ALTERNATE HISTORY LIST (v7, 0/2) (600 lines)
Robert Schmunk
published entries, 566 of which have been placed in an AH category and 32 still
un-classified. Any help which you can give to reduce the latter group would be
appreciated.
Some fairly new AHs are:
Kevin Anderson and Doug Beason's THE TRINITY PARADOX (pb)
Poul Anderson's THE TIME PATROL (hb), compleat Time Patrol short stories
Greg Benford's "Manassas, Again", in <IAsfm> Oct 91
Eileen Gunn's "Fellow Americans", in <IAsfm> Dec 91
Jerry Oltion's "Red Alert", in Analog Oct 91
Mike Resnick's "The Bull Moose at Bay", in <IAsfm> Nov 91
Will Shetterly's CAPTAIN CONFEDERACY #1 (2nd series), Nov 91, from Epic Comics
Robert Silverberg's "An Outpost of the Empire", in <IAsfm> Nov 91
Brian Stableford's THE EMPIRE OF FEAR
James Stewart Thayer's S-DAY: A MEMOIR OF THE INVASION OF ENGLAND (hb)
Lois Tilton's "A Just and Lasting Peace", in <f&sf> Oct/Nov 91
Lawrence Watt-Evans' "New Worlds", in <IAsfm> Dec 91.
James White's THE SILENT STARS GO BY (pb) (see r.a.s.reviews for more info)
Enjoy,
rbs
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THE ALTERNATE HISTORY LIST
Version 7 -- 30 October 1991
Maintained by Robert Schmunk
(InterNet: sch...@spacsun.rice.edu)
This is a list of (nominally) SF stories involving Alternate Histories, also
known as What If? stories, Allohistory and Counterfactuals. Most of the
information comes from the many submitters (listed below) and the poster's own
memory, but a great deal has been cribbed from:
Hacker, Barton C., and Gordon B. Chamberlain, "Pasts that Might Have Been, II:
A Revised Bibliography of Alternative History", in ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES
(eds. Waugh and Greenberg)
In order to keep the length of the list down, only English-language stories
have been included. Even so, the list is incomplete. Your suggestions for
additional entries would be much appreciated, as would corrections, etc., to
current entries. Please e-mail submissions directly to the address given above.
The list is updated and re-posted about once a month.
Despite blurring of boundaries, an attempt has been made to separate stories
into the following categories:
Reference Materials: Discusses other alternate history (henceforth abbrev. AH)
entries or otherwise approaches the genre analytically.
Alternate Histories: Story essentially limited to one AH. Some multi-timeline
stories are included if crosstime travel/communication is not involved.
Future Glimpses: Character is given a glimpse of how history might unfold
depending on his/her actions/decisions.
Crosstime Stories: Story involves more than one potential history, with
sideways time travel often the major feature. Such stories may include
"vertical" time travel and "different" worlds.
Changing the Past: Story involves someone changing the course of history,
either accidentally or deliberately, often through time travel into the past.
Time travel stories in which history is *not* changed are excluded.
World is "Different": Alternate Earth has different physical laws and/or shape
(a frequent theme is "magic works"), which also affect the flow of history.
If you object to the category into which a story has been placed, please
complain. Please note also that change(s) to history should be non-trivial.
Virtually any historical novel could be called AH except that their changes
usually have no effect outside the story; ie., the changes have no "lasting"
effect on the course of history. The poster of this list will be the final
judge as to what constitutes a (non-)trivial change, but don't hesitate to
argue if you disagree. And finally, please do not confuse AH with secret
history, in which it is revealed that "official" history is a lie.
In story entries, please note that:
If an author's name is replaced by a group of dashes, the entry is a sequel to
or part of the same series as the preceding entry. If replaced by a group of
dashes within arrows, then the story is part of a series collected within the
previous book entry.
An individual story in a series may seem to fit a different category than the
series as a whole, in which case it will be listed with the series.
If you can't find a particular short story, check other entries by the same
author to see if it has been revised for inclusion in a novel.
In a story entry, references to books containing that story include an author/
editor's name only if different from the author of the story.
