Alternative History
Alternate History novels are set in worlds where history has at some point in the past deviated from the real history as we know it - sometimes based on the multiverse theory. This can create a world that diverges greatly from our own or one that has subtle differences.
This genre also crosses over with that of Time Travel and can involve visits to alternative realities that each offer an alternative history.
Noted Books
Philip K Dick's The Man in the high castle
Lavie Tidhar's Osama
Peter Higgin's Wolfhound Century
Dave Hutchinson's Europe in Autumn
Books Reviewed
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![Quantum RadioA G Riddle]()
Science FictionI do not like to think too much about the Large Hadron Collider, I let better minds than mine consider hurtling atoms at each other at considerable speed to access some sort of God particle. I get nervous enough around the toaster. Other things go on at CERN too, the invention of the internet for on...
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![The Death of Sir Martin MalprelateAdam Roberts]()
There are two ways of writing fiction set in the Victorian era; set a fictional book in the real era or write within the Victorian multiverse. This is a playground that I have read many books in, a world where Sherlock Holmes can investigate new cases, but also one in which he can work alongside Mr...
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![The Unmaking of June FarrowAdrienne Young]()
Science FictionI love time travel stories, but the entire concept is a paradox. It just cannot happen. What happens to the version of you that was in the past/present once you have travelled? It can be hard to even think about it, but what happens if you live this paradox? The Farrow woman have all been cursed wit...
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![The Night ShipAlex Woodroe]()
HorrorOne of the wonderful things about genre fiction is that an author does not have to explain what is going on if they do not want to. Science Fiction often goes into great detail trying to explain the science, but sometimes it just happens to be set on a remote alien planet – deal with it. In Alex Woo...
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![All the White SpacesAlly Wilkes]()
HorrorThere are places on the planet that are scary enough on their own. You would never find me plunging the depth of the deepest oceans or spending the night in an abandoned greenhouse somewhere in a wild forest. There are dangers aplenty without any monsters, ghoulies or manifestations. Add to this lis...
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![The Case of the Scandalous TicketBenoit Dahan]()
General FictionThe term Graphic Novel is a grandiose one, but well deserved in some cases. A collection of comics in one place helps to reveal the arc, but often I read Graphic Novels that were too short and did not contain enough to be seen as a novel, a short story or novelette perhaps. Inside the Mind of Sherlo...
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![AbsyntheBrendan P. Bellecourt]()
Science FictionI have done my time at university where I drank too much and stayed out too late. Looking back now I can only think about my poor liver and the crazy never die attitude that many of the young have. I was never that adventurous and stuck to beer and whatever was on offer at the Student Union. I certa...
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![The Apollo MurdersChris Hadfield]()
General FictionThe sense of adventure and bravery that someone needed to explore space in the 60s and 70s is beyond me. All that separates you from the vacuum of space is a few sheets of glass and metal. The technology onboard is simpler than the type of things you would get in a child’s electronic watch. Geniuses...
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![Sherlock Holmes and Count DraculaChristian Klaver]()
When a beloved intellectual property enters the public domain, it can be a fearful time for fans, what on Earth are all these authors going to do with your beloved characters? In the case of Sherlock Holmes, it has been a magnificent time. Each year the shelves bulge with new tales about the detecti...
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![Sherlock Holmes and Dorian GrayChristian Klaver]()
FantasyForget Marvel and their Marvelverse, the place that I want to be is in Christian Klaver’s Victorianverse. This is an alternative history of the era, but also of the fiction of the time. In the author’s 'The Classified Dossier’ series, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson have already come across the li...
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![Expect Me TomorrowChristopher Priest]()
Science FictionI am at an age where I genuinely believe that Science Fiction is the best genre there is and I have read enough books of all types to have developed this opinion. I love it because it can be so many different things. Space opera to speculative fiction. A Sci Fi book can also be a riddle wrapped in a...
