Paleoworld

This is a new stonepunk/sandalpunk/silkpunk setting I've come up with that I call Paleoworld.  Its not alternate history, but it should appeal to that crowd.  As you can see, I was inspired by both Dinotopia and Tekumel.  

Several centuries into the future humanity has spread out to distant worlds and far flung stars.  Many planets were life-bearing worlds, but there were just as many that had to be terraformed; including the the planet at the center of our story.  What was once a lifeless rock was made to support life, and many creatures from Earth's prehistoric past were cloned to serve as beasts of burden and to create and ecosystem for the planet.  The terraforming process made the planet resemble land masses from various periods in Earth's geologic past.  For many years the worlds colonized by humans had lived in peace with one another, but that was not to last.  A great interstellar war broke out and the young world, still in the process of being settled, was forgotten.  Due to the lack of easily accessible metals technology and society eventually regressed to ancient/agrarian levels.  

Eventually the humans, and other sentient life forms, forgot that they weren't native to the planet; their true origins long since faded to myth and legend.  Still, remains from the more technologically advanced days are scattered across the planet, but most people don't realize what they are.  Robots are somewhat common features, but range from being viewed as magically creatures to outright feared as metallic monsters.  Most of the languages the original settlers of the planet brought with them have changed quite a bit.  English is still studied, but in much the same way Latin was during the Middle Ages and Enlightenment.  Life went on, empires rose and empires fell and thus a new world was born: Paleoworld.  Many of the nation's of Paleoworld strongly resemble civilizations from Earth's past.  Let's go meet them.

The yellow nation is The Celestial Empire.  Their culture includes elements from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.  The Celestial Empire is arguably the most advanced nation in all of Paleoworld.  Their head of state is an emperor, but in many ways the emperor is a figure head with the real power resting with the imperial bureaucracy.  Anyone can join the bureaucracy of the pass the civil servant exam.  Unfortunately, this mostly amounts to measuring one's knowledge of the ancient classics, though as of lately there have been reforms put forward to make the exam fairer for everyone and more of a measure of aptitude in multiple areas.  The military makes use of several different feathered dinosaurs; such as microraptors for spies and scouts, velociraptors for assassins and shock troops.  Dinosaurs like therizinosaurus and protoceratops are used in the military as well, but they are more so used to help with farming.  

In the event that a city cannot be saved and is going to fall to an enemy their is a last resort: Tarbosaurus.  Cities located close or within Tarbo Country have high ringed walls surrounding them, or are built in the middle of lakes.  Those cities in safer lands are less well defended.  Several calls and scents are used to lure them in, and of course there's an equal number used to drive the Tarbosaurs away.  The religions are primarily based on ancestor veneration and leading a moral life.  There are gods that are worshiped, but the Celestial Empire's religions tend to be more on the philosophical side.  The more intelligent dinosaurs live as equals with humans.  The Celestial Empire does its best to have strong diplomatic ties to the other nations of Paleoworld.  

The silver nation is The Mammoth Rider Hoard.  They're based on various tribal and nomadic people such as the Mongols, the Sioux, and the Massai among others.  They aren't a single nations, but are more of a loose confederation of tribes.  Besides mammoths they also use dire wolves, lions and certain tribes have even tamed cave bears, elasmotherium and megaloceros.  In the past the tribes had a bit of a reputation for raping, pillaging and murdering.  There are certainly still a few tribes that do that, but on the whole the tribes have begun to settle down, with a few even establishing year-round settlements.  The tribes prefer their harsh but fulfilling existence to the ways of civilized societies.  Most civilized people are perfectly happy to live and let live as long as the tribes don't attack them.  

Mammoth Riders have pretty good gender equality, with women being equal to men in almost all regards.  Women who die in childbirth receive the same funeral rights as men who die in battle.  Marriage is common practice, but purely monogamous relationship are less so, and on the whole Mammoth Riders are pretty free love.  One's wealth is determined by the number of children and mammoths one possesses; if you have a lot of one, but not a lot of the other, then you are poor.  Dead bodies are left out for predators and scavengers after funeral rights have been provided.  It is believed that burial hurts the earth (scientifically speaking, it does) and cremation is generally frowned upon.  Leaving the body is also viewed as the dead's final gift to the world.  Religion is fairly animalistic/shamanistic with emphasis placed on paying respect to the spirits of the natural world.  