Abbreviations frequently used in publication sources are:
<#AWBSF) = THE 19# ANNUAL WORLD'S BEST SF (eds. Wollheim and Saha)
<AH> = ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES (eds. Waugh and Greenberg)
<Alt> = ALTERNATIVES (eds. Adams and Adams)
<AP> = ALTERNATE PRESIDENTS (eds. Resnick and Greenberg)
<BAW> = ROBERT ADAMS' BOOK OF ALTERNATE WORLDS (eds. Adams et al)
<BT> = BEYOND TIME (ed. Ley)
<f&sf> = The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
<FCW> = THE FANTASTIC CIVIL WAR (ed. McSherry)
<GSFS#> = THE GREAT SF STORIES: # (eds. Asimov and Greenberg)
<HV> = HITLER VICTORIOUS (eds. Benford and Greenberg)
<IAsfm> = Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
<IIHHO> = IF IT HAD HAPPENED OTHERWISE (ed. Squire)
<TWBW8> = THERE WILL BE WAR VIII: ARMAGEDDON! (eds. Pournelle and Carr)
<WMHB#> = WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN? VOL. # (eds. Benford and Greenberg)
<YBSF#> = THE YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION, #TH ANNUAL COLLECTION (ed. Dozois)
This list would not have been possible without the help of Evelyn C. Leeper.
Significant contributions were also made by Will Linden and Duncan MacGregor.
Also contributing were A.M. Barbanson, Paul Boyer, Stan Brown, Daniel
DanehyOakes, Calle Dybedahl, Richard K. Fox, Dorian Gray, Guy Harris, Kenneth
Hite, Todd Howard, Tom Hyer, Bill Johnston, Crawford Kilian, Mark Krenitsky,
Janet Lafler, Jim Love, Michael A. Patton, Dave Schaumann, William Watson,
Al B. Wesolowsky and John Whitmore.
And now, the list:
Anthologies and Other Collections:
ALTERNATE KENNEDYS, Mike Resnick and Martin H. Greenberg (eds.)
Comments: New or almost new stories. [to be published, spring 92]
ALTERNATE PRESIDENTS, Mike Resnick and Martin H. Greenberg (eds.)
Comments: New or almost new stories. [to be published, Feb 92]
ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES: ELEVEN STORIES OF THE WORLD AS IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN,
Charles G. Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg (eds.)
Comments: Includes a 61-page bibliography of AHs, English-language and
otherwise.
ALTERNATIVES, Robert Adams and Pamela Crippen Adams (eds.)
Comments: Six original stories.
BEYOND TIME, Sandra Ley (ed.)
Comments: Nineteen original stories.
HITLER VICTORIOUS: ELEVEN STORIES OF THE GERMAN VICTORY IN WORLD WAR II, Greg
Benford and Martin Harry Greenberg (eds.)
Comments: Mix of re-prints and original stories.
IF I HAD BEEN..., TEN HISTORICAL FANTASIES, Daniel Snowman (ed.)
Comments: Professional historians correct the decisions of ten historical
figures.
IF IT HAD HAPPENED OTHERWISE: LAPSES INTO IMAGINARY HISTORY (1931, 1964 US
eds. entitled IF: OR HISTORY REWRITTEN), J.C. Squire (ed.)
Comments: The classic what-if book; includes a story by Winston Churchill.
Story selection varies between three main editions.
THE "IFS" OF HISTORY, F.J.C. Hearnshaw
Comments: Nineteen essays on AHs.
ROBERT ADAMS' BOOK OF ALTERNATE WORLDS, Robert Adams, Martin H. Greenberg and
Pamela Crippen Adams (eds.)
Comments: Reprints of nine stories.
SPECULATIONS ON AMERICAN HISTORY, Morton Borden and Otis L. Graham, Jr.
Comments: A dozen essays on altered American histories.
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN? VOL. 1: ALTERNATE EMPIRES, Greg Benford and Martin H.
Greenberg (eds.)
Comments: New or almost new stories.
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN? VOL. 2: ALTERNATE HEROES, Greg Benford and Martin H.
Greenberg (eds.)
Comments: New or almost new stories exploring the Great Man hypothesis.
