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Ruled Britannia
by
Harry Turtledove It is the year 1597, and Spain has been ruling the British Isles for 10 years, the Spanish Armada of this timeline having succeeded where the fleet from our time failed. Queen Isabella and King Albert are the new monarchs, while Elizabeth languishes in the Tower of London. Catholicism is the state religion, and an English Inquisition deals with any heretics. Many things have changed for the average Londoner. But they still enjoy their entertainment, and the stage flourishes. And, certainly, William Shakespeare is the reigning genius of the boards. Surrounded by his troupe, including the clownish yet evil-tempered Will Kemp and the noble Dick Burbage, as well as the irreplaceable "tireman," or costumer, Jack Hungerford, and dozens of others, Shakespeare has gone from triumph to triumph, with such plays as If You Like It and Prince of Denmark. Currently he is at work on Love's Labours Won. But then he is suddenly given two new, contradictory assignments. British loyalists, led by Lord Burghley, enlist Shakespeare to write Boudicca, a play about an ancient English queen resisting Roman invaders. The performance of this allegorical call to arms will be the signal for general riot, during which the English will hopefully retake their land. At the same time, a Spanish commander commissions Will to create a play to honor the dying Spanish monarch, King Philip. How will the playwright manage to honor both requests, and which way will his loyalties ultimately veer? A thoroughly magisterial work of alternate history. |
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The Chronoliths
by
James Axler Robert Charles Wilson is an accomplished and acclaimed writer with an impressive body of work. The Chronoliths is his best novel yet, an intelligent, fascinating, and frightening account of a unique incarnation of time travel. American software developer Scott Warden is living a careless expatriate life on the beaches of 21st century Thailand when a monolithic pillar, sheathed in ice and composed of an unknown, indestructible material, appears in the jungle. The artifact is a chronolith, a memorial commemorating the conquest of Thailand--20 years in the future. As Warden follows his estranged wife and badly injured daughter back to the U.S., more chronoliths celebrating future victories appear, to devastating effect. Bangkok and Jerusalem are destroyed, and societies worldwide dissolve in chaos or teeter on the brink of collapse. As the chronoliths close in on America, Scott joins with biker and undercover agent Hitch Paley and experimental physicist Sue Chopra in a literal race against time to find a way to change the future--which has already happened. |
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Alas, Babylon
by
Pat Frank Alas, Babylon is a superb example of classic post-apocalyptic science fiction. Set in the small Florida town of Fort Repose a group of believable characters survive a nuclear holocaust. Survivors include good and bad characters and it is almost a "Wild West" society that is left to rebuild civilization. Randy Bragg, our hero, holds the book together. He is a man of principle who had little direction in his life until his brother Mark, a member of SAC, sends him a coded message that we are about to enter a nuclear war. Randy snaps into action to take care of Mark's wife and two children who are sent to him in the nick of time. Randy also must make up his mind about the people he cares about most and who he will inform of the upcoming holocaust. This man, with a taste for alcohol and self-indulgence before the war, finds his character tested by the new circumstances of the survivors. A man who could not get elected in a "red-neck" town because he believed in "the whole U.S. Constitution" (equality) ends up instituting martial law in the town and using power wisely and well. Written in 1959 the author effectively addresses racial issues of blacks and Hispanics as well as the often overlooked resourcefulness and maturity of children in developing a tale of courage and hope in the face of the politician's folly. The more you know about history, the military, and human nature, the more you will appreciate this classic work. |
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The Alien Factor
by
Stan Lee
and
Stan Timmons
This alternate history, sci-fi novel packs more punch than one of Lee's superheroes. In 1942 occupied France, a spacecraft has crash-landed, stranding two of its occupants. Before one dies and the other is captured, the aliens befriend a young farm boy. Thinking he has seen an angel, as Joan of Arc once did, he is convinced that he has been chosen to save his country from the Germans. As Marcel begins his quest, the enemy has already captured the remaining live alien and its spacecraft in hopes of discovering their secrets. Meanwhile the Allies, led by Joe Logan (straight out of a superhero mold), are forced to break into a German "Forbidden Zone" and stop Hitler and his Nazis from learning enough not only to win the war but also to take over the entire world. The action keeps coming through short chapters and lots of warfare. A creative force behind some of the most famous Marvel comics of all time, including Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk, Lee has no trouble getting across the emotions and actions of mere mortals. Bound to have a huge crossover appeal to comic readers, this sci-fi novel should do well with teens. |