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![The Butcher's DaughterCorinne Leigh Clark]()
HorrorI enjoy a retelling of a classic tale from an unfamiliar perspective. I have read about Sherlock Holmes from the point of view of almost everyone he ever met. I have read about Beowulf written by his niece. King Authur, Robin Hood, many others, but never a character as dark as Sweeny Todd. The Demon...
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![American Dreams Issues 1-5Daniel Kalban]()
Science FictionThe Golden Era of comic books began around the Second World War and into the 1950s. It was a time of nationalism as the World prepared for war and then a time of hope and optimism for the US in particular. The US was now the main world power and life was getting a little better for most people. The...
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![WoodstakeDarin S Cape]()
HorrorWoodstock is an event that has passed into folklore. Like Spike Island, I imagine that every eligible person the right age claims to have been there. Who is to say that they were not? These events are massive, you can lose yourself in the crowd, but other things can hide to. Would anyone notice a fe...
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![The Stones of BloodDavid Fisher]()
Science FictionThe Target imprint of Doctor Who novels is like nectar to any fan as they offer a punchy adaptation of almost every episode of the series up to the mid-90s, but there were a few missing. Fear not, as BBC Books are not only releasing adaptations of newer episodes but are also looking to fill in the g...
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![To Kill a KingDavid Gilman]()
General FictionWhen I finally get around to building that time machine, I made a note not to visit 14 th century Europe. The continent was a hodgepodge of wars and battles. Even during times of peace you could still stumble across the wrong village, and they would kill you for your shoes. Not a century for me and...
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![InannaEmily H. Wilson]()
FantasyA lot of what goes on in Fantasy novels is miraculous, magic spells cause havoc on the battlefield, or dragons swoop through the air. Their very nature is that they are fantastical. Some of the characters are like Gods with their powers, but few claim to actually be deities. When Inanna is born, she...
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![The VengeanceEmma Newman]()
FantasyI have not read the synopsis of a book I am about to read for over twenty years, ever since I read a spoiler on the back of the novel that revealed the massive twist that occurred two thirds of the way through. I will have to add Series Titles to the list of things not to read as The Vengeance by Em...
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![The Country Under HeavenFrederic S Durbin]()
FantasyWho does not love a genre mash up? The industry certainly does as they ride that Romantasy train all the way to the bank. Although I do not mind a whimsical fantasy, I would not consider it my favourite genre. A mash up of genres needs a little more bite to interest me. How about Westerns with the O...
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![A Marvellous LightFreya Marske]()
FantasySecrets are powerful. They can make or break someone. In the alternative Edwardian England of Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light there is a magical society of people who hide their powers. This is a big secret to keep, but there are others. Both Robin Blyth and Edwin Courcey have another secret, th...
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![ScarletGenevieve Cogman]()
FantasyThere are many reasons that I am a reviewer and not a writer and one of them is that I do not have that thing in my brain to produce simple, but great ideas. Speculating about the future or past and giving it a twist has made for some great science fiction and fantasy. What about a French Revolution...
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![HimGeoff Ryman]()
FantasyPeople like to read for differing reasons. Some like to be entertained, whilst others like to be challenged, if you are lucky, you will get a book that will do both. Taking on an alternative history of the New Testament is challenging enough, but making the main protagonist a woman who says that the...
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![Cabaret in FlamesHache Pueyo]()
HorrorWhen is a vampire not a vampire? When it is a Gul. These strange creatures are part of everyday life in this version of Brazil, the secret for the humans who want to survive is to stay at home after curfew, lest they be eaten by Guls or taken for enemies of the state by the Fascists who run the coun...
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![The First Bright ThingJ R Dawson]()
FantasyCircuses are magical places; they are also mysterious and occasionally a bit murderous. All the elements that make them perfect for romantic visions of running away and visiting new places each week, are also perfect for someone who likes to snatch victims and not be around when the police start to...
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![Divine HereticJaime Lee Moyer]()
FantasyPower is an interesting dynamic; some people want it, whilst others have no interest at all. Joan of Arc had a lot of power for a while but then it went (being burned at the stake will do that to you). Was she a heretic and a witch that craved this power , o r was she someone caught up in events?...
