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Alternate History Fiction Examples: Exploring What Ifs and Their Impact on the Industry
By Dr. Eleanor Vance, Professor of Literary Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Published by Apex Publishing, a leading publisher of speculative fiction and literary criticism for over 30 years.
Edited by Amelia Stone, Senior Editor at Apex Publishing, with 15 years of experience in editing fantasy and science fiction.
Summary: This article explores the captivating world of alternate history fiction, providing compelling examples and analyzing its significant impact on the literary landscape and the broader publishing industry. We delve into the unique narrative possibilities, thematic explorations, and the increasing popularity of this genre, alongside its implications for readers and writers alike.
What is Alternate History Fiction?
Alternate history fiction, often abbreviated as "alt-history," is a subgenre of speculative fiction that explores "what if" scenarios based on historical events. Instead of focusing on futuristic technologies or fantastical elements, alt-history posits a divergence from known historical timelines, creating entirely new realities and narratives. This divergence could be a minor alteration—a different election outcome, for instance—or a major upheaval, like the prevention of a major war. The key element is a change to the past that dramatically reshapes the present.
Compelling Alternate History Fiction Examples:
The possibilities are virtually limitless when examining alternate history fiction examples. Let's explore some compelling illustrations across different subgenres and styles:
1. The Man in the High Castle (Philip K. Dick): This seminal work explores a world where the Axis powers won World War II, dividing the United States between the Japanese and German empires. Dick masterfully uses this premise to explore themes of fascism, oppression, and the elusive nature of truth. This novel stands as a powerful example of alternate history fiction examples that grapple with significant socio-political themes.
2. Fatherland (Robert Harris): Harris's gripping thriller imagines a Germany victorious in World War II, a world ruled by a technologically advanced, but still undeniably totalitarian, Nazi regime. The narrative follows a detective investigating a murder, uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the very foundation of the Third Reich. This example showcases the potential for alt-history to create compelling mysteries within a drastically altered historical context.
3. 11/22/63 (Stephen King): While not strictly pure alternate history, King's novel uses time travel to alter a pivotal moment in American history—the assassination of President Kennedy. The consequences of this change ripple across decades, creating a compelling exploration of personal responsibility and the butterfly effect within the alternate history fiction examples that leverage time travel as a narrative device.
4. The Yiddish Policemen's Union (Michael Chabon): This imaginative novel sets its story in an alternate 1940s, where after World War II, the Jewish people are granted autonomy within Alaska. Chabon uses this premise to craft a unique noir mystery, exploring themes of identity, displacement, and the enduring human spirit. This is a strong example of the genre's potential to create entirely new cultures and societies.
5. SS-GB (Len Deighton): This novel explores a world where Nazi Germany occupied Britain during World War II, examining the collaboration and resistance within a conquered nation. Deighton's narrative, a subtle blend of thriller and social commentary, showcases how alternate history fiction examples can offer a nuanced perspective on historical complexities.
6. The Peshawar Lancers (S.M. Stirling): This alternate history novel explores a world in which the British Empire maintains a significant presence in India and uses advanced technological marvels to control the land. It's a fantastic example of the genre's capacity to examine "what if" scenarios related to technological developments and the lasting impact of colonialism.
The Impact of Alternate History Fiction Examples on the Industry:
The growing popularity of alternate history fiction examples is significantly impacting the publishing industry. We're seeing:
Increased Reader Demand: Readers are increasingly drawn to the imaginative possibilities and thought-provoking narratives that alt-history offers. This has led to a surge in the publication of alt-history novels, comics, and even video games.
New Narrative Opportunities: Alt-history provides writers with a unique platform to explore familiar historical themes and conflicts in fresh and unexpected ways. It allows for creative experimentation and challenges traditional narrative structures.
Thematic Exploration: Alt-history offers a powerful lens through which to examine complex historical issues and their potential consequences. This allows for rich thematic exploration and social commentary, resonating with audiences concerned about current events.
Cross-Genre Appeal: Alternate history seamlessly blends with other genres, creating hybrid forms like alt-history fantasy, alt-history science fiction, and alt-history thriller. This cross-pollination expands the genre's appeal and attracts a wider audience.
Increased Market Value: The growing popularity translates to greater market value, making alt-history a commercially viable genre for authors and publishers alike.
Conclusion:
Alternate history fiction examples demonstrate the power of "what if" scenarios to reshape our understanding of the past and illuminate the present. The genre's continued evolution and increasing popularity reflect a growing need for imaginative exploration and critical reflection on history's trajectory. The impact on the publishing industry is undeniable, proving alt-history's staying power and artistic merit.
FAQs:
1. What makes alternate history different from historical fiction? Alternate history diverges from established history, creating a fictional world based on a counterfactual event, while historical fiction usually adheres to known historical facts, albeit often with fictional characters.
2. Is alternate history always politically charged? While many alternate history fiction examples engage with political themes, the genre isn't inherently political. It can explore a vast array of themes, including personal journeys, social dynamics, and technological advancements.
3. How can I write my own alternate history story? Start by identifying a key historical event you want to alter. Consider the ripple effects of that change and build your narrative from there. Focus on creating a consistent and believable world.
4. What are some common tropes in alternate history fiction? Some common tropes include the Axis victory in World War II, the Confederacy winning the American Civil War, and the prevention of a major historical event.
5. Are there any ethical considerations in writing alternate history? Sensitivity is crucial. Avoid trivializing or glorifying oppressive regimes or harmful events. Responsible writing requires careful consideration of the potential impact of one's narrative.