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The New Madrid Run
by
Michael Reisig Michael Reisig's first major novel, The New Madrid Run, published by an independent press in Arkansas, is an interesting experiment not only in post-apocalyptic literature but in publishing itself. The premise of the novel is a little far-fetched: a violent shift in the Earth's magnetic poles causes massive earthquakes and tidal waves, and the main character, a pilot and sailor in the Florida Keys, makes for some property he bought a long time ago in Arkansas for this express purpose. On the way, he picks up some characters, meets some other characters, and eventually heads to a showdown with the main bad guy, a kind of survivalist general who has commandeered much of the local National Guard supplies. So the story isn't original (even if the disaster premise is), it ends too quickly, the characters don't show much real development, and the villain is a cutout stereotype. So what? Reisig breaks post-apocalyptic convention on two important counts: first, New Madrid Run, like The Postman (from which it obviously draws inspiration), does not revel in the downfall of civilization. It isn't some big free-for-all, where extreme libertarians don't have to pay taxes to the Evil Gub'ment ™ no more, and might makes right (although the bad guys are dispersed by guns). Second, like The Postman, the survivalists are the bad guys. In an overmined genre, it's refreshing to see at least a semi-sane take on the realities of a post-disaster America. All in all, Reisig has created an interesting read. The prose, while not Nabokov, flows nicely, and there are only a few times where the reader thinks that an experienced editor might have helped the novel. For that is the other means by which Reisig defied convention; going through a small, on-demand press, he circumvented normal publishing routes and created a book and successfully marketed it both on the Internet and in his area. No mean feat, that, and it beats having to pay an agent to sell your manuscript (although another editing eye is always helpful). Certainly not a method for every writer, but one that is to be admired. The product of these endeavors, while entirely satisfying, belongs on any post-apocalyptic aficionado's shelf, if only for the premise alone. For those who enjoy a decent action romp, there are worse ways to spend your time. |
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Aztec
by
Gary Jennings The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about this book is what a fascinating and terrific read it is! "Aztec" is definitely a book with everything...and it shows. Yet, part of the miracle of this book is that every page remains as fresh and as sparkling as the one before (and this is a long book, my edition has more than 1000 pages). Quite an accomplishment! "Aztec" is "the" story of the Aztec civilization of Mexico, told at the very height of its magnificence and glory. The protagonist of the book, Mixtli, is a person you are guaranteed to never forget but will surely come to miss. Although Mixtli wasn't born to a high station in the Aztec world, he manages to rise above himself, becomming first a scribe, then a warrior, then a traveling merchant. As the latter, he travels over all of Mexico, then called The One World, exploring jungles, mountain peaks, deserts, beaches. And, he makes a fortune in the doing. Eventualy, Mixtli is elevated to knighthood and the nobility, both stations he well deserves. "Aztec" is, by turns, gruesome, suspenseful, sexual, adventurous, erotic, heroic and comic and everything is done on epic proportion. It has to be since Mixtli is not a man to do anything by halves, or to leave a task undone. He seems possessed by an unquenchable thirst for new adventures and new horizens and, luckily, we can travel along with him without risking the consequences Mixtli so often had to face. Through the pages of "Aztec" we witness, along with Mixtli, the gruesome Wars of Flowers, the nomadic life of the Dog People of the desert, the dignity of the Cloud People who live in the mountains, the one-time spendour of the Mayan jungles of the Yucatan, and the glory of Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztecs. All is not glory and splendour in this book, however, and "Aztec" is certainly not for the faint-hearted or the squeamish. Some of the scenes, especially the sacrificial scenes, are so gruesome and blood-drenched that it can be difficult to read every word. And the book is, at times, quite tragic, for Mixtli, himself, does not escape his share of blood and gore. Some readers have complained about the violence and sex included in this book. I know much violence and sex is simply gratuitous these days, but it certainly isn't in "Aztec." Sex and violence were simply part and parcel of the Aztec culture; had Jennings failed to include it, his book would have read like some watered-down, barely palpable version of the "real thing." The Aztecs did everything on a grand scale; if you require drawing-room manners in your reading, you'd best skip this book and read Jane Austen