Carl Amery's books

[Max Sinister]

Did anyone but me read a book by him, or even know his name?

Amery was a German author who did some AH. He did three works of this genre:

Das Königsprojekt (The king's project): The Vatican owns a time machine (done by Leonardo da Vinci) and sends its Swiss guards back in time to change some events. They aren't free to do anything, however, like killing Luther - they can only change events that aren't documented, or where the existing documentation can be changed at the same time on the fly. In the book, they try to give the crown of England to the Wittelsbachs (who're also the heirs to the Scottish throne).

Der Untergang der Stadt Passau (The downfall of the city of Passau): After nuclear WW3, some people rebuild a kind of civilization in Passau. Later, the city will be conquered by the more barbarian people of Rosenheim.

An den Feuern der Leyermark (At the fires of the Leyermark): During the Prussian-German war of 1866, a Bavarian official buys some "guns" in North America. What he doesn't know, however, is that said guns aren't just modern repeting guns, but come together with American volunteer fighters. Thus, the Prussians lose, the Rhineland gets independent, and a few years later, when the French-German war is due, the French troops revolt, and France joins the Central European confederation (a kind of early anarchist-syndicalist European Union).

[sikitu]

Well, being German, I do not know if it counts as a true answer...
However, I have read Koenigsprojekt as well as the Leyermark, and enjoyed both of them.

[oberdada]

I read Untergang der Stadt Passau, it is great.
I had Leyermark in my hands and started reading, but somehow gave up after a couple of pages.

Didn't Carl Amery die just recently?

by the way, we could start a thread for GErman AH, FH books.

[Max Sinister]

@sikitu: Why shouldn't that be the right answer?

@oberdada: Yes, he died last year.
Don't know whether we need a thread for German AH books - there's Amery, and "Wenn das der Führer wüsste" (Nazis win WW2, what else) by Otto Basil, but that's pretty much all I know of... or do you want to include AH translated into German?

[oberdada]

Originally Posted by Max Sinister

@oberdada: Yes, he died last year.
Don't know whether we need a thread for German AH books - there's Amery, and "Wenn das der Führer wüsste" (Nazis win WW2, what else) by Otto Basil, but that's pretty much all I know of... or do you want to include AH translated into German?

No, I wouldn't include translation.
I just thought maybe somebody knew more books.

I know there are two of Christian v. Ditfurth
one about Stauffenberg and one about Rosa von Luxemburg living longer.
I haven't read them, but I now they exists.

Wolfgang Jeschkes Der letzte Tag der Schöpfung also has some AH elements in it.

[sikitu]

Concerning the "German" comment, well, I think that the majority at this board cannot speak German...

On Ditfurth, I have read "Der 21. Juli" (July 21st), AH based on Stauffenberg, not too bad, but also not very realistic, and there also is "Die Mauer steht am Rhein" (the wall stands at the Rhine), an AH/satire in which the German reunification is done the other way round, i.e. the FRG is merged into the GDR, and everything becomes communist. Quite amusing, but not true AH.

[Max Sinister]

I can remember two short stories in an AH collection - one about the GDR taking over West Germany, and one about Germany completely falling apart (one new state mentioned is the Vereinigte BergRepublik of Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Schöneberg, i.e. three bezirke of old Berlin).

Thanks for mentioning von Ditfurth, I even read one of his books but forgot him.

And then there's also a FH book from the Nineties where reunified Germany splits again (and many decades later, the two parts are overtaken by China and Brazil; at the same time, Mexico takes California).

[sikitu]

We are moving a bit OT, but nevertheless...

there is at least one Ditfurth novel in which Hitler is killed in 1932, but I have not read it yet. Furthermore, I still have to get the one with Rosa Luxemburg. However, I will wait for them to either show up on ebay or to be available in a cheap paperback edition...

[Steffen]

I´d say Ditfurth is a better historian than writer. I´ve read "the Consul", but while the idea Göring kills Hitler with a Goethe bust in a hotel in Weimar is nice, the rest of the story has it´s weaknesses.

-both the main character and two of his friends from ww1 meet again, one as press spokesman of the Army, the other as a leading communist? Please.

-And it´s a bit far-fetched a criminal commissar from Berlin is sent to investigate together with an army officer, but no-one from the political police...



I think I´ll buy the Rosas Luxemburg book, interesting topic. I´d like to see if Ditfurth´s writing style changes when the book is about someone he thinks ought have won.

[oberdada]

Ditfurth was even nominated for a GErman SF award.
He was really surprissed, he never thought he had written SF.

[Steffen]

Originally Posted by oberdada

Ditfurth was even nominated for a GErman SF award.
He was really surprissed, he never thought he had written SF.

Really? which one?

Although I would have rather though some pamphlets of his sister winning an SF award

[oberdada]

Originally Posted by Steffen

Really? which one?

Although I would have rather though some pamphlets of his sister winning an SF award

If I remembered which one it was, I would have written it in the first place.
Ach die Jutta ...

[Steffen]

Originally Posted by oberdada

If I remembered which one it was, I would have written it in the first place.
Ach die Jutta ...

Have you seen the catfight with Nina Hagen? Priceless.

[Steffen]

Ah. Some google research indicates the german science fiction award he got is the "Deutscher Science Fiction Preis".

That means, in honor of literature which is supposed to be creative and imaginative, they called the german science fiction award the German Science Fiction Award.

That´s in the league of Leonard da Quirm, if it comes to imaginative names

[oberdada]

I went to the Library to get der 21.Juli ans noticed at home that I had already read the book.
I guess I am getting old.

But I found another Ditfurth book, Die Mauer steht am Rhein.
East GErmany takes over West Germany.
It is really good and quite scarry.
The first AH book I've read with a POD during my lifetime.