Weekly Update #141

Editor's Note

Alright I am back!

So I learned that I might have bitten off a little more than I could chew with this double rate of posting. I am still going to do the Map Mondays, Flag Friday and Amazing Stories announcement every Tuesday; but What If Wednesday and Timeline Thursday are being downgraded to "when I can get to it". If anyone would like to take those two posts over for me, I would appreciate it.

Got some good posts coming at you this week. I wax about a world where the Soviets win the Cold War and Mark Appleton returns with another atompunk sampler. That is just a taste of what I have coming up.

And now the news...

Dramatic Audio Rights Sale for David Barnett Steampunk Trilogy

According to a press release from John Jarrold, GraphicAudio will be producing dramatic audio editions (abridged audio with a full cast, sound effects, and music) of David Barnett’s Gideon Smith steampunk trilogy, having acquired the rights from Tor US.

Claire Eddy, Senior Editor at Tor Books in New York, acquired World English Language rights deal for the books in 2011. Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl (which I reviewed at Amazing Stories) was released by Tor (and by Snowbooks in the UK) in September 2013.  The sequel, Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon, will follow in September 2014.

The only audio book I have ever listened to was the full cast reading of World War Z, although it did not have sound effects or music, it did have several great voice talents. If the Gideon Smith books can live up to that kind of quality, I will certainly check it out.

Japanese deal for Gareth L. Powell’s Ack-Ack Macaque

For our Japanese readers out there (and I know there are a few of you) Tokyo Sogensha Co., Ltd. has acquired the Japanese rights for Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L. Powell from Corinne Shioji of The English Agency (Japan) Ltd in Tokyo, representing the John Jarrold (see above) Literary Agency. The book was published in the UK and US by Solaris in 2012.

Ack-Ack Macaque has been shortlisted for the British SF Award for Best Novel, which will be announced over the Easter weekend. The sequel, Hive Monkey, was published in 2013.  A third volume will follow early in 2015.

So congrats Japan, you have some more steampunk coming your way.

Coming in June: Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer complete in one volume!

For those who enjoy fictional mash-ups, artist Dusty Higgins (Knights of the Living Dead) and writer Van Jensen (Green Lantern Corps) will be releasing the complete collection of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer through Top Shelf. You can see the 12-page preview here.

Here is the description from the press release:

This puppet may not be a real boy… but he just might be a real hero.

When bloodthirsty monsters invade Pinocchio’s hometown and kill his father Geppetto, Pinocchio discovers a new benefit to his magical nose: telling lies produces a never-ending supply of wooden stakes to combat the vampire hordes! Will Pinocchio be able to defeat these horrors, avenge his father, and save his friends?

I am not sure about this one myself. Didn't we already have a famous person slaying vampires recently?

Video

Okay we have a few videos to get through, so bear with me. First up the release trailer for Crusader Kings II: Rajas of India:

Next we see the dieselpunk inspired Captain America: The First Avenger get the Honest Trailer treatment:

If you liked that, watch Cinema Sins eviscerate the same film:

Enough superheroes, we finish with Cody Franklin who is here to talk about what if the United States "won" the Vietnam War:

Cody also has a new channel out, FilmSleuth, so go there if you want to see his most recent alternate history video of the week.

Links to the Multiverse

Books

The Clockwork Dagger (Excerpt) at Tor.
Coming Soon: The Royal Sorceress III: Necropolis by Chris Nuttall at The Chrishanger.
Creating Steampunk Worlds by Tina Christopher at Steampunk Romance.
Do You Have the Time? by Violette Malan at Black Gate.
An Exclusive Sneak Peek At Christopher Priest's Next Mind-Bending Novel by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Fatherland and the Power of Alternative History by Ibtisam Ahmed at The Boar.
Germany on Mars in 1889, in The Dream Forge at Frank Chadwick's Space: 1889.
REVIEW: The Abominable by Dan Simmons at SF Signal.
REVIEW: Age of Shiva by James Lovegrove at SF Signal.
REVIEW: Altered Pasts: Counterfactuals in History by Richard J. Evans at Times Higher Education.
REVIEW: Then Everything Changed by Jeff Greenfield at Luna Sea Notes.
REVIEW: Phileas Fogg and the War of Shadows by Josh Reynolds at Meteor House.
REVIEW: The Revolutions by Felix Gilman at NPR.
REVIEW: Three Princes by Ramona Wheeler at io9.
A Steamtrunk of Steampunk at Kindle Daily Post.
The Unmasking of Moriarty by Melissa at Today I Found Out.

Comics

Comic Book Counterfactual: What If Marvel Had Bought DC In 1984? by lightninglouie at Observation Deck.
ELEVATOR PITCH: Skies of Fire at Geek Syndicate.
Fighting Racism at Home and Abroad: PW Talks with Max Brooks at Publishers Weekly.

