Visual Novel Review: 80 Days

 When I was a kid, I loved Choose Your Own Adventure books. I loved exploring stories where I got to steer the plot, with varying degrees of success. The illustrations that would occur throughout the books was a nice touch too. Thankfully, there plenty of great examples of interactive fiction that are aimed at older audiences. Many video games have successfully adapted the Chose Your Own Adventure format to electronic form. Where I am going with all of this. Today, we're going to take a look at one of the best examples of interactive fiction I've seen in quite some time. We're taking a look at 80 Days.

80 Days is an adaption of Jules Vernes' classic novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Our story begins in 1872. Passepartout is a French valet recently hired by British gentlemen Phileas Fogg. Fogg has recently taken a bet from his gentlemen's club that he must make it around the world in no more than eighty days. Ah, but there is a twist. You see, this isn't out Victorian era. Rather, it is a steampunk alternate history. Passepartout and Fogg much make their way across this steampunk world using several strange, exotic, and sometimes mundane, modes of transportation. How will they accomplish this? What routes will they take? That's all up to you. The choice is yours, so choose wisely.

I was first introduced to Around the World in Eighty Days when I saw Disney's 2004 adaption starring Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan. I think it was that film which indirectly lead to my interest in steampunk. There actually wasn't that much in the way of steampunk in the film itself, though Fogg was a bumbling inventor, rather than a rich gentleman like in the novel. The film deviates a bit from the novel, often for comedy. Eventually, I did seek out the original novel, which is easily my favorite of Verne's work. So, when I saw this game, I knew I just had to buy it.

Now, let's briefly discuss terminology and classification. After mulling it over I decided to classify 80 Days as a video game, but me being me, I feel that's a bit too simple. More broadly, it falls under the umbrella of Interactive Fiction. As the name suggests, Interactive Fiction is any fictional narrative medium influenced by the choices of the reader/player. The exact degree of interactivity varies. On the high end, you have stuff like the Ace Attorney games; not only do you have different dialogue options, but you must collect evidence and call-out false statements in court. On the low end, you have certain types of Japanese Visual Novels, where the story is pretty linear, and the choices don't really matter, or are for purely aesthetic stuff.

 I would say there is a fair bit of genuine choice and strategizing involved in 80 Days. You have to determine the best route first and foremost. You are presented with options as soon as you arrive at a new city, but you can also quite new routs options by purchasing travel schedules. You also have to watch your budget. Different modes of transportation charge different rates. You also have to spend money on hotels if you stay overnight in a city. You do start off with money, and there are ways to gain more as you go. Each stop has a marketplace where items can be purchased and sold. How much each item sells for depends on where you are. Fortunately, the game does tell you where you can get the most for each item. The items are also important because they affect Fogg's health. Fogg takes health damage no matter what you travel in, but carrying certain items in your suitcase help negate this damage. You can also add to his health by attending to his needs before or during travel. You can also get money by going to the bank, but be careful, because Fogg isn't made out of money, and it will run out if you make too many bank trips. You can earn a bit of money by polishing shoes at hotels. Hey, small drops fill the bucket.

 You care the items with you in a suitcase, and you can purchase more if you run out of room. However, more suitcases will increase the cost of travel, and certain modes of travel limit the amount of luggage you can take with you. Fogg will provide commentary depending on what you choose to carry with you. For example, if you chose to bring a gun at the start, and then purchase another one, Fogg will inquire about just how many guns you think you'll need. If you sell the altimeter, Fogg will inquire about what you've done with his grandfather's altimeter. If you purchase a mirror, Fogg will remark about how it is occupying your attention quite a bit as of late.

Your choices have consequences beyond advancing the story. How you interact with Fogg determines how he will view you. Serve him well, and he will consider you a truly worthy companion that any gentleman would be lucky to have at his side. There are also several characters you have the option of romancing. Oh, and Passepartout is bisexual, so you can romance women or men without issue. Play your cards right, and you can even romance Fogg, but that takes a bit of skill.

 The artwork is very well done. You have a three-dimensional globe that tracks your progress. Your latest mode of transport, as well as famous buildings from the cities you visit, are represented as stylized black and white drawings set against color backdrops. The day-night cycle is also represented in shifts in background color. You get the text of the story when you are embarking on a new leg of your journey, when you arrive at your destination, and if you chose to stay the night in a city. And it is fairly substantial text; we're talking multiple paragraphs. Upon successfully completing the journey the route you took will be highlighted on the globe, and you'll get stats about how many places you visited.

 One of the biggest draws of 80 Days is the way that it explores steampunk outside of Europe. Many nations were able to successfully avoid colonization, or kicked out their colonizers. Each nation also has its own unique twist on steampunk technology. You can ride anhinga, a type of fast bird-like airship, in South America and the Caribbean. You can take a mechanical elephant through the mountains of Northern India. You can cross the Pacific Ocean in a steamship that can also turn into a submarine. You can even visit Haiti and see the unique steam-powered cyborg animals they utilize. Well, that and the automatons made out of wood and bone, which are powered by blood.

 Oh, and did I mention that Haiti is a major power in this world? Well, they are, though they're also secretive and highly protective of their steam-powered cyborg animals. In fact, it was Haiti, with assistance from France, that built the Panama Canal in the world of 80 Days. But that's not the only notable change. The Zulu have formed a federation in Southern Africa to resist British colonization. They've embraced steampunk technology thanks to the Artificers Guild, who we'll talk more about in a minute. They've kicked the British and Portuguese out of several parts of Southern Africa; though some areas of European settlement, such as the Orange Free State, still remain. Meanwhile, Madagascar has also managed to remain independent thanks to embracing steampunk technology. Madagascar is also a hotbed of Artificer activity. There also seem to be more gender equality than in our world’s Victorian era. We see numerous women as engineers, captains, and in positions of authority. True, some do mention having to deal with sexism, but its all very progressive given the time period.  