6. What are some good resources for learning more about alternate history? Explore online forums, literary journals, and academic databases focused on speculative fiction. Numerous books and articles delve into the genre's history and theory.
7. How does alternate history relate to other genres like science fiction? Both genres involve speculation about possible futures, but alternate history focuses on changing the past to alter the present, while science fiction typically deals with technological advancements or futuristic settings.
8. What is the appeal of alternate history for readers? It satisfies our curiosity about "what ifs," provides a lens for critical reflection on history, and offers exciting and unique narratives unlike those found in conventional fiction.
9. How can I find more examples of alternate history fiction? Explore online booksellers, libraries, and specialized bookstores focusing on science fiction and fantasy. Look for authors known for their work in the genre, and don't hesitate to explore lesser-known works as well.
Related Articles:
1. The Rise of Alternate History in Popular Culture: An examination of alternate history's growing presence in film, television, and video games.
2. The Ethical Dilemmas of Alternate History Writing: A discussion on the responsibilities and potential pitfalls of crafting alternate history narratives.
3. A Comparative Analysis of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle and Robert Harris's Fatherland: A critical comparison of two iconic alternate history novels.
4. Exploring the Subgenre of Alternate History Romance: A look at the unique blend of romance and alternate history narratives.
5. The Use of Time Travel as a Narrative Device in Alternate History: An analysis of how time travel functions in shaping alternate history plots.
6. Alternate History and the Exploration of Counterfactual Technologies: A discussion of how technological advancements (or the lack thereof) shape alternate history worlds.
7. The Impact of Alternate History on Historical Understanding: An exploration of how the genre can influence and challenge our understanding of historical events.
8. Alternate History and the Construction of Identity: How the genre explores identity formation within altered historical contexts.
9. A Beginner's Guide to Writing Alternate History Fiction: A practical guide for aspiring writers interested in this compelling subgenre.
| alternate history fiction examples: A Different Flesh Harry Turtledove, 2015-06-09 This novel by the New York Times–bestselling “master of alternate history” explores an America reshaped by a twist in prehistoric evolution (Publishers Weekly). What if mankind’s “missing link,” the apelike Homo erectus, had survived to dominate a North American continent where woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers still prowled, while the more advanced Homo sapiens built their civilizations elsewhere? Now imagine that the Europeans arriving in the New World had chanced on these primitive creatures and seized the opportunity to establish a hierarchy in which the sapiens were masters and the “sims” were their slaves. This is the premise that drives the incomparable Harry Turtledove’s A Different Flesh. The acclaimed Hugo Award winner creates an alternate America that spans three hundred years of invented history. From the Jamestown colonists’ desperate hunt for a human infant kidnapped by a local sim tribe, to a late-eighteenth-century contest between a newfangled steam-engine train and the popular hairy-elephant-pulled model, to the sim-rights activists’ daring 1988 rescue of an unfortunate biped named Matt who’s being used for animal experimentation, Turtledove turns our world inside out in a remarkable science fiction masterwork that explores what it truly means to be human. |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Iron Dream Norman Spinrad, 1974 |
| alternate history fiction examples: Sideways in Time Glyn Morgan, C. Palmer-Patel, 2019 This important collection of essays acknowledges the long and distinctive history of the alternate history genre whilst also revelling in its vitality, adaptability, and contemporary relevance, with many of the chapters discussing late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century texts which have previously received little or no sustained critical analysis. |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln Stephen L. Carter, 2012-07-10 From the best-selling author of The Emperor of Ocean Park and New England White, a daring reimagining of one of the most tumultuous moments in our nation’s past Stephen L. Carter’s thrilling new novel takes as its starting point an alternate history: President Abraham Lincoln survives the assassination attempt at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. Two years later he is charged with overstepping his constitutional authority, both during and after the Civil War, and faces an impeachment trial . . . Twenty-one-year-old Abigail Canner is a young black woman with a degree from Oberlin, a letter of employment from the law firm that has undertaken Lincoln’s defense, and the iron-strong conviction, learned from her late mother, that “whatever limitations society might place on ordinary negroes, they would never apply to her.” And so Abigail embarks on a life that defies the norms of every stratum of Washington society: working side by side with a white clerk, meeting the great and powerful of the nation, including the president himself. But when Lincoln’s lead counsel is found brutally murdered on the eve of the trial, Abigail is plunged into a treacherous web of intrigue and conspiracy reaching the highest levels of the divided government. Here is a vividly imagined work of historical fiction that captures the emotional tenor of post–Civil War America, a brilliantly realized courtroom drama that explores the always contentious question of the nature of presidential authority, and a galvanizing story of political suspense. This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide. |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Eternal Machine Carol Ryles, 2022-01-04 Victoriana comes to Sydney, Australia in an alternative 19th Century, bringing dark Dickensian factories and even darker souls. Mages too, practising heart magic and skin magic, along with shapeshifting Earth spirits, demons, and automata. Included in this mix is a mad scientist, a touch of romance, strong female characters, diverse characters and a magic system playfully based on a real life 17th Century description of virtual reality: The Monadology by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz: A woman with the strength to rebel.? A shapeshifter who wears the souls of the dead.? Together, they face a lethal enemy.Em helped create it. Now she must craft its defeat.In a city owned by industrialists, Em sells her magic to make ends meet. The extraction procedure is brutal and potentially deadly. Desperate for change, she joins an underground resistance movement to weaponize her magic and stop the abuse of workers.Meanwhile, a mysterious voice wakes Ruk from a decades long slumber and compels him to become human. He wants to break free but is torn between his shapeshifter instincts and the needs of the soul that sustains him.On streets haunted by outcasts and predatory automatons, a new danger emerges - an ever-growing corruption of magic and science. Em and Ruk must put aside their differences and pursue it - each for their own reasons.What they discover will forever change their lives?Or end them. |