Counterfactual/Traditional History

10 Shocking Ways the Second World War Could Have Ended Differently by George Dvorsky at io9.
Early Design Specs Show The Space Shuttle Could Have Been Much Cooler by Ron Miller at io9.
The Four Biggest Libertarian Myths About the Civil War by James Oakes at History News Network.
It Seems More and More Certain That We Live in a Multiverse by Annalee Newitz at io9.
Putin Wouldn't Dare Take Alaska by Stephen L. Carter at Bloomberg View.
Rand Paul and the Alternate History of World War II by David Weigel at Slate.
The Ukes and Their Nukes: Why the Bomb wouldn't have helped Kiev protect Crimea from Russia by Jeffrey Lewis at Foreign Policy.

Films

Sunday Cinema: The Time Shifters (a.k.a Thrill Seekers) at SF Signal.

Games

Papers, Please, Gone Home, and more named finalists at the 11th Annual Games for Change Awards by Anthony John Agnello at Joystiq.
REVIEW: Da Vinci’s Art of War at Pocket Tactics.
Tom Sparks And The Quakes Of Ruin Coming To Mac at Inside Mac Games.

Interviews

Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine at Gail Carriger.
Jeff Norton at Sci-Fi-London.
Daniel Ottalini at SC Barrus.
Liesel Schwarz at Alison Morton's Roma Nova.
Ann VanderMeer at Paste.

Podcast

Episode 182: Steven Erikson and Ian McDonald at Notes from Coode Street.
Episode 184 – With Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris at Functional Nerds.
Introducing Rocket Talk: The Tor.com Podcast! by Justin Landon at Tor.

Short Fiction

Cover & Synopsis: LOWBALL: A WILD CARDS NOVEL Edited by George R.R. Martin and Melinda Snodgrass at SF Signal.
REVIEW: Picking Up Plans in Palma by Matthew Quinn at The M.
REVIEW: Then Will The GreatOcean Wash Deep Above by Ian Sales at Michael J. Martineck.

Television

Da Vinci's Demons 2.1: Science Fiction v Fantasy at Paul Levionson's Infinite Regress.
Da Vinci's Demons 2.2: Renaissance Radio at Paul Levionson's Infinite Regress.
Elementary: Season 2, Episode 19. The Many Mouths of Andrew Colville at Thinking about books.
Meanwhile, back in the Elementary-verse by Brad Keefauver at Sherlock Peoria.
REVIEW: The Great Martian War at Far Future Horizons.
REVIEW: To Mars and Beyond by A-Bomb at Far Future Horizons.
This Is The Moment We Kept Rewatching From Last Night's Continuum by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Weekly Update #140

Editor's Note

So I will be introducing this week five new series of ongoing posts. They are all going to be relatively short (<500 words) and will be quick bites to eat around 3 or 4 PM CST after the main course at 11 CST. Here is a brief description of all of them:

Map Monday: Essentially I am splitting off the Map Gallery segment from Weekly Update and turning into its own post. I probably will only focus on one map, but I might give some honorable mentions to maps I saw during the week before.

Amazing Stories Tuesday: Doesn't exactly fit the name scheme, as you will see, but I got a lot of hits when I promoted my last Amazing Stories article with its own post on The Update. So you will see a brief description of my work there so you can decide whether you want to check it out. I also am more willing to talk about SF in general over there than I am here.

What If Wednesday: Back on the name scheme! In these posts I will ask a common "what if" question and give my opinion about what I feel are the likely consequences. Then I will sit back and most likely watch people tear it apart. Yay!

Timeline Thursday: These will sort of be mini-Showcases where I recommend a timeline I or someone else likes and give a brief description. Not a review per se, just a "hey you might like this and here is why".

Flag Friday: Much like Map Monday, I take an alternate flag I saw last week and discuss why I liked it. Pretty simple and good way to end the week.

Now this means will be posting twice as often as I usually do. I haven't done something like that since The Update's one year anniversary in 2012. Wish me luck!

And now the news...

Out Now: The Time Traveler's Almanac edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer 

Last week The Time Traveler's Almanac edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer was released. Here is a brief synopsis in case you missed it:

The Time Traveler's Almanac is the largest and most definitive collection of time travel stories ever assembled. Gathered into one volume by intrepid chrononauts and world-renowned anthologists Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, this book compiles more than a century's worth of literary travels into the past and the future that will serve to reacquaint readers with beloved classics of the time travel genre and introduce them to thrilling contemporary innovations. 

This marvelous volume includes nearly seventy journeys through time from authors such as Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, Michael Moorcock, H. G. Wells, and Connie Willis, as well as helpful non-fiction articles original to this volume (such as Charles Yu's "Top Ten Tips For Time Travelers"). 

In fact, this book is like a time machine of its very own, covering millions of years of Earth's history from the age of the dinosaurs through to strange and fascinating futures, spanning the ages from the beginning of time to its very end. The Time Traveler's Almanac is the ultimate anthology for the time traveler in your life.

