The following five works are a great way to dip your toe into the unique genre, as each book neatly navigates fantasy and reality in great hypothetical historical tangents and boasts twisted plotlines that showcase the results of putting historical facts and fantastical elements in the blender. The hardsf book won a sidewise award for alternate history, and was nominated for the arthur c. The books in this genre take an event, say a war, and explore what could have happened if the alternate force had won, instead of the one that did in real history. Alternate history fiction books, listed by author, with links to the authors own pages upon ahf where you can find further information on the book, its genesis and artwork and links to. Parliaments tea act of 1773, however, made that impossible.
The most unusual alternate history novels ever published. It can be variously seen as a subgenre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction. From the master of alternate history comes an epic of the second civil war. Some of them are, colonization and worldwar series alien invasion during world war 2 cross time traffic series a trading company with a. The definition of the whole genre alternate history is that you are mostly trying to be as realistic as possible, except for one or more historical events. Alternate history books are a great way to explore these questions, and alternate history for teens is becoming increasingly popular. The undisputed king of alternative histories is the prolific harry turtledove, who has helped guide the genre into mainstream reading. Generally, alternative history describes fantasy stories in which the history of the story world differs from that of the real world. Browse science fiction alternative history books to rent. His southern victory or timeline191 series has the confederates beating the union. The alternate history genre may contain fantastical elements to. The history nonfiction book genre consists of events of significant change that happened in the past and the discovery, collection, presentation, and organization of the information. I suppose it depends on your definition of alt history, but ill admit it is perhaps a little dodgy. You know, i thought about it, and id have to go nonfiction.
Nice reference site s the world of turtledoves in the presence of mine enemies. Discover the best alternate history science fiction in best sellers. This may because certain historic events happened differently, or because magic exists in the story world and that has affected how history unfolded. History genre whats the best definition for the history genre. Alternative music first started appearing in the mid to late 80s, with some of the earliest bands being the cure who formed in 1976 and following them, r. I can suggest some of the books by harry turtledove. Many, many alternate history ask how the world would be different if germany had won world war ii. Alternate history and science fiction by nick medinger and a musthave reference book. These stories can blend speculative elements with historical facts, which is perfect for prompting discussion about what is truth and what is fiction in the novels discussed. Alternate history or alternative history, sometimes abbreviated ah, is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which one or more historical events unfolds differently from how it did in reality. Alternate history fiction ahf exists to promote and to provide a guide.
As an anonymous new york writer at the time explained, colonists would pay a duty which is a tax for the purpose of raising a revenue from us without our own. A fork in time podcastfiction focus on harry turtledove. Alternate history archives historical novel society. Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting located in the past. Alternate history project gutenberg selfpublishing. Most works in this genre are based on real historical events. Agent of byzantium has the byzantine empire surviving.
A generation after the south won the civil war, america writhed once more in the blo. We provide a guide to where books and ebooks can be bought, to websites dedicated. The clean body by peter ward charts the history of personal cleanliness in the western world from the seventeenth century on, and it takes us through the homes and bathhouses of. M in 1980, radiohead and janes addiction in 1985, the pixies in 1986 and nirvana in 1987. Theres plenty of imagination on display hereand research, too, as baxter invents not only a credible mission to mars but also a. His days of infamy books have japan occupying hawaii. This is a list of alternate history fiction, sorted by type. Browse series, pseudonyms, synopses, and subgenres.
An alternative history is the first attempt in over a century to tell the complete story of our most popular literary form. Alternate history literature asks the question, what if history had developed differently. A way that we tell the difference between the many books is by looking at a books genre. Refiguring historical time by karen hellekson kent, ohio. Kennedy surviving the dallas assassination attempt. Basically, if you have an imagination, alternate history delivers. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for the historical novel, it can also be applied to other types of narrative, including theatre, opera, cinema and television, as well as video games and graphic novels an essential element of historical fiction is that it is set in the past. Its completely up to you what those details are and to what extent you exactly want to change reality. Captain matt reddy and the crew of the uss walker have been fighting for their lives, ever since their ship was swept from the pacific to another world and they became embroiled in a deadly conflict between the lemurians and the vicio. This is perhaps because on the surface it can look like fantasy or sciencefiction involved as it is with stories of worlds not our own however beneath the surface its an entirely different thing. This isnt your runofthemill alternate history book. In my defense, i have read it described as alternative history somewhere. The guns of the south has the confederates equipped with ak47s by. Our impressive collection of fictionalternative history titles includes such great choices as tongues of serpents, the duchess and alaska republik to name a few.
We conveniently offer downloadable audio and no matter what your favorite. We promote books in the genre, the artwork used for them, and the authors and artists who produce them. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Create a new history, as in the guns of the south, then the story is an alternative history. Have smallscale or personal consequences only, then the story is a timetravel story. A crucial title in the history of american melodic hardcore, with vocalist pete cortner replacing the legendary dave smalley. These are books that look at the nonmainstream belief systems that many people have. Consider how cortners vocal melody and cadence in the opening track. The finest alternate history ever, lighthearted and wise a luminous, radiant novel. One of my favorite books of all time is fahrenheit 451, a strictly fictional story. But if i had to sit with any genre to see which i could get the most out of. The roman empire, having withstood the barbarian hordes and moved on to conquer most of terra firma, including the redoubtable norsemen, has. Sea lion press new book releases announcements thread. With an active marketplace of over 175 million items, use the alibris advanced search page to find any item you are looking for through the advanced search, you can find items by searching specific terms such as title, artist, song title, genre, etc or you can narrow.
Theres plenty of imagination on display hereand research, too, as baxter invents not only a credible mission to mars but also a credible. American colonists loved tea and wished to acquire it cheaply. Of course the elma york would like to go to mars, but theres a lot riding on whoever the international aerospace. Alt hist readers might be interested in a new anthology containing 28 science fiction and fantasy stories based on an extraordinary secret history vatican vaults is a captivating collection of original science fiction and fantasy stories based on the same alternate world premise. Napoleon and the conquest of the world by louis geoffroy, napoleon s first french empire emerging. Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories in which one or more historical events occur differently. The difference between a timetravel story and an alternative history is the scope of events. Alternate history fiction genre complete list of book genres. The following shelves are listed as duplicates of this shelf. True accounts of actual events are the core of historical nonfiction.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the novel did not originate in 18thcentury england, nor even with don quixote, but is coeval with civilization itself. Alternate history is a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction and historical fiction that is set in a world in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. Set in a version of america that is ruled by japan and germany, with a neutral zone in between, this book is gets a little loopy, but its a classic of the. And the man in the high castle is among the most wellknown books that tackle that question. Books in the alternate history fiction genre are based on events in history that transpired or ended differently. A question on the ambiguity of the alternate history genre. It was an epoch of glory and success, of disaster and despair. An austenesque romance, a heartracing mystery full of dangerous twists and an anxietyinducing yet enthralling family feud, louisa morgans the age of witches is anything but a traditional tale of good versus evil. Thanks for the recommendation, ill add it to the list. Instead of picking a divergent point and speculating on its repercussions, eric flint drops a slice of 2000 into 17th century germany. Voyage depicts the 1986 manned mission to mars, possible partially due to john f. Encyclopedic in scope and heroically audacious, the novel. Alternate history fiction is one of the hidden gems of literature, a sprawling chasm of a genre often overlooked by those not familiar with it. This final alternate history novel from the now deceased robert conroy is built.
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