Flag of the Aztec Empire

This is the flag of the Aztec Empire. It comes from a world where the Aztecs defeated Cortez and his troops. Smallpox still ravaged the Aztecs, but due to the more limited exposed they were able to recover by the time the Spanish sent additional expeditions. It soon become obvious that the empire would need to reform itself if it was going to survive the European colonization of the Americas.

The debate around these reforms leads to social upheavals and rebellions. The empire ultimately survived, but with a Tlaxcalan ruling dynasty. The Tlaxcalans, always one of the more reform minded peoples of the empire, set about instituting serious reforms.

The first reform was the structure of the empire. The provinces became much more centralized in their organization. The emperor still ruled over all, but each province sent a group of delegates to represent the needs of the province in a special council in Tenochtitlan. The priests and priestesses also began to slowly phase-out human sacrifice from the traditional religion of the Aztecs. Trade relations were established with multiple European nations both to gain access to European technology and to play the various powers off of each other.

For the next few centuries the Aztecs would be prosperous and would have good relations with their neighbors. They provided troops to the Federated Provinces of Cabotia during their rebellion against the British Empire. To this day the two nations remain close allies to this day. The Aztecs also maintained good relations with the Incan Empire, which also managed to avoid European conquest. The Aztecs went on to expand their territory to stretch from the American Southwest to the tip of Panama, and even managed to nab a few islands of the Caribbean.

The next major wave of reforms occurred during the 19h century. The Aztecs, much like Japan during the Meiji Restoration, underwent a Westernization process. Though from the Aztecs points of view the term would more accurately be Easternization. Industrialization began to take off, and Western clothing and customs were slowly introduced to improve relations with the great powers of Europe. However, the Aztecs did not completely turn their backs on their traditional culture. Aztec clothing still remains very colorful and incorporates many traditional designs, and nose rings are still somewhat popular for men and women. More traditional clothing is usually reserved for special ceremonies and occasions, such as religious festivals and the emperor's birthday.

The Aztecs also still worship their old gods, and many temples and shrines can be found throughout the empire. On the other hand, secularism is on the rise, and many people only perform the old rituals out of habit and tradition. What was once an empire imfamous for its bloodlust is today known as a thriving center of technology and innovation.

The flag features the colors red and green, which are traditional Aztec colors. The maze pattern is a common feature in Aztec artwork. The red snake is the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, god of the winds and one of the most important gods in the Aztec pantheon.

Flag of Fascist Britain

This is the flag of Fascist Britain.  It comes from a world where the Central Powers won World War I.  Following the war Britain and France were placed under a series of harsh reparations just as Germany was in our world.  Britain didn't face reparations nearly as bad as France did, but nevertheless it put considerable strain on the nation.  As a result the Fascist Party, led by Oswald Mosley, began to gain traction.  The Fascist promised revenge against Germany and the Austro-Hungarians for the humiliation Britain had suffered following the war.  

A surprise terrorist attack on Parliament was the opening the Fascists needed to cement their control on the British government.  It has been speculated by historians that this attack may have been staged by the Fascists themselves; but whatever the cause it was enough for most of the British people to get behind the new government.  The Royal Family fled to Canada and set up a government-in-exile to oppose the Fascists.  

The British colonies typically had one of three responses to the coup.  Some happily swore alliance to the new government, others chose to follow the government-in-exile and a few declared their independence.  Although authoritarian, Fascist Britain wasn't outright genocidal towards minorities like France was.  For instance, there was at one point a bill in Parliament that would have severely restricted the rights of Jews, Catholics and Atheists.  Thankfully it failed, albeit just barely.  Fascist Britain can be thought of as more similar to Mussolini's Italy than Nazi Germany. 

Despite a grueling Second War World eventually the Entente powers were defeated by combined German, Austro-Hungarian, Japanese and American forces.  Before long the Mosley regime was overturned and the rightful government returned to the British Isles once again.  

The flag is a modified version of the English St. George's flag.  The black stands for Fascism and in the center is the symbol of the British Union of Fascists. 

Flag of Coptic Egypt

This is the flag of Coptic Egypt.  It comes from a world where Islam was never founded.  One of the many consequences of this was that the Byzantine Empire continued to prosper for a number of years.  Eventually, however, tensions began to grow within the empire.  Egypt began to feel that Constantinople was giving them the short end of the stick a bit too often.  Egypt's main grievances were increased taxes and increased tensions between the Coptic and Orthodox churches.  

After a brief war, Egypt was granted its independence.  Despite this, Egypt retains good relations with Byzantium.  It also maintains good relations with fellow Oriental Orthodox nations Ethiopia and Armenia.  Egypt has traditionally been a hub of trade, and following its independence work began on a canal in the Sinai Peninsula.  Egypt established traditions ports in India and China.  It also established colonies in Australia, which is known as New Egypt, as well as a few minor colonies in South America.  

