Weekly Update #217: The All-Consuming Fire and more.

Editor's Note

I know I said I would explain some of the changes I would be making to The Update and my other alternate history projects on Friday, but then I realized something very important: telling you all of it would be boring. So instead of explaining what I am going to do, I am just going to do it. The return of Flag Friday was the start of said changes. Next week I will be giving you another reason to support me on Patreon, which is something I should have done a long time ago.

As of now, I would like to introduce a new schedule, which I will do my best to follow:

• Monday: Weekly Update/Map Monday
• Tuesday: New Releases (and I will post something over at Amazing Stories)
• Wednesday: Video on The Alternate Historian YouTube channel
• Thursday: Guest post OR Interview (this may at times switch with Wednesday)
• Friday: Flag Friday

Still dealing with a cold (or something worse) so no videos anytime soon. I did just read George RR Martin's Doorways and I was thinking of doing a video review on it, but we will see since I also found a recording of the pilot that the comic is based on, so I may just watch and review that instead. In the meantime, any recommendations for how to get rid of a persistent cough will be welcome.

And now the news...

Sherlock teams up with The Doctor in the ALL-CONSUMING FIRE

In 1994, Andy Lane published the novel All-Consuming Fire. It featured the Seventh Doctor from Doctor Who teaming up with Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to battle mosters from HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Damn! How the hell did I miss this fictional mashup? According to Wikipedia, it even has a reference to Charles Beauregard of Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series, thus tying the novel into a well-known alternate history series.

Of course if you ask someone in the present what they would think of a Doctor Who/Sherlock crossover, they would think of the new Doctor Who series and Sherlock, the modern-day retelling of the famous detective, both of which are produced by Steven Moffat. A lot of fanboys and fangirls have dreamed of such a crossover, but no one seems interested in creating it. I personally would love to see a non-canon special. It doesn't even have to be a full episode. Just create a YouTube short for charity or something and I promise you people would throw money at it.

Nevertheless, someone thought that they could tap into the demand that the Doctor team up with Sherlock and thus we now have a radio play that has adapted the story from an All-Consuming Fire. Here is the description from Big Finish:

The Library of St. John the Beheaded contains the most dangerous books in all creation so when some of them are stolen who else should the Vatican call but Sherlock Holmes?

Immediately, one of the possible suspects seems more suspicious than others. He has no traceable background, refuses to give straight answers and hides behind a pseudonym. However, Holmes and his loyal friend Watson soon realise this suspect is also their greatest hope: war is brewing and an Old God is rising, to save humanity they need The Doctor as much as he needs them.

The play actually features Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred reprising their roles as The Doctor and his companion, Ace, respectively. Meanwhile we have another Doctor Who alum, Nicholas Briggs (who is the voice of the Daleks), take on the role of Sherlock. Although I haven't listened to it yet, I am extremely interested in seeing two titans of British fiction take on the monsters from one of America's masters of horror. Although we can probably guess the ending, I just hope the journey makes it worthwhile.

You should also check out...

• This space station built to fight the Soviets (via Slate).
• Robert Whitaker of History Respawned talking about how he uses video games to teach history (via American Historical Association).
• Dissecting Worlds' new episode on droids and replicants (happy belated b-day Roy Batty).
• This short history of Martians (also via Slate).
• This fantasy draft casting of BBC's upcoming adaptation of His Dark Materials (via Audiences Everywhere).
• How the Oregon siege would have been reported if it happened in another country (via...Slate again? Seriously, what is with all the weird history?).

* * *

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.

Videos for Alternate Historians #10

Sorry for the late post guys, but I think you are going to enjoy these videos I found. First up, Cody Franklin of the Alternate History Hub is going to be posting two videos a week for the foreseeable future. This week we have Part 2 of "50 States 50 Scenarios":

Followed by "What if Australia Was Never Colonized?":

We finish this week in videos with a look at the first clip from Mr. Holmes, directed by Bill Condon and starring the great Ian McKellen as the titular character:

I am actually looking forward to this film. Since the film focuses on Holmes after he retired and involves an older actor, I think we will see more of Holmes' mind at work and less of the action found in television and recent films. What do you think?