| alternate history fiction examples: What If Cole Roberts, 2015-11-24 What if Christianity is simple? When Jesus gave his first public address, he said, I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets and to set the captives free. When a contract is fulfilled, it is completed and is no longer in effect. Religion is a form of bondage that enslaves its adherents to a set of rules that constitute sin. It portrays the image of a God who acts as a judge. In one hand he has a legal pad and pen and in the other a club. When sufficient sins have been committed, the club is used on the sinner. Jesus died on the cross to fulfill the need for justice and came to earth to show that God is not the ogre with a club but a loving father with outstretched arms wanting to hug his children He sent to us the Holy Spirit so we might have the heart and mind of Christ and be empowered to live a life free from the bondage of sin and religion. This book shows the reader how to do that and points out the stumbling blocks that may interfere. It enables the reader to see the simplicity of Christianity and understand why it should surpass religion in our lives. |
| alternate history fiction examples: It Can't Happen Here Sinclair Lewis, 2014-01-07 “The novel that foreshadowed Donald Trump’s authoritarian appeal.”—Salon It Can’t Happen Here is the only one of Sinclair Lewis’s later novels to match the power of Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith. A cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, it is an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. Written during the Great Depression, when the country was largely oblivious to Hitler’s aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a president who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press. Called “a message to thinking Americans” by the Springfield Republican when it was published in 1935, It Can’t Happen Here is a shockingly prescient novel that remains as fresh and contemporary as today’s news. Includes an Introduction by Michael Meyer and an Afterword by Gary Scharnhorst |
| alternate history fiction examples: Age of Aztec James Lovegrove, 2012-03-27 The date is 4 Jaguar 1 Monkey 1 House; November 25th 2012, by the old reckoning. The Aztec Empire rules the world, in the name of Quetzalcoatl – the Feathered Serpent – and his brother gods. The Aztec reign is one of cruel and ruthless oppression, fuelled by regular human sacrifice. In the jungle-infested city of London, one man defies them: the masked vigilante known as the Conquistador. Then the Conquistador is recruited to spearhead an uprising, and discovers the terrible truth about the Aztecs and their gods. The clock is ticking. Apocalypse looms, unless the Conquistador can help assassinate the mysterious, immortal Aztec emperor, the Great Speaker. But his mission is complicated by Mal Vaughn, a police detective who is on his trail, determined to bring him to justice. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Roads Not Taken Stanley Schmidt, Gardner R. Dozois, 1998 With these dazzling stories, discover just how different things might have been! Alternate History: The What-If? fiction that has finally come into its own! Shedding light on the past by exploring what could have happened, this bold genre tantalizes your imagination and challenges your perceptions with thrilling reinventions of humanity's most climactic events. Enter worlds that are at once fanciful and familiar, where fact and fiction meld in a provocative landscape of infinite possibilities. . . . An Ink from the New Moon by A. A. Attanasio We Could Do Worse by Gregory Benford The West Is Red by Greg Costikyan The Forest of Time by Michael F. Flynn Southpaw by Bruce McAllister Over There by Mike Resnick An Outpost of the Empire by Robert Silverberg Aristotle and the Gun by L. Sprague de Camp Must and Shall by Harry Turtledove How I Lost the Second World War and Helped Turn Back the German Invasion by Gene Wolfe |
| alternate history fiction examples: Telling It Like It Wasn’t Catherine Gallagher, 2018-01-26 Inventing counterfactual histories is a common pastime of modern day historians, both amateur and professional. We speculate about an America ruled by Jefferson Davis, a Europe that never threw off Hitler, or a second term for JFK. These narratives are often written off as politically inspired fantasy or as pop culture fodder, but in Telling It Like It Wasn’t, Catherine Gallagher takes the history of counterfactual history seriously, pinning it down as an object of dispassionate study. She doesn’t take a moral or normative stand on the practice, but focuses her attention on how it works and to what ends—a quest that takes readers on a fascinating tour of literary and historical criticism. Gallagher locates the origins of contemporary counterfactual history in eighteenth-century Europe, where the idea of other possible historical worlds first took hold in philosophical disputes about Providence before being repurposed by military theorists as a tool for improving the art of war. In the next century, counterfactualism became a legal device for deciding liability, and lengthy alternate-history fictions appeared, illustrating struggles for historical justice. These early motivations—for philosophical understanding, military improvement, and historical justice—are still evident today in our fondness for counterfactual tales. Alternate histories of the Civil War and WWII abound, but here, Gallagher shows how the counterfactual habit of replaying the recent past often shapes our understanding of the actual events themselves. The counterfactual mode lets us continue to envision our future by reconsidering the range of previous alternatives. Throughout this engaging and eye-opening book, Gallagher encourages readers to ask important questions about our obsession with counterfactual history and the roots of our tendency to ask “What if...?” |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Novel: An Alternative History, 1600-1800 Steven Moore, 2013-08-29 Winner of the Christian Gauss Award for excellence in literary scholarship from the Phi Beta Kappa Society Having excavated the world's earliest novels in his previous book, literary historian Steven Moore explores in this sequel the remarkable flowering of the novel between the years 1600 and 1800-from Don Quixote to America's first big novel, an homage to Cervantes entitled Modern Chivalry. This is the period