A lot of articles were also published last week to promote the collection. You can check out an interview with one of the authors in the collection, Jason Heller, and read what Ann VanderMeer thinks the power of great time travel story can do. Tor also posted a list on BuzzFeed showing the 13 reasons why time travel would be the best thing ever. I personally liked numbers 1, 4 and 12.

Don't forget, if you are thinking of buying Almanac click through the link provided above or through out Amazon banner on the top right and help support The Update!

Cover Art Revealed for Michael J. Martinez's The Enceladus Crisis

Friend of the Update Michael J. Martinez just revealed the cover for his new book The Enceladus Crisis, sequel to The Daedalus Incident. You can see it to your immediate right and read the description right below:

Two dimensions collided on the rust-red deserts of Mars—and are destined to become entangled once more in this sequel to the critically acclaimed The Daedalus Incident. 

Lieutenant Commander Shaila Jain has been given the assignment of her dreams: the first manned mission to Saturn. But there’s competition and complications when she arrives aboard the survey ship Armstrong. The Chinese are vying for control of the critical moon Titan, and the moon Enceladus may harbor secrets deep under its icy crust. And back on Earth, Project DAEDALUS now seeks to defend against other dimensional incursions. But there are other players interested in opening the door between worlds . . . and they’re getting impatient. 

For Thomas Weatherby, it’s been nineteen years since he was second lieutenant aboard HMS Daedalus. Now captain of the seventy-four-gun Fortitude, Weatherby helps destroy the French fleet at the Nile and must chase an escaped French ship from Egypt to Saturn, home of the enigmatic and increasingly unstable aliens who call themselves the Xan. Meanwhile, in Egypt, alchemist Andrew Finch has ingratiated himself with Napoleon’s forces . . . and finds the true, horrible reason why the French invaded Egypt in the first place. 

The thrilling follow-up to The Daedalus Incident, The Enceladus Crisis continues Martinez’s Daedalus series with a combination of mystery, intrigue, and high adventure spanning two amazing dimensions.

You can check out Michael's interview with the cover artist Lauren Saint Onge at his site. If you plan to pre-order The Enceladus Crisis please do so by clicking...well you know what I am going to say.

Video Gallery

Two videos this week. First up some game footage from Wolfenstein: The New Order featuring just how messed up the psychology of this alternate Third Reich can be:

We end this week with another video from Friend of The Update Cody Franklin. This time he asks what if Islam never existed?

Calendar

April 1: Deadline to submit your short story to the 2014 Historical Novel Society International Award.

April 11: Last day to fund Ray Chou's Skies of Fire Kickstarter.

April 26: The 2nd Annual Black Science Fiction and Fantasy Youth Symposium in Atlanta, GA.

April 30: Deadline to submit your entry into the Church of Dissecting Worlds competition.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Big Bang Discovery Opens Doors to the "Multiverse" by Dan Vergano at National Geographic.
Why You Should Care About The Plan To Break Up California by Robert T. Golzalez at io9.

Books

2014 Arthur C. Clarke Award Short List Announced at SF Scope.
A Bloody Mashup: A Review of Kim Newman’s “Anno Dracula” at Amazing Stories.
Chris Wooding asks ‘What Is Steampunk, Anyway?’ at SF Signal.
e-Book Cover Design Awards, February 2014 by Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer.
Pantheon Inspirations by James Lovegrove at Civilian Readers.
REVIEW: Altered Pasts: Counterfactuals in History by Richard J Evans at London Evening Standard.
Star Wars: Episode V gets the Shakespearean treatment at AV Club.
The Truth About -Punk by Leo Elijah Cristea at Fantasy Faction.
Vladimir Putin's many faces, in fiction by John Dugdale at The Guardian.
When and where are George RR Martin's Game of Thrones novels set? by Adrian McKinty at The Guardian.

Comics

REVIEW: Chronos Commandos: Dawn Patrol at SciFi Mafia.
REVIEW: Clockwork Angels #1 at Comic Bastards.

Counterfactual/Traditional History

If History Is a Guide, Crimeans’ Celebration May Be Short-Lived by Olesya Vartanyan and Ellen Barry at The New York Times.
A Massive Solar Superstorm Nearly Blasted The Earth In 2012 by George Dvorsky at io9.
The Strange History of Sci-Fi Super Fuels by Steve Weintz at Medium.
Tales of Futures Past: Soviet Science Fiction of the Cold War by Jill Scharr at Space.com.
A Tour of the Eerie Villages France Never Rebuilt After WWI by Mark Byrnes at The Atlantic.

Films

The 10 Weirdest Marvel Movies That Almost Got Made by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Does Frozen Include an Homage to Watchmen? by Forrest Wickman at Slate.
Jodorowsky's Dune Is A Monument To Divine Madness And Doomed Beauty by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Terry Gilliam on Snyder’s Watchmen: I thought Zack’s Film Worked Well by Russ Burlingame at ComicBook.com.

