Weekly Update #89

Editor's Note

So I am moving "New Releases" back to its own post. You will see the list of the newest alternate histories stories tomorrow in its own post once again. I felt like the titles were not getting enough attention being shoved in with all of the news stories. As always, feedback is appreciated.

Welcome to our newest reader from Aruba. As I look out over the frozen pond near my house I have the urge to pack up and leave for your home. As it is, I am stuck in frozen Chicago. O well, hopefully I can warm myself up by reading some of the great content I have coming up this week along with my last alternate history post at Amazing Stories (well for the time being at least). Next month I am going to be writing on SF detectives. I hope you all enjoy it as I need a change of pace in my reading.

And now the news...

Bioshock Infinite News

In my quest to bring more video game content to this blog, here is some important announcements for Bioshock Infinite. This is the third game in the Bioshock series. It is set in 1912 during the era of American Exceptionalism. The game's protagonist, former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, is sent to the floating air-city of Columbia to find a young woman, Elizabeth, who has been held captive there for the last twelve years. Though Booker rescues Elizabeth, the two are pursued by the city's warring factions; the nativist and elite Founders that strive to keep the city for pure Americans, and the Vox Populi, a rebel grouping representing the common people. Booker finds Elizabeth to be central to this conflict, and that she also holds strange powers to manipulate rifts in the time-space continuum that ravage Columbia.

Now I know I said I would provide more content on games, but let's face facts: this is literary blog. So for people who like books and games you can check out BioShock Infinite: Mind in Revolt the prequel ebook coming on February 12th. This 30-page e-book provides a back story to the flying city of Columbia and a better understanding of the fued between the Founders and Vox Populi. However, don't completely overlook the game just because it is not a book. A lot went into writing the game including the revamped morality system. Check out the interview with Drew Holmes and find out how Bioshock Infinite was written.

The Tyranny of King Washington Releases on Feb 19th

The official release date for Assassins Creed 3 alternate history DLC, The Tyranny of King Washington, has been announced. On Feb 19, 2013, players can download episode 1, titled "The Infamy". The main character Connor will find himself in an alternate universe where George Washington became a tyrannical monarch of the young United States. Although I can only guess what the plot will be for the next two episodes, I assume it will involve you as the player working to overthrow the evil dictator and reestablish the republic.

Update: The Aylesford Skull by James P. Blaylock

Last week I talked about steampunk legend James P. Blaylock is returning to the universe of Langdon St. Ives for the first time in 20 years. Well I got some more info about the book and the author. Falcata Times wrote a review of the novel saying "the twists will more than satisfy and if you love Steampunk its going to more than hit the spot, but when you get a writing style that is hard to follow until you get used to the way the authors prose comes across, it’s going to be a story that is going to take some time to get behind."

Not exactly a five star review. The Times almost seem to be suggesting this book should not be the first steampunk work you dip into. Still hardcore steampunk fans should enjoy the novel. If you want more information about Ives, Blaylock and his writing you can read the interviews he did at Fantasy Matters and My Bookish Ways.

Paradox News

Some more news from the leader in grand-strategy games. Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio have announced that Crusader Kings II is now available for Linux. It is the first ever game from Paradox to be launched on the platform and they plan to bring other titles to Linux in the future. Crusader Kings II for Linux is currently available on Steam. Check out the trailer below:

Meanwhile, Paradox has released a new update to War of the Roses which adds new armor and weapons to the game, designed in the style of Scottish mercenaries from the middle ages. The “Gallowglass Mercenary Pack” can be downloaded as a free content update.

Covered in mail and ready to cut down Englishmen for cold hard coin, the Scottish Gallowglass mercenaries brought brute force and fighting spirit to the battlefields like none could. Now is your chance to become one of them, with the Gallowglass mercenary gear pack, which includes the Gallowglass mail armor and helmet. Two new axes are also available to wield, along with the deadly Halflang Sword, ready and able to slay any Englishman in its path.

The Gallowglass Mercenary Pack joins several other free additions that Paradox has released for War of the Roses since its debut in October 2012. Over the cruel winter months, players have gained access to new snow-covered maps, experienced the unforgiving “Pitched Battle” mode, and steadily gained more weapons, armor, and customization options. These additions and more are showcased in a new trailer for War of the Roses:

Call for Submissions

Two new publications have come to my attention last week, each with multiple upcoming anthologies. First we have Gray Haven Comics which is looking for new artists and writers. As I said they have multiple projects but alternate historians should be interested in the Alternate History and Steampunk volumes.

