Different 'traditions' in the alternate history genre

[SpanishSpy]

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.

 

[herkles]

how would you describe the genre of AH in games and in Paradox AARs?

 

[SpanishSpy]

how would you describe the genre of AH in games and in Paradox AARs?

I’d say it’s part of the same trend that has brought the genre to television.

 

[CJD]

So essentially how AH is presented in different mediums?
In the realm of TV Alternate History there’s also stuff like Fringe, or Counterpart which focus on sci-fi concepts like the Multiverse or how different characters have changed in the varying timelines, with the AH aspect being more of a setup then the main focus.

 

[Greg Grant]

I'd argue you need to look more towards the themes discussed, over time. Because to me, something like the What Ifs of the American Civil War have a very, very rich history broken up by decades and outside influences at who covers it, why, how and what they do with it. And the way people have approached ACW, or "Nazis Win" over the decades is almost a completely different subset from the rest of AH fiction.

I once did a very broad and general take on how ACW Alternates varied over the last hundred years and that showed to me the many difference in what authors were coming to make what points with it.

 

[SpanishSpy]

So essentially how AH is presented in different mediums?
In the realm of TV Alternate History there’s also stuff like Fringe, or Counterpart which focus on sci-fi concepts like the Multiverse or how different characters have changed in the varying timelines, with the AH aspect being more of a setup then the main focus.

That's part of it, definitely - it was raised on SLP that many of the foundational works of AH are based on time travel or other dimension-hopping, signalling a connection with old science fiction and fantasy adventure tales. On another forum, I saw it argued that a lot of the modern shows with the premise are relying on shock value, and I'd argue that some video games meet the definition too.

I'd argue you need to look more towards the themes discussed, over time. Because to me, something like the What Ifs of the American Civil War have a very, very rich history broken up by decades and outside influences at who covers it, why, how and what they do with it. And the way people have approached ACW, or "Nazis Win" over the decades is almost a completely different subset from the rest of AH fiction.

I once did a very broad and general take on how ACW Alternates varied over the last hundred years and that showed to me the many difference in what authors were coming to make what points with it.

I for one would be very interested in reading your take on the evolution of Civil War alternate history.


I've thought this over, taking in conversation on different sites, and this is my revised version of the idea set forth in my original post.

There are three traditions of alternate history writing. They are:

The print tradition: Created by science fiction and fantasy writers looking for new settings for their adventures. There is an emphasis on worldbuilding, albeit not necessarily accurate worldbuilding, and on exciting plots and political intrigue. Harry Turtledove is the undisputed leader of this tradition, in which he is joined by most AH writers at publishing houses.

The online tradition: began to diverge from the print tradition during the 1990s (the two were, to my understanding, a single scene on Usenet) and matured into its own on soc.history.what-if and then this site, and has culminated thus far in the creation and success of Sea Lion Press. This school of AH writing focuses on rigorous exploration of a central "What If" conceit. Its writers are mostly internet history nerds. Most timelines on this site fall under this label, as does most works published by Sealion Press. It has its antecedents in Robert Sobel's For Want of a Nail and John Hackett's The Third World War.

The broadcast tradition: Began in the late 2000s as a way of exploring new ground, often focusing on shock value to earn viewers. This tradition has given us the The Man in the High Castle show, as well as 1983 on Netflix. I'd argue the newer Wolfenstein games count as well. This tradition is at the mercy of broadcast executives and has to cater to mainstream audiences significantly more than the other two. Antecedents can be found in certain AH works written by mainstream authors; I'd argue that Fatherland by Robert Harris and SS-GB by Len Deighton are examples of these antecedents.

In addition to those, there are works by mainstream authors that exist out of these traditions, usually using the central "What If" conceit with the intention of examining a political or philosophical issue. For example, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is about American race relations, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon is about Jewish identity and the conventions of the pulp detective genre.

I await your thoughts on the revised version.

 

[Greg Grant]

I for one would be very interested in reading your take on the evolution of Civil War alternate history.

Here were my rough thoughts on the evolution of the genre 12 years ago, when I first joined the forum:

https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...ion-usa-vs-csa-1970-style.67645/#post-1189563

 

[drewmcgunn]

Interesting topic.

Over the years, broadly speaking, I've identified two types of alternative history. The first type is where alternate history is the backdrop of the story, like the Yiddish Policeman's Union. I'd argue that Man in the High Castle fits this as well. I'd also put Fatherland into this category. The story drives the narrative and the AH is there to enhance the narrative, but doesn't typically drive it. Sometimes, you could pull the AH from the story and have a substantially unchanged story (sometimes, not so much).

The second type is where the story's focus is on the POD event, or it's aftermath. The story is driven by the exploration of the event. Flint's 1632 or Turtledove's Guns of the South fit within this. Going back to the golden era of SciFi, I'd argue that deCamp's Lest Darkness Fall is also a prime example of this type. I'd probably put King's 11.23.61 in here, but I could see arguments to the contrary, too.

If I ran with these two types, I'd probably put all of the plausible timelines into the second category. I think with only a few exceptions, most of what gets created on AH.com fits within the second type. Now, I'm not saying that everything would neatly fit within these two broad categories or that you could argue that a story belongs in the other category from where I saw it... There's going to be some wiggle room for subjectivity.

I'm not really arguing that you couldn't divvy up AH into the divisions outlined by the OP, but to me, most of what's posted/created here can be defined as exploring the POD.

Anyway, great topic @SpanishSpy