Games

REVIEW: Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land at Geek Syndicate.

Interviews

James S. Dorr at Three Cents Worth.
Daniel Levine at The Qwillery.
Frank Pavich at Gotcha Movies.
Charles Wilcox at Three Cents Worth.

Short Fiction

Battalion 202: Worm in the Apple by Jonathan Doering – Free Story Extract at Alt Hist.
Paradox Short Story Contest 2014 - The Winners! by Tomas H at Paradox.
REVIEW: Kaiju Rising edited by Nick Sharps and Tim Marquitz at SF Signal.
REVIEW: Through A Distant Mirror Darkly by Mark Lord at SF Site.

Television

'Da Vinci's Demons' exists in a 'mad' world by Brian Truitt at USA Today.
Revolution 2.17: Arabic Writing on the Wall at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Weekly Update #139

Editor's Note

I wanted to post my next entry in my World War I series last week, but with so much information coming in from NPR and Evans' article on counterfactuals I decided to postpone it so I can absorb all this new information. Don't worry, I still got plenty of great content on the way including some fun interviews and coverage on some World War I themed games.

As a reminder, you can support The Update's mission on providing the best news and reviews on alternate history by buying stuff through Amazon. Just click on the banner on the top right corner of the blog before you do so. You get to buy what you were going to buy anyway and we get to wet our beak a little in the process.

And now the news...

The Reviews Are In For 300: Rise of an Empire

Last week, 300: Rise of an Empire, sequel to the Frank Miller adaptation 300, was released. This  fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Salamis has done well at the box office, ensuring more sword and sandal films in the future. Whether that is a good or a bad thing, I leave up to the personal opinion of the reader. My personal opinion, strongly influenced from my viewing of The Immortals, is that it would be a a bad thing.

I will be honest: I don't have any intention of seeing this movie. Although I enjoyed 300 when I first saw it, the movie has not aged well for me. Luckily, several reviewers I respect have seen it for me and have shared their opinion of the flick on the Internet. Lets see what they had to say...

Let's start with the good:

• Matthew Stienberg: All in all though the film is really satisfying and I couldn't have enjoyed it more. I'd heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to see a damn good action film.
• The Man from Singapore: Go see it- I liked it but it could have been so much better.

And now the bad:

• Matthew Quinn: Great concept, but it didn't live up to its full potential. It's a good movie to see--at the dollar theater. (Check out his supplemental post on the film and the Athen state.)
• Sean Korsgaard: [I]t lacks the heart, the guts or the glory of the real deal, and ultimately betrays everything that made the previous film stand out.

So my hand picked reviewers are split on the film. What do you think?

Map Gallery

Now we will look at my three favorite maps of last week. First we have a beautiful map of sketchdoodle of the Brooke Kingdom of Sarawak & Sabah:

Not only is this a well drawn map, I like that it focuses on a part of the world often forgotten by alternate historians (except when the Japanese occupy it).

Next we have a world map from long time contributor Sean Korsgaard focusing on his Communist Confederacy timeline:

Great to see you producing more content for this world, Sean.

And we finish our trio of alternate history maps with a curious scenario featuring this 20th century Poland-wank by Zauis:

What I like about this wank is that it is quite believable. In this universe the Nazis do better against the Soviets, but still lose the war. The Soviets are confined to their 1939 border and a capitalist Poland is left in better shape to build a Eastern European coalition against the Soviets and any attempts by Germany (which I assume is not split in this timeline) to reclaim their old borders as well.

Submit your maps to ahwupdate at gmail dot com for a chance to be featured on next Monday's Weekly Update.

Video Gallery

And now the video portion of our weekly newsletter. First up, the book trailer for William Shakespeare's Star Wars: The Empire Striketh Back! by Ian Doescher:

If the trailer convinced you to pick up a copy, don't forget to click the link above to get it from Amazon. Next up, Cracked wants to inform you about the six myths you probably believe about the American Revolution:

Admittedly they over-simplified some of the reasons for the Revolution and completely ignored the fact that the French and Indian War was just another name for the Seven Years' War. If you want my take on the American Revolution, check out 6 Common Mistakes Every American Revolution Alternate History Makes.

Finally we end this week's video gallery with another video from friend of The Update Cody Franklin. He has the sequel to his what if the Soviets won the Cold War video:

Calendar

March 26: Jeff Greenfield will speak about his book If Kennedy Lived: The First and Second Terms of President John F. Kennedy: An Alternate History at the Clay Center in Charleston during the West Virginia University David C. Hardesty, Jr. Festival of Ideas.

April 1: Registration rates for Detcon1, the 2014 North American Science Fiction Convention, will go up.

