I just released All Union, an alternate history novel that I've been delighted to write.
Get it here:
https://www.amazon.com/All-Union-Novel-Love-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0BW51JVX2/
The USSR survives in a modified and reformed (to what degree depends on where you are and who you ask) form called the Union of Soviet
Sovereign Republics. So did the Ceausescu regime in Romania, and the two met in a war in 1998. In it, Nicolae Ceausescu simply disappeared without a trace. But then a clue to his fate turned up in the most unusual place.
First half is a sort of "pop epic"/broad-scale character fiction while the second half is a lot more technothrillery.
As an update on Coiler's book, here's the Review I posted on Amazon:
5.0 out of 5 stars All Union gives us a fantastic look into a USSR that almost was!
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2023
Verified Purchase
When writing Alternate History, authors are often challenged between world building and character building. It is difficult to do both well. Colin Salt’s novel approach (and I don’t know if that pun was intended or not TBH) pays off well, where he clearly divides his book into a deep character dive, with a sprinkling of world building, followed by a riveting war thriller.
I was a bit dubious of the sub title, but this book really is about love, mystery and war, and each aspect is well told. In my experience that combination is very rare. Most author’s who can write a badass battle scene tend to embarrass themselves when they try to incorporate a true love story. But Colin easily slides between the two. The Mystery was fun, and I 100% didn’t see it coming, though the payoff in the epilog was a bit of a let down to this reader.
It's almost an intangible, but there's something about Colin's diction. There were several times in the book where I laughed out loud at a turn of phrase, and then stopped, thinking "I feel like I'm the only person in the world who finds that funnny" Almost like I'm sharing an inside joke with a stranger. Read the book, and tell me if that makes any sense.
If you are a fan of history, and what might have been, this is a great read. Colin doesn’t get bogged down in the minutia of Governing the Soviet Sovereign Republics, but provides an interesting overview of how some of this could have come to be.
Finally, this is a complete story. It has a beginning, a Middle and an end. It doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, but it leaves the door open for another installment that I hope the author pursues, and I’ll read if and when it comes out.