of such classic novels as Tom Jones, Candide, and Dangerous Liaisons, but beyond the dozen or so recognized classics there are hundreds of other interesting novels that appeared then, known only to specialists: Spanish picaresques, French heroic romances, massive Chinese novels, Japanese graphic novels, eccentric English novels, and the earliest American novels. These minor novels are not only interesting in their own right, but also provide the context needed to appreciate why the major novels were major breakthroughs. The novel experienced an explosive growth spurt during these centuries as novelists experimented with different forms and genres: epistolary novels, romances, Gothic thrillers, novels in verse, parodies, science fiction, episodic road trips, and family sagas, along with quirky, unclassifiable experiments in fiction that resemble contemporary, avant-garde works. As in his previous volume, Moore privileges the innovators and outriders, those who kept the novel novel. In the most comprehensive history of this period ever written, Moore examines over 400 novels from around the world in a lively style that is as entertaining as it is informative. Though written for a general audience, The Novel, An Alternative History also provides the scholarly apparatus required by the serious student of the period. This sequel, like its predecessor, is a “zestfully encyclopedic, avidly opinionated, and dazzlingly fresh history of the most 'elastic' of literary forms” (Booklist). |
| alternate history fiction examples: Bring the Jubilee Ward Moore, 1987 Bring the Jubilee, by Ward Moore, is a 1953 novel of alternate history. The point of divergence occurs when the Confederate States of America wins the Battle of Gettysburg and subsequently declares victory in the American Civil War. Includes an introduction by John Betancourt. An important original work... richly and realistically imagined. —Galaxy Science Fiction. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Farthing Jo Walton, 2006-08-08 An influential family’s weekend party is the stage for murder in this alternative history trilogy opener set in a post-WWII England where the Nazis won. Eight years have passed since the upper-crust “Farthing Set” overthrew Winston Churchill and led Britain into a separate peace with Hitler. Now those families have gathered for a weekend retreat. Among them is estranged scion Lucy Kahn, who can’t understand why she and her husband, David, were so enthusiastically invited. But all becomes clear when the eminent Sir James Thirkie is found murdered—with a yellow Star of David pinned to his chest. Lucy realizes that her Jewish husband is about to be framed for the crime, an outcome that would be altogether too politically convenient, given the machinations underway in Parliament in the coming week. The Farthing Set are determined to pass laws further restricting the right to vote, and a new outcry against Jews and foreigners would suit them fine. But whoever’s behind the murder and the frame-up didn’t count on the principal investigator from Scotland Yard being so prone to look beyond the obvious—or his being a man with his own private reasons for sympathizing with outcasts and underdogs . . . Praise for Farthing “If le Carré scares you, try Jo Walton. Of course her brilliant story of a democracy selling itself out to fascism sixty years ago is just a mystery, just a thriller, just a fantasy—of course we know nothing like that could happen now. Don’t we?” —Ursula K. Le Guin “Walton . . . crosses genres without missing a beat with this stunningly powerful alternative history set in 1949. . . . While the whodunit plot is compelling, it’s the convincing portrait of a country’s incremental slide into fascism that makes this novel a standout. Mainstream readers should be enthralled as well.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) |
| alternate history fiction examples: If the South Had Won the Civil War MacKinlay Kantor, 2001-11-03 Just a touch here and a tweak there . . . . MacKinlay Kantor, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, master storyteller, shows us how the South could have won the Civil War, how two small shifts in history (as we know it) in the summer of 1863 could have turned the tide for the Confederacy. What would have happened: to the Union, to Abraham Lincoln, to the people of the North and South, to the world? If the South Had Won the Civil War originally appeared in Look Magazine nearly half a century ago. It immediately inspired a deluge of letters and telegrams from astonished readers and became an American classic overnight. Published in book form soon after, Kantor's masterpiece has been unavailable for a decade. Now, this much requested classic is once again available for a new generation of readers and features a stunning cover by acclaimed Civil War artist Don Troiani, a new introduction by award-winning alternate history author Harry Turtledove, and fifteen superb illustrations by the incomparable Dan Nance. It all begins on that fateful afternoon of Tuesday, May 12, 1863, when a deplorable equestrian accident claims the life of General Ulysses S. Grant . . . . At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Years of Rice and Salt Kim Stanley Robinson, 2003-06-03 With the same unique vision that brought his now classic Mars trilogy to vivid life, bestselling author Kim Stanley Robinson boldly imagines an alternate history of the last seven hundred years. In his grandest work yet, the acclaimed storyteller constructs a world vastly different from the one we know. . . . “A thoughtful, magisterial alternate history from one of science fiction’s most important writers.”—The New York Times Book Review It is the fourteenth century and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur—the coming of the Black Death. History teaches us that a third of Europe’s population was destroyed. But what if the plague had killed 99 percent of the population instead? How would the world have changed? This is a look at the history that could have been—one that stretches across centuries, sees dynasties and nations rise and crumble, and spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation. Through the eyes of soldiers and kings, explorers and philosophers, slaves and scholars, Robinson navigates a world where Buddhism and Islam are the most influential and practiced religions, while Christianity is merely a historical footnote. Probing the most profound questions as only he can, Robinson shines his extraordinary light on the place of religion, culture, power—and even love—in this bold New World. “Exceptional and engrossing.”—New York Post “Ambitious . . . ingenious.”