Himmler's War (M)
by Robert Conroy
"Fans of the author's previous alternate-history novels (such as 1942)
should enjoy this new one, which springs from an intriguing premise:
What if Adolf Hitler had been killed in the summer of 1944, not by an
assassination plot but by accident? How would the murderous and sinister
Heinrich Himmler have responded? How would the direction of the war
have changed? Readers unfamiliar with World War II history might feel at
loose ends here, but those who are able to spot the divergences between
actual and alternate history will be held spellbound by the author's
careful and, it appears, militarily sound construction of a new war and
(by implication) a new twentieth century. Dialogue that rings true and
sharply drawn characters (both real and fictional, on both sides of the
war) add to the novel's appeal. Conroy might not be as big a name as,
say, Harry Turtledove, but he's definitely an alternate-history writer
worth getting to know." - BooklistUntold story : a novel (M)
by Monica Ali
Starred review: "What if Princess Diana hadn't died tragically in Paris but instead had
found a way to escape the unrelenting scrutiny she lived with on a daily
basis? That question is the premise of Ali's new novel, which revolves
around a fictional Princess of Wales whose life mirrors Diana's.
Divorced from the prince, separated from her sons, and hounded by the
paparazzi, Ali's princess fakes her own death with the help of her
devoted private secretary, who is afflicted with an incurable brain
tumor. Reinventing herself as Lydia Snaresbrook, the princess flees
England for the U.S., eventually landing in Kensington, North Carolina,
where she starts to build a life for herself. Though Lydia can't tell
her friends or the man she is falling for the truth about her identity,
she is on her way to finding happiness until a figure from her past
shows up in Kensington and threatens to unravel the life she has grown
to love. As it tackles Lydia's impossible dilemma and the toll fame
takes on her, the story builds to a thrilling and rewarding finish. With
the recent marriage of Prince William grabbing headlines, Ali's daring
and engrossing new novel is bound to garner plenty of attention." - BooklistThe Company of the Dead (M)
by David J. Kowalski
"Its daunting length notwithstanding (752 pp), Kowalski's first novel (originally
published in Australia in 2004, where it won two prestigious sf awards)
is a tightly plotted, action-packed tale that will satisfy
speculative-history buffs and lovers of political thrillers alike.
Titanic enthusiast Jonathan Wells, having discovered a means of time
travel, stages a well-intentioned but ill-considered attempt to avert
the sinking of the doomed liner on April 15, 1912. The attempt proves
fruitless but changes that night's events just enough to keep the United
States out of World War I. By the 21st century, unchecked German and
Japanese aggression has reduced America to a third-rate power, its
streets occupied by Japanese soldiers and fragmented by a second
Southern secession. Enter Joseph Kennedy, Confederate intelligence
operative and fictional scion of the iconic American clan, who comes
across Wells's diary, recovered from the Titanic's wreckage. Convinced
that an unaltered history, even one containing the horrors of the 20th
century that we know, is preferable to the present with its looming
prospect of a civilization-ending war, he decides to try to change
history back. VERDICT Despite some overlong expository passages in its
early chapters, this is an enthralling read, populated with sympathetic
characters and believable science." - Library JournalOther Worlds than These : stories of parallel worlds (M)
edited by John Joseph Adams
"Anthologist Adams presents readers with a wide variety of
alternate Earths, some only slightly askew and others completely
unfamiliar. Some characters are unwilling explorers, such as an
astronaut dragged through one world after another in Stephen Baxter's
opener, "Moon Six." Some travel out of duty, like the soldiers of an
America that is the multiworlds' policeman in Paul McAuley's "A Brief
Guide to Other Histories." A newly widowed husband in Alastair
Reynolds's "Signal to Noise" reality-skips to say things left unsaid,
while the heroine of Carrie Vaughn's "Of Swords and Horses" answers a
call of need ignored by others. The confused can be assisted by Mercurio
D. Rivera's increasingly variant advice column in "Dear Annabehls."
Adams's selections are mirrors reflecting one other with the best images
of alternate realities. Readers will greatly enjoy this exploration of
our world's foremost and ascendant speculative authors." - Publishers Weekly Then Everything Changed: stunning alternate histories of American politics:JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan (M)
by Jeff Greenfield
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