Reference Materials:
Brownlow, Kevin, HOW IT HAPPENED HERE
Comments: A description of the making of IT HAPPENED HERE, a movie directed
by Brownlow and Andrew Mollo, about a nurse in 1940s occupied Britain.
Carter, Paul A., "The Constitutional Origins of Westly v. Simmons", in
Analog Oct 85
Comments: How to change history so that Asimov's "Trends" (Astounding Jul
39) came true, including no Manhattan Project and Stevenson's win in 52.
Chamberlain, Gordon B., "Afterword: Allohistory in Science Fiction", in <AH>
Comments: Discussion of what AH is and isn't.
Chesterton, G.K., "If Don John of Austria had Married Mary Queen of Scots",
in <IIHHO> and THE COMMON MAN
Story: An essay on England's place in Christendom and on whether it would
have accepted a Scottish Catholic queen and a Spanish prince-consort.
Fadness, Fawn Brawley, "What If...?", in THE PEOPLE'S ALMANAC #2 (eds.
Wallechinsky and Wallace)
Comments: Extensive synopses of stories by Kantor, Sobel, Trevelyan, and
Waldman (qv).
Hacker, Barton C., and Gordon B. Chamberlain, "Pasts that Might Have Been,
II: A Revised Bibliography of Alternative History", in <AH>
Comments: 61-page listing of AHs, with short synopses and publication
histories.
Harrison, Harry, "Worlds Beside Worlds", in SCIENCE FICTION AT LARGE (ed.
Nicholls)
Comments: An essay on writing AH and the reasoning behind his A
TRANSATLANTIC TUNNEL, HURRAH ! (qv).
Alternate Histories:
Aiken, Joan, THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE
What if: The Stuarts won the Jacobite wars.
Story: Two English girls face the terrors of wolves and an evil governess.
Except for wolves besetting England c. 1830, this volume is not AH.
-----------, BLACK HEARTS IN BATTERSEA
Story: Hanoverians plot against James III.
-----------, NIGHTBIRDS ON NANTUCKET
Story: A mad scientist in New England develops a transatlantic zap-gun aimed
at St. James' Palace.
-----------, THE STOLEN LAKE
Story: A kingdom founded by Celtic refugees from the battle of Camlann is
discovered in the Andes.
-----------, THE WHISPERING MOUNTAIN
Story: The Prince of Wales (later Richard IV) has a Welsh adventure.
-----------, THE CUCKOO TREE
Story: Hanoverian plotters return to disrupt the coronation of Richard IV.
Aksyonov, Vassily, and Michael Henry Heim (tr.), THE ISLAND OF CRIMEA (orig.
OSTROV KRYM)
What if: The Crimea was an island, and White Russians successfully held it
against the Bolsheviks and established a provisionary democratic government.
Story: In the early 1980s, a Crimean newspaper editor spearheads the Common
Fate re-unification movement, playing into Soviet hands.
Aldiss, Brian W., THE MALACIA TAPESTRY
What if: Humans evolved from dinosaurs rather than hominids.
Story:
Aldiss, Brian W., THE YEAR BEFORE YESTERDAY
What if: Germany won WW2.
Story: SF author Jael Cracken writes AH stories, with excerpts included.
Amis, Kingsley, THE ALTERATION
What if: Martin Luther was elected pope, and the Reformation never occurred.
Story: A boy soprano in 1970s Catholic England tries to avoid becoming a
papal castrato.
Anderson, Poul, "In the House of Sorrows", in <WMHB1>
What if: Assyrians captured Jerusalem and the Diasporah occurred before
Christianity could get started.
Story: Adventures of a courier originally from North Markland (America) in
an alternate Israel/Palestine.
Anvil, Christopher, "Apron Chains", in Analog Dec 70
What if: The scientific revolution arrived early, apparently the result of a
15th-century man's salvation from drowning.
Story: The discovery of the Americas is sidetracked by a NASA-like project,
while Mexicans plan an expedition of discovery east across the Atlantic.
Armstrong, Anthony, and Bruce Graeme, WHEN THE BELLS RANG
What if: Nazi Germany invaded England in 1940.
Story: How the invasion was defeated.
Asimov, Isaac, "What If...," in SF ADVENTURES IN DIMENSION (ed. Conklin)
What if:
Story: A man with a strange device shows a couple what their lives would
have been like if they hadn't married.