The bronze colored nation is The Kingdom of Rig Tal.  Their culture is influenced by East Africa, South India and Australian Aborigines.  Rig Tal is a major maritime power both in terms of trade and military.  Their navy and shipping fleets utilize dunkleosteus, liopleurodon, orthocones, elasmosaurus, ichthyosaurus and basilosaurus among others.  They're also quite the force to be reckoned with on land, as their possession on the mainland show.  They follow a monist religion that preaches that everything in the universe is a part of God, and worship is focus around the greater aspects of God, which we might think of as gods and goddesses.  However, as of recently there's been a schism in the faith.  The mainland has developed a strictly monotheistic version of Rig Tal's religion, and many worry this could potentially lead to war. On the whole, however, Rig Tal is reasonably peaceful and prefers good trade relations and diplomacy.  

Rig Tal is renowned for its excellent cuisine especially, not surprisingly, it's seafood.  Shipwrights from Rig Tal have served as consultants to many of the other navy's on Paleoworld.  Part of Rig Tal's religious beliefs is that all life originated from the seas, and swimming is viewed very much as a religious experience.  Upon death, and after funeral rights, the bodies of the dead are sent out to sea.  Riding the great sea beasts is considered a right of passage for many youth in Rig Tal.    

The pink, teal and blue nations are The Triple Alliance.  Their culture is based on various Native American cultures, but especially the Aztecs and Mayans.  Originally they were three separate nations, but have since been united under a single ruler.  Speaking of that ruler, The Triple Alliance is unique among the nations of Paleoworld for actually being ruled by a dinosaur; in this case, a troodon.  The emperor has traditionally been selected via trail-by-combat, but in recent times test of other skills, such as intellect and closeness to the gods, has become equally common.  The Triple Alliance is often stereotyped as being obsessed with human sacrifice, but the truth is a bit more nuanced.  Human sacrifice has largely been phased out in favor of making other offerings to the gods in the form of something personal.  It can be a meal, or some personal time but I must be something meaningful to the person in question.  

As far as dinosaurs go The Triple Alliance has all of the classic ones; tyrannosaurus, triceratops, stegosaurus, brachiosaurus, diplodocus, ankylosaurus, utahraptor, deinonychus and many more.  The Triple Alliance also keeps an air force with primitive hot balloons, gliders, pteranodons, quetzalcoatlus and other pterosaurs.  The blue colored part contains jungles with unusually high oxygen content due to force fields and leftover terraforming equipment.  These jungles are home various Carboniferous arthropods such as meganeura, arthropleura and pulmonoscorpius among others.  The Triple Alliance is very good about providing equal rights.  Women are equal to men in almost all areas of life, including reviving the same education, and intelligent dinosaurs live as equals with humans.  When possible, it is preferred for cities to be built on lakes.  

The dark brown nation is The Republic of Pindaros.  It's culture is primarily influenced by Greece and Rome.  Pindaros contains a mix of European dinosaurs as well as various Mesozoic mammals and birds such as leptictidium and gastornis.  Pindaros is famous for its many philosophies, and it is partially governed by a council of Philosopher Kings.  The Philosopher Kings serve to guide and advise the nation, but the real power is with the people themselves, and Pindaros is the only true democracy in all of Paleoworld.  This has earned them a reputation as a nation of anarchy and mob rule, but on the whole Pindaros is reasonably peaceful.  Pindaros used to worship many gods, but what little religion they still have is of an extremely philosophical nature.  Emphasis is placed on living a moral and just life rather than on prayers and piety.  

The red nation is The Kingdom of Ragnaroon.  They're culture is based on the Vikings and medieval Western Europe.  Much like Pindaros they feature a mix of Mesozoic mammals and dinosaurs such as iguanodon, baryonyx, archaeopteryx, kentrosaurus and related species.  Ragnaroon was originally a series of tribes until they were united under a single ruler.  Despite having settled down Ragnaroon still maintains a strong warrior ethos, and in particularly tough times has been known to raid its neighbors.  Despite these occasional scuffles they maintain strong trade relations to other nations.  Society is a strictly stratified feudal hierarchy with limited mobility.  Religion is based around the worship of gods who are considered cool and best not bothered.  In general, life is harsh in Ragnaroon, but its citizens try to make the best of things.

