The Alternate History Book Club

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Sirius

LSCatilina said:
What about The Difference Engine? I never read it, tough it is translated, but everyone I met that I read it seems to all agree that it was a quality novel.
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I tried reading it when I was younger; got about half-way through. The prose was just too dense for me. I'd consider giving it another try but I have to long of a reading list right now.
 

Greg Grant

VidaLaVida said:
Thanks for posting the discussion thread, B Munro. Meanwhile, I'm going to update our list with some of the newer suggestions that have been proposed thus far.

14. SS-GB (detective story set after Nazi Germany successfully invades and occupies Britain in 1941. A Scotland Yard homicide detective, working under the authority of the British branch of the SS, investigates a mysterious murder in London that leads to a dark web of intrigue that combines the internal politics of Nazi-dominated Britain, the British resistance movement, and international geopolitics)
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I'd love to discuss this book, because novels such as this say as much about the mood of the time they were written in as they do about the actual speculative fiction and the period they are set in.
 

bugwar

Banned
Slipsliding Away

What are the thoughts on the ‘Farthing’ series by Jo Walton?



As a alternate WWII timeline, I thought the series was a lot of fun to read.

It was nominated for a Nebula Award, a Quill Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel, the Locus Award and the Sidewise Award for Alternate History.

It won the Romantic Times 2006 Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
 

Greg Grant

bugwar said:
What are the thoughts on the ‘Farthing’ series by Jo Walton?



As a alternate WWII timeline, I thought the series was a lot of fun to read.

It was nominated for a Nebula Award, a Quill Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel, the Locus Award and the Sidewise Award for Alternate History.

It won the Romantic Times 2006 Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
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Well written, but really a romance novel with an AH gimmick rather than an AH novel. That being said, I liked it. It was... well, enjoyable is not the right word, because nobody does casual brutality like the Brits, but it was compelling. I was invested in the characters, and as the world kept going to crap in a hurry, I wanted them to do well. At least the first novel in the series, I lost interest in the sequels.
 

masteroftheveiledthreat

Banned
Kaiphranos said:
So! I have been noticing for a while that despite its name, there didn't seem to be all that much discussion of published alternate history in the Alternate History Books forum, despite its name, and I had been thinking about ways to stimulate a bit more discussion. Now that the Maps & Graphics have been spun off into their own forum, this seems like as good a time to start as any.

The idea is this: every month, interested AH.com members would come here and post alternate history-related works they think the club should read. Once a work passes some threshold, it gets put on the reading list to be read at some future date--whatever's at the top of the reading list is the book for the month. That gives all interested parties some time to track down copies if necessary. At the end of the month, I (or whoever happens to be running things) will post a discussion thread, hopefully with a few questions or whatnot to get people started, and we can proceed from there.

If there are people out there who would be interested in this, start posting some things you'd like to see on the reading list. I'm thinking once we have about 5-10 people who've expressed interest, we should be able to get started. (Maybe fewer for the first few rounds, depending on what the enthusiasm level is like.)

Works don't have to be full length books (short stories, novellas, etc. are welcome as well) but should be related to alternate history in some way. (Time travel stories, paleofutures, and that sort of thing may be featured from time to time as well.) Plausibility is not a terribly important criterion. As far as series go: if you'd like to propose a series, please post one book at a time; the next book will not be eligible until the previous one has been read.

Questions, comments, thoughts, suggestions, proposals? Post them here!
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I suggest Thor meets Captain America a novella by David Brin.
 
Kaiphranos

Kaiphranos

Donor
B_Munro said:
Silent as the grave: where are you, Kaiphranos? What are we doing for October?
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Alas, real-world concerns have been cutting into my alternate history time lately. :( (Thanks for running the MitHC discussion, by the way.) I believe the next book in the queue is Bring the Jubilee; if everyone's still up for that, I should be able to have a discussion thread posted by the end of the week or so.
 
Kaiphranos

Kaiphranos

Donor
Alright, the new discussion thread is up. The next book on the list is Agent of Byzantium, so unless I hear strong opinions otherwise, that will be the topic of next month's discussion. (I believe Guns of the South is up after that...)
 
Kaiphranos

Kaiphranos

Donor
Georgepatton said:
It is in The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century anthology that Turtledove and Greenberg edited.
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There is, though I think it's the novella version--I'm not sure which parts of the novel it includes, though I would presume it contains most of the major plot points...
 

Claudius

I have a VERY old copy. It must date from the 50's or 60's since the cover price is 35 cents! I love old book stores.
 
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westwoodlans

a oddity worth a go

may I suggest the following for a future read, its written by Daphne Du Maurier
best known for 1930s fiction and author of the short story that gave rise to the Birds, and rebecca

She wrote a book called " rule Brittania " set in the 1970's with a "alliance" of the US and UK brought about by the UK's economic downfall, its set in the west country and sets out how a occupation is gradually resisted, a bit odd but worth a read just to se how a respected author sets out the story, use of grammar,
and character settings.
 
Kaiphranos

Kaiphranos

Donor
westwoodlans said:
may I suggest the following for a future read, its written by Daphne Du Maurier
best known for 1930s fiction and author of the short story that gave rise to the Birds, and rebecca

She wrote a book called " rule Brittania " set in the 1970's with a "alliance" of the US and UK brought about by the UK's economic downfall, its set in the west country and sets out how a occupation is gradually resisted, a bit odd but worth a read just to se how a respected author sets out the story, use of grammar,
and character settings.
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Hmm. That sounds more like paleofuture than alternate history, if I understand rightly. Still, if there is interest from others, we can add it to the list.

Speaking of which, the discussion thread for our next book, Agent of Byzantium, by Harry Turtledove, will be posted around the middle of the month, so for anyone who is interested, you have about a week to dig up a copy and read or re-read it!
 
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