Links to the Multiverse

Books and Short Fiction

“B-36”by Douglas W. Texter – Free Story Extract at Alt Hist.
Choosing A Favorite Historical Period by Miles Cameron at Bookworm Blues.
Egypt rules half the world in alternate history ‘three princes’ at Pop Mythology.
Excerpt: THE IRON JACKAL by Chris Wooding at SF Signal.
The Golem and the Jinni is a powerful masterpiece of historical fantasy by Andrew Liptak at io9.
Reaching back into the past to write the alternative present by Alison Morton at Alive on the Shelves.
Review: Then Will the Great Ocean Wash Deep Above by Ian Sales at UpComing4.Me.
Silk Road Fantasy and Breaking the Great Wall of Europe by Paul Weimer at SF Signal.
Table of Contents: THE CUTTING ROOM: DARK REFLECTIONS OF THE SILVER SCREEN Edited by Ellen Datlow at SF Signal.
This map describes the world of George Orwell's 1984—or does it? by Lauren Davis at io9.

Comics

Comic Review: Legenderry — A Steampunk Adventure at Amazing Stories.
The 5 Most Pointless “What If” Comics of All Time by Diana at Geek Pron.

Counterfactual/Traditional History

7 Utopias that Changed the Future by Annalee Newitz at io9.
10 Hardcore Female Military Leaders from History by Dan Wohl at The Mary Sue.
Best of Beyond Apollo I by David SF Portree at Wired.
British Jews in the first world war: spirit of the Maccabees by Adam Foulds at The Guardian.
Crowdsourcing Counterfactuals: NPR Asks: What If World War I Had Never Happened? by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
The Latest Hitler Counterfactual: What If Hindenburg’s Last Will and Testament Had Come to Light? by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
Really? Richard Evans Thinks Counterfactual History Is a "Waste of Time?" by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.

Films

Chrononaut script teaser by Zach Lipovsky at Vimeo.
Max Brooks' Harlem Hellfighters Graphic Novel Will Go To War For Sony by Nick Venable at Cinema Blend.

Interview

Mary Robinette Kowal at The Sword and Laser.
Jason Sharp at Three Cents Worth.
Dusty Wallace at Three Cents Worth.

Television

Elementary: Season 2, Episode 18. The Hound of the Cancer Cells at Thinking about books.
Syfy Greenlights 6-Hour Mini-Series ‘Ascension’ by Stuart Conover.
Revolution 2.16: The Manchurian Post-Blackout Patriot at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Weekly Update #138

Editor's Note

I like to remind readers that this is a blog about alternate history, not secret history, conspiracy theories, ancient aliens or other pseudo-histories. Alternate history deals with changes to history as we know it, for example, JFK surviving his assassination.

Those other types of histories only deal with different reasons for why history happened the way it did. So to use my JFK example again, a conspiracy theorist might suggest someone other than Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy, but Kennedy will still be dead. His death will lead to LBJ, the Civil Rights Act, the Great Society, escalation in Vietnam, etc. Knowing the "truth" doesn't change the events of history, only our understanding of it.

Nevertheless, speculative fiction often uses secret history, conspiracy theories, ancient aliens or other pseudo-histories to tell a story. Alternate history fiction, is no exception, and while we may at times touch on these subjects, they are not in the same category as alternate history and thus should not be treated the same.

And now the news...

New Release: Emilie and the Sky World by Martha Wells

Last week Emilie and the Sky World by Martha Wells, the sequel to Emilie and the Hollow World, was released. For those who don't know, here is the description from Amazon:

When Emilie and Daniel arrive in Silk Harbor, Professor Abindon, an old colleague of the Marlendes, warns them that she’s observed something strange and potentially deadly in the sky, a disruption in an upper air aether current. But as the Marlendes investigate further, they realize it’s a ship from another aetheric plane. It may be just a friendly explorer, or something far more sinister, but they will have to take an airship into the dangerous air currents to find out. 

Emilie joins the expedition and finds herself deep in personal entanglements, with an angry uncle, an interfering brother, and an estranged mother to worry about – not to mention a lost family of explorers, the strange landscapes of the upper air, and the deadly menace that inhabits the sky world. 

Paul Weimer reviewed the book for SF Signal and said it was "[a] sequel that provides an entertaining second visit to Wells’ world and strengthens some of the weaknesses of the first novel." Pretty decent review for Sky World. If you would like to learn more check out Martha Wells' interview at Stellar Four and, as always, if you have read either of the books, let us know in the comments below or submit the review to be posted on The Update!

And don't forget if you are thinking of buying this or any other book, please click through the Amazon banner at the top right and put some wind in The Update's sails.

War of the Vikings Confirms Incoming Invasion on April 15

Real quick!

Paradox Interactive has confirmed the release date for War of the Vikings, the upcoming close combat game developed by Fatshark. War of the Vikings, currently available as a Steam Early Access title, will be fully released on April 15, 2014.

