I have written science fiction before but never alternate history, though i. Alternate history is a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction and historical fiction that is set in a world in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. The most unusual alternate history novels ever published. Hypothetical axis victory in world war ii wikipedia. Alternate history books are a great way to explore these questions, and alternate history for teens is becoming increasingly popular.
So sit back and enjoy reading jason kahns the vivisectionists daughter. Alternate history fiction is where an author takes a point in history and asks what if it had happened differently. Aug 14, 2011 what could be done without major personality changes to have germany win it all in ww2. World war ii alternate histories are texts wherein events during world war ii occurred differently to. Best alternate history novels and stories 611 books. The protagonist is the writer of a popular soap opera also called an englishmans castle that is set during the battle of britain. The original concept of red alert was what if adolf hitler did not take control, i base this story around the same assumption except this time.
A secondary type, sometimes called honorary alternate history, consists of speculative fiction stories written a considerable period of time ago, and set in a time period which has since passed. The list tries to avoid novels featuring timetravel or parallel universes as they could be seen as subgenres. Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories in which one or more historical events occur differently. Discover the best alternate history science fiction in best sellers.
How to have germany win it all in ww2 alternate history fiction. Alternate history sometimes abbreviated ah is the most frequently used term for the fictional genre which often presupposes a change of a minor historical event that produces an incredible series of changes in the world, diverging it from our timeline otl and creating a new, alternate and parallel world. This is an apolitical forum for discussions on the axis nations and related topics hosted by the axis history factbook in cooperation with christian ankerstjernes panzerworld and christoph awenders ww2 day by day. World war ii documentary hd alternate history the nazi. World war ii alternate histories alternative history.
Free extracts from subsequent stories from issue 7 will be published online over the coming weeks in the vivisectionists daughter by jason kahn the famous physician and. If the list of alternate history fiction on wikipedia is any indication, alternate history fiction has never been more popular than it has been in the past thirty years. This vibrant fiction genre could be renamed what if books. Alternate history websites, discussion boards and blogs. I removed all of the fictitious characters and inserted real life ones and got rid of all of the fancy technologies for what i feel. Apr 11, 2017 the 11 coolest alternate history stories in video games. Obviously in my timeline, it doesnt and that would drastically change the outcome of the civil war. World war ii alternate histories are texts wherein events during world war ii occurred differently to those in history.
We all know about ww2, the american civil war, ww1, the american revolution, various roman. What if the confederates won the american civil war. Most of them go big with their premises, latching onto historys biggest villains and biggest moments and positing a simple tweak to events, then following the infinite threads it generates to their logical conclusions. Jul, 2018 science fiction and fantasy writers love to twist real history into alternate history and explore stories that might have been. The best historical fiction books about world war ii you. However the genre is awash with overused tropes and concentrated on various eras to the detriment of others. Its focus is on what we call the steam, diesel and atomic eras, which correspond with the following three genres of speculative fiction. Small means playing in the margins, subtly twisting known history, or exploring secret histories, changing the meaning of events while leaving the timeline more or less intact.
This is what happens to stories set 20 minutes into the future when the twenty minutes have passed. The alternate history is fertile ground in science fiction, the ultimate what if that lies at the core of all stories writ large. Apr 10, 2019 though it may be a popular genre, only a select few historical fiction books about world war ii truly capture the nuance and danger of that period of time in our worlds history. Luckily for you, there are a ton of allohistories that pick more obscure and interesting points of. The point of divergence is the german army managing to sorround moscow with much of the soviet political structure being murdred. World war ii documentary hd alternate history the nazi ww2. Many, many alternate history ask how the world would be different if germany had won world war ii. Ww2 had a great many naval participants but many of these navies didnt achieve as much as they had the potential to. The man in the high castle was the most popular show on amazon prime in 2015 and has recieved high praise. Alternate history fiction is a website run by grey wolf, providing a permanent resource. The reigning master of alternate history pens this spectacular finale to the story that began in the bestselling worldwar series and continued in the explosive colonization trilogy. This collaboration assumes texan history stays the same when they ask what if the south had won the civil war. In an alternative world war ii that lasts ten years, japan becomes a stronger naval power thanks to admiral isoroku yamamoto who appears.
A few different decisions result in world war 2 happening a bit differently. How to have germany win it all in ww2 alternate history. Science fiction and fantasy writers love to twist real history into alternate history and explore stories that might have been. World war ii alternate histories alternative history fandom.
Nov 15, 2019 so alternate history has become a fairly respectable genre of speculative fiction these days. For examples of alternate history work, see alternate history literature and alternate history web. Numerous examples exist in several languages worldwide. Set in a version of america that is ruled by japan and germany, with a neutral zone in between, this book is gets a little loopy, but its a classic of the genre. See more ideas about ww2 aircraft, aircraft and alternate history. An example of honorary alternate history is the 1980s series the zone by james rouch about world war iii in europe. Napoleon and the conquest of the world by louis geoffroy, napoleon s first french empire emerging. And the man in the high castle is among the most wellknown books that tackle that question.