The wealth from its trade and colonies has made Egypt a very rich nation.  People and goods from throughout the world can be found across Egypt's cities.  Currently there is something of an architectural fad based around reinterpretations of Ancient Egyptian architecture.  Egypt also has a reputation for having some of the best universities and centers of learning in the world.  It is a nation which honors its past while keeping a eye towards the future. 

The flag contains a Coptic Cross to represent Egypt's Coptic faith.  The background represents the sands of Egypt, while the blue bands stands for the waters of the Nile River.  The writing is in the Coptic Script and reads "Jesus Christ, Son of God".   

My First Publication with Alternate History Fiction Magazine

It's finally here after forever and a day.  The premier issue of Alternate History Fiction Magazine is out now on Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks and Nook.  The print edition is available as well.  It's only $0.99 for digital and $15.49 for physical.  It contains my alternate history flash fiction story "Ghosts of Athens" as the very first entry.  So, as per usual I'm going to tell you a bit about my story.

I had intended for my previous story "Happy Dominion Day" to end up in this magazine, but due to a mix-up it wound up in The Wolfian instead.  They are both run by the same guy.  However, had the mix-up not occurred I probably would have never written "Ghosts of Athens."  This story takes place in a world where Persia conquered Greece, and by the present day Persia is still a major world power.  It follows a Greek tour guide name Fazrin who runs tours the ruins of Athens.  He meets a Roman woman named Victoria and the two muse on how history might have been if the Greeks had successfully resisted the Persians.

It is, admittedly, similar to "Happy Dominion Day" in that it features people from an alternate world hypothesizing about the history of our world.  That said, I like "Ghosts of Athens" better as I feel that it is more polished and better realized.  It is mostly alternate history, but I snuck in just a pinch of magical realism for flavor.  As usual with these situations I was paid approximately $0.00, but at least it builds reputation.

So there you go.  "Ghost of Athens" is, I would hope, a very enjoyable story.  There's also plenty of other great alternate history, steampunk, science fiction and fantasy stories in the issue.  Check out Alternate History Fiction Magazine today.  I think you're going to enjoy it.

          

Flag of the United Nations Mission in Cyprus

This is the flag of the United Nations Mission in Cyprus. It comes from a world where the United Nations took a more hard-line stance on the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus. United Nations task forces were sent in to protect Northern Cyprus against Turkish occupation. At the same time, additional troops were deployed to protect Cypriot independence from radical elements within Greece. Most critical of all, the UN Mission in Cyprus received military support from the United States. It helped that the United States pulled out of Vietnam earlier than it did in our world, and thus wasn't quite as war-weary.

Thanks to the United Nations' intervention Cyprus is a happily united and prosperous nation. Greece and Turkey were both put on probation following the intervention in Cyprus, but they were eventually readmitted to the UN. Relations between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots is extremly positive, and both are viewed as integral parts of Cyprus by one another. The United Nation would go on to institute reforms within itself following the events in Cyprus. The main aspect of the reforms was that only true democracies would be given a voice in the United Nations; the organization would also take a great stance to promote democracy through interventions such as the one in Cyprus.

The flag contains the light blue and white colors of the United Nations flag. It also contains the outline of Cyprus and the nation's name in Greek and Turkish.

Movie Review: The Martian

Back when I review the book The Martian by Andy Weir, I said that I hadn't seen its movie adaptation.  Well I am happy to say that I have finally gotten around to fixing that problem.  So without further ado let's take a look at Ridley Scott's adaption of The Martian.

In the not too distant future the Ares III mission to Mars has had to return Earth prematurely due to surprise dust storm.  Unfortunately, Mark Watney has been left behind because everyone assumed that he died during the storm.  Now it's going to take everything Mark's got and then some to stay alive, reestablish contact with mission control and get back to Earth.

So how well does the plot stack up to that of the book?  It does an absolutely beautiful job of preserving and replicating the book's plot.  Sure, there were a few scenes cut here and there, but that was to make things more streamlined and better fit the medium of film.  The biggest changes were to a few character.  In the book Mission Control was run by Venkat Kapoor, an Indian-American man.  In the movie we have Vincent Kapoor, who is half-Black and half-Indian.  Originally, an Indian actor had been cast in the role, but he had prior obligations in Bollywood.  So they cast Chiwetel Ejiofor at the last minute.  

In the book minor character Mindy Park was most likely Korean-American, but in the movie she's played by a white actress.  On the more subjective side, Commander Lewis isn't necessarily described as ugly per say, but it is mentioned that Beth Johansson is the good looking one of the Ares III crew.  Personally, I thought that Jessica Chastain was better looking than Kate Mara, but that's just my opinion. 

Andy Weir has even said that he cried tears of joy during the first eight minutes of the movie because he got to see his vision come to life on the big screen.  Suffice it to say, he's very happy with how the movie turned out.  There's plenty of scientists who gave this film their stamp of approval, including Neil deGrasse Tyson himself.  It's really an accomplishment when you can get Dr. Tyson onboard with your film.  The Martian is easily Ridley Scott's best film to date.  