—Newsday |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Moscow Option David Downing, 2013-08-05 This provocative alternative history looks at WWII from a new angle—what might have happened had the Germans taken Moscow in 1941. Based on authentic history and real possibilities, this unique speculative narrative plays out the dramatic and grotesque consequences of a Third Reich triumphant. In this terrifyingly plausible scenario, the Germans fight their way into the ruins of Moscow on September 30th, 1941—and the Soviet Union collapses. Although Russian resistance continues, German ambition multiplies after this signal success. They launch offensives in Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. Hitler's armies, assured of victory, make their leader's dreams reality and Allied hopes of recovery seem almost hopelessly doomed. With a convincingly blend of actual history and alternate events, The Moscow Option is a chilling reminder that history might easily have been very different. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Saving Hitler Ian James, 2016-05-14 Ian James is amazing...truly a joy to read.- The Kindle Book Review When Ryo Nakano, an Imperial Japanese soldier, gets a bizarre text message, he discovers he is the only man alive who can rescue his country from an invasion by Nazi Germany. In 2015 the Cold War has just ended, Japan is defeated, and after meeting Sato Hideyoshi-sender of the mysterious text, horrific vivisector of subhumans, and genius inventor of the Traversable Wormhole Generator-Ryo learns he must gamble everything if he is to go back in time to save the one man who can save the world: Adolph Hitler. The journey to the past is fraught with danger. Ryo battles Aryans, the Secret Police, and even his own wife before he leaps through a wormhole and into the Wolf's Lair, Hitler's secret bunker, on July 20th, 1941, the day the Fuehrer was assassinated. Ryo finds, however, that saving Hitler is only the beginning of his journey, and that he will have to plunge into the blood-soaked world of 1941 if he is to survive. Part dystopian thriller, part sci-fi alternate history, part satire, Saving Hitler is an eye-opening exposé of the fascist taints in our own society, and takes us on a breathless voyage to a WW2 that never was: across Nazi Germany's marble megacity capital of the world, the bleak war-torn wastes of Siberia, and the anxious machine gun nests of a Hawaii softened up for a Japanese land invasion. Scroll up and click the buy button to start reading this new time travel novel now. |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Way it Wasn't Martin Harry Greenberg, 1996 Stories imagine what the world would have been like if Elvis Presley had been president, the Black Death had wiped out Europe, or President Kennedy had survived his shooting in Dallas |
| alternate history fiction examples: It Started in Manila W. B. Martin, 2020-06-06 Once again W. B. Martin looks at history and asks 'What If? What if in 1941 the Philippines had not been part of the American empire, would the Japanese empire have still attacked the United States? Using his knowledge of actual events, the author spins a realistic tale of what almost happened. He shows how the Philippines played a crucial role in world history and just may have prevented the collapse of Western Civilization, resulting in 1,000 years of darkness. Compelling reading for any history buffs. |
| alternate history fiction examples: SS-GB Len Deighton, 2021-05-20 'Deighton's best book ... an absorbingly exciting spy story that is also a fascinating exercise in might-have-been speculation' The New York Times Book Review It is 1941 and Germany has won the war. Britain is occupied, Churchill executed and the King imprisoned in the Tower of London. At Scotland Yard, Detective Inspector Archer tries to do his job and keep his head down. But when a body is found in a Mayfair flat, what at first appears to be a routine murder investigation sends him into a world of espionage, deceit and betrayal. 'Len Deighton is the Flaubert of contemporary thriller writers ... this is much the way things would have turned out if the Germans had won' The Times Literary Supplement |
| alternate history fiction examples: Never Never Stories Jason Sanford, 2019-06-28 Spaceships which pass through the sky like endless clouds. A woman whose skin reveals the names of sailors fated to die at sea. A virus which causes people who touch each other to turn into crystalline trees. From Nebula Award nominated author Jason Sanford comes his first short story collection, Never Never Stories. Ranging from science fiction to fantasy, stories contained in Never Never Stories have won the Interzone Readers' Poll, been nominated for the BSFA Award, longlisted for the British Fantasy Award, and printed in multiple magazines and book anthologies including Year's Best SF. The print edition of Never Never Stories contains the following stories: The Ships Like Clouds, Risen by Their Rain; When Thorns Are The Tips Of Trees; Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows; Rumspringa; Peacemaker, Peacemaker, Little Bo Peep; Memoria; Millisent Ka Plays in Realtime; Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas; A Twenty-First Century Fairy Love Story; and The Never Never Wizard of Apalachicola. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Rocket's Red Glare: A WWII Era Alternate History Novel Cy Stein, 2020-03-14 A heart-pounding political satire that eerily parallels Washington, DC today. Rocket's Red Glare is an alternate history novel set in New York City, 1941. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Black Chamber S. M. Stirling, 2018-07-03 The first novel in a brand-new alternate history series where Teddy Roosevelt is president for a second time right before WWI breaks out, and on his side is the Black Chamber, a secret spy network watching America's back. 1916. The Great War rages overseas, and the whole of Europe, Africa, and western Asia is falling to the Central Powers. To win a war that must be won, Teddy Roosevelt, once again the American president, turns to his top secret Black Chamber organization--and its cunning and deadly spy, Luz O'Malley Aróstegui. On a transatlantic airship voyage, Luz poses as an anti-American Mexican revolutionary to get close--very close--to a German agent code-named Imperial Sword. She'll need every skill at her disposal to get him to trust her and lead her deep into enemy territory. In the mountains of Saxony, concealed from allied eyes, the German Reich's plans for keeping the U.S. from entering the conflict are revealed: the deployment of a new diabolical weapon upon the shores of America... |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Dominion's Dilemma: the United States of British America James Devine, 2013-03-02 Fifty some years after an American Revolution which did not occur, a prosperous UnitedStates of British America is staggered to learn Parliament in London is considering a billto emancipate all the Empire's slaves within seven years. How does the Dominion reactas a whole? How does the slaveholding American South react? Can Governor-GeneralAndrew Jackson and the Dominion government maintain order? And how does theEmpire's enemies react to the prospect of unrest in North America? The prosperous British Empire dominion