Alternative History Novels

[Buckyrig]

Suggestions?

Any must reads? Must knows?

Is there a seminal work?

[Scott James]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_history

[HaphazardJoy]

The Man in High Castle by Phillip K Dick and just about any of Stephen Lawhead's fantasy based historical fiction. Not super realistic alternative history, but good reads and related genre.

[Screeny]

'Guns of the South' by Harry Turtledove

[DemolitionSamurai]

Seconding 'The Man in the High Castle'.

[chaosgoat]

I can't think of any novels off the top of my head, but That's Not in My American History Book and Lies my Teacher Told Me are great non-fiction revisionist history books.

[Buckyrig]

Thanks guys.

Scott: That's a link about Alternative History. I could have looked that up myself. I'm looking for opinions/suggestions.

Unless your opinion is that I read everything on that they list. :D

[L Jamal]

I like the Eden Trilogy (West of Eden, Winter in Eden, Return to Eden) by Harry Harrison. Basically it is what if dinosaurs had evolved into man like beings and the struggle between these reptiles and early man for the North American continent.

[kdmelrose]

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

[hannu]

Fatherland by Robert Harris. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatherland_%28novel%29
Wasn´t there a movie starring Rutger Hauer?

[Buckyrig]

I can't think of any novels off the top of my head, but That's Not in My American History Book

I had to rifle through my mess to be sure, but I actually have this book. Got buried. I've only read a few pieces though.

Fatherland by Robert Harris.

Sounds like a popular topic. This is in the same ballpark as The Man In The High Tower...which seems to be the book I hear about the most.

Thanks guys. There is a lot of interesting stuff here. Not sure where I'll start yet...but probably with the Dick book.

[kdmelrose]

Also, The Years of Rice and Salt, by Kim Stanley Robinson.

[hannu]

Buckyrig goes for a dick! :w00t:

[Buckyrig]

I knew I should have used his full name. :sure:

[hannu]

You thought these vast halls of learning and intellect known as the Book Club would give you some shelter from vulgar and childish jokes? Plese, take a seat by the fireplace. Cigar? Relax, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. :har:

[Buckyrig]

It could have been worse. Instead of this...

I knew I should have used his full name. :sure:

I originally wrote, "I knew I shouldn't have short-handed it."

I was halfway to clicking submit when I hit backspace instead. :eek:

[DemolitionSamurai]

I heard this is the thread to come to to talk about dicks?

[Buckyrig]

I thought that was the Member's Area.

Hot Cha!

:carrot:

[Newt]

I thought that was the Member's Area.

Hot Cha!

:carrot:

Jimmy? Jimmy Durante? I heard you were dead...

[Buckyrig]

Jimmy? Jimmy Durante? I heard you were dead...

We just got broadband on the Otherside. :bounce:

[Newt]

Hot damn! Hey, if you see Clark Gable, pop him in the eye for me, alright?

I'll sacrifice a pork chop for you....

[J. Alexopoulos]

As far as I'm concerned Harry Turtledove is the king of alternative history.

Guns of the South is a good stand alone, but there's a couple of other series usually focussing on America and the political/social and personal character repurcusions of the alternative history.

[Buckyrig]

'Guns of the South' by Harry Turtledove

As far as I'm concerned Harry Turtledove is the king of alternative history.

Guns of the South is a good stand alone, but there's a couple of other series usually focussing on America and the political/social and personal character repurcusions of the alternative history.

In the end, I ended up picking this one up. The series of Alternate America books seem interesting enough, but I figure a stand-alone is better for sampling.

Of course, I went and got sucked into something else before I started the book. Hopefully, I'll read it next. But I have a couple of books that have already been pushed aside. :laugh:

[Biofungus]

There was a series mentioned here awhile back (it was the only reason I remembered it), but can't remember the name. It's basically what would World War 2 be like if the different factions had dragons. Each book seemed to focus on a different area of the world.