These alternate history books imagine the possibilities. Clearly alternate history is acceptable in writing nowadays. American archaeologist martin padway is visiting the pantheon in rome in 1938. We always have to keep in mind that a documentary, after all, can tell lies and it can tell lies because it lays claim to a form of veracity which fiction doesnt. An alternate history novel is mentioned by the protagonists in which ww 3 was averted, though needless to say it doesnt have the kennedys being assassinated either. Mar 15, 2017 we always have to keep in mind that a documentary, after all, can tell lies and it can tell lies because it lays claim to a form of veracity which fiction doesnt. This is perhaps because on the surface it can look like fantasy or sciencefiction involved as it is with stories of worlds not our own however beneath the surface its an entirely different thing. Other terms used include alternative history, allohistory and uchronie. As a special treat for readers of the alt hist website we are making the whole of the first story of alt hist issue 7 free online. So alternate history has become a fairly respectable genre of speculative fiction these days. World war ii alternate histories are fiction wherein events during world war ii occurred differently to those in history.
These stories usually contain what if scenarios at crucial points in history and present outcomes other than those in the historical record. Alternate history fiction, swansea, united kingdom. Jun 07, 2017 the alternate history is fertile ground in science fiction, the ultimate what if that lies at the core of all stories writ large. The bbc serial an englishmans castle is set in an alternate 1970s, in which nazi germany had invaded and occupied britain during wwii. Underexplored alternate history concepts alternate history. It is similar to mark twain s a connecticut yankee in king arthurs court.
A large amount of the appeal of this genre comes from the interplay between. The first nazivictory alternate history as such, in any language, was published in 1945 months after hitlers suicide and written by the hungarian author laszlo gaspar. With his epic novels of alternate history, harry turtledove shares. The alternate history novel of the battleship tirpitz and convoy pq17. Titled we, adolf i adolf the first, the novel envisages german success after fighting in stalingrad eventually leading to the victorious hitler crowning himself a new modern emperor.
This video is pure fiction and not based on my political views. The most common variant of these detail the victory and survival of nazi germany. What could be done without major personality changes to have germany win it all in ww2. After 1900 latest pod for china to win the second sinojapanese war on their own by 1945 so as far as i understand, china was barely holding on for the first half of the second sinojapanese war, and even in the second half they were not really pushing the japanese out, with operation ichigo being a defeat for china and losing lots og territory. This timeline is an alternate history about a weakness soviet union, and with it, a different 20th century. Alternate history literature asks the question, what if history had developed differently.
World war ii produced alternate history for propaganda. Starting in the real world and then spinning off at one key event, theyre. Never was magazine never was formerly the gatehouse 200818 is an online, noncommercial alternate history magazine, edited by nick ottens. This is a list of alternate history fiction, sorted by type. The books are opening atlantisdiscovery, colonization, and alternate version of frenchindian war. Trailblazer2500 hitlers eventual takeover did not happen, neither did the wwii that we know of, instead, from 19391945 the world remained at peace as it struggled out of the economic depression.
Published in 2004 this is a collection of alternate history shortstories. It starts with the age of colonization, but the east coast of north america was separated from the rest before the europeans discovered it. Small means playing in the margins, subtly twisting. Lest darkness fall is possibly the earliest and best example of the alternate history genre. The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson reincarnation plus alternative history in a world where the black death wiped out 99. There lack of few alternate history films can be chalked up to the complexity of alternate reality fiction as a genre. Alternate history fiction is one of the hidden gems of literature, a sprawling chasm of a genre often overlooked by those not familiar with it. Mirage by matt ruff a world in which the middle east is a superpower while america is a bunch of extremist terrorists. Though it may be a popular genre, only a select few historical fiction books about world war ii truly capture the nuance and danger of that period of time in our worlds history.
These stories can blend speculative elements with historical facts, which is perfect for prompting discussion about what is truth and what is fiction in the novels discussed. Most of them go big with their premises, latching onto historys biggest villains and biggest moments and positing a simple tweak to events, then following the infinite. World war ii alternate histories are one of the two most popular point of divergences to create an alternate history in the english. Such writings express ideas of what the world would be like had the axis powers of germany, italy, and japan won world war ii. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. This novel imagines centuries of history in a world where 99 percent of europeans died, leaving muslim and chinese cultures in. With a pod after february 6, 1922 washington naval treaty, create the best plausible navy for an otl ww2 combatant.
A genre of speculative fiction stories sometimes called uchronia or anachronism, set in a world where one or more historical events unfolded quite differently than they did in the real world. Time travel as a means of creating historical divergences. Most works in this genre are based on real historical events. This particular selection of fiction mostly comes from the what if category where history has diverged from its path and gone in another direction. Alternate universe nazi germany works archive of our own. He easily blends fantasy and science fiction into historical storylines. The most common variant of these detail the victory and survival of the axis powers. The 11 coolest alternate history stories in video games. Tired of alternate history books where the axis won world war ii, or the south won the civil war. A hypothetical axis victory in world war ii has become a common concept of alternative history and counterfactual history. Alternate histories are some of the best stories in fiction. Here are ten of our favorites, twisting the biggest historical event of the last century.