It even made it all the way to The Oscars and was nominated for best picture. It lost, but in The Academy's defense, Spotlight is a really good movie and more than earned its award.  That being said, The Martian did very well at The Golden Globes, BAFTA and the Critic's Choice Awards.  It even won best comedy, which is weird because it isn't a comedy.  Don't get me wrong it's very lighthearted and has many moments of comedy, but I wouldn't call it a comedy per say.  It is great that so many hard science fiction films are getting the recognition they deserve as of late. 

If I had one complaint it would be that the marketing campaign really did this movie a disservice. They made the movie look much darker than it actually is.  I mean, there are serious and dramatic moments, but on the whole it's pretty lighthearted.  Though I am happy to say that the misaimed marketing didn't effect the film's success in the slightest.  

I loved the practical effects involved with this movie, especially how much of it was filmed in Jordan's Wadi Rum desert for the shots of Mars' surface.  Though there were also plenty of soundstages in Hungry.   I also loved the way music from the 1970s was incorporated into the soundtrack.  Mark probably would have screamed his head off if he ever saw this movie, but I liked it.  The special effects were also really well done.  

I haven't been talking much about the actually plot, but I really covered most of that in my review of the book, so you can always check that out.  It is a really fun movie, the science is science is rock-solid and I'm glad I got to share this movie with my family.  Seriously, do yourself a favor and go rent this movie, or buy it if you're so inclined. 

This was a somewhat short and haphazard review, but I figured I should get something out after so long.  I do intend to review more movies in the future so be on the lookout for that.  Well then, that's all for me for now.  I will see you guys next time. 

Flag of the United American Workers Republic

This is the flag of the United American Workers Republic.  It's ties in with the map I made called Red White and Blue, but Mostly Red.  It comes from a world where Theodore Roosevelt was assassinated early into his presidency and never instigated any of his reforms.  By the 1920s and 1930s socialist and communist movements had gained considerable traction.  Thing came to ahead during the Great Depression, and before long an all-out Second Civil War had broken out.  When the dust settled and the fighting stopped the United States of America had ceased to exist.  It its place rose the United American Workers Republic.  The new nation reformed American society along socialist and communist lines.  

The UAWR fought against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan during World War II.  It was also a key figure in the founding of the Japanese Workers Republic, the Socialist Republic of South Korea and the People's Republic of Taiwan.  It also supported socialist revolutions in Latin America, who retain strong diplomatic ties with their Tio Samuel.  America also provided support for Iran during their socialist revolution in 1954.  America took in several Jews to Alaska during World War II, so only two million were killed in the Holocaust.  Besides the territory that the USA does in our world, the UAWR also includes the Philippines, Cuba, Panama and Liberia.

Traditionally, the United America Workers Republic has been in a Cold War against the Russian Empire and the Franco-British Union.  In more recent times, however, the three superpowers are beginning to warm up to each other, and have become more like frenemies than outright hostile.

Flag of the Kingdom of Jerusalem

This is the flag of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.  It comes from a world where the Crusades were a success.  The Holy Land was placed under Christian control, as were Egypt and North Africa.  The Kingdom of Jerusalem frequently changed hands between various Christian kingdoms, but eventually it was established as an independent kingdom in the same manner as the Papal States.  There was a movement to have the Pope and College of Cardinals to move to Jerusalem, and for a few years they did, but it was ultimately decided that Jerusalem wasn't safe enough.  Rome remained the heart of Catholicism, but the church still has several important institutions in Jerusalem.  Similarly, the Orthodox Church has a Patriarch of Jerusalem who lives in the kingdom.

As a result of the successful Crusades many Muslims fled to West Africa.  By the present day West Africa, and Timbuktu in particular, have become the heart of Islam.  The Christian kingdoms of North Africa tend to have Christian coasts and Muslim interiors.  Jerusalem and its fellow Christian Levant kingdoms are...well, predominantly Christian.  Jerusalem comprises most of the territory that modern day Israel and Palestine consist of.

For many years Jews and Muslims have faced discrimination in Jerusalem.  Today, however, people of all religions enjoy equal protection under the law.  Jerusalem has increasingly placed effort into making amends for the past. For example, the Dome of the Rock for many years had been converted into a church, but in recent times it was converted into a secular museum where everyone is allowed to pray.  

This is reflected by the symbolism of the flag.  Christian elements are still dominate, purple and gold represent both royalty and Jesus Christ, and a cross dominates the center.  However, the cross is an equal armed Templar cross the represent the equality of all, and the Stars of David and crescent moons represent the importance of Jerusalem to Jews and Muslims as well as Christians.   