The orange nation is The Empire of The Sun.  It's culture is based on South American civilizations such as the Inca, the Moche and the Mapuche.  The Empire of the Sun is spread out across a series of vast and rolling grasslands, and it's scattered cities are connected by a series of well maintained roads; the most famous of which is The Trans-Imperial Trailway.  They use dinosaurs such as giganotosaurus and argentinosaurus, but they also have Mesozoic species such as smilodons, terror birds, giant ground sloths, giant armadillos and macrauchenia among others.  The roadways ensure that goods reach all corners of the empire incredibly fast.  In fact, even cities far from the coast can enjoy fresh fish thanks to the road system.  The government system of the empire is actually quasi-socialist.  Towns have grains stores, with rations given out everyday, and jobs are assigned based on desire and need.  Citizens work a government assigned job part of the week, and a job of their personal choosing the rest of the week.  

Giganotosaur attacks are a constant concern along the trailways.  To get around this shipments can be sent by argentinosaurs, which are big and provide more space for goods and ample protection, but are also quite slow.  Alternatively, the various mammal species can be used, and they are considerably faster, but provide less potential protection if an attack occurs.  Most cities include public gardens and parks with elaborate sculptures.  The empire's religion has many gods, but the most important (not surprisingly) is the sun.  The Empire of the Sun has also dabbled in primitive hot air balloon development.  

The green nation is the Kingdom of Aredesh.  It's based on Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Arabia during the Golden Age of Islam and with a bit of West Africa thrown in as well.  Aredesh is a lush and fertile land with plenty of rainfall year round.  Consequently, they're a major agricultural producer and are the top shipper of produce on Paleoworld.  Black is considered the sacred color of life, good fortune and prosperity; red, on the other hand, is considered the color of death, bad luck and evil.  Aredesh is famous for its stills in magic, but in reality most of this is due to their having discovered lost technology from the more advanced days of Paleoworld.  

The purple nation is the Kingdom of Mujungdar.  Not much to say other than that they're culturally similar to Rig Tal and have lots of volcanos.

The burgundy nation is the Uluru Confederation.  Culturally they're based on the Maori, Polynesians and Australian Aborigines.  Their animals include Tasmanian tigers, moa, dodos, giant eagles, giant wombats, giant snakes, dwarf elephants, megalania.  This is another part I haven't quite fleshed out.

Finally, the white nation is the Twilight Isles...I haven't really figured this one out.  

Okay, obviously there's a few "here there be dragons" territories, but I hope you enjoyed it.  I've certainly enjoyed making it and I might just makes some stories set in this world some time.  

Flag of the American Empire

This is the flag of the Empire of America. It comes from a world where, following the American Revolution, George Washington was able to convince the newly formed nation to declares him emperor. Despite being called an empire the nation is a constitutional monarchy. Emperors are elected by the people and serve a lifetime term, and Congress still wields a considerable amount of power. The Empire of America spans all of North America as well as a considerable chunk of South America.

The colors, as well as the eagle, is a reference to how America views itself as the heir and modern day incarnation of the Roman Empire. Indeed, much of America's government is closely modeled on that of Ancient Rome. The cross is a reference to America's ties to England, but is not intended to represent Christianity. Despite much debate, it was decided that the empire would have no official religion. The single stripe the unity and equality of all citizens of the empire.

By the present day the Empire of America is a major international power and a leader in technology and the arts. The empire has begun to extend its reach into space with colonies on The Moon, Venus Mars, and even missions to Jupiter and Saturn. America remains a land of many political parties, from Republicans who want to abolish the monarchy, to Crown Loyalists who support it, to Pirates who want Internet piracy to no longer be a crime, but despite it all most are still happy to support the emperor and toast to his health.

