Weekly Update #76

Editor's Note

"Stay on target!"

Good point, Davish Krail. With the 2012 US presidential election coming up, its time to remind alternate historians that contemporary American politics is not alternate history. That being said, stay tuned for election themed AH. You get a taste this week with a new showcase by Korsgaard and then next week you get even more showcases and reviews of political AH.

Hey, follow my writing blog. Why? I will be making an important announcement soon that will effect my writing career and Weekly Update. Stay tuned.

Got our first reader from Afghanistan. Welcome! I hope you and all our readers enjoy today's Weekly Update. It is chocked full of news from television, film and video games. Along with our political teaser on Wednesday, we got two reviews coming up as well.

And now the news...

Alternate History of the Cuban Missile Crisis

To remind us all how we did not perish in nuclear fireballs, the good folks at the JFK Library released a documentary last week portraying a grim alternate history of the Cuban missile crisis called Clouds Over Cuba. Melissa M. Werthmann at The Boston Globe says the film uses real actors to show what could have happened if the "Cuban War" was a reality. She calls it a "grim alternate history" that (spoiler alert) forces the US to carry out an "all-out retaliation that leaves its adversary in ruins."

If you want more info about nuclear war, check out this podcast which discusses the plausibility of a nuclear winter. Thanks to Brian W. Daugherty for informing me about this documentary and podcast. Check out his review of The Mirage by Matt Ruff and his showcase on Protect and Survive, an online timeline about nuclear war in the 1980s. If you like his style, let him know and maybe he will submit news articles for Weekly Update.

Coming Soon: Pressure

Those looking for a fun new steampunk game to play should check out the trailer for the new arcade racer, Pressure:

TopWare Interactive announced it will publish developer Chasing Carrots' Pressure. The game offers a mix of shooting and top-down racing in a steampunk setting. Players take control of a buggy that runs on steam power to speed through the levels of Pressure's cartoonish world. The top-down view gives players full vantage of the race track, enemies, giant bosses, and vile tire-busting traps. A shop and upgrade system allows players to upgrade their buggy in between races.

Here is the story: The sinister Earl of Wellness is attempting to expand his exploitative empire of wellness spas, and must be stopped. The hero awakes to find the usually cool waters lake where he takes his morning bath completely dry and filled with cruel machines. The sinister Earl has drained the lake to be the site of his new Wellness Spa Temple. Thwarting his sinister plans and returning the valuable water to the citizens of the world is the main objective of the game... as well as destroying his countless, caltrop-laying minions.

The download’s due out next month for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

More on Dishonored

Got some more reviews of Dishonored for you to read. Falcata Times said the game was "[d]efinitely a magical experience and for me it’s going to be one of my games of the year" while Marcus Anderson at the Battle Creek Enquirer said it "is an exciting and innovative stealth game." Jason Trikamji at Sabotage Times finishes our trio of reviews with the line "[q]uite simply Dishonored is an amazing game, atmospheric, enjoyable and varied."

Of course not everyone might be pleased with what they discover about themselves while playing Dihonored. Check out 5 Awful Things You Learn About Yourself Playing 'Dishonored' by Robert Brockway at Cracked.

Will I play it? Personally I enjoy games where I got to cause as much destruction as possible. Having to be stealthy all the time is not why I play video games. But who knows? I might give it a shot.

Tai Chi Zero reviews

Early reviews of Tai Chi Zero skewered the kung fu, steampunk film. Genre reviewers, however, have found things to like about this action comedy. Annalee Newitz at io9 said "whether you're a kung fu fiend or a complete amateur, you'll find something to love in this tale of kung fu traditions vs. Western technology." Chris Sawin at Examiner.com said Tai Chi Zero "is never boring though as it constantly keeps you engaged with its over the top humor and spectacular action sequence." Finally Jef (with one F) at the Houston Press said "[i]t's one of the strangest films I've ever seen, but Tai Chi Zero is also without a doubt one of the absolute best."

I tried to get tickets for a showing of the film in Chicago, but sadly that did not work out. I guess I will have to pay for it.

Revolution? Of course, it got a full season remember?

Revolution had a moderate rise in ratings after Episode 5, but the critics aren't reflecting it. TJ Johnson at The Cool Ship called some of the bad decisions of the characters as "senseless". He criticizes the main character Charlie as being too trusting and asks why the fat character is still fat after 15 years without modern technology.

Cracked put it best however with The 10 Dumbest Things on TV So Far This Season by Christina H. Spoiler Alert: 9 out of 10 are about Revolution.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Roads Not Taken: An alternate history of the 2012 Chicago White Sox by 67WMAQ at South Side Sox.

Books

Alternate viewpoint Friday: Harry Turtledove does WWII and Tarzan's mate speaks by Kel Munger at Newsreview.com

Fire on the Mountain: Alternate history with a political flavor at Fantasy Literature.