Book Review: Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

What book comes to mind when you think of Arthur C. Clarke's great novel?  Some would say 2001: A Space Odyssey and others might suggest Rendezvous with Rama.  For many people, myself included, the answer is Childhood's End.  As you maybe have guess that's what we're going to be reviewing today. 

The book is told over the span of 100 years and is divided into three parts.  The first part begins when humanity is about to take its first steps into outer space.  This is stopped by the arrival of an alien race, soon dubbed The Overlords.  The Overlords come in peace and have come to save humanity of nuclear annihilation.  They are lead by a supervisor named Karellen, and they keep their true forms hidden.  Fifty years later the Overlords are reveled to be demonic looking aliens from a distant planet.  Despite their outward appearance the Overlords prove to be as good as they claim and usher in a golden age for humanity.  But why are they doing so, and just what are their true motives?

Okay, yeah, it's next to impossible to talk about Childhood's End without spoiling most of the plot.  Not that I was ever stop by spoilers before, but there you go.  But before we get into all of that I'm sure there's a few other things that we can talk about.

Childhood's End was published in 1953 and is based upon Clarke's 1950 short story "Guardian Angel".  In fact, the first third of the novel is basically a rehashing of "Guardian Angel".  It's sorts of like how 2001: A Space Odyssey is an expansion of Clarke's short story "The Sentinel".  Also, while we're on the subject, Clarke was knighted shortly before is death in 2008, so it's Sir Arthur C. Clarke to all of you.  

I listened to this book shortly after having finished Rendezvous with Rama.  I found it interesting that they're almost mirror images of each other.  Rendezvous with Rama emphasized the wonder and grandeur of its science fiction world, but was a bit lacking with regards to the human element.  It was also quite heavy on the science, but a bit light with regards to what exactly Rama was and what purpose it served.  By contrast, Childhood's End did a good job of balancing the human element with the spectacular and grandeur.  You'd better believe we get some answers to why the Overlords have come to Earth, and we'll get to the soon enough. 

I really liked the point of view the novel portrayed.  We see the benevolent alien invasion from the perspectives ranging from a world leaders to average people.  It goes back to what I said about Clarke doing a good job of balancing the human element with the fantastical.  We even get to see certain parts from the Overlords' point of view.  

Now we get into the really spoilery stuff.  So turn away if you don't like that sort of thing.  Okay, so why did the Overlords come to Earth?  They are servants of an entity known as The Overmind.  I can best describe the Overmind as the collective consciousness of several sentient beings.  Apparently, after a species advances to a certain point they transcend their physical bodies and become one with the Overmind.  The Overlords' job is to help usher in that next step in evolution.  The Overlords do this because they are an evolutionary dead-end and can never be one with the Overmind.  

When I first read this book I assumed that humanity joined the Overmind because of something the Overlords did.  Then, a few days later, I finally got it.  Humanity evolving to join the Overmind was a naturally occurring process.  Had the Overlords not intervened when they did their would have been a nuclear war and the Last Generation would have been killed before they were even born.  The Overlords merely kept things peaceful so that evolution could take its natural course.  

The Overmind itself has kind of a supernatural vibe to it.  In fact, there's even a scene where character play with a ouija board.  Though they acknowledge that they might just be seeing what they want to see.  Karellen and his fellow Overlords reaserch quite a bit into psychics and the occult.  They call it humanity's attempt to understand the Overmind, though remark that it's tangled up in quite a bit of mysticism and other such nonsense.  Clarke, being an atheist, didn't intend for the Overlords to have an religious undertones.  In fact, the Overlords pretty much disprove all religions save for Buddhism.  Clarke did, however, write Childhood's End back when he still believed in the supernatural.  In later years Clarke would grow a bit embarrassed because of this.  

Oh, and why do the Overlords look so demonic?  Well it's not that they look like demons, but that demons look like them.  Humanity had vision of them that came from the future.  They were associated with the end of times, because that's what they helped usher in.  The end of humanity's existence as a separate entity from the Overmind.  As a side note, they only kind of vaguely look like demons.  Remember, they're the product of a different evolutionary history than that of life on Earth.  Also, their home planet has lower gravity than Earth so they use their wings to fly everywhere. 

Being the classic it is, Childhood's End has proved extremely influential among other works of science fiction.  Works which reference or homage Childhood's End include, but are not limited to: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Independence Day, Stargate SG-1, Xenogears, the Genesis song "Watchers of the Skies" and Pink Floyd actually wrote a titled "Childhood's End".   

For those of you who prefer audiobooks there is an audio version narrated by Eric Michael Summerer.  It also includes and introduction by award winning author Robert J. Sawyer.  Robert is one of my favorite science fiction writers, and it's always a joy to hear from him.  When talking about how great Childhood's End is he made a really interesting point.  He said that perhaps humanity's childhood will end when we stop hoping for men from the sky to save us and instead work to save ourselves.  It's a powerful statement and certain make great food for thought.