* * *

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 6/10/14

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

Hardcovers

California Bones by Greg van Eekhout

When Daniel Blackland was six, he ingested his first bone fragment, a bit of kraken spine plucked out of the sand during a visit with his demanding, brilliant, and powerful magician father, Sebastian.

When Daniel was twelve, he watched Sebastian die at the hands of the Hierarch of Southern California, devoured for the heightened magic layered deep within his bones.

Now, years later, Daniel is a petty thief with a forged identity. Hiding amid the crowds in Los Angeles—the capital of the Kingdom of Southern California—Daniel is trying to go straight. But his crime-boss uncle has a heist he wants Daniel to perform: break into the Hierarch's storehouse of magical artifacts and retrieve Sebastian's sword, an object of untold power.

For this dangerous mission, Daniel will need a team he can rely on, so he brings in his closest friends from his years in the criminal world. There's Moth, who can take a bullet and heal in mere minutes. Jo Alverado, illusionist. The multitalented Cassandra, Daniel’s ex. And, new to them all, the enigmatic, knowledgeable Emma, with her British accent and her own grudge against the powers-that-be. The stakes are high, and the stage is set for a showdown that might just break the magic that protects a long-corrupt regime.

Extravagant and yet moving, Greg van Eekhout's California Bones is an epic adventure set in a city of canals and secrets and casual brutality--different from the world we know, yet familiar and true.

Paperbacks

Flashing Steel, Flashing Fire: A Short Story Collection by Matthew Quinn

The vivid imagination of Matthew W. Quinn has carried him far from our mundane world to places of mystery, wonder, and terror. Now is your chance to join him on ten adventures ranging from Dark Age Denmark to a world where North America and Europe face off against the Indian Ocean in a Cold War to the forgotten and frightening corners of our own present day...

COIL GUN-On the opening night of the Third World War, an American spaceport official plays off against an Afrikaner intelligence officer with the fate of the world in the balance. Previously published in PRESSURE SUITE: DIGITAL SCIENCE FICTION #3.

LORD GIOVANNI'S DAUGHTER-A scholar and adventurer must rescue his employer's daughter from the fierce Talassos, prince of the serpentine Naga.

NICOR-A teenage Dane on his first Viking raid encounters something fiercer than the Anglish. Previously published in HEROIC FANTASY QUARTERLY.

MELON HEADS-A pair of young lovers in Ohio discover what they thought an urban legend is very, very real...

PICKING UP PLANS IN PALMA-An American spy infiltrates the brutal Afrikaner Confederation to retrieve vital plans, not knowing the terrible fate awaiting him...

ILLEGAL ALIEN-A group of undocumented migrants seeking the American dream encounter aliens of a different sort...

THE BEAST OF THE BOSPORUS-After the destruction of the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto, Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha seeks power of a different sort, power that puts him at the mercy of powers beyond human comprehension.

I AM THE WENDIGO-Many tales have been told about the wendigo, the man-eating fiend of the northern woods, but when has the wendigo ever spoken for himself? Previously published in CHIMAERA SERIALS.

LORD OF THE DOLOROUS TOWER-In a world wracked once by a celestial impact and then again by a fierce Dark Lord, two adventurous teens go treasure-hunting in the Dark Lord's tomb...

WESTERNMOST THRONE-On the eve of the U.S. Presidential Election, a campaign receptionist finds out her boss is much more than he says he is...

Sherlock Holmes - Gods of War by James Lovegrove

1913. The clouds of war are gathering. The world's great empires vie for supremacy. Europe is in turmoil, a powder keg awaiting a spark. A body is discovered on the shore below Beachy Head, just a mile from Sherlock Holmes's retirement cottage. The local police are satisfied that it's a suicide. The victim, a young man, recently suffered a disappointment in love, and Beachy Head is notorious as a place where the desperate and depressed leap to their deaths. Holmes, however, suspects murder. As he and Watson investigate, they uncover a conspiracy with shocking ramifications.

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.