Bailey, Hilary, "The Fall of Frenchy Steiner", in New Worlds Jun 64, THE BEST
FROM NEW WORLDS (ed. Moorcock) and <HV>
What if: Hitler did not invade Russia.
Story: Life in occupied London, 1954.
Barbet, Pierre, and Bernard Kay (tr.), BAPHOMET'S METEOR (orig. L'EMPIRE DU
BAPHOMET), incl. in COSMIC CRUSADERS
What if: A demon-like alien was shipwrecked on Earth in 1118.
Story: The alien aids the Knights Templar as they set out in 1275 to save
the Holy Land and conquer the Mongols.
--------------, and C.J. Cherryh (tr.), STELLAR CRUSADE (orig. CROISADE
STELLAIRE), incl. in COSMIC CRUSADERS
Story: Outer-space sequel to the above.
Baring, Maurice, "The Alternative", in London Mercury Nov 22, HALF A MINUTE'S
SILENCE, MAURICE BARING RESTORED, and TRAVELERS IN TIME (ed. Stern)
What if: Napoleon's father decided that his son would get the best education
possible if enlisted in the British navy.
Story: A sketch of historical and literary consequences from 1800 to 1850.
Basil, Otto, and Thomas Weyr (tr.), TWILIGHT MAN (orig. WENN DAS DER FUHRER
WUSSTE)
What if: Germany won WW2 after dropping a nuclear bomb on London.
Story: Hitler's death 20 years later leads to a power struggle.
Belloc, Hilaire, "If Drouet's Cart had Stuck", in <IIHHO>
What if: Louis XVI escaped Paris and was not executed.
Story: Following Lafayette's defeat of Republican forces, France sinks into
mediocrity and Britain must contend with the mighty Austrian empire.
Benet, Stephen Vincent, "The Curfew Tolls", in Saturday Evening Post 5 Oct
35; THIRTEEN O'CLOCK; SELECTED WORKS, II: PROSE; 25 SHORT STORIES; THE
STEPHEN VINCENT BENET POCKET BOOK; MIDNIGHT TRAVELER (aka GREAT TALES OF
FANTASY AND IMAGINATION) (ed. Stern) and <AH>
What if: Napoleon were born much earlier, say in 1737.
Story: An Englishman residing on the Mediterranan coast of France meets a
retired, frustrated French artillery major.
Benford, Gregory, "Manassas, Again", in <IAsfm> Oct 91
What if: Rome developed a steam-driven machine gun.
Story: Rome's former American colonies fight a civil war in the 1860s.
Benford, Gregory, "We Could Do Worse", in <WMHB1>
What if: US presidential elections of the 1950s occurred a little
differently.
Story: A congressman disliked by a new authoritarian regime in the US is
kidnaped.
Bensen, D.R., AND HAVING WRIT...
What if: Four aliens were stranded on Earth in 1908 when they barely avoided
an explosive impact at Tunguska and splash-landed near San Francisco.
Story: To get their ship repaired, they set about accelerating technological
development, but President Edison doesn't want to share with Europe.
Bernau, George, CANDLE IN THE WIND
What if: Marilyn Monroe's suicide attempt failed.
Story:
Bernau, George, PROMISES TO KEEP
What if: The US presidential assassination attempt on 22 Nov 1963 failed.
Story: Hunting the conspirators, plus the elections of 1964 and 68. Perhaps
not AH, as the names of all the historical figures are changed.
Bier, Jesse, "Father and Son", in A HOLE IN THE LEAD APRON
What if:
Story:
Bishop, Michael, "For Thus Do I Remember Carthage," in THE UNIVERSE and
<YBSF5>
What if:
Story: In a more technologically advanced timeline, St. Augustine receives
visitors who explain cosmology and evolution.
Bishop, Michael, THE SECRET ASCENSION; OR, PHILIP K. DICK IS DEAD, ALAS!
What if: SF author Phil Dick attained greater success and ended up on multi-
term President Nixon's enemies list.
Story:
Bisson, Terry, FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN
What if: John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry occurred earlier and was
successful.