Red, White and Blue, But Mostly Red

A new maps I've created, because hey, it's been more than long enough. Among other things in this world:


The American Labor movement got strangled in its cradle. There were many reasons for this, but one of the biggest reasons was the assassination of Theodore Roosevelt shortly fairly early into his presidency. As a result progressive reforms never came about and class tents ion continued to strain. Things finally came to a head follow the 1929 stock market crash. Communist and socialist movements had been growing for years, and revolution soon engulfed the nation like wild fire. Eventually, the capitalist government was overthrown and the United States of America ceased to exist. From the ashes rose a new nation: the United American Workers Republic. The first few years of the new nation's existence with a tumultuous and trying time, but eventually law and order were reestablished. Reforms were put into places to make the lives of workers fairer and equality was guaranteed regardless of race, gender or (in time) sexuality.

In Russia, Czar Alexander II survived his assassination attempt and managed to bring democratic reforms to Russia. Czar Alexander also increased Russia's ties with its fellow Orthodox nation Ethiopia, and in time the royal families would go on to intermarry and unite the two nations. Thanks to Alexander's reforms Russia was set on a path toward becoming a great nation and never fell to communism.

America's fall to communism shocked more than a few nations in Europe, but all the same, they were more than happy to receive American support when World War II broke out. Following the war the world became dominated by three great powers: the United American Workers Republic, the Russian Empire and the Franco-British Union. Following the end of the war the British and French combined their empires and governments to form an stronger nation than they could be individually. America was the first nation to develop atomic bombs, but it wasn't long before Russia and the Franco-British developed their own bombs as well.

During the war America allowed millions of European Jews to temporarily settle in Alaska. As a result only two million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. What to do now is a bit of a hotly debated topic. Resettlement in Franco-British Palestine and Trans-Jordan has been suggested by some, but it isn't considered a serious option. More feasible options include accepting the settlements as their own state, incorporating the settlements into Alaska or turning the settlements into something akin to Native Reservations.

The United American Workers Republic had maintained good relationships with its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors since its founding. Said good relations also include funding more than a few socialist and communist movements. The nations of Latin America have seen quite a bit of prosperity, are all rather fond of their Tio Samuel and are among America's closest allies. Iran is also a close ally of America due to America's support of the 1954 Revolution. Thanks to the success of the revolution Iran is a successful secular social democracy that never fell to Islamic fundamentalism. Turkey has traditionally been Russia's ally, but lately it has been warming up to America. This is partially due to how, even though they claimed they'd give it back, Russia has been occupying Istanbul, or rather Constantinople, since the end of the war.

Following the war America reformed Japan along socialist lines. The imperial family abdicated the throne, and the Workers Republic of Japan was born. The Korean peninsula was divided America and Russia; America helped set up socialist government in the south, while Russia established a constitutional monarchy in the north. Russia also established a constitutional monarchy in Manchuria, and America established a socialist government on the island of Taiwan. Mainland China, despite Russia's best efforts, ultimately decided to become a representative democracy; though the two nations remain close allies.

Things also changed in Europe after the war. Germany and Italy were divided with the hopes of preventing another war, new nations were born and existing nations had their boarders redrawn. Russia, with the hope of preventing another world war, established an economic union of European nations. The founding members included Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. Over the years Greece, Austria, South Italy, the Nordic Nations and even Turkey joined the Union of European Nations. The Franco-British established their own union, know as the Western European Alliance, to counter the UEN. The Alliance includes Spain, Portugal, North Italy, the Benelux nations and of course the Franco-British.

All three of the major powers have space programs and have gotten involved in a space race. America dominated the first half of the race launching the first satellite, animal, man, woman, person of color and eventually landing on the Moon. The second half, featuring atomic powered crafts constructed in orbit, was a bit more evenly matched. America still made it to Mars first, but it wasn't quite the landslide victory the Moon Race was. The next step is a mission to the Jovian Moons, with Europa being a prime candidate. However, finding a way to deal with Jupiter's radiation belts is proving a bit of an issue, but many are still convinced that solutions will be found.