The Artificers Guild is an international organization of scientists, engineers, and inventors dedicated to spreading steampunk technology throughout the world. Their officially language is Turkish, as they claim to have been founded in Turkey, and their members wear bronze flowers. Officially, they're politically neutral, but they do have influence in pretty much all nations. Whether or not that's a good thing is up to you to decide. People of all nations, except the Austro-Hungarian empire, are allowed to join. As you can imagine, the nations of the world are sharply divided in their views of the Artificers.

There are also several secret locations that require you to do special things to find them. For example, there is a flying First Nations city in Canada named Kahwoka Othunwe. Go to either Calgary or Regina and looked for a Cree boy. If you help him, you'll get a mysterious device. After that, head to Toronto. Along the way some Lakota will find you and take you to Kahwoka Othunwe. However, if you're carrying whiskey the council will decide you a whiskey trader, and you'll have to escape on a gyrocopter. If you don't have whisky, you'll get to stay, and will be dropped off in Quebec City.

 Yeah, having certain items in your inventory affects how things go. Sometimes you are given items when chatting with other characters, but this can backfire on you. For example, can be given a copy of Communist Manifesto in Moscow. However, if you have it with you while you're in Vladivostok, you will be arrested and waste four days in prison. I learned that the hard way; I would have won that play-through if I hadn't gotten stuck in Vladivostok. Then again, you'll get arrested anyway if you stay overnight in Vladivostok. The Russians are paranoid about British travelers due to The Great Game. The only way to prevent this is to get travelers papers by stoping at Omsk. And even then, if you got involved in the demonstration in St. Petersburg, they won't mean anything. Personally, I don't find it worth the hassle. My advice, at the Trans-Siberian Railway all the way to Karimskaya. Then take the Trans-Manchurian Railway to either Pyongyang or Beijing, and from there get on a ship to Yokohama.

Another hidden location can be found if you chose you go around the North Pole. Yes, circumnavigating the pole is considered a valid route. Get far enough north and you'll join the crew or an ice walker. Be sure to get into their good graces, because eventually the walker will crash, and Fogg's health will take a serious hit. You need to keep him alive until you are rescued by members of Qausuittuq, a hidden city of Arctic indigenous peoples. Think kind of like Wakanda from Black Panther, but steampunk and the culture derives from the native peoples of the Arctic. You can explore a bit, but the council will decide you must stay in Qausuittuq forever, because of the whole secrecy thing. Thankfully, you can find an airship hanger, which will take you to either Winnipeg or Gastown (Vancouver).

Obviously, there are many different routes you can take. This creates quite a bit of replay potential. The wide variety of destinations, and the choices they present, also adds to the replay value. If you chose to follow the route of the original novel, the events will be fairly faithful to it, steampunk elements notwithstanding. Well, it will be depending on your choices. That said, there are some slight deviations. In the novel, when Fogg and Passepartout are in India they save a woman named Aodha from sati, aka Hindu wife burning. She joins them on the rest of their journey, and eventually becomes Fogg's love interest. In the game, however, she's the leader of an anti-British rebellion in India. As such, she stays in India.

If you go to Florida, you can encounter Michael Ardan from the novel From the Earth to the Moon also by Verne. You can go from a rocket ride, but if you do that Fogg will be killed, and potentially you too if you make the wrong choices. You can continue the journey alone, and you will win if you return to London. Of course, you'll also have to live with the guilt that Fogg died because of you. So you know, win some, lose some.

You'll encounter Inspector Fix in Singapore and Hong Kong. He'll try to convince you that Fogg is a criminal up to no good. Be careful about meeting him in the Hong Kong opium den, because next thing you know you'll be on a airship bound for Yokohama. Then you'll have to perform at a Japanese circus until Fogg finds you. Though, this is all faithful to the novel. Well, mostly. In the novel, Fogg didn't consider balloon travel to be trustworthy. Ironically, more than a few adaptions of the book have Passepartout and Fogg riding in a balloon on the cover. It is possible that the publishers get it confused with one of Verne's other novels, Five Weeks in a Balloon. Of you return to London via Lisbon you may encounter another British gentleman traveling around the world with his Prussian assistant. It makes for an amusing encounter.

 I'm not the only one who thinks 80 Days is amazing. It has won numerous awards. Frankly, it would be easier to list the awards this game hasn't won. And if you're curious about tips and tricks be sure to check out the game's wikia.

I've played 80 Day many times, and there's still plenty of achievements I'm chasing. This is an absolutely fantastic game and I can't recommend it enough. Download it today, you will be so glad that you did. 80 Days is available for Apple, Android, PC, Nintendo Switch, and is available on Steam.

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

The Audio File: Timestorm: Season 2

 I've been catching up with a lot of audio dramas now that they have their second seasons out in full. There really isn't much more for me to add here, so let's jump right to the point. We're taking a look at season two of Timestorm.

First, a brief recap. Timestorm follows a pair of twins from Newark, New Jersey named Alexa and Beni Ventura. They go on time travel adventures, usually throughout the history of Puerto Rico, to recover artifacts for their cousin Horacio and his A.I. friend Atabay. Horacio is halfway between life and death in a region outside of time and space called a Timestorm. This season, Alexa and Beni are going to take part in a multistage quest to recover the beat of three motherlands. Meanwhile, in the present day, they must uncover the identity of the mysterious author of the comic Take Back Time.

Timestorm wowed me with an amazing first season, and I was eagerly awaiting season two. I must say, it more than delivered, and the show just keeps getting better. In fact, I'd say this season was even better than the first, which was already pretty great in its own right. Waiting a week between episode was a new experience, as last time I listened after the season was completed in its entirety. Still, it wasn't like it was a great burden or anything, and the consistent quality kept me eager for more.

Last season, the main theme was about women in Puerto Rican history, especially those who have been largely forgotten by history. This season, the main theme is about how Puerto Rican culture is the result of the mixing of African, European, and Indigenous culture. To this end, most of the time travel adventures this season take place outside of Puerto Rico. We get to see Senegal in 1810 and Spain in 1852. Africa tends to get ignored in time travel media; especially ones aimed at kids. As such, I was very happy that Alexa and Beni visited early 19th Century Senegal, and that we got to explore the richness of Senegalese culture. Although, when I saw that it was 1810, I got worried. The Transatlantic Slave Trade was in full swing in 1810, and I knew things were going to get back to Puerto Rico eventually. Would these new characters be captured as slaves? Well, everyone gets through the episode okay but...well, actually, let's put a pin in that for right now.

