Alternate Fiction

The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was a resounding success - except for one detail: A second bombing mission, to destroy crucial oil storage facilities, was aborted that day. Now, in this gripping and stunning work of alternate history, Robert Conroy reimagines December 7, 1941, to include the attack the Japanese didn't launch, and what follows is a thrilling tale of war, resistance, sacrifice, and courage. For when Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto sees how badly the United States has been ravaged in a two-pronged strike, he devises another, more daring proposal.

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, along with the men and women of the USS Walker, have chosen sides in a war not of their making. They have allied with the Lemurians - a mammalian race whose peaceful existence is under attack from the warlike, reptilian Grik. The Lemurians are vastly outnumbered and ignorant of warfare, and even the guns and technology of Walker cannot turn the tide of battle.

Lidia Yuknavitch has an unmatched gift for capturing stories of people on the margins—vulnerable humans leading lives of challenge and transcendence. Now, Yuknavitch offers an imaginative masterpiece: the story of Laisvė, a motherless girl from the late 21st century who is learning her power as a carrier, a person who can harness the power of meaningful objects to carry her through time. Sifting through the detritus of a fallen city known as the Brook, she discovers a talisman that will mysteriously connect her with a series of characters from the past two centuries.

A small Peacekeeper Armada goes to Mars where their terraforming efforts have begun to make the red planet habitable. Not long after they arrive, they are informed that a large Russian fleet, along with the remnants of the Colombian drug cartel’s pirate ships, is headed for a showdown with the American forces working to prepare a colony site for the first colonists.Knowing they will be outnumbered almost three to one, and that it will take a miracle for their forces to defeat those arrayed against them, the Peacekeepers in the Mars planetary system call on their secret weapon to help them...

Whether you’re dreaming of galactic empires, magical kingdoms, or dystopian futures, this comprehensive guide will help you bring your imagined worlds to life—and keep readers turning pages. Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy is your essential companion for crafting compelling characters, building immersive settings, and mastering the tools of powerful storytelling. You’ll learn: Worldbuilding Creating magic systems and technologies that feel real Pacing, suspense, and scene structure Character arcs, voice, viewpoint, and more How to write each genre, from time travel to high fantasy...

What if you could go back in time and change the course of history?11.22.63, the date that Kennedy was shot - unless.... King takes his protagonist Jake Epping, a high school English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, 2011, on a fascinating journey back to 1958 - from a world of mobile phones and iPods to a new world of Elvis and JFK, of Plymouth Fury cars and Lindy Hopping, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill who becomes the love of Jake's life.

Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia. His first memory is of stepping off a train in the 19th-century French colony of England. The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does. Written in illegal English - instead of French - the postcard is signed only with the letter 'M', but Joe is certain whoever wrote it knows him far better than he currently knows himself and he’s determined to find the writer.

The invaders are coming; the Posleen, a seemingly unstoppable horde who have conquered one star system after another, literally feeding on their conquests. Earth's dubious allies, the Darhel, have given the humans a number of highly-advanced technological devices, including a process for rejuvenating the aged, including trained and proven soldiers who otherwise would be too old to fight. Rejuvenation may give a critical edge, since to survive, the Earth must use every resource at hand.

When Brenda’s internet goes out right before an important scholarship deadline, she stumbles right into Kat’s family’s coffeeshop. Brenda is swept away by cool, confident Kat, who actually cares about Brenda’s 19-step plan to save the world through science. Meanwhile, Kat can’t stop thinking about Brenda, who is smart, passionate, and doesn’t seem to care that Kat is the prophesized Chosen One.

From the 1983 Hugo-nominated novelette, a zany trilogy — Little Big Man meets Life of Brian in a gleeful, politically incorrect satirical romp through the tropes of science fiction. It's the first century, and Rome has conquered the North American continent. Only the wily tribe of Lacotii don't seem to realize they've been conquered. General Titus Papinianus is governor of that untamed land, and Aquila, chief of the savage Lacoti nation, is a Roman senator. But official titles aside, their duty is to Caesar. So when Caesar sends them on a quest for the fabled land of China, thought to be ...