Review: Sherlock Series 3, Episode 1: The Empty Hearse

I never really started enjoying the Sherlock Holmes universe until I watched BBC's Sherlock. Although I read a couple of the short stories myself, it wasn't until I saw the modern day retelling that I finally began to seek out more Sherlock to consume. I read Doyle's entire body of work on Sherlock and sought out old movies featuring the detective (Peter Cushing is currently my favorite actor to portray him).

So why am I reviewing the most recent episode to premier in America here? Sherlock might not exactly be alternate history, but it features several tropes that make it appealing to alternate historians. The character of Sherlock Holmes lends itself to alternate fictional histories and steampunk stories like Anno Dracula and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, while the modern retelling of the famous detective implies a very different career for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at the very least. Even fans of the genre have been drawn to him, even when others speculate on whether he is really a him.

The show itself is amazing and really highlights Steven Moffatt's skill as a writer. The gritty realism combined with the efficient use of modern technology in the show and the film like quality of the episodes (each series has three episodes usually an hour and a half long) makes for gripping television. So as you can probably guess I was eagerly awaiting the premier of Series 3.

Titled "The Empty Hearse", the show begins with Sherlock returning home to Britain after spending the last two years dismantling Moriarty's criminal network. Although we saw Sherlock fall to his death at the end of Series 2, we also inexplicably saw him watching John Watson mourn at Sherlock's supposed grave. We quickly learn that Sherlock faked his death to protect Watson and his friends from reprisals, but now his brother, Mycroft, needs him back to uncover a terrorist threat to London.

Sherlock, however, first seeks out Watson who has moved on with his life and is on the verge of proposing to his girlfriend, Mary, when Sherlock surprises both. Now in the original stories Watson faints upon discovering Sherlock is still alive, but in this modern retelling he reacts more naturally by physical assaulting his resurrected friend...multiple times. With tensions still high between the two former friends, Sherlock works to uncover who is behind the terrorist threat and how to stop them before it is too late.  Meanwhile, Watson struggles to come to grips with his friend's return and whether or not he wants him back in his life.

To begin, it was great to see the characters again. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are still excellent playing their versions of the crime fighting duo (no...not the one with the tights) and the camaraderie between the two is very believable. I also liked how the writers trolled the fans by featuring multiple theories on how Sherlock survived his fall, without actually telling them what really happened. This doesn't bother me because in the long run it is not important how Sherlock lived, but why he chose to "die". We all have to make sacrifices for the ones we love and it is important in Sherlock's character arc to see that there are people who he would give up years of his life to save.

All that being said, overall I did not enjoy this episode. The pacing was surprisingly fast compared to older episodes. Cinematography was chaotic with multiple jumps to other scenes and unnecessary slow motion. Even the plot wasn't very and seemed to borrow (or stole) from V for Vendetta. Spoiler alert: turns out the terrorists were going to blow up Parliament using a train covered in explosives on Guy Fawkes Day. Really?!?! That is the best you can do? Out of all of the books, short stories, comics, games, etc., created around Sherlock Holmes you go with an already used idea that has nothing to do with the character? Not exactly the best way to reintroduce a character we have not seen in two years.

Frankly, I was disappointed by the series premier, especially when you factor in the long wait. My wife, who also became a fan of the series through me, found it so boring she fell asleep midway through! I can only hope the remaining episodes in the season make up for such a weak premier.

* * *

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 #67

Editor's Note

I apologize too often in these editorials, so instead of giving another excuse as to why I did not post the articles I promised, I am going to ask a simple question: who the hell found this blog by searching in Google for "german soldiers having sex with allies"? What exactly were you looking for? Don't be bashful, I won't judge.

Okay, onto the (probable) schedule for this week. This afternoon Seb returns with a guest review about elves in World War II. Tuesday, I give you the new releases of last week and the Art of Steampunk. Wednesday and Thursday I have articles discussing upcoming Retro-SF, new trailers for fall shows and thoughts about getting your alternate history published in today's market. I plan to finish it off by publishing my review of The Kronos Interference.

Got our first reader from Armenia, welcome!

And now the news...

Alternate History of Sherlock Holmes

The world's greatest detective is a popular character in alternate history. I'm not talking about Batman, although he pops up from time to time in the multiverse. I'm talking about Sherlock Holmes. Besides making cameo appearances in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Anno Dracula, you can find Holmes popping up in some new publications which pit his brilliant mind against fiction's greatest villains.