First Professional Short Fiction Sale (“The Maltese Crux” to Eric Flint’s Grantville Gazette Issue 44) by Alistair Kimble at The Journey of Life and Writing.

My nightmare of a Nazi Britain by CJ Sansom at Guardian.

Review of Alt Hist Issue 4 at SFcrowsnest.

Comics

COMIC REVIEW: Atomic Robo and The Flying She-Devils of the Pacific #3 done by Leo Johnson at Geek Syndicate.

Free Graphic Novel: High Society Brings Steampunk With a Philippine Twist by Natania Barron at Wired.

Preview: Before Watchmen: Minutemen #4 at CBR.

Saturday Webcomic: The Not-Quite Historical Adventures of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage by Lauren Davis at io9.

Games

American history unfolds in 'Assassin's Creed 3' by Larry Frum at CNN Tech.

Deepworld Offers Steampunk Crafting MMO On Mac by  Ryan Winslett at Gaming Blend.

For The Casual Gamer: The Tiny Bang Story by Brad at The Droid Guy.

Run’n'Gun Down Communists On Venus In “Venusian Vengeance” at Wraithkal's Indie Gaming Corner.

Interviews

Doctor Q at Steamed!

Television

Review of Elementary at Alternate History Fiction.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is a long-time fan of alternate history, founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Masquerade Crew. 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 (@MattMitrovich).

Weekly Update #70.2

Editor's Note

Grab your goggles and fire up that boiler. Time for the steampunk edition of Weekly Update.

Clockwork Angels by Kevin J. Anderson

So I am sure we have all heard about the literary team-up between author Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart of Rush. Anderson's new novel Clockwork Angels is based off Rush's new album with the same name, inspired by the story and lyrics of the album and expanding it into a full-length story. Here is the description from Amazon:

A remarkable collaboration that is unprecedented in its scope and realization, this exquisitely wrought novel represents an artistic project between the bestselling science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson and the multiplatinum rock band Rush. The newest album by Rush, Clockwork Angels, sets forth a story in Neil Peart’s lyrics that has been expanded by him and Anderson into this epic novel. In a young man’s quest to follow his dreams, he is caught between the grandiose forces of order and chaos. He travels across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy with lost cities, pirates, anarchists, exotic carnivals, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life. The mind-bending story is complemented with rich paintings by the five-time Juno Award winner for Best Album Design, Hugh Syme.

Wait, there's more! Anderson actually wrote a guest post on John Scalzi's blog describing the novel and it turns out he is a bigger Rush fan then I realized. You can learn even more about the novel during an interview Anderson did over at io9 where he discusses his love of Rush, collaborations, steampunk and dystopias.

Tai Chi 0 reviews

The first reviews of the steampunk, martial arts film Tai Chi Zero (check out the full trailer here) are in and they are not good. Film Business Asia said Tai Chi Zero "is poorly directed, weakly written and iffily cast, and tries way too hard to be different and cheeky, overloading the viewer with visual information while ignoring basic elements like structure, storyline and character development." Ouch. The Hollywood Reporter was only marginally better when they said "[h]ardcore teenage fantasy fans and video-gamers may find director Stephen Fung’s brand of irreverent comedy irresistible, but viewers past the youngest demographics will tune out to the threadbare comic book-style story and childish characters, though not without a few amazed laughs at the inventive audacity of the project."

O well. Interesting concept, but I guess it fails in execution.

Clockwork Empires

Gaslamp Games, Inc. have announced their upcoming new game, Clockwork Empires. A steampunk themed city-building game, Clockwork Empires begins with you building a colony for your steampunk empire and defending it from malevolent entities from "Beyond the Stars" (that damn squid god!). Here is the premise:

It's sad times in the Empire. The Queen is locked up - for her own good or her Prime Minister's is impossible to say - and the Church of the Holy Cog prophesies ruin as it prays for the salvation of the Empire. However there are options; the Colonies offer riches and fame, for those bold enough to emigrate.

The game will feature many tropes from the genre including street urchins, aristocrats, zeppelins and mad scientists. Unlike our own imperial age "here, there be dragons" should be taken literarly and you never know what those pesky scientists are doing behind closed doors (is that chanting I hear?).

It has been a while since I played a city-sim like this, but I might have to pick up a copy when it comes out.

Things to do

Today until Sept 23: See a steampunk version of "Wizard of Oz" in Glendale, AZ.

Sept 15-16: Steampunk Weekend of the Old West Festival in Ohio.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Egyptian Influences in Victoriana and Steampunk by Maeve Alpin at Steamed!

The Literary Steampunk: A Market Defined by Karina Cooper at Steamed!

Mars Rover Curiosity is a Steampunk Creation by Ian O'Neill at Astro Engine.

Nautical Steampunk by Maeve Alpin at Steamed!

What's steampunk? by Julia Eccleshare at The Guardian.