called the United States of British America isrocked when the Duke of Wellington arrives unexpectedly to announce that Parliament isputting the finishing touches on emancipation legislation scheduled to free all slaves heldin the Empire---including the American South---in seven years. Governor-General Andrew Jackson is maneuvering to keep the crisis from explodingwhen an unthinkable act convinces John C. Calhoun that he can save the peculiarinstitution...and cement the South's weakening grip on Dominion political power.Meanwhile, Gen. Winfield Scott worries about his ability to maintain Dominionauthority---in Quebec as well as Dixie---should half his professional officers go South.Will London's decision to abolish slavery boomerang when the Empire's enemies---Russia and France---attempt to play the crisis to their own advantages? And what ofthat Czarist army now occupying Syria...and threatening to march on the Imperialpossessions in India? A colorful cast of historical characters, including Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, JeffersonDavis, Robert E. Lee, Zachary Taylor and Martin Van Buren in Georgetown, D.C.collaborate and conspire with and against Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston in Londonand Czar Nicholas I in St. Petersburg.They are joined by vivid fictional characters including a brash young Army intelligenceaide, a tough British diplomat, a Georgetown bureaucrat with a gift for amorousespionage and a diabolical Russian secret agent. As well as their ladies: a politically-awakening Southern belle, a wealthy (and lusty) plantation widow, a frail but iron-willedRussian countess and a disreputable tavern/brothel owner. And an imposing former slave-turned-minister/freedom smuggler.As the political crisis threatens to explode into civil war, one man may hold the key: adisgraced former USBA Vice Governor-General (and shadowy New York political boss)... Aaron Burr. |
| alternate history fiction examples: How To Write Alternate History Grey Wolf, 2019-12-12 Grey Wolf's articles on how to write alternate history, including what to look out for, considerations to bear in mind, and ideas for progression.The articles cover a wide range of related subjects, such as creating small but noticeable changes in things like the brand names which are popular, the activities which are to be found at the local pub, or the names of sports teams. Developing Points of Departure (Divergence) and realistic alternatives in areas such as music, sport and dynastic marriages are also covered. |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History Jack Dann, 2023-07-13 A comprehensive guide to the speculative sub-genre of alternate history fiction, this book maps the unique terrain of this vibrant mode of storytelling and then explains how to write it. First giving a concise conceptual overview and the critical tools to differentiate the different forms of counterfactual fiction, Jack Dann lays out the 'tricks of the trade' such 'Heinleining', how to create recognizable 'divergent points' and how to employ paratextual elements and 'layering' to overcome readers' unfamiliarity with invented counterfactual events and cultures. Alongside this, Dann takes you step-by-step through a complete short story to demonstrate, line-by-line, how alternative history fiction works. As well as Dann's exacting methodology for writing professional quality alternate history stories, this book also features a live-on-the-page Q&A with some of the most esteemed alternate history writers working today, including Kim Stanley Robinson, John Birmingham and Lisa Goldstein among many others, who will detail their own particular hacks, theories, processes, methods and strategies. Combining extensive and deep knowledge of the field with accessible writing advice, this is the ultimate guidebook to the broad and complex sub-genre of counterfactual and alterative history fiction. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Post-9/11 Historical Fiction and Alternate History Fiction Pei-chen Liao, 2020-09-19 Drawing on theories of historiography, memory, and diaspora, as well as from existing genre studies, this book explores why contemporary writers are so fascinated with history. Pei-chen Liao considers how fiction contributes to the making and remaking of the transnational history of the U.S. by thinking beyond and before 9/11, investigating how the dynamics of memory, as well as the emergent present, influences readers’ reception of historical fiction and alternate history fiction and their interpretation of the past. Set against the historical backdrop of WWII, the Vietnam War, and the War on Terror, the novels under discussion tell Jewish, Japanese, white American, African, Muslim, and Native Americans’ stories of trauma and survival. As a means to transmit memories of past events, these novels demonstrate how multidirectional memory can be not only collective but connective, as exemplified by the echoes that post-9/11 readers hear between different histories of violence that the novels chronicle, as well as between the past and the present. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Eight Arms to Hold You: Alternate History Beatle Fiction John Poole, |
| alternate history fiction examples: Alternate History Kathleen Singles, 2013-10-14 While, strictly speaking, Alternate Histories are not Future Narratives, their analysis can shed a clear light on why Future Narratives are so different from past narratives. Trying to have it both ways, most Alternate Histories subscribe to a conflicting set of beliefs concerning determinism and freedom of choice, contingency and necessity. For the very first time, Alternate Histories are here discussed against the backdrop of their Other, Future Narratives. The volume contains in-depth analyses of the classics of the genre,such as Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle and Philip Roth's The Plot against America, as well as less widely-discussed manifestations of the genre, such as Dieter Kühn's N, Christian Kracht's Ich werde hier sein im Sonnenschein und im Schatten, and Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds. |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Alternate History Karen Hellekson, 2001 What would the world be like is history had taken a different course? Science fiction literature has long contemplated this question, and this text analyzes alternate history science fiction through a variety of historical models. It raises questions of narrative, writers, temporality and time. