I recently re-read (or rather, re-listened to the audiobook version) Turtledove's In the Presence of Mine Enemies, which is the first book of AH fiction that I read and, despite its shortcomings, holds a special place for me in my collection of AH fiction.
For obvious reasons, Turtledove kept the PoD vague, and really only focuses on the aspects of domestic life in Berlin itself, giving us only tiny glimpses of what's going on in the rest of the world, mainly through off-hand commentary from the daughter Alicia's classroom, the news broadcasts that feature rather regularly, or the sole setting outside Berlin, when the character Susanna Weiss goes to London for an academic conference. There is just so much that begs to be filled in.
On top of that, there is definitely room to ask "what happens next" Does the analog between Turtledove's early 2010s Reich and the early 1990s Soviet Union continue and the Reich collapse? Does America try to push off the yoke of Nazi control leading to a new conflict? Also, there are questions for the individual characters, as Turtledove hints at future relationships for some of the Jewish children.
I would be interested in trying to better flesh out the rest of the world in Presence, along with potentially exploring where things go after the end of the book.
Any thoughts?
One thing that occurred to me is that Switzerland remains neutral in this TL. What happened to Jews in that country? If the Swiss somehow became a haven for a Jewish community, this might play into the future of Jews in the Reich itself if the reforms continue and lead to a collapse of the Nazi state.
That is just one thought among many.
For example, when the UK fell in WWII, did Canada fall too, or go out on its own with a close alliance with the USA, only to fall in the 1970s during WWIII? And if the latter, did some of the British government and Royal Family go into exile there? Could we have seen a King George of Canada ruling at the same time as Edward VIII retook the throne in the UK after the 1940s? (Assuming that is who took over in the UK under British occupation...the book never says who King Henry IX is the descendent of).
[Note to Admin - I was pretty sure this should go in the "AH Books and Media" forum, but if not please move it to a more appropriate space]
For obvious reasons, Turtledove kept the PoD vague, and really only focuses on the aspects of domestic life in Berlin itself, giving us only tiny glimpses of what's going on in the rest of the world, mainly through off-hand commentary from the daughter Alicia's classroom, the news broadcasts that feature rather regularly, or the sole setting outside Berlin, when the character Susanna Weiss goes to London for an academic conference. There is just so much that begs to be filled in.
On top of that, there is definitely room to ask "what happens next" Does the analog between Turtledove's early 2010s Reich and the early 1990s Soviet Union continue and the Reich collapse? Does America try to push off the yoke of Nazi control leading to a new conflict? Also, there are questions for the individual characters, as Turtledove hints at future relationships for some of the Jewish children.
I would be interested in trying to better flesh out the rest of the world in Presence, along with potentially exploring where things go after the end of the book.
Any thoughts?
One thing that occurred to me is that Switzerland remains neutral in this TL. What happened to Jews in that country? If the Swiss somehow became a haven for a Jewish community, this might play into the future of Jews in the Reich itself if the reforms continue and lead to a collapse of the Nazi state.
That is just one thought among many.
For example, when the UK fell in WWII, did Canada fall too, or go out on its own with a close alliance with the USA, only to fall in the 1970s during WWIII? And if the latter, did some of the British government and Royal Family go into exile there? Could we have seen a King George of Canada ruling at the same time as Edward VIII retook the throne in the UK after the 1940s? (Assuming that is who took over in the UK under British occupation...the book never says who King Henry IX is the descendent of).
[Note to Admin - I was pretty sure this should go in the "AH Books and Media" forum, but if not please move it to a more appropriate space]