[knockedoutpanzer]

Sci-fi author Brian Stableford wrote an alternative history I think it's Empire of Fear where the world is ruled by ancient aristocracies made up of vampires-why doesn't someone turn that into a comic? :)

And I'm sure the first publisher he sent it to rejected it as his dates for the deaths of kings were all wrong.(As they were vampires they lived a tad bit longer). :laugh:

Man in the High Castle by PKD is still the scariest alternate history. :(

[pi0trov]

Sci-fi author Brian Stableford wrote an alternative history I think it's Empire of Fear where the world is ruled by ancient aristocracies made up of vampires-why doesn't someone turn that into a comic?
Empire of Fear is correct - it's an excellent novel, but as far as I know it's still out of print. You can probably find a used copy (that's what I did, and that was almost 10 years ago).

Also would recommend the Nantucket Trilogy by S.M. Stirling (Island in the Sea of Time, Against the Tide of Years and On the Oceans of Eternity) - a time travel epic where the entire island of 20th century Nantucket is dropped into the Bronze Age and what happens when they start influencing events...

Another good stand alone book by Stirling is The Peshawar Lancers, which looks at a different path for the British empire after a world wide catastrophe occurs in the 19th century.

[knockedoutpanzer]

Empire of Fear is correct - it's an excellent novel, but as far as I know it's still out of print. You can probably find a used copy (that's what I did, and that was almost 10 years ago).

Also would recommend the Nantucket Trilogy by S.M. Stirling (Island in the Sea of Time, Against the Tide of Years and On the Oceans of Eternity) - a time travel epic where the entire island of 20th century Nantucket is dropped into the Bronze Age and what happens when they start influencing events...

Another good stand alone book by Stirling is The Peshawar Lancers, which looks at a different path for the British empire after a world wide catastrophe occurs in the 19th century.

Cheers for those pi0trov they sound interesting. I may check them out. I know Stableford has a web site where you could get his old books.

[exilednight]

I always stick to the tried and true - 1984 by Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury.

The sad part is, within the next 50 years they might no longer be alternative history, but rather current events.

[Multisync143]

1984 sucks balls. Concept was interesting though.

[exilednight]

1984 sucks balls. Concept was interesting though.

Yeah, that's why it is considered one of the best novels ever written in the 20th Century.

[Buckyrig]

1984 is on the short list of novels I've read in one sitting.

I suppose that falls into the same vein, but I don't generally think of future settings as alternative histories. I'm curious as to how much history is woven into the stories.

As far as turning into 1984 - well, I've never had this confirmed - but I was told the book was published/written in 1948 and Orwell just flipped 48 to 84. He was commenting on where we already were as much as where we were going. ;)

[Newt]

If I remember correctly, the film version of 1984 was shot over the dates and in the locations where the novel was set. Pretty neat!

[exilednight]

1984 is on the short list of novels I've read in one sitting.

I suppose that falls into the same vein, but I don't generally think of future settings as alternative histories. I'm curious as to how much history is woven into the stories.

As far as turning into 1984 - well, I've never had this confirmed - but I was told the book was published/written in 1948 and Orwell just flipped 48 to 84. He was commenting on where we already were as much as where we were going. ;)


I don't think we are quite to the extent of 1984 and Big Brother watching our every move, but I feel that we are slowly dwindling down our right to privacy, but anyway.

You are partially correct, 1984 was actually began in 1945, but he didn't finish it until 1948, and thus flipped the numbers when he finished it. It wasn't actually published until 1949 by Secker and Warburg publishing.

[J. Alexopoulos]

There was a series mentioned here awhile back (it was the only reason I remembered it), but can't remember the name. It's basically what would World War 2 be like if the different factions had dragons. Each book seemed to focus on a different area of the world.

Turtledove's Darkness series, beginning with INTO THE DARKNESS. Wasn't as much a fan of this series. It takes place in a magical land, where the magical technologies, and socio-political events parallel those of World War 2. Not so much Alternative History, as Transplanted History.


As for 1984... Awesome.

[Buckyrig]

'Guns of the South' by Harry Turtledove

Well, I'm about 80 pages in and so far so good. But man, is this guy obsessed with minutiae.

I like a deep canvas, but it's a little cumbersome at places.