As you probably know SYFY, formerly known as The Sci-Fi Channel, created a miniseries adaptation of Childhood's End.  I haven't seen it yet, but I plan.  So expect a review of that sometime soon.  The miniseries is part of the reason I finally got around to listening to the book.  As I ranted in my World War Z review, I simply cannot stand tie-in covers.  I know this may seem petty, but with physically books if you don't like the cover you can just buy a copy with a cover more to your liking.  You don't have that option with audiobooks.  You get one cover, take it or leave it, and if it changes to the movie tie-in you're out of luck.  

Thankfully, Childhood's End has avoided this fate.  Plus it's not like Audible always switches to the movie tie-in.  I'm forever thankful The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters dodged that bullet.  Still, it's always something you have to worry about in these situations.  Better safe than sorry is all I'm saying.

Still, even without all of that I still probably would have listened to the book around this time.  It was on my to-read list for a while.  It's a classic science fiction novel, and I think it's Clarke's personal best.  As a bonus tidbit, it won the 2004 Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel.  It's well respect for a reason, so check it out for yourself.  

Well that about does it for me from now.  I will see you guys next time. 

Flag of Spanish Australia

I meant to do something special for Easter, so to make up for it here's a new flag:

This is the flag of Spanish Australia. It's from a world where Spain launched an attack on the British colonies in Australia in 1790. This was because the Spanish believed British Australia was a threat to their Pacific colonies. A few years prior to the invasion, the British colonies had also suffered a number of setbacks that made their future uncertain. The Spanish filled Australia with colonist not only from Spain, but also from across their colonies in the Americas. This diverse group of colonists have Spanish Australia a very cosmopolitan feel to it as the years went on.

Spanish Australia comprises most of the continent plus the north island of New Zealand. The French established a colony of their own in Western Australia and the South Island of New Zealand. The Spanish and French mutually supported their colonial efforts in order to keep the British out of Australia, and the two Australias are allies to this day. Spanish Australia is also quite loyal to its mother nation and is a happy member of the Spanish Commonwealth. Spain did a much better job administering and retaining its colonies and in time organized them into a Commonwealth.

The red and gold stripes are a reference to the nation's Spanish heritage. The bull is a reference to the important role that ranching has played in the history of Spanish Australia. The purple stands for wealth gain by the opal and gold rushes as well as the nation's loyalty to the Spanish Commonwealth.

Comic Review: Snowpiercer: The Escape

For today's review we're going to do a little something different.  We're going to review a comic book.  Specifically, Snowpiercer: The Escape by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette.  It all started with a war.  It's unclear who started it or who were, and frankly that's kind of unimportant.  What is important is that somebody launched a weapon that plunged the Earth into a planet-wide ice age.  Billions died, but a few managed to find ways to survive.  Before the war a perpetual-motion train known as Snowpiercer had been constructed.  It is 1001 cars long.  It circles the world on a globe-spanning track.  It is humanity's last refuge.  

The story follows a man named Proloff and a woman named Adeline Belleau. Proloff comes from The Tail, the very back of the train and the lowest of the low in the social pecking order.  Adeline is from third class and is part of a movement to integral the members of The Tail into wider society aboard Snowpiercer.  A series of events causes the unlikely duo to make their way towards the front of the train, and towards answers about the nature of Snowpiercer itself. 

So before we begin I thought we could talk a bit about comics in general.  First of all, are they comic books or graphic novels?  Personally, I use the terms interchangeably.  Some people will use graphic novel more because they claim it sounds more sophisticated.  I really think Robin Williams put it best, the different between the terms comic book and graphic novel is about the same as the difference between the terms porn and adult entertainment.  

Now let's talk about French comics, since Snowpiercer is a French comic after all.  French comics are kind of like how American comics would have turned out if the Comics Code of Authority had never happened.  You don't really see that many superhero titles, but you do see a great diversity of other genres.  Don't get me wrong, I love superhero comics as much as the next guy, but American comics really need more diversity of genre.  So I guess you could see French comics as somewhere between American comics and Japanese manga.  You get the full colors and western writing tropes along with the diversity of genres.  

Anyway, let's talk about Snowpiercer.  I'm willing to bet that if you've heard of Snowpiercer it's probably via its film adaptation staring Chris Evans, John Hurt and various other celebrities.  That's how I found out about it; though I haven't yet see the movie, but I do plan to.  The Snowpiercer comic originally came out in 1982, but it finally got an English translation thanks to the movie adaptation. The movie might not have replicated the plot, besides the general setting.  That having been said, it does capture the spirit of the comic, and the two other installments of the comic followed other trains so it does kind of fit in with the scheme of things. 

Okay, now we will officially begin talking about Snowpiercer: The Escape.  The plot itself is very much an excuse plot so that we can see what life is like aboard the train.  This is certainly not a bad thing, and I rather enjoyed getting to know the people of Snowpiercer.  Excuse plots can be done quite well.  Besides this comic there's also the Dinotopia books by James Gurney.  They're also very much excuse plots, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would fault them for that.  

