This is something I've been mulling over for a while, regarding certain splits in the alternate history genre. What I'm tempted to think is that there are at least two different 'traditions' of writing within the genre that are noticeable when looking at different works.
I'm not sure if any of that makes sense, so I'll elaborate these two traditions:
The print tradition of alternate history: Turtledove, Stirling, Flint, Conroy, and many other authors who primarily make alternate history in the form of published books from major publishing houses. I would reckon this tradition began with alternate history published among pulp magazines, and takes significant influence from old historical adventure novels as well as science fiction and fantasy. This tradition emphasizes story over plausibility, and tends to create works that function as more typical novels or short stories.
The online tradition of alternate history: a form of alternate history that came into its own in the 1990s with the growth of online discussion fora, which began with usenet, then soc.history.whatif, then this site, then other fora, culminating, as of yet, in Sea Lion Press. Works in this tradition aren't necessarily written in a textbook format, but put a much larger emphasis on plausibility than those in the print tradition. Many of the great timelines on AH.com are cornerstones of this tradition, and several of these can now be purchased as ebooks on kindle or other vendors. Before the internet, For Want of a Nail by Robert Sobel, with its usage of a textbook format combined with a tremendous amount of detail, seems to anticipate elements of the online tradition. Another possible antecedent is The Third World War by John Hackett.
These are the two I'm mostly definite about. The way I see it, the online tradition took elements of the print tradition and melded them to the in-depth historical research that is done for things like Festung Europa or Zhirinovsky's Russian Empire. However, I'm not much aware of influence going the other way around.
There are some works that I'm not sure how to categorize; these are works that are influential in the genre but were produced by creators who didn't or don't have much attachment to alternate history as a genre. These include, but are not limited to, The Man in the High Castle, Fatherland, SS-GB, and The Yiddish Policemen's Union. This would also include mainstream media's foray into alternate history, like The Man in the High Castle series and 1983 on Netflix, a movement which seems not to be beholden to older genre conventions. I wonder if this is the birth of a new tradition which may dethrone the print tradition, which, to me, seems to be on the wane in terms of its dominance of the genre.
I might be on to something. Or, I might be totally wrong. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I'm not sure if any of that makes sense, so I'll elaborate these two traditions:
The print tradition of alternate history: Turtledove, Stirling, Flint, Conroy, and many other authors who primarily make alternate history in the form of published books from major publishing houses. I would reckon this tradition began with alternate history published among pulp magazines, and takes significant influence from old historical adventure novels as well as science fiction and fantasy. This tradition emphasizes story over plausibility, and tends to create works that function as more typical novels or short stories.
The online tradition of alternate history: a form of alternate history that came into its own in the 1990s with the growth of online discussion fora, which began with usenet, then soc.history.whatif, then this site, then other fora, culminating, as of yet, in Sea Lion Press. Works in this tradition aren't necessarily written in a textbook format, but put a much larger emphasis on plausibility than those in the print tradition. Many of the great timelines on AH.com are cornerstones of this tradition, and several of these can now be purchased as ebooks on kindle or other vendors. Before the internet, For Want of a Nail by Robert Sobel, with its usage of a textbook format combined with a tremendous amount of detail, seems to anticipate elements of the online tradition. Another possible antecedent is The Third World War by John Hackett.
These are the two I'm mostly definite about. The way I see it, the online tradition took elements of the print tradition and melded them to the in-depth historical research that is done for things like Festung Europa or Zhirinovsky's Russian Empire. However, I'm not much aware of influence going the other way around.
There are some works that I'm not sure how to categorize; these are works that are influential in the genre but were produced by creators who didn't or don't have much attachment to alternate history as a genre. These include, but are not limited to, The Man in the High Castle, Fatherland, SS-GB, and The Yiddish Policemen's Union. This would also include mainstream media's foray into alternate history, like The Man in the High Castle series and 1983 on Netflix, a movement which seems not to be beholden to older genre conventions. I wonder if this is the birth of a new tradition which may dethrone the print tradition, which, to me, seems to be on the wane in terms of its dominance of the genre.
I might be on to something. Or, I might be totally wrong. I'd love to hear your thoughts.