We didn't explore Spain as in-depth in the episode where Alexa and Beni visit it. Granted, we do get to meet Francisco Oller, a famous Puerto Rican painter who studied in Spain. We also meet Frederico Madrazo, a famous Spanish portrait artist, and Francisco's teacher. Still, we probably didn't explore Spanish culture as much because it would have been redundant. Spain, arguably, left the biggest impact on what would be Puerto Rican culture. Spanish is the dominate language in Puerto Rico, after all. Still, as this season makes clear, Africans and Tainos made fairly significant contributions to Puerto Rican culture of their own.

Speaking of which, remember last time when I said that I hoped we'd get an episode centered around the Taino people? Well, this season granted my wish to me. Not only that, but Alexa and Beni visit the Taino in 1488, a good five years before the Spanish arrived on the island. This means we get to see the Taino in their pre-contact prime. Taino are the native people of Puerto Rico. You might not have heard of the Taino, but you've probably used words from their language. The words hammock, canoe, and hurricane all have their roots in the Taino language. Hurricane is derived from an epitaph for the Taino goddess of storms. I found that interesting, because the Maya people of Central America have a storm god named Huracan. Though it is probably just coincidence, as the Taino storm goddess' proper name is Guabancex.

I also recently learned a new word: Boricua. It means a person of Puerto Rican ancestry, but who does not necessarily live in Puerto Rico. It derives from the word the Taino used to refer to the island, Borikén. So anyway, Alexa and Beni get to meet Aguay, who went on to become a great cacique, a type of chief. In fact, he was cacique when Spanish explorers first arrived in Puerto Rico in 1493. His real name was Agueybana, but he had a brother by the same name, who also appears in the episode. Timestorm got around this by splitting the name. Agueybana I is called simply Aguey, while his brother Agueybana II is called Bana. Aguey recounts the creation story from Taino Mythology to Alexa and Beni. I always love when less well-known mythologies get featured. This also meant we got mention of the supreme earth goddess Atabay, namesake of a certain snarky A.I.

We even get a short bonus episode set 1510. Bana is now the main cacique, and the Taino are uncertain about what the coming of the Spanish will bring. This is shortly after Ponce de Leon has visited the island. Yes, he who sought the fountain of youth. Ah, so is that where the city of Ponce got its name from?  There's a disclaimer at the start that, though it involves real people, the events of the episode are fictional. I thought it was a nice touch, and very much appreciated.

We also get more development in the Ventura Twins' present day lives. For example, we learn that Datu, the owner of the Taino Comics & Games Store, is apparently Filipino. We know this because he meant that his grandma is from Manila. I always assumed he was Boricua like the rest of the cast, but I guess I was wrong. To be fair, Filipinos are often called, with varying degrees of seriousness, often call Latinos who got lost and wound up in Asia. About one out of five Tagalong words come from Spanish, they eat flan, they're devout Roman Catholics. I'm just saying, a case could be made, but I digress.

More importantly, we meet Josie. She is Datu's boss, even though I think he owns the store...the chain of command was a bit unclear. Whatever the exact pecking order, she is his superior. More importantly, she has a magical tapestry that can transport people to the other Taino Comics & Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There is a tapestry there connected to the store in Newark. How did Josie get this magical tapestry? Well, that's another thing we'll have to put a pin in for now.

We also learn the series is set in 2017. I always assumed there was no definitive date, but that works. That way, there series won't be impacted by any major world events, especially if the characters travel to the future at any point. Obviously, you don't want to make predictions, only to have them not turn out to happen. As of this writing, there is speculation about Puerto Rico finally becoming a state. Personally, I'm skeptical about this, given how many times it has been proposed, only for things to stay just as they have been, but you never know. Also, this explains why none of the characters make mention of things like wearing masks or social distancing.

We'll be getting into some potential spoilers in just a minute. For now, I'd like to talk about something I thought could have been done better. There's a mini episode where the twins are attending a music festival, which includes Afro-Puerto Rican music. So, Beni is playing on the drums and having a good time when some white guys walk up and say, basically, "that's sounds like slave music to me." And this really hurts Beni. Really now, that's the example of modern-day racism you're going to go with? Did the white boys perhaps return and call him doo-doo head while they were at it?

Every year at the high school I went to all the students had to watch a PSA video about stranger danger and how to not get molested on the Internet. It was a poorly made video from start to finish. It seemed to have been created under the assumption that kids of my generation has somehow never used the Internet before. Then there was the incredibly wooden acting, and the fact that they made the creepy adults so over the top they were basically saying "child molesters are so glaringly easy to spot you basically have to be trying to not notice them." Naturally, this elicited quite a few giggles from the students. The teachers naturally didn't take this well, and tried to shame everyone into behaving, to little effect. The point being, despite their good intentions, the crappy execution of the PSA video undermined the message. 

It is a disservice to your listeners to tackle topics like racism without fully committing to it. Do or do not, there is no try. Maybe that means writing uncomfortable scenes, but you know what else is uncomfortable, actual racism. You wouldn't even have to use any naughty words. You could just have the white boys pretend to be friendly, only for them to then say "Well, if you like black music so much, why don't you go back to Africa?!" I know it's a minor point, but it still bothered me. Especially in light of the stuff we're going to talk about in the spoiler section. I've lived in Louisiana my entire life, so I'm well aware of what actual racism looks like. I could help but think "Damn it, Dania! Real racist aren't that nice!" And if the issue is the actors feeling uncomfortable reading such lines, well, I charge three dollars per hour of production. No not really; I'd work for free if Timestorm actually offered me a role. In all seriousness, racism isn't a topic you can handle with kid gloves if you wanted to seriously tackle it.