We get to see where the train gets its food from, we see the forms of entertainment, we see how culture has adapted to the endless journey and so much more.  The middle class dine on vat meat, while the first class keeps rabbits to supplement their diets, and as for The Tail...well, the less said about that the better.  There's also a few greenhouse cars for vegetable and fruits.  A scene in the movie car was a bit funny since it showed one of the movies playing as Star Wars Episode VII, which at the time didn't exist, but now it does.  If you're wondering where they get their water from it's collected from snow and ice as the train drives along.  I guess you could kind of view Snowpiercer as a generation ship of sorts.  People are born, live their lives and die all within the confines of the train; and death is but a broken window away.   

There's been a cargo cult religion that's sprung up that worship's the engine.  I also found it interesting that many named characters had French and Russian sounding names.  We never find out where Snowpiercer was before the disaster occurred, but certain hints suggest that it was in Russia.  So the mixed of Russian, French and other European passengers does make sense.  There is some really great worldbuilding within this comic.  Bonus points for taking two things I always viewed as kind of magical, trains and winter, and making them absolutely terrifying.  

Let's talk about the art.  The whole comic is in black and white.  I know that black and white comics were a bit of a trend with American comics during the 1980s, but I'm not sure of that was also a trend with French comics of the time.  Either way, it kind of works out.  The world of Snowpiercer is bleak and desolate with very little hope left in it.  The black and white art does a lot to emphasize all of this.  Plus, in a world covered in snow and ice, you probably wouldn't see a whole lot of color.  I've read enough manga so that the lack of color wasn't that big of an adjustment for me.  The drawings themselves were quite well drawn.

Snowpiercer: The Escape has whetted my appetite for the other entries in the Snowpiercer series, as well as for French science fiction comics in general.  If you're looking for a good post-apocalypse science fiction comic then Snowpiercer can't be beat.  I look forward to reading many more French comics, and maybe I'll even get a few more comic reviews over here.  

Well I think that's enough from me for now.  I will see you guys next time. 

Flags of E Pluribus Unum

Well I'm back with another flag haul.  This is another project I did in collaboration with Lynn Davis.  You may have heard that Lynn and I have had a bit of a falling out and...well, it's true.  To be perfectly honest it was only a matter of time before this happened.  Lynn has some strong opinions, and she doesn't take kindly to those who disagree with her.  Well, that's the Tumbler set for ya.  I could have kept quiet, but I figured if Lynn was really my friend she wouldn't break off out friendship over a disagreement of opinion...apparently not.

But you didn't come here to talk about my personal life, you came for the flags.  These flags come from a world where the American Revolution was peacefully avoided, and Britain's former American colonies were organized into a European Union-esque organization.  These flags were a spin-off from Lynn's previous map Excelsior.  Let's meet them, shall we?

Here we have the flag of New York.  It's orange, white and blue to reflect New York's Dutch heritage and the design reference's New York's Iroquois heritage.  It comprises New York and the Ontario Peninsula.  Like most entire's on this list it's a European style liberal democracy with separation of church and state and a healthy advocacy of democracy without being too OTL French style.

Here we have the Confederated State of America, or CSA for short.  It comprises Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Delaware, northern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and some of Minnesota.  I made it look kind of like the Freedom Party flag from Timeline-191 for purposes of allohistorical irony.  

Here we've got the flag of Vermont.  It's basically the same as the northern states, but with more of a libertarian bent to its politics.  It's design is based on the historical flag of Vermont.  

Next up is the flag of Manitoba. Comprising OTL Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon, Northern Territories and Nunavut. It is a very liberal and progressive democracy based on the radical democratic ideals of Thomas Spence, who founded the state. It's not very religious and believes absolutely in the ideals of democracy and the people.  It features Liberty leading the people with a sword at the ready to strike down tyrants, and the motto is emblazoned above her. 

Now on deck we have Louisiana.  It comprises the southern half of the Louisiana Purchase. It's a French Revolution style democracy due to the failure of the French Revolution leading many refugees to flee to Louisiana, which later joined the United States. It's Catholic, French speaking and kind of does its own thing compared to the other states.  Based on the historical flag of Louisiana.

Here we've got New England.  OTL New England minus Vermont. You might be wondering why New England has six stars, well it's beacuse each subdivision gets a star and there's also a star for New England as a whole. Alternatively, the stars are purely decorative (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). Anyway, New England is a social democracy in the style of Europe, but without being too French. It has separation of church and state. It is very religious without being very conservative, and religion rarely factors into its politics.

Next up is Florida.  OTL Florida plus the coastal regions of Mississippi and Alabama. Like most of the southern nations it's a conservative democracy like Poland or Italy, and usually has a lot of crazy politics and backwater bumpkins running things. Not as progressive as the other states and religion factors a lot into day-to-day operations.