Story:
Brennert, Alan, BATMAN: HOLY TERROR (DC graphic novel)
What if: Oliver Cromwell lived another 10 years and consolidated the Puritan
hold on Britain and its colonies.
Story: The story of how a priest named Bruce Wayne became a costumed
vigilante.
Brin, David, "Thor Meets Captain America", in <f&sf> Jul 86, THE RIVER OF
TIME and <HV>
What if: Nazi rituals resurrected the Norse pantheon.
Story: A captured American officer prepares to be sacrificed and comes face-
to-face with the god of battle.
Brunner, John, "At the Sign of the Rose", in BEYOND THE GATE OF WORLDS
What if: (see Silverberg's THE GATE OF WORLDS)
Story: The Tsar of Russia dies under suspicious circumstances and six
travelers tell their tales at an inn in Krakow.
Burroughs, William S., CITIES OF THE RED NIGHT
What if: Capt. Mission's 18th-century pirate commune on Madagascar was not
wiped out by natives.
Story:
Byrne, Robert, THE TUNNEL
What if: France and Britain started the Chunnel decades ago.
Story: Terrorists strike the nearly complete Channel Tunnel in 1973.
Cadigan Pat, "Dispatches from the Revolution", in <IAsfm> Jul 91 and <AP>
What if:
Story: A different history of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, et al.
Cassutt, Michael, "Mules in Horses' Harness", in <WMHB2>
What if: Lincoln was assassinated while visiting a Union hospital on 4 Jul
1863. Wasn't he?
Story: 1980 Confederate differential engineers trying to model history
explore the Great Man hypothesis.
Chesnoff, Richard Z., Edward Klein, and Robert Littell, IF ISRAEL LOST THE
WAR
What if: While Israel hoped for a diplomatic settlement, Arab forces
delivered a devastating surprise attack on 5 Jun 1967.
Story: A day-by-day account of the six-day fall of Israel, and subsequent
repercussions in the US, USSR and the new UAR.
Chilson, Robert, "The Devil and the Deep Blue Sky", in <BT>
What if: Observing the continued success of Stanley brothers in auto racing,
Henry Ford brought out the Model A steamer in 1911.
Story: Congress investigates internal combustion engines when a kerosene
shortage arises.
Churchill, Winston S., "If Lee had not Won the Battle of Gettysburg", in
<IIHHO> and Scribner's Dec 30
What if: Jeb Stuart and his cavalry reached the battlefield a bit sooner
and rendered the necessary support to Pickett's charge.
Story: Some theorizing about how a Confederate defeat at Gettysburg might
have prevented the formation of the English-speaking union.
Clark, Ronald W., THE BOMB THAT FAILED (aka THE LAST DAY OF THE OLD WORLD)
What if: Klaus Fuchs sabotaged the Trinity test.
Story: With the US still fighting Japan in 1946, Soviet forces march through
a defenseless Europe, causing a strong reaction in Britain and elsewhere.
Clark, Ronald W., QUEEN VICTORIA'S BOMB
What if: Victorian England developed the atomic bomb.
Story:
Collyn, George, "Unification Day", in New Worlds May 66
What if: Napoleon won at Waterloo.
Story: England notes the 150th anniversary of its inclusion in the French
empire.
Coppel, Alfred, THE BURNING MOUNTAIN: A NOVEL OF THE INVASION OF JAPAN
What if: A lightning strike disrupted the Trinity test.
Story: Operations Olympic and Coronet, the invasion of Japan.
Cooper, Edmund, "Jupiter Laughs", in <BT>
What if: Jesus of Nazareth was slain by Herod's troops.
Story: The murder of Jesus, his family and the magi, with an epilog about
Rome's British satrap "Queen" Victoria humiliating coronation.
Cores, Lucy, "Hail to the Chief", in <BT>
What if: The Watergate break-in went undiscovered, and Richard Nixon was
president until poor health caused his resignation in 1994.
Story: In 1996, a plumbers unit breaks into a Hyannisport house to retrieve
a tape stolen from the San Clemente archives.
Corvo, Baron: see Frederick William Rolfe
Coulson, Robert, "Soy la Libertad!", in <BT>
What if: Magellan discovered the Americas, and 350 years later abolitionists
blocked US annexation of Texas.