On a much minor note, every episode ends with a reminder that Timestorm is produced on the traditional land of the Leni Lenape people. It didn't bother me,  but I feel there might be better ways to honor the native peoples of New Jersey. Perhaps have Alexa and Beni go back in time to visit the Lenape. The team has shown that they're more than capable of writing time travel episodes set outside of Puerto Rico. Our maybe have some Lenape characters in the present day. That would be good because it would show that Native Americans are a living breathing people and culture; not just a topic you read about in history books. I'm a big advocate of increased Native American representation in media.

Okay, now that we've got that out the way, it is time for the spoilers. If you don't want any of that, turn back now.

Last warning. You sure you want to continue?

Well okay, if everyone who wants off is gone, then let's dive into it.

Remember when I wondered if anyone the Ventura twins met in Senegal was going to get sold into slavery? Well, turns out I was right on the money with that one. Well, in one case anyway. Idrissa was captured and taken to Puerto Rico, where he was renamed Gabriel. Alexa and Beni meet him again in 1890. I don't think they said how old he was in 1810; my guess would be twenty-something, maybe late teens. If I'm right, then he'd be nearly 100 years old by 1890. Technically not impossible, but would still be rather unusual for a man who had to endure a life of hard physical labor. That would be especially true if he wound-up on a sugar plantation.

Sugar cane goes sour only one day after it is harvested. That means it has to be processed right away. The process of processing the sugar had a nasty tendency to result in hands getting chopped off. Oh, and it wasn't a question of maybe, this was a guarantee that someone would get maimed. As such, sugar plantation had large populations of slaves to supplement the workforce. That, and sugar was the oil of its day in terms of value. Sugar plantations were common across the Caribbean and Brazil. I bring this up because fourth-five percent of all slaves brought to the New World went to the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico. Fifty percent went to Brazil, and the remaining five percent went to the Untied States and the rest of mainland Latin America.

Idrissa has become a broken man from his life in bondage. The horror of slavery wasn't just the threat of physical violence. It was also the psychological horror that you could be taken from your loved ones at any moment, and that you would never see them again. Or perhaps you lost your loved ones because you were captured, stuffed onto a ship, and taken to a land you'd never even heard of before. Then, upon arrival, your captors do everything in their power to stamp out your culture, and force you to adopt their strange and alien culture.

And yet, despite all of this, Idrissa survived and started a family. But not just any family. Alexa and Beni do some research in the present day, and wouldn't you know it, Idrissa is their several times great-grandfather. If nothing else, they know his life's story, and thanks to time travel, he was able to pass on some of his traditional African culture to them. So, this means that even though he lost touch with his African roots, his culture will live on in future generations thanks to Alexa and Beni. In the end, the slavers lost, and Idrissa's struggles were not in vein. Though spare a thought for all the Idrissas who didn't get to have their stories told.

Alexa and Beni discovered this all partially thanks to an Ancestry.com type genealogy service. Strange that it wasn't actually the real thing. I'm pretty sure Ancestry does sponsorships, and that might help offset production costs. But I know that Timestorm is partially sponsored by The Corporation For Public Broadcasting, so maybe there are rules about that. Hmm, I guess that makes Timestorm is the closest thing to if PBS Kids were to make an audio drama. Molly of Denali doesn't count; because it was based on a pre-existing property. 

Speaking of family, now let's talk about Josie. Surprise! She's another long lost Ventura cousin. Also, Janelly finds out about what Alexa and Beni have been doing. Maybe this will means she and Datu will get to join the Venturas on future adventures. It would be nice to show that you don't have to be a blood relative of the Ventura family to have adventures. Now all we need is to get Sonya and Mr and Mrs. Ventura onboard, and the gang will all on the same page. Also, I now know what piraguas are. Sure, they sound like just a variation on snow cones/balls, but I'd still like to try them. Though, if I did have a magical tapestry that took me to San Juan and back again, I'd be making a beeline for the nearest mofongo restaurant. I haven't had any in years, and I still think about it often.

Well, I think that covers everything if importance. Season two of Timestorm builds upon the already excellent first season, and just keeps getting better. I can't wait to see what excitement and adventure future seasons bring. If you haven't listen to season one...you should probably do something about that, or else you'll be very confused. But if you have listened to season one, but have not listened to season two yet, do so today. You'll be glad that you did.

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

The Alt-Hist File: The Phone Booth: Season 2

 Well, it looks like I'm going to be following up at lot of the shows I gave review to in the past. I've reviewed lots of season ones, now I get to review season twos. Usually, I'd add something more to open with, but I think we should just jump right into it. We're taking a look at season two of The Phone Booth.

First, a quick recap. The Phone Booth takes place in a world where ninety-nine percent of humanity has developed superpowers following an event in 2004 known as B-Day. The series follows investigative podcasters Joe Pollard as he travels across America to interview different people about how having superpowers has changed their lives. 

This season changes the format a bit. The Covid-19 Pandemic still happened in the world of The Phone Booth. As such, Joe can't travel around. Instead, he has people email their stories to him, and he reads them aloud, occasionally with some assistance. However, just because this season is a bit more barebones doesn't mean the stories pack any less of a punch.

The Phone Booth, like many audio dramas, was dealt a bad hand with regards to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Still, Keenan Ellis made it work to the best of his ability. He handled the narration for episodes with male protagonists, and he got Elizabeth Seely to narrate the episodes with female protagonists. The episodes from the first half of this season are purely narration, but the episodes from the second half include some sound effects. As previously mentioned, despite the limited working conditions, the stories pack quite a punch. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that they're easily on par with what we got in season one in terms of writing quality. Keenan certainly made the most of what he had to work with.

Okay, let's tackle the individual episodes. The episode numbering continues from last season, which ended on episode six. Our first episode is a two-parter. Episodes seven and eight are titled "Crossroads." Joe receives an email from Archibald Turn. He talks about the chaos immediately following B-Day. However, he also talks about how Nashville, Tennessee became the heart of a renewed music movement. The heart of this movement was a bar called Crossroads.