Up next is Georgia.  The Xs can be interpreted as Saint Andrew's crosses, but I thought it would be funny if such a conservative nation inadvertently had a reference to hard core porn on it's flag.

Here we have Carolina.  Comprising Tennessee and the Carolinas.  The cotton bush is a reference to the state's primary economic engine.   

Next up is Canada.  Comprising OTL Quebec, Ontario minus the peninsula, Prince Edward Island and Larbador.

And here's the flag of Maryland.  I thought he knight was a night touch. 

Say hello to Oregon. Comprising OTL Oregon, Washington State, British Columbia and Idaho.  The killer whales reflect the region's native heritage and the wave symbolize the importance of the sea to the people of Oregon.

Here we have the flag of Alabama (Alabama and Mississippi minus their coastal regions). It's the only majority black state of the United States and as such is a Switzerland style direct democracy with emphasis on everyone being represented. It's very religious, but religion doesn't really factor into politics. There's also strong feelings of Pan-Africanism throughout the state, and that's reflected in the flag.

 This is the flag of Acadia, comprising OTL Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.  Yeah, it's basically the flag of Acadia Parish, this one beat me up.  

This is the flag of Lakota.  Comprises the northern half of the Louisiana Purchase.  It’s red and has tepees to reflect the high native population.  It’s a pennant flag to mix things up. 

This one's the flag of Virginia.  Comprising Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, southern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

Finally, we have the flag of the United States as a whole.  I used purple because it's such an under-utilized color.  I went with a Romanesque/Futuristic design because it pleased me and I liked that it seemed slightly sinister, even though this isn't a dystopia.  Well, that and I'd been watching The Hunger Games movie.  

Well we've reached the end of our list.  my teamwork with Lynn is over, but at least I got some good flags to show off.  Also, if you'd like me to make some flags for you let me know and I'll see what I can do.  I can't guarantee it'll be a showstopper, but I'll certainly try my best.  No charge of course.  

Well that about does this for this flag haul.  I'll see you guys next time

Book Review: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Unless you've been living under a rock you've no doubt heard about Amazon's adaption of Philip K. Dick's seminal alternate history novel The Man in the High Castle.  It is a widely considered a classic in the alternate history community, and with good reason.  I quite enjoyed the first season of The Man in the High Castle, and I intended to review it at some point.  Before I can do that, however, I thought it would be best to review the book that the series is based upon.  That is precisely what we're going to do in today's post. 

The Man in the High Castle takes place in the year 1962 in a world in which the Axis Powers won World War II.  The United States has been devised between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.  This is due to FDR getting assassinated in the 1930s and America going isolationist.  Everything east of the Rockies is under German control, everything west of the Rockies is under Japanese control and the Rockies themselves are a neutral zone between the two territories.  The book is told from the points of view of a wide variety of characters who are all average citizens going about their lives in an alternate America. 

What can you say that hasn't been said about a classic?  Well I'm going to give it my best shot anyway.  I'll start by saying that I'm going to avoid comparing the book to its adaptation; I'll save that for my review of the series. Anyway, let's get on with the review.

The writing style in this book had an almost meditative quality to it.  I suppose it's rather fitting, give that Dick intended it to be a meditation on the nature of reality.  Fun fact, Phillip K. Dick actually consulted the I Ching while writing this book, much like the character who wrote The Grasshopper Lies Heavy.  What is The Grasshopper Lies Heavy?  It's a book within a book that depicts a world in which the Axis Powers lost World War II.  However, it depicts the Cold War as being fought between the United States and British Empire, with the British coming out on top due to their ethnic purity.  Dick almost seems to be commenting on the process of creating alternate histories, and the personal biases that are often included there in, with his use of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy.  

This commentary is especially interesting when you consider that the alternate history genre was in its infancy at the time.  There had been previous examples, such as Ward Moore's Bring the Jubilee, but The Man in the High Castle was the first alternate history novel not to use time travel or supernatural means as its point of divergence.  Well, if you want to get technical that sort of alternate history has been around since Livy in the Roman Empire, but typically alternate history as a genre is agreed to have begun in the mid-20th century.  It also notable that he portrays his characters with all of the biases and social mores that you'd expect from such a world rather than having them be defiant and adhere to modern standards of morality.   

I liked the fact that the book was told from the perspectives of average people.  They're quite a diverse group, you get everyone from an antiques dealer in San Francisco, to a member of the Japanese occupation government, to a woman on a quest for the truth and plenty more such characters.  Some of my favorite scenes to read about in alternate history, and speculative fiction in general, are those that involve average people going about their lives.  You really get a sense of the worlds these stories are set in that way.  It what I loved so much about Paulo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl.  Both books involve characters from across the social spectrum of their worlds going about their lives, and whose individual stories eventually combine to form an overarching plot. 