instead. Lest you think Jennings forgot the other side of the coin, i.e., the Spanish point of view, he most certainly did not. At the height of his career (and at the pinnacle of Aztec civilization), Mixtli is sent by Motecuzoma to "welcome" the strangers who have arrived in The One World. Wondering if they are gods or mortals, Mixtli thus comes to meet Cortes and his band of conquistadors...the very persons who will destroy the Aztec civilization and very nearly wipe its memory from the face of the earth. Still, even in times as tumultuous as these, Mixtli has one more heroic deed waiting for him to accomplish. I've read that it took Jennings twelve years to write "Aztec." I can well see why. The book is filled with detail about healing, about cooking, about sacrifice, about love, about anything and everything that made up the world of the Aztecs. Although I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be a member of that world (I'm far too peace-loving for that), finishing "Aztec" does cause me to miss the vicarious experience of it. If you like your literature uncensored and filled to the brim with life, in all its glor y and all its tragedy, then "Aztec" might be the book for you. Just be prepared for a dizzying ly wild and wonderful ride like none you've ever experienced before. |
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On the Beach
by
Nevil Shute The most shocking fiction I have read in years. What is shocking about it is both the idea and the sheer imaginative brilliance with which Mr. Shute brings it off. They are the last generation, the innocent victims of an accidental war, living out their last days, making do with what they have, hoping for a miracle. As the deadly rain moves ever closer, the world as we know it winds toward an inevitable end.... |
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Subterranean
by
James Rollins A world untouched, deep beneath the Antarctic continent, filled with riches beyond your wildest dreams. And an unseen danger, hidden for eons that may be the very doom of humanity! Secret military installations, extreme gadgetry, an awesome monster(s), and twist after twist make Subterranean perfect reading for adventure fans. Full of action and with nary a slow moment in its 410 page frame this book is perfect for those who like their stories Adrenaline filled! So if you're looking for a conglomeration of about every action movie ever made (with just about every possible element for the genre) pick this book up and allow yourself a guilty, non-thinking pleasure! |
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The Mission
by
Robert G. Pielke What might have been; might actually have been, in this alternate history of a doomed alien mission to earth. |
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Children of Apollo
by
Mark R. Whittington Children of Apollo is a story of high adventure and low intrigue. Its premise is very simple. What if, instead of truncating the Apollo Program in the early 1970s, President Nixon had continued it? What if the promise of Apollo, which included space stations, lunar bases, and expeditions to the planets, had been fullfilled? That's the background to the story of Children of Apollo. The story is inhabited by full blooded people, some of whom dream of exploring the stars, some of whom would stop those dreams by any means necessary. From political intrigue and heart stopping espionoge, to the excitement of space missions which never were, the story holds one's attention like a vise. Step by step, Children of Apollo hurtles to an awesome climax at the Lunar South Pole, where the fate of the crew of Apollo 23, the furture of space exploration, and the world hang in the balance. |
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Chronospace
by
Allen Steele Two-time Hugo-winner Allen Steele wraps his time-traveling novel Chronospace around a pair of pretty interesting ideas: that UFOs are terrestrial in origin, but simply traveling to us from a different time; and that science fiction--and speculative nonfiction--can play a potent, and often unexpected, role in scientific progress. One of Steele's two Hugos went to a 1997 novella published in Asimov's, "...Where Angels Fear to Tread," and that piece makes up the middle chapters of Chronospace, the story of operatives from the 24th-century Chronospace Research Centre who sneak into Nazi Germany and onto the Hindenburg in hopes of witnessing its fiery end firsthand. The only problem is, the famous zeppelin lands safely on that early summer evening in 1937, and the time travelers have to figure out what went wrong. Because, as they soon learn, their actions might have (have had? will have?) devastating consequences for the entire human race. Steele has made good use of his already engaging novella, fleshing out what happened before, during, and after the original work, especially concerning present-day NASA scientist David Murphy, who--funny, that--has just been called to task by his superiors for writing a piece in Analog entitled "How to Travel Through Time (And Not Get Caught)." With well-researched detail concerning the Hindenburg and convincingly fabricated logistics surrounding wormhole-powered time travel, Chronospace further proves Steele's mastery of intelligent, readable hard Alternative History. |