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![The Manifestations of Sherlock HolmesJames Lovegrove]()
General FictionWhen you think of a Sherlock Holmes do you imagine a novel or a short story? The reality is that many tales that we know from Arthur Conan Doyle are from his short stories and it is more the modern reimagining of the character that have taken the longer form. James Lovegrove is a leading modern Sher...
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![Caesar's SpyJean-Pierre Pecau]()
General FictionThere are certain historic events that I return to in fiction as no matter how many times I have read about them, authors have found new ways of exploring the past. I must have read about Caesar’s rise and fall twenty times or more, but there is room for more retellings. Caesar’s Spy written by Jean...
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![The Night AlphabetJoelle Taylor]()
Science FictionThere are books in a person’s life that helps to define their taste in genres. I was lucky enough in my teenage years to work my way through some of the classics of science fiction instilling a lifelong love of the genre. One novel that stands out among the best was Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Ma...
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![The Murder of Mr Ma PaperbackJohn Shen Yen Nee]()
General FictionComparing a detective series to Sherlock Holmes is not always helpful as that is such an iconic character who has gone off to be in a thousand different spin offs, but on occasion it is apropos. If a series is about a super intelligent detective with a penchant for opium who works with a baffled, bu...
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![The CleavingJuliet E Mckenna]()
FantasyI really enjoy a retelling of the Arthurian Legend, which is a good thing as I have read a fair few. Each author tackles the story in a unique way looking to put their own spin on a well-known tale. Do you follow the classic beats making the likes of Morgana the villain? Perhaps it is Merlin's fault...
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![Coffin MoonKeith Rosson]()
HorrorVampire lore is well documented, the rules and regulations differ from book to book, but in most cases if you are a vampire, you cannot do much during the day. In modern life not being able to escape during the daylight hours after leaving a few emptied bodies would be a problem. Cameras would catch...
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![And I DarkenKiersten White]()
FantasyThis book, by Kiersten White, is a gender flipped historically based story of the early life of Vlad the Impaler or in this case, Lada Dracul. White takes the bones of the historical accounts and layers it with a rich imaginings of characters and quirks, to give the reader some insight into a beliv...
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![Aphrodite in PiecesLauren J A Bear]()
General FictionI am a student of History, but even to this day there are massive blind spots in my learning, moments in the past that I know little about, so anything on the subject matter feels fresh to me. I have a passing knowledge of the Antient Greek Gods, but having read Aphrodite in Pieces by Lauren J. A. B...
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![The HoodLavie Tidhar]()
FantasyThe legend of Robin Hood has changed over the years. I know it is hard to believe but he was not always imagined as a mullet haired Kevin Costner trying to save Nottingham with a dodgy English accent. One element of the story that has fallen out of fashion is Robin Hood’s links with the world of Fae...
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![Sparks of Bright MatterLeeanne O'donnell]()
FantasyIt feels like we take science for granted in the modern world; buildings that tower into the sky, above them flying machines made from metal. Stop and think for a moment at how wonderous all these advances have been, how we use the internet to communicate today, or how a simple invention like the LE...
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![The Curious Affair of the Missing MummiesLisa Tuttle]()
One of the many lessons that I have learned in life is that you do not mess with Mummies. Either kind. Annoying a new mother who is trying to get their child onto the bus if dangerous and only equalled by an antient Egyptian Mummy rising from the dead. The Mummies in Lisa Tuttle’s The Curious Case o...
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![CelestialM D Lachlan]()
Science FictionThere are many roads to enlightenment. You can spend decades mastering the art of meditation, becoming one with the universe. You can seek to achieve the divine through the depraved, in acts so vial that you push through what is acceptable into the other. Any of the routes take commitment and none o...