The whateverpocalypse. That’s what Touré, a twenty-something Cambridge coder, calls it after waking up one morning to find himself seemingly the only person left in the city. Once he finds Robbie and Carol, two equally disoriented Harvard freshmen, he realizes he isn’t alone, but the name sticks: Whateverpocalypse. But it doesn’t explain where everyone went. It doesn’t explain how the city became overgrown with vegetation in the space of a night. Or how wild animals with no fear of humans came to roam the streets.

Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Steve Berry, Naomi Novik, and Harry Turtledove, Alan Smale's gripping alternate history series imagines a world in which the Roman Empire has survived long enough to invade North America in 1218. Now the stunning story carries hero Gaius Marcellinus deeper into the culture of an extraordinary people whose humanity, bravery, love, and ingenuity forever change his life and destiny.

Fatherland is set in an alternative world where Hitler has won the Second World War. It is April 1964 and one week before Hitler's 75th birthday. Xavier March, a detective of the Kriminalpolizei, is called out to investigate the discovery of a dead body in a lake near Berlin's most prestigious suburb. As March discovers the identity of the body, he uncovers signs of a conspiracy that could go to the very top of the German Reich.

Matt Callaghan is alive—barely. Having escaped the destruction of the home he shared with Jane Walker after an attack by political assassins, he's back with the young superheroes of Morningstar Academy—and back in the center of a conspiracy that's unraveling the world around him. A cult still pursues him; governments still want his powerless human blood. Any hopes he once held of living a normal life seem dead and buried, and it's all Matt and Jane can do to try and ensure he doesn't end up the same way. But there's no time to rest or recover.

When Lord Edgware is found murdered the police are baffled. His estranged actress wife was seen visiting him just before his death and Hercule Poirot himself heard her brag of her plan to "get rid" of him. But how could she have stabbed Lord Edgware in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? It's a case that almost proves to be too much for the great Poirot.

March 1942: Adolf Hitler is dead at the hands of the Royal Air Force. A vengeful Luftwaffe has exacted the Third Reich’s revenge on Great Britain, and London lies in flames. With the Royal Family fleeing to Canada and Great Britain’s Pacific colonies being ceded to Imperial Japan, the United States faces a stark, dangerous future alone. With a broad cast of characters underpinned by historical research, Acts of War examines the terrifying “What if…” of a German victory in Europe followed by upheaval in the Court of St. James.

Step into a universe where the impossible becomes reality, and every story leads you to uncharted realms. From forgotten worlds awakening after centuries of silence to mythical creatures guarding legendary treasures, "Worlds Unseen" is a collection of short stories that explores the boundaries of imagination. Each tale unveils a different facet of the extraordinary—whether through time-manipulating invaders, magical libraries with worlds within pages, or the complex emotions of sentient machines and hidden realms. Journey across dimensions, through mystical landscapes and futuristic ...

Virgil’s got problems. There’s the whole “is someone trying to kill him?” thing at work, but he thinks he can handle that. It’s what’s happening at home that’s harder to deal with. His sister, Claire, called to say Father’s getting worse. He used to just be angry. Angry about the direction of the country. Angry about politics. Disgusted and amused at ‘kids these days.’ That wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t scary. Now he’s online all the time, making threats, buying guns. He believes things that seem impossible -- things that, if true, make the world a dangerous place and ...

Egypt, 1912. In an alternate Cairo infused with the otherworldly, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine. What starts off as an odd suicide case for Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi leads her through the city’s underbelly as she encounters rampaging ghouls, saucy assassins, clockwork angels, and plot that could unravel time itself, in P. Djèlí Clark's Tor.Com Original, A Dead Djinn in Cairo.

The hum of the temporal displacement chamber was a lullaby Roger had come to both cherish and fear. Tonight, it was a desperate plea. Weeks had bled into a silent agony since the light of Project AEON's prototype had swallowed his wife, Rita, and their team whole. The official reports offered sterile condolences and closed files, another casualty of bleeding-edge science. But Roger knew better. He had held Rita's hand as they charted the impossible, mapped the currents of time itself. He knew the whispers of branching realities, the echoes of what-ifs that shimmered just beyond their grasp....