First you should check recently released Sherlock Holmes: The Army of Dr. Moreau by Guy Adams. The plot revolves around a vicious murder which might be connected to the bizarre experiments of an exiled mad doctor. Recently given a good review at Fantasy Matters, Guy Adams actually sat down to talk with Fantasy Matters' Mark Schelske where he made an interesting point about Holmes' famous sidekick Watson: "Holmes could not progress without Watson--his friendship with the good doctor is the catalyst for change that he needed. Who knows what he would have become without him? They are two halves of one perfect whole." Good point, Guy. Often the hero eclipses the role the supporting characters play and there are a fair few mysteries Holmes would have failed to decipher without the help of the good doctor.

Want more fictional villains for Holmes and Watson to face off against? How about Count Dracula and Cthulu? Cindy Spencer Pape reviewed Christian Klaver dark, gaslight fantasies The Supernatural Casefiles of Sherlock Holmes. Pape praised both of Klaver's novels and said "[he] is definitely an upcoming author to watch."

If there are any other fictional mash-ups out there where Holmes appears in, please let us know in the comment section.

Update: Tyler Bugg

Friend of the blog Tyler Bugg (see his article on how Canada is portrayed in alternate history) informed me that the cover and date of publication of Substitution Cipher has been revealed.  To be published by Candlemark & Gleam on December 18 (easy date for me to remember, it is my wedding anniversary), the anthology will feature stories of espionage set in alternate worlds and includes Tyler's short story “From Enigma to Paradox”. Tyler was kind enough to secure me a review copy of the anthology, so expect a review likely by the start of 2013, because I plan to take a vacation from the blog in the end of December. I also hope to interview Tyler before the publication of his story, so stay tuned for that as well.

World Fantasy Award Finalists Announced

The finalists for the World Fantasy Award have been announced and there are several works of alternate history and steampunk represented. The best novel category included 11/22/63 by Stephen King and Osama by Lavie Tidhar. "Rose Street Attractors" by Lucius Shepard, featured in Ghosts by Gaslight also got a nomination for the best novella. Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, well-known editors in the steampunk genre, also got several nominations in different categories. Congrats to all of the finalists and we look forward to hearing about the winner at the World Fantasy Convention in Toronto from Nov 1-4.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Eiffel Tower in London? by Jordan Harbour at Twilight Histories.

The Great ‘What If’. What if Edward Bruce had succeeded in Ireland? by Arthur Russell at English Historical Fiction Writers.

Is It Finally Time to Let the South Secede? by Joshua Holland at AlterNet.

STEAMFUNK MAD SCIENTISTS & MECHANICS: Black Inventors of the Steam Age! at Chronicles of Harriet.

Books

Alternate History Serial “Balance of Powers” Launches by Brandie Minchew at ARGNet.

Book Review - Castro's Bomb by Robert Conroy done by Blaine Pardoe at Notes From The Bunker.

Flying High with Wild Cards by George R.R. Martin at Not A Blog.

Review of Anno Dracula by Kim Newman done by Kari at the Harvard Book Store.

Review: The secrets of The Other Log of Phileas Fogg by CB Droege by TG Daily.

Games

Dishonored steampunk clip is flexible combat

 by Trent Nouveau at TG Daily.

Guns of Icarus Online - Steampunk Takes To The Skies by Adam Rosenberg at G4.

Media

30 Coolest Alternative Book Covers at Short List.

The Art Of The Passive-Aggressive Redesign by Russell Brandom at Buzz Feed.

Mythological beasts, drawn in the style of old biology textbooks by Cyriaque Lamar at io9.

Music

"Iron Sky" Trailer Music That Isn't In The Movie... by Matthew Quinn at The World According to Quinn.

Podcasts

Imperial Trouble Episode 86: Doctor Q.

The SF Signal Podcast (Episode 141): Cherie Priest, Jay Lake, Gail Carriger, Paul Di Fillipo, Phillipa Ballantine and Tee Morris Talk Steampunk.

* * *

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