For my newest Sea Lion Press article, I turn to the subject of sports alternate history, a niche within a niche. The post talks about sports AH and how making an unusual and “weak” championship team is more interesting than just shuffling superstars around, as frequently happens.
Tag: Sea Lion Press
The Big One Series Reviewed On SLP
I’m proud to present another Sea Lion Press review, this one being of the once-infamous The Big One series of alternate history/aircraft novels. The review can be found here. It was a lot of fun to write.
New Story in an SLP Anthology
Sea Lion Press just released the Alternate Australias anthology of short stories. I’m a contributor to that, despite not really having any personal ties to that country. Oh well. My entry was a short story entitled “The Savannah War Dispute”, dealing with an alternate war in East Africa that Australia intervened in.
I Was Interviewed On Sea Lion Press
I was interviewed on Sea Lion Press about this blog. You can see the interview here.
Kirov Series Review on Sea Lion Press
My review/overview of the Kirov series on Sea Lion Press is up. I had a lot of fun writing it. It’s one of those series where it’s hard to give your opinion on it because of how strange it is. But I managed.
Box Press released
Box Press, my second Smithtown Unit ebook, has been released by Sea Lion Press. While the first installment aimed to pay homage to the “men’s adventure” genre in all its forms, this one has a narrower and more obscure foundation. That would be the weirder books in the 1970s that tried to move beyond just shooting mobsters and brought in stranger antagonists as a result.
Enjoy the next adventure of Bill Morgan.
The Draka Series in Hindsight, at SLP
My newest post on the Sea Lion Press blog is up, talking about the Draka series as a whole.
The Smithtown Unit Is Released
I’m delighted to announce that The Smithtown Unit, my debut book on Sea Lion Press, is now out on Amazon.
The book is an alternate history action-adventure novel in the style of the classic “Men’s adventure” books. If I had to list the closest inspiration, it would be MIA Hunter or Cody’s Army.
Review: The Peace of Amiens
Drake’s Drum: The Peace Of Amiens
A fresh Sea Lion Press Release and the first book in an intended series, Drake’s Drum: The Peace Of Amiens is classic “crunchy” alternate history. Starting with flaws in British naval shells being fixed in World War I and a more decisive British victory at Jutland, the “butterflies” spiral off until a bankrupt Britain throws in the towel in World War II, the Caucasus is overrun and the Soviet economy collapses, and the stage is set for a German-American confrontation (the cover depicts Amerika Bombers striking New York, with the book ending on a cliffhanger).
The book cuts between character vignettes and “pseduo-history”. I didn’t get the most out of the character scenes, as well intended as they were, save for one chilling scene depicting the Madagascar Plan in “action”. Thus like a lot of alternate history, it leans a lot on plausibility.
And here, it does better than many others. I’ll also admit to not being the biggest fan of this kind of genre, but this is how to do it right. First, there’s very clearly a lot of research being done, and it being done in a good way. Second, there’s a sense that a lot of it feels right. There are handwaves like the war outcomes and stumbles like my pet peeve of the pool of American political candidates being too small. But there’s more things that sound right and plausible, especially compared to other alternate histories.
For people who like detailed alternate history, The Peace of Amiens is a treat.
Boom Boom Goes The Tank Update
In my latest “Boom Boom Goes The Tank” column on Sea Lion Press, I talk about some of the differences between technothrillers and World War III fiction. To support my case, I delved into the Steel Panthers scenario list and looked at just how many were “World War III” and how many of those WWIII scenarios took place in Germany. That was strangely fun.
