The Apolyton Science Fiction Discussion Group: August Nominations - Page 2

JohnT · June 20, 2003, 21:01

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Simply stated, an alternate history is the description and/or discussion of an historical "what if" and its possible consequences.

Other names which may apply to the form include alternative histories, allohistories, counterfactuals, counterfeit worlds, if worlds, negative histories, uchronias, etc. Whatever it is called, alternate history somehow involves one or more past events which "happened otherwise" and includes some amount of description of the subsequent effects on history. Perhaps the most common themes in alternate history are "What if the Nazis won World War II?" and "What if the Confederacy won the Civil War?", but alternate Napoleons, Romes and Kennedys are also popular subjects.

Alternate history may appear in novels, short stories, scholarly essays, comic books, movies, television shows, plays and elsewhere, but this bibliography limits its attention to alternative history in printed form.

The extent to which an alternate history may be developed varies radically and might comprise the entire plotline of a novel (e.g., Robert Sobel's For Want of a Nail... or Peter G. Tsouras's Gettysburg: An Alternate History) or perhaps just provide a single paragraph background to a short story or essay.

The majority of alternate history is written as deliberate fiction. As such, it is most often classified as science fiction, or at least that's where you're most likely to find it at your local bookstore. Nevertheless, you will find examples in other genres, including horror, mystery, historical non-fiction, historical fiction, children's and young-adult fiction, and "mainstream" fiction. When marketed as mainstream fiction or thriller/suspense fiction, alternate histories have been known to crack the bestseller lists (e.g., Len Deighton's SS-GB) and even get made into movies (Robert Harris's Fatherland).

JohnT · June 20, 2003, 21:02

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Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
I don't think any of us has ever read it

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Imran Siddiqui · June 20, 2003, 21:03

Uchronia has a great explination

.

I think it'll be a lively debate as well... incorporating the book and our knowledges of history

.

VetLegion · June 20, 2003, 21:04

Alternate history, great!

How about 1632? No, I haven't read it, but it is available (among others) as free download from http://www.baen.com/library/ and I have heard it is pretty good. About a city from USA that gets teleported to 1632 AD somwhere in Germany..

Also I would second "Man in the high castle". Alternate history resources consider it a landmark of the genre.. I am about to read it very soon.

I have read first book in Great War series by Turtledove but he seems to be quite a scribomaniac so if GW is any indication I would not suggest anything from Turtledove because of sheer volume of his books.

The years of Rice and salt, a friend read it and said it is very boring and pretentious.

VetLegion · June 20, 2003, 21:08

Also, I have read "The difference engine" by Gibson&Sterling. This is both a AH book and a cornerstone of Steampunk genre (check out www.steam-trek.com just for fun

)

Book is sporadically great but the ending is a little dissapointing. Another good thing is, it is short and the topic is good: what-if mechanical computers happened in 1826?

Steampunk rules

JohnT · June 20, 2003, 21:09

"How about 1632? No, I haven't read it, but it is available (among others) as free download from http://www.baen.com/library/ and I have heard it is pretty good. About a city from USA that gets teleported to 1632 AD somwhere in Germany.."

Not AH. Sorry.

JohnT · June 20, 2003, 21:10

The Difference Engine is AH, though.

Btw, to nominate something you have to make it clear that you are actually nominating it.

VetLegion · June 20, 2003, 21:24

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Not AH. Sorry.

It is listed as AH at both Uchronia http://www.uchronia.net/bib.cgi/labe...=flinassiti#11 and Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...195268-2208108

And I am not explicitly recomending anything because I did not read many books in english, so I am not really to judge what is good and what is not. Also my interest in alternate history is pretty recent.

If someone wants a neverending source of excellent AH discussion, I can recommend soc.history.what-if.

Immortal Wombat · June 20, 2003, 21:25

Oooh, The Years of Rice and Salt is good.

Very interesting book that.

JohnT · June 20, 2003, 23:24

Well, if Uchronia sez it is AH then it's AH. My bad.

JohnT · June 20, 2003, 23:27

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Originally posted by VetLegion
And I am not explicitly recomending anything because I did not read many books in english, so I am not really to judge what is good and what is not. Also my interest in alternate history is pretty recent.

Irrelevant. This is a message board, man: You don't have to have any interest or knowledge in a subject to voice an opinion.

For example, my interest in cyberpunk is non-existant, but I still managed to nominate one.

Koyaanisqatsi · June 21, 2003, 01:31

Yes, JohnT, I'll go ahead and nominate The Two Georges.

Not as serious as Ruled Brittanica, but sometimes that's good.

Rex Little · June 21, 2003, 14:33

Under the Yoke, by S.M. Stirling:

"In Under the Yoke Steve Stirling has created a world in which the losers in the American Revolution did not have a Canada to flee to. Instead they had--South Africa. Strangely enough, this seemingly minor reality shift made the future history of that world totally different from our own.

"The refugees called their new world Drakesland, and they called themselves the Draka. In Drakesland these slave-owning American Tories and their descendants created a society dedicated to the proposition that all peoples are created equal--equal under the heel of the Draka. Having pacified Africa they headed north to Europe, with the same result. Now it's our turn."

Under the Yoke is actually the second book of a trilogy, but it stands perfectly well on its own and is, IMO, the best of the three. There's also a fourth, Drakon, in which a genetically-engineered Draka superwoman from 400 years in the future goes through a wormhole to our universe and our time, but that would be stretching the definition of the category.

JohnT · June 21, 2003, 14:47

Just a slight stretch...

St Leo · June 21, 2003, 16:47

Quote:

Originally posted by JohnT
"How about 1632? No, I haven't read it, but it is available (among others) as free download from http://www.baen.com/library/ and I have heard it is pretty good. About a city from USA that gets teleported to 1632 AD somwhere in Germany.."

Not AH. Sorry.

Eh? Island-in-the-sea-of-time stories are very much althist. They get discussed in soc.history.what-if all the time.

JohnT · June 21, 2003, 18:04

Note my correction.

St Leo · June 21, 2003, 19:52

I be doofus.

JohnT · June 22, 2003, 09:31

C'mon! Any more nominations? How about from the AH elitists, like Che?