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History & Alternate History

For Readers: Alternative History

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FOR READERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer John Allenson: “What do you think are good turning points?” I’ll elaborate a little on John’s question. Most alternate histories choose a point in our own past and ask the question – what if this had gone the other way?: What if Hitler had won WWII? What if the black plague had killed everyone in Europe? What if the Dark Ages had never happened? What if the Japanese had discovered North America first? So what are some alternate histories you’d like to see? What point in history would you suggest be changed, … Read more

Where No Gay Has Gone Before: First Tattooine, now Vulcan

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NASA announced earlier it might have located Luke Skywalker’s home planet Tattooine.  For the past nine years, NASA has embarked on a planet finding mission, SIM PlanetQuest to find Mr. Spock’s home Vulcan.  Astronomers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory are searching for a planet orbiting 40 Eridani, a triple-star system about 16 light-years from Earth.  ‘Vulcan’ is thought to orbit the red-orange K dwarf star Eridani A. K-stars are orangey stars, slightly cooler than our sun.  They are hotter, brighter and bluer than M stars, but cooler, dimmer and redder than O, B, A F and G stars.  Did you get … Read more

We Already Have the Wheel: Werewolves and Toxic Masculinity

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John Allenson

We Already Have the Wheel. Werewolves and Toxic Masculinity.  Growing Hair in Funny Places. The western werewolf myth has been incredibly stable for most of its history up until the turn of the last millennia.  Most of the stories, legends, and court cases reflect the same understanding of what it means to be a werewolf going back to the Greek legends of King Lycaon. The main stream of the King Lycaon story, with many regional differences is this:  Zeus (sometimes with Hermes) appears in the city of King Lycaon.  The king doubts that the person claiming to be Zeus is … Read more

Announcement: Native Wind, by A.M. Burns

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Native Wind

QSFer A.M. Burns has a new fantasy/steampunk book out: After his family is killed by thieves, sole survivor Trey McAlister is taken in by a nearby Comanche clan. Trey has a gift for magic and the clan’s shaman, Singing Crow, makes him an apprentice. While learning to control his powers, Trey bonds with a young warrior and shape shifter, Gray Talon. When they are sent out on a quest to find the missing daughter of a dragon, they encounter the same bandits who murdered Trey’s family, as well as a man made of copper who drives Trey to dig deeper … Read more

We Already Invented the Wheel. Where the Boys Aren’t Part 2. After Stonewall

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John Allenson

The first part of discussing the herstory of all women cultures went from the early 20th century up to 1970.  Several people remarked that there hadn’t been queer-positive stories.  We’ve forgotten that part of our heritage when it was virtually impossible to publish positive images of Queer lives.  Many countries had (and still have) laws that forbid positive depictions of so-called alternative lifestyles.  To have any depiction of Lesbian lives it was necessary to have a tragic ending.  It was shocking to have a Lesbian still alive at the end of a story as in The Killing of Sister George.  … Read more

We Already Invented the Wheel. Where the Boys Aren’t – Part 1.

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John Allenson

When I started thinking of the topic of women only societies I quickly realized that I perceived of two separate types of story under the same label of ‘Lesbian Utopia’.  While there is a LOT of overlap in the way people have written about societies where a group of women have separated from the mainstream mixed society, (Amazons,) and single-sex worlds I’ve decided to treat the two as separate topics. After all, it’s not as if we talk way too much about women.  I’ll talk about Warrior Women in a later article dedicated to her history.  There is enough information … Read more

We Already Invented the Wheel. Introduction

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John Allenson

So, this is my first column and I’ll take the opportunity to introduce myself and the basic topics of this column. I’m what is politely called an Independent Scholar of Speculative Fiction. I’ve delivered two papers on the subject of Aboriginal Canadians in Canadian Futurism. Back in the early 90s I’d edited a bibliography of Queer Positive Speculative Fiction which indicated whether content was Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Other-Gender. I also co-wrote an article for the (sadly) defunct Body Politic on Gay/Lesbian subtext in mainstream comic books. After some 20 years of writing slash, I took a Master Class with the … Read more

Announcement: Whither Thou Goest, by Tinnean

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Whither Thou Goest

QSFer Tinnean has a new historical fantasy book out: Johnny Smith meets Church Chetwood during the dark days of the Great Depression. He knows Mr. Chetwood can’t be his forever. Why would the handsome and charming director want to stay with a young man who has nothing but his body and skills in bed to offer? His Mr. Chetwood can have any women—or man—he wants, but Johnny is going to keep him as long as he can. When they have to leave suddenly on the SS August Moon to evade the process servers trying to find Church, Johnny is glad … Read more

Announcement: Clothed in Flesh, by William Holden

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Clothed in Flesh

QSFer William Holden has a new historical horror book out: George Sutton, a London constable, is suddenly thrown into a battle between good and evil, brother against brother, and doesn’t know he is the key to the city’s survival. It’s the eighteenth-century and the dead are coming back to life. When Constable George Sutton receives a summons from an old friend late at night, he only knows she is in distress. He’s little prepared to find Elizabeth aged decades in a matter of days. He’s even less prepared to learn his longtime friend and husband to Elizabeth has risen from … Read more

Announcement: Journey to Manhood, by Dusk Peterson

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Journey to Manhood

QSFer Dusk Peterson has a new alternative history book out: “Perhaps, when they spoke next, the other young man could tell Simmons of any masters here who were in need of an apprentice who was perilously close to the age of journeymanship.” Simmons has been waiting all his life for the day when he would come of age and pledge his service to a liege-master. But at the last minute, all his plans go awry; he is left in the awful position of having to find a liege-master quickly. Desperation may force Simmons to pick the worst of liege-masters. Working … Read more