Tensions between the three great powers are beginning to ease as of lately. America and Russia have historically been fairly liberal, and the Franco-British have started to loosen up as well. Speaking of the Franco-British, their empire is increasingly becoming more of a federation and citizens of all races are enjoying greater rights. Granted this is mostly as a means of preventing socialist uprisings, but everyone agrees it's a step in the right direction. America and its allies are frequently stereotyped as being communist, but in reality their a lot closer to democratic socialists. Korea has been peacefully reunited as a representative democracy. Germany and Italy remain divided, their halves beginning to develop destructive identities; however, this might not necessarily be a bad thing.

The three great powers still have something of a competition, but they've become frenemies rather than outright rivals. Even at their worst the competition was never really that bad. On the whole this world isn't exactly better or worse than ours, though it is rather different

Fan Art and Commissions #1

I thought I'd take this post to share some of the fan art of my works and art commissions I've had made.  I've got a few, and they're ever growing, but I decided that five was a good place to start with. First up we've got some fan art based on Adventures of the Silver Bullets, the fanfiction magnum opus I never got around to completing.  These two were created by zeneria29, a very talented artist from Thailand.  She might have trouble with English, but she knows enough to get by and is a very sweet person.

That's Percy Jackson and Kurumu Kurono.  Yes, I didn't intend to ship them, but I wound up doing so anyway.  Hey, what the point of crossover if they don't eventually lead to crossover ships?  Well, there's actually a lot of other reasons I like crossover fanfiction, but crossover ships are always a bonus.  Anyway, let's move on to some more commissioned art. 

We've got Princess Celestia, Shrek, Urd, Holo, L and Elsa.  This would have been from L's days at magic school with his harem, yes, even Shrek and Princess Celestia.  If I'd gotten to that bit it would have essentially deconstructed Harry Potter and related series, and thrown some new twists onto the harem genre.  And who would L have ended up with?  Why all of the above of course!  Now then, let's move onto covers of my maps.

You may recall a map I made entitled The Saracen and The Cross, about a world where the Crusades are a success.  Despite some good ideas it did have it's flaws.  However, one of the map makers from alternatehistory.com created this map based on my map.  I love how it retains many of the ideas from my original map, but it also expands upon them and adds even more new and great ideas.  He also made this really long write up about this world, and if I find it I'll be sure to link to it.  Still, look at all the text on that map.

These next two are created by a very talented artist named Shinoharaa, real name Alan Garcia, from Brazil.  I mean would you just look at the quality!  It looks like it might as well be official artwork.  I was hoping to raise awareness of Spice and Wolf, and I figured no better way than Holo in a Sailor Senshi uniform.  It also a voice actress joke, unintentionally (for Sailor Moon Crystal anyway). 

Yet another winner from Shinoharaa.  This time with Urd as Sailor Pluto.  Yeah, you're probably detecting a pattern here.  When I commission something I usual go for something I couldn't get just anywhere.  I know what I'm a fan of, and the artist I contact know how to bring my visions to life.  That's all.

Honorable mention goes to the Flag of British Korea I collaborated with Laqueesha to make, and which can be found over at Alternate History Weekly Update, as well as over here.  Well, that's enough art for one blog post.  I'll be sure to do this again in the future.  I hope you enjoyed this tour of some of my fan art and commissions.  Until next time.   

The Dustbin of History

My latest map set in an alternate 1990s were among other things:


Following the assassination of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 the United States suffered a second civil war which ultimately tore the nation apart. The Northeast became the communist United American Commune, the Mid-Atlantic and Upland South there about became a fascist military dictatorship, the black belt states became the socialist-leaning Republic of New Afrika and Texas is once again a republic with fascist leanings. Something of a rump United States exists in the upper Mid-West, but it's been many years since elections were last held and its increasingly falling under socialist influences. Meanwhile, most of the West Coast states were conquered by the Japanese during World War II.

Speaking of World War II, it dragged one for a few years longer, but ultimately ended in an Allied Victory, albeit with considerably more dead Soviets. Following the war the Soviets were able to bargain for a bigger piece of the post-war pie thanks to their added contributions to the war effort. Before long Germany, Greece, Turkey, Austria, Finland and large portions of Italy and France fell to Soviet occupation. The nations of Western Europe banded together, but in a very Finlandization kind of way.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Empire emerged from the war stronger than ever. Their East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere has become more of a Pan-Pacific Co-Prosperity Sphere with the addition of the American territories. The Japanese are the primary rivals of the Soviets and have funded several right-wing juntas to combat Soviet expansionism.

