Least favorite alt-history story?

[Charles EP M.]

I didn't even know this was a story trend! Bloody hell

 

[Skaven]

I didn't even know this was a story trend! Bloody hell

One thing we have to thank D&D for is making those finally slack off.

 

[napoleon IV]

Yeah, it's a way of writing about history with hindsight that is almost self-congratulatory.

One way to play it that would be kind of fun would be for the SI to have hindsight, but to be unable to play politics well and fail because being an Internet nerd is terrible training for leading a country.

 

[Japhy]

One way to play it that would be kind of fun would be for the SI to have hindsight, but to be unable to play politics well and fail because being an Internet nerd is terrible training for leading a country.

Comrade Mao's decision to stop shaving his neck leads to the triumph of the 28 Bolsheviks.

 

[Polyphemus]

One way to play it that would be kind of fun would be for the SI to have hindsight, but to be unable to play politics well and fail because being an Internet nerd is terrible training for leading a country.

Or even just not have any detailed knowledge of the personage or era and their confused and desperate attempts have the opposite effect of their intentions.

 

[Gary Oswald]

I didn't even know this was a story trend! Bloody hell

Oh it was huge, hundreds of timelines on places like spacebattles. What I would do if I was put into the body of Nicholas II or the like.

The spin off trend was historical figures into the bodies of other historical figures. So Teddy Roosevelt in the body of Barack Obama and the like.

Some of that was really icky in terms of using real alive figures, I vaguely remember a one where Reinhard Heydrich (The War Criminal) and Maria Sharapova (the tennis player) were put into the bodies of a married austrian noble family in around 1890 and the story is about them as a love story and power couple.

I know historical writing has to deal with real people but that felt like the sort of thing Sharapova would want taken down if she knew about it.

 

[Yokai Man]

Or even just not have any detailed knowledge of the personage or era and their confused and desperate attempts have the opposite effect of their intentions.

Reginald Maulding SIed into 1866 Carol I of Romania’s body,being revolted by just everything in 19th Century Romanian politics and having to constantly remind people that no,Romania can’t back France against its war with Prussia just because Romania really love France and could they please stop being so bigoted,even Bismarck is calling them out

 

[Persephone]

The spin off trend was historical figures into the bodies of other historical figures.

Oh man, I remember this one-off/vignette thread on the other place ages and ages ago that I saw when I was in my teens that had Che Guevara inserted into the body of a 19th-century American (just found the thread and it's Nicholas Biddle) and it ended with him leading the 1833 slave revolt in Cuba. But looking at it now, holy shit it's wild. Not only does Che get inserted into Nicholas Biddle's body and advises Jackson on the banking issue, but also several leading Democrats are replaced by prominent Cuban Communist cadres.

 

[lerk]

Some of that was really icky in terms of using real alive figures, I vaguely remember a one where Reinhard Heydrich (The War Criminal) and Maria Sharapova (the tennis player) were put into the bodies of a married austrian noble family in around 1890 and the story is about them as a love story and power couple.

That sounds like the sort of thing someone would do as a joke. What TL is that?

EDIT: Wait, I found it by searching up "Heydrich Sharapova" on the AH.com search bar, in case you are interested the TL's name is "Rudolf will Reign, Dear"

 

[Elektronaut]

EDIT: Wait, I found it by searching up "Heydrich Sharapova" on the AH.com search bar, in case you are interested the TL's name is "Rudolf will Reign, Dear"

Think that was on pre-1900 for ages before it got moved to ASB. I also remember the writer making some very dodgy-sounding replies on post-1900.

The old board was well-moderated.

 

[Persephone]

EDIT: Wait, I found it by searching up "Heydrich Sharapova" on the AH.com search bar, in case you are interested the TL's name is "Rudolf will Reign, Dear"

I googled it, expecting for the first result to be on the other place. First result was on Amazon, not just as a kindle ebook, but also as a paperback.

 

[lerk]

I googled it, expecting for the first result to be on the other place. First result was on Amazon, not just as a kindle ebook, but also as a paperback.

It's on the ASB forum, which is sign in only, so I can't imagine you'd get a result regardless.

 

[Charles EP M.]

Oh it was huge, hundreds of timelines on places like spacebattles. What I would do if I was put into the body of Nicholas II or the like.

The spin off trend was historical figures into the bodies of other historical figures. So Teddy Roosevelt in the body of Barack Obama and the like.

Quantum Leap has a lot to answer for

 

[ChrisNuttall]

It seems to me that of all the exercises one can do to explore History it is the most pointless. There are always different figures, different movements, different actions of millions. But to scoop someone's brain out and put someone else in there is not just pointless, and dumb its also one of the most lazy ways you can write.

It depends. Any historical figure, good or bad, operated within a framework that dictated what they could or couldn't do. From our point of view, FDR should have declared war on Nazi Germany on 1939 or attacked Japan in 1940 ... perhaps even made far more obvious preparations for war in 1941; from their point of view, it was politically impossible to do anything of the sort. And that's in a decent state. If the SI is in Hitler's body and he decides not to launch the war, or carry out mass slaughter and genocide, or anything else along those lines, there's a good chance he'll be killed by his own subordinates.

If it was done well, it might teach a lot about real history. But it would have to be done very well.

 

[Jared]

Quantum Leap has a lot to answer for

Leaping from self-insert to self-insert, in a never ending loop, always hoping that the next leap will be the leap Home, so that you can finally learn the outcome of the Worldwar series?

 

[von mises]

Reginald Maulding SIed into 1866 Carol I of Romania’s body,being revolted by just everything in 19th Century Romanian politics and having to constantly remind people that no,Romania can’t back France against its war with Prussia just because Romania really love France and could they please stop being so bigoted,even Bismarck is calling them out

"For God's sake bring me a large Scotch. What a bloody awful country."

 

[Japhy]

It depends. Any historical figure, good or bad, operated within a framework that dictated what they could or couldn't do. From our point of view, FDR should have declared war on Nazi Germany on 1939 or attacked Japan in 1940 ... perhaps even made far more obvious preparations for war in 1941; from their point of view, it was politically impossible to do anything of the sort. And that's in a decent state. If the SI is in Hitler's body and he decides not to launch the war, or carry out mass slaughter and genocide, or anything else along those lines, there's a good chance he'll be killed by his own subordinates.

If it was done well, it might teach a lot about real history. But it would have to be done very well.

Gonna try to save you some time right now Chris. I am never going go engage in discussion with you so don't bother trying with me.

 

[Matt]

One thing we have to thank D&D for is making those finally slack off.

Turns out there are brave lads out there who can kill off the goose who lays the Golden eggs.