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Alternate Histories and Nineteenth-Century Literature Ben Carver, 2017-10-17 This book provides the first thematic survey and analysis of nineteenth-century writing that imagined outcomes that history might have produced. Narratives of possible worlds and scenarios—referred to here as “alternate histories”—proliferated during the nineteenth century and clustered around pressing themes and emergent disciplines of knowledge. This study examines accounts of undefeated Napoleons after Waterloo, alternative genealogies of western civilization from antiquity to the (nineteenth-century) present day, the imagination of variant histories on other worlds, lost-world fictions that “discovered” improved relations between men and women, and the use of alternate history in America to reconceive the relationship between the New World and the Old. The “untimely” imagination of other histories interrogated the impact of new techniques of knowledge on the nature of history itself. This book sheds light on the history of speculative thought, and the relationship between literature and the history of ideas in the nineteenth century. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Relativism, Alternate History, and the Forgetful Reader Derek Thiess, 2014-11-25 The writer of alternate history asks “what if?” What if one historical event were different, what would the world look like today? In a similar way, the postmodern philosopher of history suggests that history is literature, or that if we read certain historical details differently we would get a distinctly different interpretation of past events. While the science fiction alternate history means to illuminate the past, to increase our understanding of past events, however, the postmodern approach to history typically suggests that such understanding is impossible. To the postmodern philosopher, history is like literature in that it does not offer the reader access to the past, but only an interesting story. Building on criticism that suggests personal psychological reasons for this obscuring the past, and using a literary theory of readership, this book challenges the postmodern approach to history. It channels the speculative power of science fiction to read the works of postmodern philosophy of history as alternate histories themselves, and to map the limits and pathology of their forgetful reading of the past. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Young Adult Science Fiction C. W. Sullivan III, 1999-03-30 At the close of the nineteenth century, American youths developed a growing interest in electricity and its applications, machines, and gadgetry. When authors and publishers recognized the extent of this interest in technology, they sought to create reading materials that would meet this market need. The result was science fiction written especially for young adults. While critics tended to neglect young adult science fiction for decades, they gradually came to recognize its practical and cultural value. Science fiction inspired many young adults to study science and engineering and helped foster technological innovation. At the same time, these works also explored cultural and social concerns more commonly associated with serious literature. Nor was young adult science fiction a peculiarly American phenomenon: authors in other countries likewise wrote science fiction for young adult readers. This book examines young adult science fiction in the U.S. and several other countries and explores issues central to the genre. The first part of the book treats the larger contexts of young adult science fiction and includes chapters on its history and development. Included are discussions of science fiction for young adults in the U.S. and in Canada, Great Britain, Germany, and Australia. These chapters are written by expert contributors and chart the history of young adult science fiction from the nineteenth century to the present. The second section of the book considers topics of special interest to young adult science fiction. Some of the chapters look at particular forms and expressions of science fiction, such as films and comic books. Others treat particular topics, such as the portrayal of women in Robert Heinlein's works and representations of war in young adult science fiction. Yet another chapter studies the young adult science fiction novel as a coming-of-age story and thus helps distinguish the genre from science fiction written for adult readers. All chapters reflect current research, and the volume concludes with extensive bibliographies. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Appropriating History Matthias Schwartz, Nina Weller, 2024-09-30 Popular media play an important role in reconstructing collective imaginations of history. Dramatic events and ruptures of the 20th century provide the material for playful as well as neo-imperialist and nationalist appropriations of the past. The contributors to the volume investigate this phenomenon using case studies from Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian popular cultures. They show how in mainstream films, TV series, novels, comics and computer games, the reference to Soviet history offers role models, action patterns and even helps to justify current political and military developments. The volume thus presents new insights into the multi-layered and explosive dynamics of popular culture in Eastern Europe. |
| alternate history fiction examples: Science Fiction Literature through History [2 volumes] Gary Westfahl, 2021-07-19 This book provides students and other interested readers with a comprehensive survey of science fiction history and numerous essays addressing major science fiction topics, authors, works, and subgenres written by a distinguished scholar. This encyclopedia deals with written science fiction in all of its forms, not only novels and short stories but also mediums often ignored in other reference books, such as plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels. Some science fiction films, television programs, and video games are also mentioned, particularly when they are relevant to written texts. Its focus is on science fiction in the English language, though due attention is given to international authors whose works have been frequently translated into English. Since science fiction became a recognized genre and greatly expanded in the 20th century, works published in the 20th and 21st centuries are most frequently discussed, though important earlier works are not neglected. The texts are designed to be helpful to numerous readers, ranging from students first encountering science fiction to experienced scholars in the field. |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible Vlad Petre Glăveanu, 2023-01-25 The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible represents a comprehensive resource for researchers and practitioners interested in an emerging multidisciplinary area within psychology and the social sciences: the study of how we engage with and cultivate the possible within self, society and culture. Far from being opposed either to the actual or the real, the possible engages with concrete facts and experiences, with the result of transforming them. This encyclopedia examines the notion of the possible and the concepts associated with it from standpoints within psychology, philosophy, sociology, neuroscience and logic, as well as multidisciplinary fields of research including anticipation studies, future studies, complexity theory and creativity research. Presenting multiple perspectives on the possible, the authors consider the distinct social, cultural and psychological processes - e.g., imagination, counterfactual thinking, wonder, play, inspiration, and many others - that define our engagement with new possibilities in domains as diverse as the arts, design and business. |