Alaska is a bit of buffer territory between the Soviet Union and Japanese North America. Over the years it has become homeland for the Jews. Skirmishes with Native Alaskans and old settler Americans are still common occurrences, and the threat of invasion remains an ever present possibility. Still, for many Jews having a place to call home make all of that worth it.

As decolonization moved forward during the 50s and 60s it created several new trading partners for the Soviets. Prominent African socialists include the United States of Latin Africa and the East African Federation. Destalinization occurred much more smoothly, Soviet republics were given greater autonomy and non-Russians were able to move up the ranks of allowed to ascend to positions of authority. The Soviet Union also emphasis infrastructure and consumer goods; adding to the overall quality of life for the average citizen.

Meanwhile, Japan also experienced reforms and changes to its empire. Japanese society began to liberalize and the rights of non-Japanese citizens were expanded. Japan also focused on building up its infrastructure and consumer goods. Japan lent aid to the right wing juntas of Brazil, Argentina and Chile after much of Latin America formed the Soviet sponsored Republic of Latin American Socialists. Support was also provided to South Africa to counter the Soviet Union's African allies.

Pan-Arabism is in full bloom. Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq has formed the United Arab Republic. The UAR was originally a close Soviet ally, but in recent years has begun to move away and form a Third Party power block. Islam still plays a major role in daily life, but the UAR is much more laid back and liberal than in our world.

The few non-communist nations of Europe banded together into a European Union-esque organization. However, as the years went on these nations failed to compete with the Soviet Union economically. By the 1980s several popular fronts were established throughout Western Europe and communist governments were soon established. Many of these now communist nations are now considering merging with the Soviet Union. The British, Dutch and French governments have fled to their holdings in South America.

By the 1990s the Cold War is more or less over. As far as the Western world is concerned the Soviet Union has emerged as the clear winner. Communism is triumphant while democracy and capitalism have been sentenced to the dustbin of history. Economist throughout the world are scratching their heads as to how the Soviets managed to solve their economic woes, but clearly they did something right.

Still, all isn't entirely lost. The Japanese, and their sphere of influence still provide plenty of competition for the Soviets. Slowly but surely the fascist nations are beginning to liberalize and granting more rights to their citizens. Perhaps one day democracy will see a revival. For now, everyone is looking towards the skies. Following the Japanese victory in the Moon Race it is now Mars that is next great target. Meanwhile, Soviet and Japanese orbital stations and lunar bases are being constructed with increasing frequency.

Manga Review: Rosario+Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda

I thought I might review one of my favorite manga.  You've heard me talk about it before, and so you probably know I love it, but I say it's still worth doing a post about.  The manga I'm talk about is of course Rosario+Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda.

The first series, ten volumes in total, follows Tsukune Anno, a boy who's absolutely average in absolutely every way.  He's been having trouble getting into a good high school, but fortunately he's just received an offer from Yokai Academy.  Upon arrival Tsukune meet the beautiful vampire Moka Akashiya, and promptly learns that Yokai Academy is an all monster school.  Fortunately, they are all practicing disgusting themselves as humans.  Along the way he also befriends a succubus name Kurumu, a yuki-on a named Mizore, a werewolf named Gin, and two witches named Yukari and Ruby.  It starts of as a lighthearted romantic comedy/harem series, but as it progresses it gets increasingly action packed and more dramatic as Tsukune and the gang take on ever strong enemies.  

Now, there are probably some of you who only know Rosario+Vampire via its anime adaptation.  Before we go any further take everything you know about that series and toss it away.  Unlike the anime adaptation, the original manga actually have things like plot, character development and it uses its fan service much more tastefully and sparingly.  Yeah, overall the anime doesn't really have too much in common with the manga besides a few tertiary connections and roughly the same premise.  Just figured we'd get that out of the way first and foremost.

