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The Apolyton Science Fiction Discussion Group: August Nominations

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  • The Apolyton Science Fiction Discussion Group: August Nominations

    Since Stefu won last time, he gets to choose the theme for August's book. He chose:

    Alternate History.

    No debates as to whether it is sci-fi or not... it is marketed as sci-fi, it is sold as sci-fi, and bookstores and libraries all across the land shelve it as sci-fi.

    For a list of Alternate Histories, go to www.uchronia.net for a very comprehensive list.

    Remember the rules!

    1. You have to have read the book you are nominating.
    2. Please nominate only 1 book, as to allow others' selections to be listed.
    3. The books must be science fiction and must be properly "themed" (see rule 4).
    4. The person who nominated the winning book gets to pick the "theme" of the next month's nominations.
    5. The book must be self-contained, that is that the story must come to a satisfactory conclusion at the end of the book even if there are sequels.

    This month I nominate Kingsley Amis' The Alteration.

    "The year is 1976 and we are alive in an all-Catholic world. The Reformation never took place because Martin Luther made a deal with Rome and became Pope Martin I. The "alteration" proposed to Hubert Anvil, brilliant 10-year-old boy soprano, is that most feared by all males. Pope John XXIV wishes Hubert to preserve the purity of his voice to glorify the Church on a permanent basis; Hubert wishes to share his talent but he has some disquieting thoughts about Pope John's proposal."

    This one might be a hard one to find here in the states, though most libraries should have a copy.
    Last edited by JohnT; June 20, 2003, 08:54.

  • #2
    Please don't nominate Keith Roberts' Pavane! God what a slow and languid book.

    Comment


    • #3
      Everyone's going to nominate a Harry Turtledove book.


      So I'll go first!

      Ruled Britannia
      Harry Turtledove

      Bestseller Turtledove (American Empire, etc.) buckles a handsome Elizabethan swash with his latest fascinating what if: suppose the Spanish Armada had beaten the Virgin Queen's little navy and reimposed on England the fanatic Roman Catholicism of Bloody Mary Tudor and her ruthless husband, Philip II of Spain. For almost a decade, the English have chafed under Philip's daughter Isabella and her Austrian consort, as well as the Inquisition, enforced by arrogant dons, their hired-gun Irish gallowglasses (rumored to be cannibals) and English Catholic sympathizers. Good Queen Bess languishes in the Tower of London while her supporters plot rebellion-to be sparked by no less than a patriotic new play by Will Shakespeare, Turtledove's lovingly drawn hero, who's drawn willy-nilly into the conspiracy by Elizabeth's former minister, Lord Burghley. The author revels in complex turns of language and spouts brilliant adaptations of the real Shakespeare's immortal lines. Superbly realized historical figures include the "darkly handsome," doomed Kit Marlowe and the Machiavellian Robert Cecil. Equally engaging are such lesser characters as the "cunning woman" Cicely Sellis, who "thinks of England." Turtledove has woven an intricate and thoroughly engrossing portrait of an era, a theatrical tradition, a heroic band of English brothers and their sneering overlords. O, brave alternative world that has such people in't!
      Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
      Today, you are the waves of the Pacific, pushing ever eastward. You are the sequoias rising from the Sierra Nevada, defiant and enduring.

      Comment


      • #4
        You have been chafing at the bit to nominate that book, haven't you?

        Is it out in paperback yet, or are you expecting us to shell out $20+ each?

        Comment


        • #5
          Jeebus, go to a library
          Today, you are the waves of the Pacific, pushing ever eastward. You are the sequoias rising from the Sierra Nevada, defiant and enduring.

          Comment


          • #6
            Just want to duck in real quick, I think some of you might like this site.



            Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
            "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
            He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

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            • #7
              I prefer the Encyclopedia of Arda
              Today, you are the waves of the Pacific, pushing ever eastward. You are the sequoias rising from the Sierra Nevada, defiant and enduring.

              Comment


              • #8
                Added rule 5.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Uhm...

                  Is there any chance at all of Good Omens, American Gods, or Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency qualifying?
                  Blog | Civ2 Scenario League | leo.petr at gmail.com

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Doubtful, St. Leo. If others have read those books and want to chime in for/against, please do.

                    Here are some links to lists of AH novels:



                    Uchronia: The Alternate History List is an extensive bibliography of novels, stories, essays and other printed material involving the 'what ifs' of history.


                    The Uchronia site looks pretty damned comprehensive. 2,300 titles!

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                    • #11
                      For Turtledove, I liked The Two Georges better.
                      "In the beginning was the Word. Then came the ******* word processor." -Dan Simmons, Hyperion

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                      • #12
                        Dv8ed: Is that a nomination?

                        St. Leo: If your books are listed on the uchronia.net site, you can nominate one of them.

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                        • #13
                          I'll throw in Kim Stanley Robinson's "Years of Rice and Salt".

                          St. Leo, no, they don't qualify.
                          "Spirit merges with matter to sanctify the universe. Matter transcends to return to spirit. The interchangeability of matter and spirit means the starlit magic of the outermost life of our universe becomes the soul-light magic of the innermost life of our self." - Dennis Kucinich, candidate for the U. S. presidency
                          "That’s the future of the Democratic Party: providing Republicans with a number of cute (but not that bright) comfort women." - Adam Yoshida, Canada's gift to the world

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                          • #14
                            Bumpity

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                            • #15
                              I second Years of Rice and Salt because I've just bought it and am going to read it soon.
                              Blog | Civ2 Scenario League | leo.petr at gmail.com

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