And speaking of plot, let's talk about that.  There really isn't a plot per se.  Like I said, it starts off as a series of individual vignettes that eventually come together to form something of an overarching plot.  It moves at an easy pace and really gives you time to get to know these characters and the world that they live in.  Though there are some plots threads early on, such as the growing potential for a war between Germany and Japan, as well as Julianna Frink's journey to find Hawthorne Anderson, the titular Man in the High Castle.  As stated above, the novel really questions the nature of reality.  Throughout the book many characters get hints that their world might not be all that really, and one character even travels to our world briefly dude to intense mediation. There's even hints that our own world might not be the true reality.  

So yeah, you come for the fascist dystopia but you stay for the Taoism.  So how does the alternate history itself rate in terms of plausibility?  By modern standards it's pretty shaky and implausible, but you have to understand where Dick was coming from.  In 1962 a lot of the information about World War II that we take for granted was still heavily classified, so there was only so much that Dick could work with.  I think of it kind of like those old science fiction novels that depict Mars and Venus as habitable worlds, because at the time they were written that was the prevailing scientific thought.  Also, The Man in the High Castle is one of those novel, but again it was 1962.  That's also the reason the book is set in 1962, because that was the present day when Dick wrote the book.  

It is somewhat odd that Dick included elements from Chinese culture, such as the I Ching and Taoism, given his loves of Japanese culture.  Admittedly, sometimes conquering cultures adapt elements from the nation's they conquer, such as how Britain gained a few Hindi words and a love affair with curry after they conquered India.  Plus we do see that, slowly but surely, Japan's American possessions are starting to develop a Japanese-American hybrid culture.  The scene that feature Japanese character fawning over artifacts from America's past are especially humorous if you happen to be an anime fan.  Japanese-Occupied-America is depicted as better than Nazi-occupied-America, but that really isn't saying much because...well, Nazis.  It's kind of like asking if you would rather be executed by firing squad or lethal injection.  Consider also that American culture began to loosen up and liberalize during the 1960s, so perhaps this alternate Japanese youth culture has followed suit. Mind you, Dick has always had a strong anti-fascism theme to his novels, so I don't think he was trying to whitewash Japan's war crimes. 

I don't want to give too much away about the ending, but I will say that it certainly gives you something to think about.  The characters don't get any solid answers, but that kind of works given the nature of the book.  Dick deliberately left things open-ended because he was planning to write a sequel set in the Nazi occupied half of America, but he found the research into Nazi Germany to be too draining and soul crushing for that.  Among other things, the sequel would have featured the Nazis discovering a portal into our world and it would have delved deeper into the Japanese-American hybrid culture emerging on the West Coast.  A couple of Dick's other novels started out as sequels to The Man in the High Castle, but they later became their own thing. 

I don't usually talk about covers, but I think it's relevant here.  I had a hard time picking the cover image for this post simply because most cover for The Man in the High Castle typically don't accurately portray North America as described in the book.  They'll either leave out the Neutral Zone or else overinflate the Japanese territory.  The other problem is that they'll typically only feature Nazi imagery even though the over welcoming majority of the book takes place Japan's American territory.  Germany's American territory, and the Reich as a whole, is only mentioned in passing, though what is mentioned is certainly chilling.  So I went with a simple flags and black background cover, but why don't I show you those other covers?

Don't get me wrong, they're all swell covers, but I feel the accurately portray the book.  For comparison's sake here's a map form the Amazon adaption. 

As you can see it fits the description the book provides much better.  Speaking of adaptations, let's talk about the audiobook.  There's actually been three versions over the years.  I listened to the second version, narrated by Tom Weiner.  The previous version was narrated by George Guidall, and the new version is narrated by Jeff Cummings.  Of all three versions I liked Tom's narration the best.  I'm usually opposed to tie-in covers, but in the case of the Jeff Cummings edition it actually kind of works.  It does a much better job of showing what the book is about than the previous audiobook covers.  Plus, even though based on the adaptation, they actually put effort into the cover instead of slapping on a poster for the Amazon adaptation and calling it a day.  And here is that cover.  

The Man in the High Castle was the first Philip K. Dick novel I ever read, and I can see why he's so highly thought of as a writer.  It's also one of my favorite alternate history novels.  I don't like playing the favorites game, but it's definitely at the top of the list.  It's considered classic for a reason.  Typically speaking, if you ask an average to name an alternate history novel, assuming they know what you're talking about, The Man in the High Castle will be the only one they will know.  This novel was also the first alternate history novel to win the Hugo Award.  It's a classic for a reason, and I can certainly see why.

Well hopefully this review has wetted your appetite, and now that I've reviewed the book I can review the Amazon adaptation.  Though I've got some other things planned, so that might not be for a bit.  If you guys want I can review some more classic speculative fiction in the future.  In fact, I think I will.  I think that's enough from me for now.  I will see you guys next time.