This was one of the very first mangas I ever read, the very first being DeathNote, and is still easily my favorite.  From the first few volumes I was completely draw into the plot.  I was still getting use to the black and white aspect of manga, having grown up with full color American comics, and I think it really worked out pretty well in this case.  With many of the characters being monsters the black and white coloring brought to mind the old Universal Horror movies; i.e. Frankenstein, Dracula, Creature From the Black Lagoon, ect.  I'm more used to manga coloring now, but this was a great way to ease into it; similar to how in DeathNote it made me think of noir films.  And speaking of the art I think that Ikeda did a pretty great job drawing the manga as well as writing it.    

Of course, a manga is only as good as its characters, and this manga has some pretty great characters.  What I find most interesting about Tsukune is, despite being the primary viewpoint character and male lead, he fills the role of The Chick and The Heart.  He's the least powered member of the team while the girls are the primary fighters; which is an interesting twist on the style.  Moka is actually two characters for the price of one; we've got sweet and cutsie Outer Moka, and dark and deadly Inner Moka.  It seems to be some kind of split personality thing, and I'm wondering if they're going to fuse together at some point in the future.  Well, guess I'll have to find out in Rosario+Vampire Season II.  There's also Kurumu, a former mean girl sucubis who becomes a loyal friend.  You gotta love her, and not just beacuse of those knockers of hers.  

Then we've got Mizore, who holds the distinction of teaching me about what yuki-onna are.  She's also adorably shy and kind of looks like a friend of mine.  Whenever I read Mizore's line's I always heard that friend's voice.  And finally we've got Yukari and Gin, both kind of perverted, but both also fun and adorable in their own ways.  Along the way the gang combats a wide variety of monsters, both teachers and students, ranging from kraken, to slugs, to mermaids and even Medusa.  

If the series has a weakness it's an unintentional one.  As the series progresses one of the biggest antagonists are the monstrals, a group of mixed species monsters.  I'm sure, well hopefully sure, that Ikeda didn't intended it but the message came across as "mixed race people are evil."  Of course, considering whoever Tsukune ends up with, and by whoever I of course mean Moka, will be a diffrent species than him it give credence to my theory that it was unintentional.  

As for intentional messages, if there's one strong theme throughout the series it's the power of friendship and healing from past damage.  One villain who is rather similar to Tsukune remarks that if he'd friends as good as Tsukune's when he was at Yokai Academy then maybe he would have gone into villainy.  Many of the girls have tragic or otherwise unhappy pasts, but through their friendships they manage to over come that and become better people.  At the same time Tsukune grows from a boy without any aspirations in life to a young man serving as a mediator between humans and monsters.  

The series starts of in monster of the week, or monster of the chapter as it were, format but before long there is an overarching plot.  Specifically a plot about monsters and humans making peace.  Like I said before, the series starts of lighthearted but get gradually more serious as time goes on.  There's definitely serious themes and such even in the early parts, but about when Mizore shows up is when the tone really starts to change.  I haven't gotten around to reading Rosario+Vampire Season II yet, but this tend does continue from what I've seen.  In fact, by Season II the manga gets into deconstruction territory for harem tropes and the like.  As great as the first series is I can't wait to sink my teeth into Season II.   

It was one of the first manga I ever read.  It is one of my favorite manga.  It is Rosario+Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda.  Check it out today, and be prepared to fall in much in love with it as I have.     

Book Review: Gunpowder Empire by Harry Turtledove

Believe it or not there was a time I read physical books rather than audiobooks, and on occasion I still do, and so I have decided to review one such book in this blog post.  That book is Gunpowder Empire, book 1 of the Crosstime Traffic series, by Harry Turtledove.  This was not only the first Harry Turtledove book I ever read, but it was also the first alternate history book I ever read.

The book takes place in the 29th century; in the past Earth was ravaged by overpopulation, environmental degradation and fossil fuels got used up.  Fortunately, all of those problems got solved when travel between universes got discovered.  Earth trades with parallel Earths to get food and raw materials, but they do so in secret and undercover; best not to panic the locals or give the more advanced timelines any ideas.  The story follows Jeramy Solters and his family go on missions to an alternate (as the universes are called) known as Agrippan Rome.  In this alternate Marcus Agrippa managed to live longer than in our world and conquered Germania, which help ensure the Roman Empire never fell.  In time Rome discovered gunpowder and developed firearms; unfortunately technological progress stagnated after that and Rome became a gunpowder empire (hence the title).  