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![The Tangleroot Palace & Other StoriesMarjorie Liu]()
If you go down to the woods today, you are in for a big surprise. Something far worse will be waiting for you than a few bears holding sandwiches. These are the ancient woods that our ancestors grew up near, pockets of civilisation surrounded by darkness and danger. When myths and folklore were bein...
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![ColonyMarkus Heitz]()
Science FictionOver the next three days, three reviews will stand before you. Read them in any order, some elements will be the same, others quite different . If you would like to go straight to the segment unique to this review , please start with paragraph 4. Drafting a book must be like standing in fro...
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![Field of BloodMarkus Heitz]()
Science FictionOver the next three days, three reviews will stand before you. Read them in any order, some elements will be the same, others quite different. If you would like to go straight to the segment unique to this review, please start with paragraph 4. Drafting a book must be like standing in front of a s...
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![TeslamancerMatthew Donald]()
Science FictionScience Fiction is fun in so many ways and one of the most entertaining games to play is to think about if. What is Nickola Tesla invented a way to harness an all-powerful energy? Would such power be safe to use, not only for an individual, but for a nation? This was an era of World Wars; more power...
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![The Dead of WinterNicola Upson]()
General FictionThere are two types of Christmases: merry or blue. Whether you are more Slade or Elvis will depend on the experiences you have had in the past on December 25 th . Have your winters been full of family fun and presents? Do you get a sense of wellbeing and good tidings to all? Great. However, perhaps...
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![NavolaPaolo Bacigalupi]()
FantasyWhat is the fantasy genre? It is not just one thing. You can have elves and orcs battling against the backdrop of high wizardry, but you can also write something simpler. Low fantasy is getting so low that it starts to feel like alternative medieval history. Like why write about real history when yo...
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![Mecha Samurai EmpirePeter Tieryas]()
Science FictionMecha Samurai Empire follows on from the United States of Japan , an alternative history novel which continues the story of Philip K Dicks seminal novel The Man in the High Castle (now an established TV series). For those who are aren't aware, the idea is that the "Allies" lost World War two and as...
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![Mercury RisingR. W. W. Greene]()
Science FictionSpace is for the few. You may have been trained as a professional astronaut and pushed the boundaries of science. Maybe you are a geek done good and decided to spend your billions on the vanity project of commercial space travel. Maybe, just maybe, you are a celeb or competition winner who won the c...
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![Heart of the AssassinRobert Ferrigno]()
Science FictionThe Butterfly Effect is a device used to explore alternative versions of our world. The simple action of a time travellers going back to the time of the dinosaurs and standing on a butterfly would alter everything that followed, ripples expanding from that one point. Robert Ferrigno decided to exp...
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![The CrashRobert Peston]()
General FictionThe crime genre is huge, and a protagonist can become involved in solving a murder in numerous ways. Being a police officer or PI makes sense, being an elderly lady or vicar less so, but authors still manage somehow – to remarkable success. Another easy option is a journalist. Their job is already t...
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![The Eaters of LightRona Munro]()
Science FictionDoctor Who is the same, but also different, in each iteration and that is what makes the characters so interesting. The Twelfth Doctor is one of the latest incarnations and one that reflected on the Doctor’s past as much as the present. The humour was still there, but also more of the historic grump...
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![GorseSam K Horton]()
FantasyHistory is facinating, but we often focus on the big characters, the big battles. Whilst King’s were being beheaded and bombs dropped, people kept on peopleling. The history of the normal person can be forgotten, but we exist too. What happened to the normal person on the street when organised relig...
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![KrakenShannon Eric Denton]()
HorrorIf pop culture has only taught me one thing it is that siding with the creatures from other realms is not a great idea. They tend to renege on contracts once they have what they want, usually via sucking your brain out through your nose. Also, the partnerships are not normally people you would want...
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![Shield MaidenSharon Emmerichs]()
FantasyThe tale is often told from the perspective of the victor, distorting the truth to make them look better. In an epic poem like Beowulf, it all points to one man being the hero, but what if there is more to the story. Shield Maiden by Sharon Emmerichs retells the final part of Beowulf’s life from the...