For more information, you can visit warofthevikings.com.

See, I told you it would be quick.

Map Gallery

Map time! First up, a map by Future8 inspired by current events where every host nation of the Winter Olympics invades a neighbor two weeks after the closing ceremony:

Wow, that was a lllloooonnnnggg one. Anywho, our next map is a balkanized North America from a new map maker to AH.com, EliBarrowBoy, that I thought was just really well done and featured a few twists on the old trope:

Finally we finish this week's map gallery with the winning entry to Europa Universalis's most recent Alternate History Friday: The Might of Japan (and Ukraine looks to be doing good as well)!

Submit your maps to ahwupdate at gmail dot com.

Video Gallery

Time now for some videos. Up first we have another video from Friend of The Update, Cody Franklin of the Alternate History Hub. This is the second alternate countries video he has created and though some of the countries showcased can be silly, I think you will enjoy it:

Next up, I have recently become a fan of Cinema Sins, a YouTube channel where popular movies are mercilessly dissected. They had two movies torn apart this week that I think alternate historians will enjoy. First is the most historically inaccurate film of all time, 300:

There have been a lot of 300 related stuff last week now that the sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire, is in theaters. I have decided, however, not to write anything on it until the next Weekly Update. If you are still interested though, here is a review of the film from The Philippine Star.

The second video this week from Cinema Sins featured a brutal review of this fan made film set in the Indiana Jones universe called Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:

I mean that was a fan made film right? The one with the Harrison Ford look alike? I mean there is no way a talented director like Spielberg would attach his name to something that bad...he wouldn't...would he?

Calendar

March 24: Last day to fund Steampunked Time Machine - The Mad Scientist's Card Game on Kickstarter.

March 25: Last day to fund Alternate Hilarities on Kickstarter.

March 28: Last day to fund Ripples in the Chalice on Kickstarter.

April 1: Last day to fund Cranky Ladies of History anthology on Pozible.

April 20: Last day to fund World War Cthulhu: A Collection of Lovecraftian War Stories with Illustrations on Indiegogo.

April 26: Friend of the Update, Chris Nuttall, will be at AuthorCon UK at the Elsewhen Press table.

May 11: Series premiere of Penny Dreadful on Showtime.

Links to the Multiverse

Books and Short Fiction

1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies – Snippet 01 by Eric Flint.
Altered America: Cover and Contents by Martin T. Ingham at Three Cents Worth.
Cover Reveal for Cherie Priest’s Maplecroft at Tor.
Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon – Tor catalog copy by David Barnett at Postcards from the Hinterland.
Guest Post: Peter Higgins, author of Woflhound Century and Truth and Fear at My Bookish Ways.
History and science fiction theme to debut children's novel by Su Carroll at Western Morning News.
Steampunk Gorillas by Maeve Alpin at Steamed!
Tansy Rayner Roberts on “Cranky Ladies” at SF Signal.
What is Steampunk? And why I love it. by John Stanton.
Writing Historical Fantasy: Guest Post by Barb Galler-Smith at Suzenyms.

Counterfactual/Traditional History


5 Badass People Who Stood Up to Infamous Dictators by Pat Carnell and Eric Yosomono at Cracked.
5 Near Deaths That Would Have Changed the Face of History by Jacopo della Quercia and Matthew Moffitt at Cracked.
Counterfactual Constructions by Eve Bachrach at Boom.
Fur flies over 16th century 'rocket cats' warfare manual at The Guardian.
Let’s play the Niall Ferguson First World War Counterfactual Game by Jonathan Boff at Thoughts on the First World War.
Were the Spartans truly the greatest warriors of all time? by Esther Inglis-Arkell at io9.
Why a Nuclear Ukraine is an Empty Counterfactual by Anton Strezhnev at Casual Loop.

Films

6 Things Movies Don't Show You About Being an Archeologist by Robert Evans and Hadas Levine at Cracked.
‘300: Rise of an Empire’: Ancient history becomes fantasy-action movie by Brylle B. Tabora at Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Could You Travel Through Time Like They Do in Movies? by Kevin Carr at Film School Rejects.
H.P. Lovecraft Describes the Unspeakable Things He Witnessed in the Star Wars Films by Zack "Geist Editor" Parsons at Something Awful.
Let’s Unpack Zack Snyder’s Ugly, Mean-Spirited Terry Gilliam Slam by Jason Bailey at Flavor Wire.

Games

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land Slithers on to Steam by Casey Douglass at Geek Syndicate.
Yes, This Nazi-Killing Video Game Hero Was Of Jewish Descent by Stephen Totilo at Kotaku.

Interview

Everett Maroon at Diversity in YA.
Ramona Wheeler at The Qwillery.

Podcasts

Dissecting Worlds: Series 8, Episode 3 ‘RPGs and Religion’ at Geek Syndicate.
Episode 180: Kelley Eskridge, Nicola Griffith, Hild, historicity and genre… at The Coode Street Podcast.