The Solters trade in goods that are slightly better than what the Romans have in hopes to starting the wheels of progress once again.  Specifically they trade things like mirrors, razors, mechanical clocks and pocket watches, and so on.  Everything is going well on a routine trip when Mrs. Solters starts having abdominal pain and has to go back to the home timeline with Mr. Solters.  Jeramy and his sister Amanda are going to be on their own for hopefully not too long.  However, it's not long before the computer loses contact with the home timeline all together.  What's happened?  Will Jeramy and Amanda ever see their parents and their home timeline ever again?  Will they survive the coming invasion of the Lietuvians?  

Like I said, this was both my first Turtledove novel and my first alternate history novel; even after all this time I still say it was the perfect starting point for me.  One of the great things about the Crosstime Traffic series is that all of the novels are standalones and can be read in any order.  I just read them in order of publication because I'm that way.  Now, I've noticed a lot of older readers complaining about the fact that the protagonists are teenagers and that the novels seems geared towards young adults.  To those people I have this to say: you know that's the point right?  Turtledove wrote this series specifically to introduce teenagers and young adults to alternate history, so older readers weren't the target demographic.  I suppose this confusion comes from the books being shelved with Turtledove's adult books rather than in the young adult section.  

Turtledove has a Phd in Byzantine History, and I could definitely tell that he was in his element when he wrote this novel.  The descriptions of daily life in an alternate Roman Empire were lovingly and knowledgeably crafted.  I also liked the descriptions of how religion turned out.  For example there are only three gospels and the Bible has different end because John the Apostle was never born and Paul wrote letters to church that don't exist in our world.  Meanwhile, Christianity is split between those willing to making offerings to the emperor, known as Imperial Christians, and those who refuse to do so.  Also, Jesus is simply considered one god among many.  Maybe it was because I was always hungry when I got to them, but the descriptions of the food was great.  At one point I ate some bread and honey along with the characters and even made a toast to the emperor's health.  

It was also fun to see the little knowing winks to Turtledove's other works.  There's a scene where Jeramy plays a video game about aliens invading in the middle of World War II.  For those who don't get it, Turtledove's WorldWar series was going to get a video game adaptation, but for various reasons it fell through.  There's also mention of a world were the American Revolution never happened and America remain with Britain, and in a bit of foreshadowing to the following Crosstime Traffic novel, a world where Germany won World War I.  The exact boarders of this Roman Empire weren't established, but there's been fan speculation and so I've included this handy map to give you an idea.  Dark blue is firmly Roman, lighter blue is probably Roman, lightest blue is disputed and brown is Lietuvian.    

They say alternate history can also be a learning experience about actual history, and that was certainly true here.  I really got a few for what it would be like living in Ancient Rome.  It wasn't all gladiators and circuses, and even then those tended to be fairly violent and gory by modern standards.  There was slavery, head lice, the threat of invasion, poverty and other such things.  Yet there was also a fair amount of grandeur and awe, and I was still filled with a sense of wonder at this brave new world I explored with the turn of a page.  I also got to learn about the Lithuanians, some of their history and how they were pretty cool too.   

Where Jeramy and Amanda the most memorable of characters?  Maybe they weren't, but they served a purpose.  That could be applied to most of the characters.  They all helped brings the world of Agrippan Rome to life and show what made it tick.  Also, don't be afraid to get attached to anyone, because for once in a Turtledove novel, everyone lives!  Suffice it to say that this means there's a happy ending and Al, works out for the best.  Hey, I like happy endings, and so it was all good to me.  It find it humor in hindsight that Crosstime Traffic was a more business like version of the company from Twilight Histories, for whom I often make maps.  Perhaps it's only fitting that Crossitme Traffic was where I got my alternate history start.    

This was my first alternate history novel and my first Turtledove novel.  Even to this day it remains one of my favorites and most memorable alternate histories.  Pick up a copy today, and take a journey across time.