This season of The Phone Booth saw the introduction of two-part episodes. In fact, all but two episodes of this season are two-parters. Keenan has mentioned in the past that he had been writing the scripts of The Phone Booth for many years. I don't know how long this episode was planned. I bring this up because I thought that maybe music wasn't the best subject to start of the season given the reduced production capacity. In an ideal world, it would have been nice to hear some of the music, but I understand that Keenan was having to make the most of the hand he was dealt. Pretty sure none of us on the podcasting could have seen the pandemic coming. For what it's worth, I found the writing itself to be very compelling. I've mentioned in the past, Keenan is an excellent narrator. He was more than capable of carrying the episode on his own. Even without hearing the music, I had a very clear feeling of what it would sound like.

It was interesting to see how the entertainment industry was affected by B-Day. Though, on minor criticism I would have would be that I wouldn't have gone with Covid-19 happening in the world of The Phone Booth like it did in ours. I would have gone with something more fitting to the universe. Say, maybe some sort of new disease that mutated as a result of B-Day, or maybe someone with disease powers getting out of control. Still, that's just a fairly minor point.

Overall, the season starts out strong with a fairly good two-parter.

Episode nine is titled "Safe Space." Joe gets an email from a yoga instructor named Alice Kessler. When she was a child, she was happy and adventurous. Then she hit puberty and was struck by crippling anxiety and agoraphobia. She became a paranoid recluse and a shut-in as an adult. In fact, the highlight of her week was briefly chatting with the cute pizza delivery boy. Oh, but she got plenty of time to chat with him once B-Day happened.

The writing on this episode was very well-written, but it somewhat dismays me that I found the protagonist as relatable as I did. I've had my own dealing with anxiety and depression. The part where the pizza boy is the highlight of her week was also regrettably relatable. I liked how there's wasn't any trigger for Alice's anxiety, it just happened for no apparent reason. I found it interesting that Alice's power is to generate force field bubbles. There are several episodes of The Phone Booth where people's powers appeared to be luck of the draw more than anything. This episode seems to hint that people's personality plays at least some role in determining what powers they get. Alice wanted to retreat into her own little bubble, and B-Day gave her the power to literally do that.

On the other hand, perhaps it depends on what you happened to be doing when B-Day struck. Alice and pizza boy wound-up buried beneath the rubble of her apartment building, but survived because she created a force field in-time. Pizza boy got the ability to see in the dark, a fairly useful skill in such a situation. But there are other episodes, as we shall see, the suggest that powers really do just develop at random. In any event, it is nice to see that things worked out for Alice, and that's she's working on becoming a little more social.

All in all, another strong episode of The Phone Booth.

Episode ten is titled "Costume in the Closet." Joe gets an email from a man named Mason Demyer. He tells about what it what like to be a parent in the days following B-Day. He also discusses his short-lived stint as a superhero.

This was another very interesting episode. It showed that most people who got powers weren't in a rush become superheroes. Or if they did, they didn't stick to it very long. Let's use Mason as an example. He gained the ability to fly...and that's it. He's not any stronger or more durable than your average non-powered human. Sure, maybe he could drop somewhat heavy objects on people from above, but he really wouldn't be much use in a fight. Hey, at least Hawkman has a mace. There's also the fact that it can get pretty cold up in the sky, and a spandex suit probably won't provide you very much warmth. Mason found that out the hard way. It always amazes me, when I'm flying in an airplane, to think that the temperature outside the airplane in the negative degrees.

Then there's the fact that, though crime occurs regularly enough, you aren't going to come across a crime every time you go patrolling. In fact, most of the time patrolling would be rather boring. I worked student patrol my first year of college, so I speak from experience on this one. Still, Mason was able to find happiness even without being a superhero. And hey, his power is great for saving kites from trees.

An episode that has elements of deconstruction, but never gets too dark for its own good. Once again, an excellently crafted episode.

Episodes eleven and twelve are titled "Animals." Joe requests a message from a death row inmate named Jesse Dominski. By the time Joe got the letter, Jesse had been executed. She served as a field veterinarian in the Rocky Mountains in the years following B-Day. Her specialty was anitropes; people who mutated into human-animal hybrids following B-Day. Jesse recounts the story of uncovering an illegal anitrope poaching operation, and how this set off a series of events that landed her on death row.

I'd been hoping we'd get an episode about the human-animal hybrids, and now here we are. And it's a two-part episode at that. Throughout the episode there's a running question of just how human the anitropes are. Most people view them as just mindless animals without any shreds of humanity left. Jesse, however, maintained that they are still human, even if they have changed quite a bit. I'm inclined to agree, as there is evidence to support this view. My personal theory is that the anitropes retain their original memories and personalities, but have been reduced to animal-level in intelligence. Obviously, this means they can't form complex thoughts anymore, and often default to instincts. They're aggressive, but no worse than a wild animal would be if a human gets too close. I'd imagine most anitropes feel scared more than anything, and this, combined with their inability to form complex thoughts often leads them lash out and attack humans.

There is evidence within the episode that support's this. Jesse's sister became an anitrope following B-Day, and seems to have retained some of her memories and personality. Though, eventually she did get the urge to join an anitrope pack in the mountains. Apparently, anitropes are among the top ten most common powers following B-Day. Most character mention lots of people flying after B-Day, so we know flight is fairly common. I'd also imagine super strength is fairly common, as Jesse is the second character we've encountered with that power. I wonder what the other seven are. Also, I loved how Keenan included bits of ambient noise, particularly animal sounds, to help give a little something extra to this episode.

I sympathized with Jesse's perspective, but I could see where the other charters were coming from as well. Anitropes probably killed a lot of people following B-Day. It's also mentioned that there were a lot of executions of prisoners following B-Day. In some cases, it was because conventional prisons simply could hold them, or because they might start a riot, which would be even worse given that most of the other prisoners also have powers. The point being, the post B-Day world was a harsh and unforgiving place, and that often meant having to make tough calls. Though, I'm still with Jesse. If a human kills an anitrope, and it isn't in self-defense, it ought to be considered murder. I thought that the reveal of the poacher's identity was well-done, though I had my suspicions as the reveal got closer. I also thought the poacher's power was pretty ingenious. It is certainly sad that Jesse was executed for killing the poacher, but perhaps someday, history will vindicate her.