Next we have Metahuman Press which has numerous anthologies ranging from alien encounters to pulp heroes. Seriously if you can't find something you are looking for with those two presses you are not trying hard enough.

Need some advice? Tor has a list of writing tips from their top authors including Cherie Priest (who was recently interviewed at Tor as well).

Links to Multiverse

Articles

3 Things Kim Harrison's Looking Forward to in 2013 by Jeremy Cesarec at Barnes & Noble.

6 Alternate Album Covers You Won't Believe Almost Happened by Evan V. Symon and Kier Harris at Cracked.

The Alternate Histories of the Norman Conquest, Part 1  and Part 2 by Rosanne E. Lortz at English Historical Fiction Authors.

Auto Polo: The Most Steampunk Sport That Isn't Steampunk by Austin Sirkin at Steampunk R&D.

Counterfactual History: Asking Your Students to Consider "What If?" at Brian Rock at HubPages.

Jules Verne, From The Earth To The Moon, and Space Opera by J Jay Jones at Amazing Stories.

More Famous Historical and Cultural Figures Who Could Become Monster Hunters by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.

My hero: George Orwell by Margaret Atwood at The Guardian.

Steampunk Hits the Mainstream! (Again) by Ay-leen the Peacemaker at Tor.

Steampunk Is More Accurately Vernian, Not Victorian! by Veronique Chevalier at Steampunk R&D.

Time Travel Defined: A device for repairing a poorly thought out plot. Usually. by Michael Webb at Amazing Stories.

Vanished Kingdoms – Roseneau by Oldcat at Kilobooks.

Book Reviews

Dominion by CJ Sansom at Existential Ennui.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson at Publishers Weekly.

Osama by Lavie Tidhar at Geek Syndicate.

Interviews

Kevin J. Anderson at Amazing Stories.

Hour 25 clips with Harry Harrison, Anne McCaffrey, Robert A. Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Ben Bova, Frederik Pohl, Fritz Leiber. August 17, 1984.

Podcasts

The Ratchet Retrocast Episode 1 – Our First Leap into a Wretched Hive of Scum & Villainy at Earth Station One.

Television

NBC Orders “The Sixth Gun” Pilot by Leo Johnson at Geek Syndicate.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. 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 #84

Editor's Note

I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss my personal definition of alternate history and the definition I use for this blog and the social media sites I run. Now I will go into my personal definition of alternate history when Amazing Stories goes live (they have been letting me play with new website, it looks nice), but the definition I use when presenting news and reviews to you is what is causing me problems.

I talked about it during my guest appearance on Dissecting Worlds and the guys have alluded to it in later episodes. Essentially I consider alternate history, from the point of view of this blog, to be any speculative fiction that requires an appreciation of history to fully enjoy. That is why I feature steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel, parallel universes and other genres, even if actual allo-historical content is minimal. I do this because there are a lot of great things in this world and we alternate historians should not be narrow minded. I see it as this blog's mission to help spread awareness about books, films, television shows, games, etc. that we as alternate historians can enjoy.

With that mind, if you don't like the way I run my blog, then you don't have to read it. Just don't be like the guy who left this message on the "Alternate History" Facebook page. If you want to leave, fine. Just don't be a troll and post a passive aggressive message before leaving. I still appreciate feedback, but I assume people who give constructive criticism are going to stay and see what happens.

By the way, this is my first week at my new job so once again I request that you be patient as I get used to my new routine. As I said before I am taking a lot of time off in December so it will next month where we find out if I can balance my new jobs and the Update.

And now the news...

New Trailers

Two trailers you guys might be interested in. First the trailer for Assassin's Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington DLC:

I have talked about this DLC before and the plausibility of Washington as king, yet I have to admit the "evil" Washington and his guards do look cool. It will be interesting to see what the storyline is behind this alternate history and what events caused America's first president to go bad.

And then we have After Earth:

This is first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s SF adventure. Here is the synopsis from SciFiNow:

One thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind’s new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son, Kitai (Jaden Smith). When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai’s craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.

I talked about this film last July, so if you are wondering why I am showing this trailer on the Update, go click the link.