Reviews

Divide by William Overgard at Other Times.
Dominion by CJ Sansom at JulzReads.
Elementary 2.16 and 2.17 at Thinking about books.
Homeward Bound by Harry Turtledove at Geekbrarian.
Revolution 2.15 at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.

Televisions

BBC’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Noel Green.
Get Ready for Revolution's Dreamcatcher Episode with Featurettes and Clip by Erin Willard at SciFiMafia.com.
Sitcom Counterfactuals: Episodes from "The Big Bang Theory" and "Community" by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
Steampunk on the Runway by Ray Dean on Steamed!

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his list of short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Weekly Update #137

Editor's Note

Wow a lot of things to get through this week. Please bear with me.

First, thank you so much for making February The Update's second most viewed month. We ended the shortest month of the year with 15,912 page views (our highest was last June with 22,031 page views). I can't express how grateful I am for the support you guys have shown this tiny blog. Hopefully I can continue to live up to your expectations and surpass that record in March.

Speaking of surpassing those expectations, I am planning a multi-series of posts covering World War I alternate histories to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the start of that tragic war. It will be somewhat in the style of my popular 6 Common Mistakes Every American Revolution Alternate History Makes article, but instead of just talking about mistakes, I will be breaking down all the different scenarios that alternate historians have created around the war. I hope you enjoy it and if you have any suggestions of your own, or would even like to participate with your own submission, let me know at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.

I am wrapping this editorial up with another thank you to those who bought books from Amazon through this blog. Its a start to my dream of making this blog self-sufficient and for those who haven't tried it yet, it is an easy way to support your favorite alternate history blog without having to cough up the extra cash. If you are already planning to buy a book, comic, game, film, etc., why not click on the banner at the top right before making your purchase? You get what you were already planning to buy and we wet our beak a little, which allows me to make The Update an even better place for alternate historians.

And now the news...

RIP Aaron Allston

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of author Aaron Allston, who died on February 27 of heart failure. Andrew Liptak wrote a very moving article where he described Allston as "friendly, excited to meet fans and happy to talk with us about the characters and stories he constructed."

Allston, who was born on December 8, 1960, was an American game designer and author best known for his many novels set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. As a child I consumed many Star Wars books, but Allston was always my favorite author in the universe. His novel Starfighters of Adumar is still my favorite Star Wars book and one of the few I kept after I purged my collection. Its combination of action and humor made it an enjoyable read and probably the only tie-in novel I ever read more than once.

This is, however, an alternate history blog and I would be remiss not to mention Allston's contribution to the genre. According to Uchronia, Allston wrote two alternate history novels (Doc Sidhe and Sidhe-Devil) set in the same universe where thousand of years ago Earth separated into a "dark" and "fair" world. Our Earth was the dark world, while the fair world is ruled by magic. Sadly, both books are out of print and links to them on the Baen Free Library are not working.

Allston, thank you so much for the adventures you took me on as a kid. I will never forget them.

Wolfenstein Demo is Review by Gamers

Although it is not coming out until May, Bethesda's alternate history shooter Wolfenstein: The New Order is already getting praised by game reviewers who have played the demo. Set in the 1960s where the Nazis won World War II, The New Order is the next installment in the long running Wolfenstein series, which lets you blast Nazis to your heart's content.

Enough introduction, what are the reviewers saying about the demo? Brian Albert at IGN said: "It seems like a solid shooter with lots of action and fun stealth mechanics. The story, while generic in some aspects, seems too concerned with shoving a gun into your hands to let some of its finer moments breathe." That is a tad disappointing for me, since I am story driven person in general, but Phil Hornshaw at Game Front had a better opinion of the story saying it "tells an affecting story, while leaning on the best of the past and what works from the present." Although he sort of passes over the part where Nazi technology unexpectedly spiked and thus allowed them to be victorious. Didn't someone else already try that?

Michael Rougeau from Complex Gaming probably summed up the game the best by saying: "It's hard to say at this point whether The New Order will turn out to be a beloved retro throwback to old school shooters with modern production values (the guitar-heavy music in particular seems promising)—or a linear mess of different play styles and themes that makes little sense and ultimately goes nowhere." Hopefully it does go somewhere as the genre could use a good alternate history game. Those interested in learning more about The New Order can check out these screenshots from Yahoo.

Map Gallery

I love maps! Mappy mappy maps! (Editor's Note: I was on my fourth cup of coffee when I wrote this.) Enjoy our first map from Goldstein featuring all of the world's irredentist claims fulfilled:

Next we have a curious map from Errnge showing early British settlement in Virginia, along with the borders and claims of the local Native American tribes:

We finish the week with a map from Thanksforallthefish showing what happened to Argentina in the Fallout universe:

Send your maps to ahwupdate at gmail dot com for a chance to be featured in the next Weekly Update!