This was an episode I was hoping we'd see, and it certainly did not disappoint.

Episodes thirteen and fourteen are titled "Champ." Bishop Cline is widely considered to be the founding father of the United States of New England. However, he doesn't consider himself a hero, just a man. In fact, the way he tells it, his cousin Charlie was the real brains behind the new nation. He recounts his childhood with Charlie, and their hunts for the elusive cryptid Champ. He also tells of how he and Charlie forged a great, if flawed, nation out of the ashes of B-Day.

First of all, I wanted to clarify that Bishop is the guy's first name. He's not a clergyman. I was wondering how Keenan was going to top the last two-parter. As it turns out, quite well indeed. Last season, it was mentioned that America split into five nations following B-Day. The way things were described made it sound like America reunited, but this episode seems to indicate that America is still Balkanized. Though we did get hints of that last episode, where it was mentioned that the Rockies are considered the broader of civilized America. Everything west of the Rockies is apparently the Wild West reborn. Well, except for Los Angles, which is dominated by the hive-mind entity known as The Union.

In my younger day, I too fantasized about securing for cryptids, before I wised up to all that. Still, they are fun part of what I consider to be the modern-day mythology of America. Champ is a Loch Ness Monster style cryptid claimed to live in Lake Champlain. Bishop power is that his bones turned to iron. This would give more evidence toward the idea that powers develop at random. He was out on the lake with Charlie at the time; the last place you want to be with heavy iron bones, especially when you can't breathe underwater. And it does appear that each person only gets one power, so thank goodness Charlie got the boat ashore in time. On a related note, this episode does give evidence towards my theory of anitrope psychology. Bishop recalls seeing anitropes waiting for crossing signals and holding the door open for each other. This suggest they do retain their personalities and memories, if only in a limited capacity.

I liked how this episode showed how society rebuilt following B-Day. Bishop and Charlie rallied together and formed a new army known as the Iron Core. The cities and towns of New England, like pretty much everywhere else, had basically become independent city-states following B-Day. The Iron Core untied the scattered towns and cities of New England into a new nation: The United States of New England. Bishop handled the military stuff, while Charlie handled the governing of the USNE. For a while all was well, but then Boston happened. Up until then, the USNE only expanded its territory to towns that couldn't survive on their own. Boston was self-sufficient and had no desire to join the USNE. Despite this, the USNE declared war on Boston.

I should here note that Boston's full name was the Principality of Boston. So, the cradle of the American Revolution reverted to monarchism? Hmm, maybe they deserved to get conquered, but I digress. Anyway, Charlie was opposed to this, but he lost support due to the people losing trust in a man without powers. So, he stepped down and Bishop took over, but then he too lost support after the economy turned bad.

I had wonder if people without powers faced discrimination. It appears, at least in this instance, the answer is yes. This is particularly sad as Charlie seems to have been a fairly commenter leader. After being ousted from power, he moved to the Northeastern Kingdom, which is apparently a region in Northeastern Vermont, and not a nation like initially assumed. Still, the United States of New England is one of the most stable nations of the post B-Day world, so Charlie and Bishop's efforts weren't in vain. Granted, they occasionally had to indulge in questionable actions at times. We get hints that the towns the Iron Core "liberated" weren't as destitute as we have been told. Then there is the business with Boston.

A powerful end for season two of The Phone Booth.

And so that's all the episodes of season two of The Phone Booth. Keenan was dealt a tough hand by the pandemic, but he certainly made the most of what he had to work with. I am very much looking forward to season three. It's going to be a while until it comes out, as Keenan wants season three to be the best it can be. Obviously, that will be much easier once the pandemic clears. It also turns out that season three will be the final season of The Phone Booth. I know Keenan has other projects he's working on, such as his newly launched podcast The Endless Ocean, but I still can't believe season three will be the end. It feels like we've just scratched the surface of The Phone Booth, and the stories just keep getting better. Still, I'm aware that there's only so many hours in a day, and only so much time that can be devoted to producing audio dramas. I eagerly await season three, and I wish Keenan well in all his future endeavors.

But enough about all of that. If I haven't made it clear by now, you should really go listen to season two of The Phone Booth. Unless you haven't listened to season one, somehow, in which case listen to it, then listen to season two. It is a quality superhero audio drama, and I can't recommend it enough.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Alt-Hist File: Prototype World of Tomorrow: Fair Weather Foes

I've been tackling podcast by individual season lately. Well, unless they're an anthology, or something similar to an anthology. I've got a lot of season one reviews, but none for any seasons beyond that. Well, I'm happy to say that changes today. We're taking a look at season two of Prototype World of Tomorrow: Fair Weather Foes.

Just as a recap, Prototype World of Tomorrow takes place in a world where Walt Disney's dream to create an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow became a reality. It has been a month since the events of Murder in Progress. In that time, Progress City's only private detectives Tim E. Less and Eve R. More have been...struggling to find work and a permanent office. Thankfully, they've recently gotten a case. The Progress City Weather Department has been subject a series of sabotage and trespassing attempts. It is believed that the protest group Spirit of Tomorrow is behind here attacks. The annual air show is due in a few days, and tensions are running high. Can Tim and Eve catch the perpetrators before it is too late?

Prototype World of Tomorrow wowed me with an excellent first season. If season two is anything to go by, the show stands to keep getting even better. First, let's talk about the newest additions to the cast. Remember last time when I suggested that Benjamin Lancaster ought to consider asking Kevin Perjurer, of Defunctland fame, to join the cast? Well, that wish has come true. Kevin joined the cast as Doug McDonald. He's a hotshot aeronautics engineer eager to unveil is latest prototype personal ornithopter. That is, it is a machine that flies by basing its wings on those of insects, such as dragonflies. Kevin is known for his excellent narration skilled over on Defucntland, but it is here that his acting skills get a chance to shine. Kevin really should consider taking more voice acting roles in the future. Also, you should check out the video he did about Walt Disney's plans for Progress City and...well, basically, just binge the whole channel after that. Seriously, it is great stuff, and he puts a lot of love and dedication into the videos.