Books

'Dark Unwinding' and the promise of secret passages by Diane Petryk Bloom at Examiner.com.

Fiction Review: That Darn Squid God by Nick Polotta and James Clay done by Leanne Tough at Steampunk Magazine.

Non-Fiction review: The Art of Steampunk by Art Donovan done by Leanne Tough at Steampunk Magazine.

Review: 'The Iron Wyrm Affair' by Lilith Saintcrow done by Jessie Potts at Happy Ever After.

Review of Vampire Empire 3: The Kingmakers by Clay and Susan Griffith done by Falcata Times.

Games

Herocraft's Steampunk inspired game The Tiny Bang Story drops Sony exclusivity by Mystery Manor.

Watch the Origins of Dishonored's Dark Steampunk World in this New Trailer by Dave Thier at Forbes.

Music

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing release new single today by Jack at Alt Sounds.

* * *

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.

Weekly Update #68

Editor's Note

Take a moment and vote in our new poll. I am trying to find out just how our fans get updates from this blog. Select all that apply for you and thanks a lot for participating. With this information I hope to be more effective in how I promote the blog. One last thing, if you do pick "Other" please be a dear and send me a message/comment about what the other really is.

Got some good stuff coming up this week. I review All Timelines Lead to Rome by Dale Cozort and I will have guest posts by Chris Nuttall and Sean Korsgaard. I might even have some interviews in the work as well. Finally, would Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn make good detectives? Tune in tomorrow afternoon to find out the answer.

Not much to say this week, just trying my best to stay sane in an insane world.

And now the news...

Author Updates: Sebastian Breit and Chris Nuttall

Got some news on two friends of the blog. First, Sebastian Breit has been busy writing the sequel to Wolf Hunt. He has posted a snippet of Clash of Eagles on The War Blog for you to check out. He has even released a map for the Second Battle of Danzig which will be featured in Clash. You can see it here to the right of this article.

Next we have Chris Nuttall, who has released some information for one of his historical fantasy universes: The Words of Power. You can check out the background and a snippet from the first story on his writing blog. Enjoy and in the meantime look forward to an interview with Chris which should be posted before his new novel is published by Elsewhen Press.

Reviews Needed

Want to write reviews on historical fiction (and maybe the occasional alternate history)? Two major websites are seeking reviewers. Alt Hist is looking for reviews to be posted on their website. Reviewers won't get paid, but they will receive free copies of Alt Hist. Meanwhile, the Historical Novel Society is looking for a new UK reviews editor. Think you can handle managing a team of reviews and communicating with a publisher's publicity department? I have no idea, I don't even know who the hell you are faceless reader!

Tai Chi 0 trailer

Want to see the official US trailer for the steampunk martial arts film Tai Chi 0. Here is you chance:

The film will be in US theater this Oct, so stay tuned.

Links to the Mutliverse

Articles

The Fantastic in the Fine Arts: Steampunk! by Jen at Fantasy Matters.

'What if' game is a cheap trick by Geoffrey Alderman at The JC.com.

Books

Book Review: An Account of a Voyage from World to World Again, by Way of the Moon, 1726, by Adam Roberts done by Ian Shone at Alt Hist.

BOOK REVIEW: Anno Dracula – The Bloody Red Baron done by montoc1701 at Geek Syndicate.

Book Review – Automatic Woman by Nathan Yocum done by nerdygnome at Thea's Quiet Reading Corner.

Book Review: The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis (2012) done by Matt Heckler at Android Dreamer.

Bringing Back the Serial Thriller With Balance of Powers by Michael Andersen at Wired.

‘Cuttlefish’ a ripping good adventure tale by Mark Lardas at The Daily News.

Edi's Spotlight: Alt Hist Issue 4 edited by Mark Lord at Edi's Book Lighthouse.

For Kids: Steampunk series comes to an end by Bernie Goedhart at The Montreal Gazette.

Jim Butcher to Write Steampunk Book Series! by Breki Tomasson at CSICON.

Review of The Impeachment Of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen L. Carter done by Phil Dyess-Nugent at AV Club.

Steampunk’s Place in YA’s Future by Suzanne Lazear at Steamed!

Thoughts on ‘Cold Magic’ at I Could Be Arguing In My Spare Time.

Games

'Darksiders II' videogame review: Or, 'Legend of Zelda' for death metal steampunk fetishists by Darren Franich at EW.com.

[Gaming 101] Games to Start With Part 4: Alternate History and Pulp by pointyman2000 at Life and Times of a Philippine Games.

Oops, I Broke Dishonored by Nathan Grayson at Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

Interviews

50 Days Of DragonCon 2012 (Day 32) – Doctor Q: Alternate History at Unique Geek.

The SF Signal Podcast (Episode 144): Interview with SciFi Thriller Author Jeremy Robinson at SF Signal.

Television

The Dirigible Days Mini-Web Series by Mike at TheForce.Net.

* * *

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.