a handful of specially gifted practitioners are equipped to battle the beasts. Among them are the roguish Simon Archer, who conceals his powers as a spell-casting scribe behind the smooth veneer of a dashing playboy; his layabout mentor, Nick Barker, who prefers a good pub to thrilling heroics; and the self-possessed alchemist Kate Anstruther, who is equally at home in a ballroom as she is on a battlefield.

After a lycanthrope targets Kate’s vulnerable younger sister, the three join forces with fierce Scottish monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane—but quickly discover they’re dealing with a threat far greater than anything they ever imagined.

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 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.