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![The Daughter of Doctor MoreauSilvia Moreno-Garcia]()
Science FictionH. G. Wells is a name to conjure with. Classic stories about time machines, invisible men, alien invasions and more. He was one of the earliest genre writers in a time when the idea of genres did not exist. He just wrote what he felt like. A modern author who has taken on this mantle is Silvia Moren...
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![Silver NitrateSilvia Moreno-Garcia]()
HorrorThere is something magical about the silver screen. I enjoy watching films at home, but I love going to the cinema. A group of people in a dark room with a large screen and superior sound. I feel like I am immersed in the film, it draws me in, there is a power. But what if that power was real? What...
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![The Judas BlossomStephen Aryan]()
FantasyHow do you like your fantasy? It comes in so many flavours now that you can pick and choose what type you like. Dragons, magic, and high fantasy – tasty. Violence, political intrigue, low fantasy – a guilty treat. Stephen Aryan has chosen a different route, a book that has its heart in low fantasy,...
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![Our Child of Two WorldsStephen Cox]()
Science FictionHaving a family is a beautiful thing, but they can also be a pain. They do not listen and when they do, they get it wrong. Days are made up of petty squabbles that have lived below the surface for decades, but the foundation is all built on love. Writing a flawed, realistic family is not easy, but S...
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![The Book of MarsStuart Clark]()
General FictionI am a student of history. In that I love to learn about history, but I did a degree in the subject. What I find the most fascinating is how history evolves – an event happened and that will never change, but how we precisive it does. The fashions and knowledge of the present day impacts how we look...
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![Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder T A WillbergT A Willberg]()
General FictionMystery is a powerful tool. You can exude a sense of power from the shadows that may not be true if a light was shined on you. The premise of T.S. Willberg’s Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder begins thus, with a mysterious detective agency, but we soon delve deep under the streets of London to d...
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![Sword of the War GodTim Hodkinson]()
FantasyThere are ways of writing a historic epic. The current trend is more towards long drawn-out sagas over several books, sometimes up to twenty or more. This allows you to really get to know the characters and read about them for decades, keeping you and the author busy for years. They are great but ca...
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![Jekyll & Hyde: Consulting DetectivesTim Major]()
I always forget how unpleasant some of the antiheros were in Victorian era fantasy and science fiction. In my mind I think of the era being full of ladies and gentlemen, but there were plenty of loathsome people too. Looking back on the working conditions and how society treated its poor, perhaps I...
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![My Brothers KeeperTim Powers]()
HorrorThe stories that the Brontë sisters wrote have an extreme gothic appeal and you only need to visit their old home in Haworth to know what inspired them. There did not seem much else to do than walk the moors and avoid dying. Whilst the town may be picturesque now, full of cobbled streets and Hovis a...
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![A Market of Dreams and DestinyTrip Galey]()
FantasyThere are two ways to treat fairy folk in a fantasy novel. You can hide them, only the protagonist knowing that there is a secret world in the forest. Or you can embrace them. Make the likes of goblins and fairies' part of everyday life. In A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey, an accord has...
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![The Others of EdenwellVerity M Holloway]()
HorrorSocieties’ relationship with death has changed through the ages. With developments in healthcare and longer lifespans the modern world seems to want to forget that death exists, you are dropped into a lonely pit of grief while others continue to live around you. Good health was not always easy and u...
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![The New KingdomWilbur Smith]()
General FictionHistoric fiction is often written about exciting characters who have full and adventurous lives. There is no point following someone who's past role in Egyptian culture was to turn the compost heaps four times a day. You want to follow the likes of Hui who goes from middle class to thief, to accused...
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![ShigidiWole Talabi]()
FantasyMost people love a good heist if they are not the ones being robbed. Be it in the movies, a documentary, or even a novel, a heist is all about planning and then it falling apart instantly. You can tell the story of a heist in different ways; do you go deeply into the plan or find out more about the...
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