Story: A US Customs inspector considers the disastrous possibilities on a
Balkanized Na of the assassination of Texas president Lyndon Johnson.
Cox, Richard (ed.), OPERATION SEA LION
What if: Nazi Germany carried out Operation Sealowe, invading England on
22 Sep 1940.
Story: A detailed account of Germany's miserable five-day failure. (Based
on a war game played out in 1974 by British and West German officers.)
Cupp, Scott, "Thirteen Days of Glory", in RAZORED SADDLES (eds. Lansdale and
LoBrutto)
What if: The defenders of the Alamo were homosexuals defending their sexual
preference.
Story: Drag-queens fight an outraged Mexican army (borderline secret
history).
Dabney, Virginia, "If the South had Won the War", in American Mercury Oct 36
What if: Pickett's Charge had succeeded, and the defenders of Vicksburg had
been a bit more tenacious.
Story: A look at the CSA during Huey Long's presidency.
Davidson, Avram, "O Brave New World!", in <BT>
What if: Offered the choice of going to hell or to America, George II's heir
opted for the latter.
Story: The center of British power shifts to Philadelphia, leading to an
English uprising in the early 1800s against American tyranny.
Davin, Eric L., "Avenging Angel", in FAR FRONTIERS II (eds. Pournelle and
Baen) and <FCW>
What if: The CSA developed a long-range rocket and fired it on Washington
during Lincoln's second inauguration, 4 Mar 1865.
Story: An explanation of its development and how it provoked the sack of
Richmond and a harsher Reconstruction.
Dean, William, "A Passage in Italics", in <f&sf> May 72
What if: Italy invented the first atomic bomb.
Story:
Deighton, Len, SS-GB: NAZI-OCCUPIED BRITAIN 1941
What if: Germany won the Battle of Britain.
Story: A Scotland Yard detective tries to raise his motherless son and
investigate a murder in occupied England.
Deloria, Vine, Jr., "Why the U.S. Never Fought the Indians", in Christian
Century 7-14 Jan 76
What if: In 1815, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams promoted a moral policy
towards AmerInds, and Tecumseh founded a lasting AmerInd nation.
Story:
Dent, Guy, EMPEROR OF THE IF
What if: England was not subject to glaciers during the Ice Ages.
Story:
Denton, Brad, WRACK & ROLL
What if: Roosevelt choked on a chicken bone in 1933, and Patton rolled into
Russia after the fall of Germany.
Story: NASA is destroyed by fans after a 1967 lunar disaster kills a rock
star. In 1979, her daughter goes on tour.
Dick, Philip K., THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE
What if: FDR was assassinated in 1933 and the Axis won WW2.
Story: A look at how a conquered people (partitioned America) relates to
its rulers.
Dickinson, Peter, KING AND JOKER
----------------, SKELETON-IN-WAITING
What if: Edward Duke of Clarence did not die in 1887, and became king of
England in 1910 rather than his brother George.
Story: Princess Louise (b. 1963) discovers some skeletons in the (royal)
family closet and must solve some mysteries.
Downing, David, THE MOSCOW OPTION: AN ALTERNATIVE SECOND WORLD WAR
What if: An Aug 41 plane crash left Hitler lying in a coma for six months
while Goering was in charge of the Third Reich.
Story: Left to its own devices, the Wehrmacht takes Moscow in Oct 41. Also,
details on Pearl Harbor, Malta, Cairo, Midway, Panama and Jerusalem.
Dvorkin, David, BUDSPY
What if: Hitler was killed by a Russian attack while visiting the Eastern
Front in March 1943, and his successors made peace with the US and Britain.
Story: In 1988, while hunting for a Red spy in the Berlin embassy, an
American agent finds that Germany hasn't reformed as much as it pretends.
Effinger, George Alec, "Target: Berlin! The Role of the Air Force Four-Door
Hardtop", in NEW DIMENSIONS 6 (ed. Silverberg) and <BAW>
What if: In a fit of sanity, world leaders decided to postpone WW2.
Story: Excerpts from Effinger's book on how the WW2 of the 1970s was fought
with automobiles instead of aircraft in order to conserve fuel.