But there is an even big surprise joining the cast this season: me! I am in this season of Prototype World of Tomorrow...sort of. There was a casting call, back when Fair Weather Foes was still in production, for fans of the show to submit audio samples of themselves performing a series of short lines. The goal was to get enough submissions to create the illusion of a large crowd for certain scene. Naturally I was more than willing to answer the call. Admittedly, I forgot about it until the last day, but I got my submission in on time. Most of you probably have no idea what I sound like. Even if you did, the voices are so mixed together you can't pick me out. Still, it is fun to know that I got to be part of one of my favorite podcasts, even if only in a small way.

The scene in question are when Tim receives an invitation to join the protest group Spirit of Tomorrow. They object to the residency laws in Progress City. The laws say that all residents may not stay in Progress as long as their work visas last, and there are no extensions. There used to be extensions on visas, but that got abolished awhile back. You can also be kicked out of Progress if you lose your job, or aren't attending a school or university. Spirit of Tomorrow believes that there should be no limits on visas. Furthermore, they also believe that everyone who wants to live in Progress should be allowed to stay, even if they don't have a job. I wasn't quite sure what Spirit of Tomorrow supported when I signed up to be an extra, but I suppose there are worse positions to take.

Spirit of Tomorrow also believes that the Chime network of Progress is leading to, paradoxically, both too much and too little connection, and should be done away with. Chimes are devices that all citizens of Progress use. They're pretty much smartphones in all but name. You can check the news feed, place calls, send text messages and more. They're treated as the height of technology, despite not appearing to do anything a smartphone couldn't. Were smartphones never invented in the world of Prototype World of Tomorrow? For that matter, when is it set? I always assumed it was supposed to be the present day, but I could be wrong.

When Tim first arrives at the Spirt of Tomorrow meeting, he his greeted by a presentation that explains the history of the Chimes Network. This includes a song, courtesy of the Progress City Municipal Virtual Choir. That was the other call that went out before this season premiered. Everyone auctioned based on their singing type, everyone was given lyrics to sing and record, and then the voices were blended together into a glorious whole. I passed on that one, as singing is a bit outside of my usual wheelhouse. I must say, I am amazed at how well it turned out. It sounds like one of those Sherman Brother's songs you'd see at early Magic Kingdom attraction. Most famously, they wrote "There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" and "The Best Time of Your Life" for The Carousel of Progress. Progress City Municipal Virtual Choir is astounding in its production values. I would never have guessed that it was all recorded remotely if I hadn't already known. I certainly hope this isn't the last we've seen of Progress City Municipal Virtual Choir.

As the name of the season suggests, the city weather department plays a major role in the plot. They have developed technology that allows them to manipulate the weather. At first, I was confused, as that seemed to imply that the dome covering Progress City was large enough to generate its own weather systems. That would imply that that Progress is awfully big, especially for a city of only 50,000 residents. Then it was clarified that the dome only covers about fifty-five percent of Progress. The weather department can even capture storms and other weather systems. They're most proud of having captured Hurricane Zeke. I saw from that start that it was going to get loose, it was only a matter of time. But really, did nobody question the wisdom of keeping a live hurricane stored in the middle of a heavy populated area? Of course, in Progress City, there seems to be more emphasis on if it is possible to do something, rather than if you should do something, or what the consequences will be.

One thing I noticed this season was that it kind of felt like Tim got dumber. In season one, while certainly not as smart he portrayed himself, and in way over his head, Tim did at least display reasonable competence at times. Here, however, it almost seems Eve's primary function is to be Tim's babysitter. Granted, this partially could be because Eve is there from the start this season, and thus serves as even more of a foil to Tim. A foil is band of metal put around a gem to emphasize the qualities of the gem by contrasting with it.

That having been said, I did still enjoy the dynamic that Tim and Eve had. It only just now occurred to me that their names are Timeless and Evermore. Sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake. One of their main goals this season, besides solving the case, is getting a permanent office. Eventually, they get an offer in the Switzerland section of the International Tapestry. Unfortunately, it is sandwiched between the Progress City Yodeling Conservator and a sauerkraut factory. I wasn't aware that the Swiss shared Germany's love of sauerkraut. Though more to the point, this is another reference to never built EPCOT attractions. For the longs while there were plans to build a Switzerland pavilion in the world showcase. It was often rumored that this would be where Disney World's version of the Matterhorn would be. The plans fell through, but we did get Expedition Everest over at Animal Kingdom, which features a yeti. So, in a roundabout away, I guess Disney World did get the Matterhorn.

Another little detail I enjoyed is that Tim's apartment building has a series of pneumatic tubes that transport food to the residents. He often uses it to grab a bagel with lax if he doesn't have time to great a proper breakfast. And yeah, lax not lox, because the company that makes them can't legally call them lox. It's amusing because the proposed plans for the city of EPCOT did indeed include pneumatic tubes. It's even more funny because of a video I saw on Voices of the Past, one of my favorite YouTube channels, which proves readings of primary historical sources. The video was about people in 1901 speculating on what 2001 would be like. Yes, they did predict we'd have pneumatic tubes delivering our food by now. It easy to laugh at them, but many of their predictions weren't too off the mark. If I haven't made it clear, you really should watch the excellent video.

Prototype World of Tomorrow also has a Christmas Special. It's an adaption of the Charles Dickens short story "The Signalman." Eve's aunt used to be the control of the Progress monorail system. It has since become automated, but she still keeps watch. Eve and Annie are both very concerned about her, as she's been even loonier than usual. This is particularly stressful as Christmas is fast approaching.