Video Gallery

This week in videos we begin with The 11 Most Badass (American) Presidential Facts from Cracked:

We follow that up with a honest trailer from perhaps the most historically inaccurate film of all time, 300:

And to round off the week, here is the book trailer for The Time Traveler's Almanac:
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Okay, Blogger is being ridiculous and is not letting me embed the video (a video on a platform that owned by the same parent company as Blogger). Sigh, just click on this link to see the video.

Perhaps its time I migrate The Update somewhere else...

Calendar

March 5: Gail Carriger at WORD Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY.

March 7: Last day to fund Thom Pratt's Shadowbinders Kickstarter.

March 7-9: Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention in Tucson, AZ.

March 12: Gail Carriger begins participating in the Twitter Fiction Festival.

March 21-23: Gail Carriger will be Guest of Honor at ConDor, San Diego, CA.

July 31: Last day to submit your story to the Kayelle Press alternate history anthology.

Plus, check out these steampunk events happening in March, cataloged by the good people at Tor.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Anachrocon Reorganizes Amid Controversy Surrounding Chairman at Steampunk Chronicle.
Poll: what should the British flag look like if Scotland goes independent? at The Guardian.
Swedish Neo Nazis Invade Ukraine by Stephen Green at PJ Media.
Why I’m all into Regency right now by Carrie Vaughn at Filling the Well.
World's longest aircraft is unveiled in UK by Richard Westcott at BBC.

Books and Short Fiction

Alt Hist Issue 6 Published – just about! by Mark Lord at Alt Hist.
The dystopia of 1984 is no longer relevant by Annalee Newitz at io9.
Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon – the US cover by David Barnett at Postcards from the Hinterland.
On Hild, Female Readers of Genre Fiction, and Not Being Game of Thrones by Zan Romanoff at The Toast.
PRUDENCE: THE CUSTARD PROTOCOL BOOK 1 by Gail Carriger Gets a Cover at SF Signal.
PUNKTOWN by Jeffrey Thomas Gets Reissued With a New Cover at SF Signal.

Comics

Dynamite Announces Historical Fantasy Blood Queen With Fritz Casas and Sparkshooter’s Troy Brownfield at ComicBook.com.
Top Ten Superhero-Free Dystopian Comics by PipedreamerGrey at SF Signal.

Counterfactual/Traditional History

9 Terrifying Urban Legends From Victorian London at BuzzFeed.
Alexander the Great’s success depended on the fact that the Persian Empire was there for the taking at Isegoria.
America's first settlers were trapped in Beringia for 10,000 years by George Dvorsky at io9.
The audacious rescue plan that might have saved space shuttle Columbia by Lee Hutchinson at Ars Technica.
Five “unusual” amendments that never made it into the Constitution by Scott Bomboy at Yahoo.
Footsteps to Mars by David SF Portree at Wired.
How Germany and Japan Could've Won (Part I and Part II) by Miguel Faria at Real Clear History.
Maps Show the Long History of Nicaragua’s Canal Dreams by Greg Miller at Wired.

Films

Bryan Singer Discusses Sentinels, Quicksilver, and Time Travel From the Set of ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ by Russ Fischer at Slash Film.
The Ending to A Terry Gilliam Version of Watchmen is... Well, It’s Different? by Emily Ahser-Perrin at Tor.
Incredible Concept Art From The Most Amazing Sci-Fi Movie Never Made by Jordan Kushins at Gizmodo.

Games

A Beautiful 1880s Geography Game for the "Rising Generation" by Rebecca Onion at Slate.
Classic 90s RPG Mutant Chronicles Returns, with Demons and Megacorps by Ed Grabianowski at io9.
Ironclad Tactics Now At MGS at Inside Mac Games.
Medieval Warfare Is Better With Giants by Gergo Vas at Kotaku.
Witches, Wise Women, and Widows: A Cultural Look at Viking RPG The Banner Saga by Becky Chambers at The Mary Sue.

Interviews

Lauren Beukes at SLiP.
Martha Wells at Stellar Four.

Reviews

The Anubis Gates at The Skiffy and Fanty Show.
Jazzpunk at Joystiq.
Revolution 2.14 at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.
V-S Day by Allen Steele at Tor.
The Wind Rises at The Denver Post.

Television

Battling Super Sleuths: The Awkward Case of Elementary, Sherlock, and Building the Better Adaptation by Emily Asher-Perrin at Tor.
'Heroes: Reborn': We are never, ever getting back together. Probably. by Jeff Jensen at Entertainment Weekly.
Ripper Street Saved in Deal Between BBC and Amazon at Geek Syndicate.
Sci Fi Time Travel Project COLLIDER Gets Emmy Nomination by Christophe Montoya at Geek Syndicate.
‘Vikings’ blends history, mythology into fantasy drama by Kimberly Henrickson at Student Life.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his list of 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.