I didn't even know this was a story trend! Bloody hell
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Least favorite alt-history story?
- Thread starter Resurgam
- Start date
One thing we have to thank D&D for is making those finally slack off.I didn't even know this was a story trend! Bloody hell
napoleon IV
Khanstitutional Amendment
- Location
- Washington, Douglass Commonwealth
- Pronouns
- he/him
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.Yeah, it's a way of writing about history with hindsight that is almost self-congratulatory.
- Location
- Albany, NY
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Comrade Mao's decision to stop shaving his neck leads to the triumph of the 28 Bolsheviks.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.
Polyphemus
Some kind of robot
- Pronouns
- they/them
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.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.
- Pronouns
- he/him
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.I didn't even know this was a story trend! Bloody hell
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.
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 outOr 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.
Persephone
Emotionally Compromised
- Pronouns
- they/them
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.The spin off trend was historical figures into the bodies of other historical figures.
That sounds like the sort of thing someone would do as a joke. What TL is that?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.
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
ITV versus the Racists
- Location
- Land of the Twinkle's Pride
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.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"
The old board was well-moderated.
Persephone
Emotionally Compromised
- Pronouns
- they/them
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.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"
It's on the ASB forum, which is sign in only, so I can't imagine you'd get a result regardless.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.
Quantum Leap has a lot to answer forOh 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.
ChrisNuttall
Active member
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.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.
If it was done well, it might teach a lot about real history. But it would have to be done very well.
- Location
- Over the rainbow
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?Quantum Leap has a lot to answer for
von mises
Via Getty
- Location
- Tiverton and Honiton
"For God's sake bring me a large Scotch. What a bloody awful country."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
- Location
- Albany, NY
- Pronouns
- He/Him
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.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.
Turns out there are brave lads out there who can kill off the goose who lays the Golden eggs.One thing we have to thank D&D for is making those finally slack off.
Baen shut down its discussion forum yesterday, over concerns that some of the stuff posted in it crossed the line into legally actionable hate speech.
It’s been brought to my attention by some helpful folks that speech not everyone agrees with, and that may have become unlawful speech, has occurred on Baen’s Bar. In order to fully investigate those serious allegations, and any violations of the Bar “no hitting” rule, we will be taking a break from the Bar as of noon February 16th, and encourage all our readers to enjoy their lawful conversations elsewhere for the time being.
Artaxerxes
Centrist Ham
- Location
- #VALUE!
I don't follow any specific SI pieces but expect I'd find "I'm an expert on the period and will make things much better" to be somewhat less interesting than "What the fuck is going on and man am I going to screw this up."
The best historical SI one I've read was the Bomber Harris one which was both heavy on details and occasionally trippy a'la Life on Mars.
Unfortunately I think it turned out the author was problematic but he may have just had a beef with Ian