Shitty Alternate History Thread - If only the Romans had AK-47's they would've survived...

  • 🔧 At about Midnight EST I am going to completely fuck up the site trying to fix something.
Catharism could have survived the Albigensian Crusade
I don't think so. Catharism was always going to be at a disadvantage because its followers (correct me if I'm wrong here) viewed having sex as sinful. While the Catholic Church in Western Europe was pretty corrupt at that time and while that did drive lots of people to join the much more morally upright Albigensians, that doesn't mean that Catharism has any hope of survival once the Albigensian Crusade starts and the Church brings the full weight of her power down on the Albigensians.
 
I don't think so. Catharism was always going to be at a disadvantage because its followers (correct me if I'm wrong here) viewed having sex as sinful. While the Catholic Church in Western Europe was pretty corrupt at that time and while that did drive lots of people to join the much more morally upright Albigensians, that doesn't mean that Catharism has any hope of survival once the Albigensian Crusade starts and the Church brings the full weight of her power down on the Albigensians.
Catharism, like most heresies, can be rather tricky to pin down in terms of exact beliefs. Firstly, the church never exactly had a favorable view of them (and guess who’s the one who wrote down their beliefs?) so isn’t going to be extremely interested in the details. Secondly, it didn’t have really an organized structure to it. Hard to keep records when shit isn’t organized. Third, the crusade basically wiped out most of them, so it’s hard to get reliable first hand accounts of their practices and beliefs.

That said Cathars did believe that sex itself as a physical act was sinful as it was earthly thus not of God.
 
My favorite Alt-history is the GURPS setting Aeolus, what if the "Divine Wind" didnt blow in William the Orange's favor? Turns out liberalism dies temporarily strangled in the crib and the great liberal revolution didn't happen until 1939 in eastern europe with the Austro Hungarian Empire, also liberalism is a catholic phenomenon and pro clerical also the first aircraft are jet planes developed by Coanda and the MiG guy, its really cool, and i love heckin wholesome liberal revolutions(democratic germany is unironically my favorite HOI IV playthrough) if trove was still up I'd link it but *sigh*
 
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I finished reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union (the Slattery Report gets passed + the Israelis lose the Arab-Israeli War -> Alaska becomes the center of global Jewry) the other day.

I really love how it does alternate history. A large chunk of alternate history seems to be "what if the loser of X historical war won and took over the world and became a caricature of itself lol," but TYPU does something really different, it tells a story that is tied directly to its alternate history setting (it doesn't work without it), but it unfolds slowly, only refers to its alternate setting in passing, is very thoroughly thought out.

Unfortunately the ending is a big dud, but it's a solid work.
 
I finished reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union (the Slattery Report gets passed + the Israelis lose the Arab-Israeli War -> Alaska becomes the center of global Jewry) the other day.

I really love how it does alternate history. A large chunk of alternate history seems to be "what if the loser of X historical war won and took over the world and became a caricature of itself lol," but TYPU does something really different, it tells a story that is tied directly to its alternate history setting (it doesn't work without it), but it unfolds slowly, only refers to its alternate setting in passing, is very thoroughly thought out.

Unfortunately the ending is a big dud, but it's a solid work.
I actually thought the ending worked. Being a dud almost worked as the story became bigger than the case due to the scope of things.
 
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Why are the usernames (besides Ian's) blacked out?

As a side note, that thread has so many unironic far-left memes full of words and that's before you get into the content which is about what you'd expect. For instance, the guy kicked in that picture was kicked for "transphobic trolling" for making fun of the idea that men can get pregnant too.
 
So... I know the 1632 series has its detractors... and far too many side series.

Evidently, Baen is starting to put out other side series, ie, Ring of Fire novels set in time periods other than the 30 Years War.

Got the mailer with the cover for one of the first.

1639499415703.png


Fuck me, I don't care if it's awful, I'm buying it day one just for the cover.
 
So... I know the 1632 series has its detractors... and far too many side series.

Evidently, Baen is starting to put out other side series, ie, Ring of Fire novels set in time periods other than the 30 Years War.

Got the mailer with the cover for one of the first.

View attachment 2799824

Fuck me, I don't care if it's awful, I'm buying it day one just for the cover.
Ill buy it because im a massive 1632 fan, and if you want a real lark read the Alexander Inheritance and its sequel what if a cruise ship gets transported to the time of the diadochi its great stuff. Also for people bitching about the side stories you really only need to read the main line novels to get whats going on in them.
 
Colonization_Second_Contact.jpg

I think the cover alone says it all.
Also with those Russian alt-history books, does anyone have an image of the one where Kaiser Wilhelm is leading a Communist revolution? That one is my favorite.
 
Colonization_Second_Contact.jpg

I think the cover alone says it all.
Also with those Russian alt-history books, does anyone have an image of the one where Kaiser Wilhelm is leading a Communist revolution? That one is my favorite.
The Worldwar series are my favorite of Turtledove's TBH. Fun with an interesting premise and I don't think it takes itself super seriously.
 
I think The lizard invasion should've taken place sometime during the 18th century. Then you could have a book abt Some historian centuries from now in the (human dominated) Lizard empire finding studying some old earth pre invasion stuff

Hint at it being things like holy books and philosophical tracts and whatnot, with the historian seeing only curious looking junk, make hilariously inaccurate conclusions as to what these books are abt, and then talk abt how lucky the humans were to get 'civillised' by the Lizards.

Would be kinda poignant with themes abt how our most cherished ideals will be ground down and forgotten or perverted by our distant descendants, b/c that's how history works.
 
Fire of the Mountain has a unique premise with Harper's Ferry. But its sucks by saying that the poorest states formed a socialist republic and became a world power. It makes no sense to me, and should be viewed as a joke.
 
Fire of the Mountain has a unique premise with Harper's Ferry. But its sucks by saying that the poorest states formed a socialist republic and became a world power. It makes no sense to me, and should be viewed as a joke.
Two alternate history plots:
1) South Carolina leaves in Nullification Crisis
2) Gets fucked by slave revolt
3) Slave Carolina becomes English-speaking Haiti

1) Britain invades Antebellum America (maybe some bullshit to do with Oregon Country)
2) Following real-life plans, launches insurrection in the Deep South to support invasion
3) Slave Dixie becomes English-speaking Haiti on large scale


Oh, by the way, those were not the poorest states, they were much richer than Northern states at the time. but of course that was due to the pace of forced labor and climate advantages. Set the slaves free to remake Haiti and it's definitely not going to be some Communist utopia. Fire on the Mountain is just Maoist Black Power wankery.
 
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Two alternate history plots:
1) South Carolina leaves in Nullification Crisis
2) Gets fucked by slave revolt
3) Slave Carolina becomes English-speaking Haiti

1) Britain invades Antebellum America (maybe some bullshit to do with Oregon Country)
2) Following real-life plans, launches insurrection in the Deep South to support invasion
3) Slave Dixie becomes English-speaking Haiti on large scale
I think a mass slave revolt in the South could be an interesting timeline, but I don't think it would be an Anglo-Haiti. Even in the most slaving of states, slaves barely outnumbered the whites.

That said, I have no doubt that a mass slave revolt could become a very bloody and very insane war as radicals on the rebels part, and the fire eaters would naturally just escalate it. Such a war could drag on in the swamps and woods of the deep south for a decade or more if it was sufficiently bloody initially.

The south ITTL would probably be a shambling wreck by the end, and OTL racial troubles post-Civil War would look mild compared to the end result ITTL.
 
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