Eklund, Gordon, "Red Skins", in <f&sf> Jan 81
What if: The Americas were discovered in 1219 by a Moslem, but not seriously
coolonized until Europeans showed c. 1700.
Story: 100 years after Indians banded together to handle the colonization
problem, Nazi Germany threatens war if scientist-refugees are not returned.
Eklund, Gordon, "The Rising of the Sun", in <BT>
What if: Europe fell to the Moslems and was discovered by the Incas in 1600.
Story: In 1899, a renegade Arab inventor detonates an atomic weapon over
Cuzco just as the city falls to the Aztecs.
Eklund, Gordon, SERVING IN TIME
What if: Washington was defeated and captured on Long Island, and the US
did not gain independence until 1800.
Story:
Elgin, Suzette Haden, "Hush My Mouth", in <AH>
What if: The North refused to enlist black soldiers during the Civil War,
and blacks ejected whites from the South after devastating epidemics.
Story: Blacks have found that their only common language is the oppressor's
English, and some refuse to speak until a better tongue is found.
Elliott, George P., "Sandra", in <f&sf> Oct 57
What if: Multi-racial slavery was legal in the US.
Story:
Ellis, Charles D., THE SECOND CRASH
What if: One key creditor did not help out a failing stockbroker, thereby
provoking a Wall Street crash in 1970.
Story:
Finch, Sheila, "Old Man and C", in Amazing Nov 89 and <WMHB2>
What if: A Swiss patent office employee quit his job to become a
professional musician.
Story: As the USA drops a new type of bomb in Korea, a 75-year-old Einstein
frets about whether he's wasted his life as a violin teacher.
Finch, Sheila, "Reichs-Peace", in <HV>
What if: Rudolf Hess' flight was successful, and a Pan-European federation
began a 1000-year peace.
Story: An attempt to use telepathy to rescue Hitler's adoptive son after an
accident on the Moon.
Fisher, H.A.L., "If Napoleon had Escaped to America", in <IIHHO>, Scribner's
Jan 31 and PAGES FROM THE PAST
What if: Napoleon did not surrender after Waterloo but fled to Boston.
Story: The Emperor looks for new lands to conquer and focuses on South
America, but will it be enough?
Forester, C. S., "If Hitler Had Invaded England", in Saturday Evening Post
16-30 Apr 60 and GOLD FROM CRETE
What if: Nazi Germany invaded England on 30 Jun 40.
Story:
Foster, Alan Dean, "Polonaise", in <BT>
What if: Poland became an important player on the world stage, capable of
putting down Hitler in six months.
Story: A secret Polish space project to impose world peace in an age of
nuclear proliferation.
Fowler, Karen Joy, "Game Night at the Fox and Goose", in <WMHB1>
What if: The war of the sexes developed differently.
Story:
Garrett, Randall, "Gentlemen: Please Note", in Astounding Oct 55
What if: Frustrated by government contractors, Isaac Newton changed his
field of study.
Story: Newton writes the PRINCIPIA THEOLOGICA.
Gatch, Tom, Jr., KING JULIAN: A NOVEL
What if: George Washington accepted the American crown, and his descendants
still rule.
Story:
Gibson, William, and Bruce Sterling, THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE
What if: Babbage perfected his analytical engine, and the Information Age
arrived a century early.
Story: A paleontologist accidentally acquires a set of punch cards from Ada
Byron, dropping him right in the middle of a circle of mayhem and murder.
Gillies, John, "A Sending Parable: What Might Have Been the Result Had St.
Paul Traveled East to the Orient Instead of West", in Christian Century 24
Feb 71
What if: As the title says...
Story: The difficulties faced by the Tokyo Christian Ministry in Arizona,
particularly its competition with American Christian missions.
Gold, Jerome, INQUISITOR
What if:
Story:
Goldsmith, Howard, "Do Ye Hear the Children Weeping?", in <HV>
What if: Germany won WW2.
Story: An American couple rents a house in Munich and find it is haunted by
the previous occupant's Dachau experiments.
Gotschalk, Felix C., "The Napoleonic Wars", in <BT>
What if: Napoleon was not defeated at Waterloo.