Submissions Wanted

More chances to get published and more writing tips for those aspiring authors out there.

First up are the opportunities to get published. Here is a better link for the Horrific Histories anthology I posted about last week and the submission guidelines for Wily Writers Audible Fiction. If you ever wanted to hear your work published in audio format, you might want to check these guys out.

For those authors actually looking to write an alternate history, check out Present day, alternate world, different rules by Alison Morton (author of Sample Something a Little Alternative) where she discusses the importance of research and accuracy. For more general advice read Top Ten Tips for People Thinking about Writing a Book by Guy Kawasaki and, if you already have a finished manuscript, The Five Mistakes Killing Self-Published Authors by Kristen Lamb.

Good luck!

Things to do

With a new year coming there are already a slew of conventions and events planned for 2013.

Boskone 50, NESFA's regional science fiction convention, will be held on February 15-17 in Framingham, MA. You might even see some of the people behind Amazing Stories there. Meanwhile, for those steampunk fanatics out there, we have the Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention on March 8-10 in Old Tucson, AZ and the music festival Steamstock on July 27-28 in San Francisco, CA. Check out there Kickstarter if you are interested in contributing.

This just in from LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention, rates will increase from January 1, 2013. So if you are going to see the Sidewise Awards get presented next year, make sure you bring enough cash.

New Releases

Hardcovers

The Merchant of Dreams by Anne Lyle
When Mal’s dream about a skrayling shipwreck in the Mediterranean proves reality, it sets him on a path to the beautiful, treacherous city of Venice – and a conflict of loyalties that will place him and his friends in greater danger than ever.

E-books

Black Sun Reich: The Spear of Destiny by Trey Garrison
The first novel in a new steampunk, horror, alternate history, action-adventure series set in a 1920s where the Nazis have begun their subjugation of the world using the occult, advanced science, and a holy relic with awesome powers.

Generation Null by Wendi K. Bennett
Whenever your time machine begins to smell like this, you know you are in trouble.

Substitution Cipher by Kaye Chazan
Spies can change the course of history, and and in the six thrilling stories of Substitution Cipher, they do. Check out my review of the anthology and my interview with Update contributor Tyler Bugg, whose short story "From Enigma to Paradox" appears in the anthology.

Comics

Time Samplers #1 - Escape from Jekyll Island by Thomas Gorence, David Pinckney, and Erik Koconis, with art by Nicolas Colacitti
Two musicians investigate historical conspiracy theories through psychedelic time travel. Check out my review of the comic and stay tuned for my upcoming interview with one of the creators of the comic.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate History: The final frontier by Sandwich Warrior at Live Journal.

Alternative History and Inciting Incidents by Ray Dean at Steamed!

The Birth of a New Steampunk by Austin Sirkin at Steampunk R&D.

Laika, An Alternate History by Miss Cellania at Neatorama.

The Seattle That Could Have Been: Now At MOHAI by Knute Berger at Seattle Magazine.

There’s a Little Real History in my Alternate History #4 by M. Fenn.

This pre-Internet chatroom conversation between Jim Henson, Ayn Rand, Yoko Ono and Sidney Nolan is fake. But it’s amazing by  Robert T. Gonzalez at io9.

Vanished Kingdoms – Sabaudia by Oldcat at Kilobooks.

Why Jon Stewart almost left ‘Daily Show’ by Dylan Stableford at Yahoo! News.

Art

Tetsuo wins and Gotham lies in ashes in Alternate Ending art by Lauren Davis at io9.

Why Chinese Needs Post-Apocalyptic Steam Punk (with Dinosaurs) by John at Sinosplice.

Books

Review of 1945 by Newt Gingrinch and William R Forstchen at The Indefinite Emu.

Review of Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess by Phil and Kaja Foglio at Travels Through Iest.

Review of The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris at Fantasy Book Review.

Review of The Royal Sorceress by Chris Nuttall at The World According to Quinn.

Review of Salvage and Demolition by Tim Powers at Thinking about books.

Comics

The Steampunk Gotham Comic From Sean Gordon Murphy That Wasn’t by Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool.

Games

The Best Steampunk Games (Then and Now) by Patrick Hyland at Star Pulse.

Steampunk fantasy game Edge of Twilight back in production after three year hiatus by Naren Hooson at VG 24/7.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the 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 Were-Traveler. 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.