| alternate history fiction examples: 2011 Novel And Short Story Writer's Market Alice Pope, 2010-07-22 Now includes a subscription to NSSWM online (the fiction section of writersmarket.com). For 28 years, Novel & Short Story Writer's Market has been the only resource of its kind exclusively for fiction writers. Anyone who is writing novels and/or storiesâ€whether romance or literary, horror or graphic novelâ€needs this resource to help them prepare their submissions and sell their work. You'll have access to listings for over 1,100 book publishers, magazines, literary agents, writing contests and conferences, each containing current contact information, editorial needs, schedules and guidelines that save writers time and take the guesswork out of the submission process. NSSWM includes more than 100 pages of listings for literary journals alone and another 100 pages of book publishers (easily four times as many markets for fiction writers as Writer's Market offers). It also features over a 100 pages of original content: interviews with working editors and writers, how-tos on the craft of fiction, and articles on the business of getting published. |
| alternate history fiction examples: The Oxford Companion to English Literature Dinah Birch, 2009-09-24 The Oxford Companion to English Literature has long been established as the leading reference resource for students, teachers, scholars, and general readers of English literature. It provides unrivalled coverage of all aspects of English literature - from writers, their works, and the historical and cultural context in which they wrote, to critics, literary theory, and allusions. For the seventh edition, the Companion has been thoroughly revised and updated to meet the needs and concerns of today's students and general readers. Over 1,000 new entries have been added, ranging from new writers - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Patrick Marber, David Mitchell, Arundhati Roy - to increased coverage of writers and literary movements from around the world. Coverage of American literature has been substantially increased, with new entries on writers such as Cormac McCarthy and Amy Tan and on movements and publications. Contextual and historical coverage has also been expanded, with new entries on European history and culture, post-colonial literature, as well as writers and literary movements from around the world that have influenced English literature. The Companion has always been a quick and dependable source of reference for students, and the new edition confirms its pre-eminent role as the go-to resource of first choice. All entries have been reviewed, and details of new works, biographies, and criticism have been brought right up to date. So also has coverage of the themes, approaches and concepts encountered by students today, from terms to articles on literary theory and theorists. There is increased coverage of writers from around the world, as well as from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and of contextual topics, including film and television, music, and art. Cross-referencing has been thoroughly updated, with stronger linking from writers to thematic and conceptual entries. Meanwhile coverage of popular genres such as children's literature, science fiction, biography, reportage, crime fiction, fantasy or travel literature has been increased substantially, with new entries on writers from Philip Pullman to Anne Frank and from Anais Nin to Douglas Adams. The seventh edition of this classic Companion - now under the editorship of Dinah Birch, assisted by a team of 28 distinguished associate editors, and over 150 contributors - ensures that it retains its status as the most authoritative, informative, and accessible guide to literature available. |
| alternate history fiction examples: 2009 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market - Listings Editors Of Writers Digest Books, 2008-07-01 For 28 years, Novel & Short Story Writer's Market has been the only resource of its kind exclusively for fiction writers. Covering all genres from romance to mystery to horror and more, this resource helps you prepare your submissions and sell your work. This must-have guide includes listings for over 1,300 book publishers, magazines, literary agents, writing contests and conferences, each containing current contact information, editorial needs, schedules and guidelines that save you time and take the guesswork out of the submission process. With more than 100 pages of listings for literary journals alone and another 100 pages of book publishers, plus special sections dedicated to the genres of romance, mystery/thriller, speculative fiction, and comics/graphic novels, the 2009 edition of this essential resource is your key to successfully selling your fiction. |
| alternate history fiction examples: 2009 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market - Articles Editors Of Writers Digest Books, 2008-07-01 For 28 years, Novel & Short Story Writer's Market has been the only resource of its kind exclusively for fiction writers. Covering all genres from romance to mystery to horror and more, this resource helps you prepare your submissions and sell your work. This must-have guide includes listings for over 1,300 book publishers, magazines, literary agents, writing contests and conferences, each containing current contact information, editorial needs, schedules and guidelines that save you time and take the guesswork out of the submission process. With more than 100 pages of listings for literary journals alone and another 100 pages of book publishers, plus special sections dedicated to the genres of romance, mystery/thriller, speculative fiction, and comics/graphic novels, the 2009 edition of this essential resource is your key to successfully selling your fiction. |
Feedback and Suggestions (Path of Exile 1) - Can we have Alternate …
4 days ago · Path of Exile is a free online-only action RPG under development by Grinding Gear Games in New Zealand.
Support - Path of Exile
If you think you've lost your weapons, you've probably swapped to the alternate weapon tabs by pressing X. Please try toggling back with the X key before posting a bug report about it. For …
Feedback and Suggestions (Path of Exile 1) - Can we have Altern…
5 days ago · Path of Exile is a free online-only action RPG under development by Grinding Gear Games in New Zealand.
Support - Path of Exile
If you think you've lost your weapons, you've probably swapped to the alternate weapon tabs by pressing X. Please try toggling back with the X key before …