Story: Assassination attempts are constant in 1958 New Orleans, capital of
New France and home of the Emperor-in-exile of Eurasia
Green, Roland J., "The Goodwife of Orleans", in <Alt>
What if: Henry V of England did not die in 1422 and was crowned king of
France.
Story: A young woman from the village of Arc helps preserve English power
in France.
Grigg, John, 1943: THE VICTORY THAT NEVER WAS
What if:
Story:
Guedalla, Philip, "If the Moors in Spain had Won", in <IIHHO>
What if: Ferdinand's army was defeated at Lanjaron in 1491.
Story: An overview of the long history of the great, enlightened Kingdom of
Granada.
Gunn, Eileen, "Fellow Americans", in <IAsfm> Dec 91 and <AP>
What if: Revelation of Johnson's sordid past put Goldwater in the White
House in 1964.
Story: Vignettes of 1991, when Bush is president and Quayle is veep, but
Tricky Dick has a popular TV talk show that's been on the air for 20 years.
Gygax, E. Gary, and Terry Stafford, VICTORIOUS GERMAN ARMS: AN ALTERNATE
MILITARY HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II, collected from Internat'l Federation of
Wargamers newsletter
What if: The Axis had adopted a coherent grand strategy.
Story: Detailed account of German victory in WW2, ending with domination of
Europe and Africa.
Harrison, Harry, and Tom Shippey, "Letter from the Pope", in <WMHB2>
What if: The last Christian king in England broke with the church.
Story: In 878, Alfred receives the letter from the pope that pushes him
over the edge.
Harrison, Harry, A TRANSATLANTIC TUNNEL, HURRAH! (aka TUNNEL THROUGH THE
DEPTHS), serial in Analog Apr-Jun 72
What if: Spain remained Islamic after Christian defeat at Tours, and the War
of the Roses fizzled after the early death of Louis XI.
Story: A descendant of executed British-American rebel George Washington is
in charge of building the ultimate tunnel.
(see also the 'Reference' entry for Harrison's "Worlds Beside Worlds")
Harrison, Harry, WEST OF EDEN
---------------, WINTER IN EDEN
---------------, RETURN TO EDEN
What if: Dinosaurs did not die out and did develop intelligence.
Story: Conflict between warm climate saurians and cool climate humans.
Hersey, John, WHITE LOTUS
What if:
Story:
Hood, Gwenyth, THE COMING OF THE DEMONS
What if: Aliens interrupt the execution of of Conradim Hohenstaufen in 1268.
Story:
Jennings, Philip C., "Captain Theodule and the Chileland Kommandos," in
Amazing Jul 91.
What if:
Story: Realities of European colonization and imperialism are turned upside
down.
Jones, Douglas C., THE COURT-MARTIAL OF GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER
What if: Custer was the sole white survivor of the Little Bighorn.
Story: Just what the title says.
Kantor, Mackinlay, IF THE SOUTH HAD WON THE CIVIL WAR, in Look 22 Nov 60
What if: Grant was killed on 12 May 1863, and Sherman died in the Vicksburg
debacle. Also, occupation of Culp's Hill led to rebel victory at Gettysburg.
Story: The two battles and the conclusion of the war, followed by a brief
review of US, CS and Texas history until reunification in the 1960s.
(see also the 'Reference' entry for Fadness' "What If...?")
Knox, Ronald, "If the General Strike had Succeeded", in <IIHHO> (exc. 1931,
1964 US eds.)
What if: The 1926 British general strike succeeded.
Story: An imaginary London Times of 1930 reflects the social impact of the
strike.
Kruas, Stephen, "Frame of Reference", in Analog May 88
What if: Albert Einstein accepted an invitation to visit CalTech in 1925 and
while in transit was arrested after delivering a lecture in Louisville, KY.
Story: Clarence Darrow humiliates William Jennings Bryant at a trial to
decide whether Einstein violated a law against contradicting the Bible.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert B. Schmunk <sch...@vega.rice.edu, sch...@spacsun.rice.edu>
SPAC, Rice Univ, Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251 -- (713) 527-4939
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of
its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.
The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more
than thirty cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of
sixty thousand population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower, 16 April 1953