First of all, I'll give Ben Lancaster credit for not going with the typical choice of adapting A Christmas Carol. I think I listened to The Signalman at some point in the past. I remember not caring for it much. So, even more points for Prototype World of Tomorrow creating an adaptation that I genuinely enjoyed. You've got all the typical wackiness we've come to expect, but underneath it all there's a strong sense of creepiness and foreboding. There's a sense that there might be darker forces at work in Progress. Well, darker than usual. Hey, as the song goes, scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago.

Ghost stories were once part of the Christmas season, but have largely fallen out of favor now that Halloween covers most of the spooky stuff. Only the Christmas tales of Charles Dickens survives as a remnant of this tradition. As such, it is nice to see a Christmas Special that evokes the spirit of those old tales. In fact, Dickens saved Christmas in the English-speaking world. A Christmas Carol almost single-handedly revived the Christmas, which was starting to fall out of fashion at the time. In fact, it almost didn't get published because Dickens' publishers thought Christmas was too niche of a holiday. Yes, you read that correctly. Thank you for saving Christmas, Mr. Dickens

This is also the first time we've had someone other than Tim act as narrator. I hope we get some more episodes with Eve as the narrator. Speaking of narration, I may say that Callie Wills and Isa Jones give exceptionally good performances as Eve and Annie. I could easily believe them being sisters.

Apparently, Progress has an annual Nativity pageant. You know, I always did wonder how religion worked in Progress. Granted, it is possible they do it out of tradition rather than religious conviction. Schools in Britain often have Nativity pageants because of tradition; despite the United Kingdom being fairly secular these days. Perhaps it is the same in Progress. And because irony is the unkindest god of all, Tim gets cast as one of the wise men.

It's a Christmas Special that goes against the usual grain, but one that works exactly because of that.

Fair Weather Foes was a worthy follow-up to Murder in Progress. From the sound of it, season three. From what hints we get towards the end, it sounds like it will involve genetically engineered monstrosities. That has a lot of potential, and I can't wait to see what Ben and the gang come up with. But enough from me, go and check out Fair Weather Foes, the latest season of Prototype World of Tomorrow. It is well worth your time.

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

Book Review: Inceptio by Alison Morton

 I hang out on a lot of alternate history groups on Facebook. This means I often cross paths with several independent alternate history authors. Many of them produce some very promising sounding novels. Sometimes, when the planets align just right, these books even get released as audiobooks. And as I've said before, I'm more than happy to help those who ask for reviews. Where am I going with this? It relates to the book we're going to be reviewing today. We're taking a look at Inceptio, Roma Nova book 1, by Alison Morton.

The Roma Nova series is set in a world where a group of several patrician families fled the city of Rome after Emperor Theodosius outlawed paganism. The leader of this group, named Apulius, had a Celtic father-in-law who owned lands to the north of Italy. In time, these lands would become a new nation: Roma Nova. Eventually, Old Rome fell, but Roma Nova endured as the final remnant of the old pagan Roman Empire. The story of Inceptio begin in the modern day in New York City. Karen Brown has her life turned upside down when she is nearly assassinated. It turns out that Karen is the granddaughter of one of the most powerful women in Roma Nova. It is decided that the best course of action is to bring Karen to Roma Nova for her own safety. Karen has known about Roma Nova from stories her mother told her, but now she's about to experience it for herself.

I have known about the Roma Nova series for a while due to various post and interactions Alison has made in the Alternate History Online group on Facebook. Of course, the series wasn't initially in audio, and I've covered before how that is an issue. Thankfully, the first four books in the series have been adapted into audiobooks, and now here we are. Usually, I like to read most or all of a series before I review it. However, as I somewhat know Alison, I thought it would be polite to go ahead and review the first book in the aeries as a gesture of kindness and appreciation.

Okay, let's delve into the history of Roma Nova itself. That is, the nation not the series, but I'm sure we'll probably talk a bit about that as well. I've already told you the basics, pagan patricians fleeing persecution founded their own nation. The Roma Novans made alliances over the years and expanded their territory. By the present day, they're about the size of Luxembourg, and are located about where Slovenia is in our world. However, it is also mentioned that Slovenia still exists. Traditionally, silver mining served as the backbone of the Roma Novan economy, and proved a major boon in the early days of Roma Nova. These days, Roma Nova is home to many tech companies and start-ups. Roma Nova has traditionally been leaders in technology and innovation.

So, Roma Nova caught some lucky breaks early into its history. It's high enough in the mountains to be easily defensible, but not so high that they can't grow all of the delicious foods Romans like to eat. It has the basis for a good economy, and has managed to avoid most major conflicts. This isn't to say that Roma Nova never got involved world affairs. For example, they contributed troops to the Battle of Vienna in 1683. They also helped push back the forced of Napoleon IV. From this, we can gather that the Napoleonic Wars went differently than in our world. Still, Roma Nova stayed out of the World Wars. Certain lines of dialogue imply that the German Empire won World War I, only to break-up later. More recently, Roma Nova has, begrudgingly, joined their world's equivalent of the European Union and NATO. Apparently, the Soviet Union is still around, and the Eastern Bloc equivalent isn't too far from Roma Nova.

Maybe Roma Nova did catch some lucky breaks, but I'd say they're at least somewhat plausible. Nations like Luxembourg and San Marino survived by playing major powers-off of each other, and other such tricks, but just as often, they survived due to pure chance and dumb luck. Sometimes reality really is stranger, and more unbelievable, than fiction. The only real issue I can think of is that Christian nations might not have been very willing to do business with a staunchly pagan nation like Roma Nova. Still, the Norse established quite the trading network before they converted to Christianity, so you never know.

We'll came back to Roma Nova in just a minute. For now, let's go across the Atlantic and see what things are like in North America. It's is mentioned that Louisiana and Quebec are, basically, dominions of the French Empire. This, along with how the United States never expanded beyond the Mississippi River, suggest that the Seven Years War went differently than in our world, assuming it even happened at all. America is called the Eastern United States, because there was supposed to be a Western United States to go along with it, but never materialized. The leaders of the American Revolution were more fragmented than in our world, so the British were able to quash the rebellion. However, America was granted independence in 1865. Also, the Dutch held onto the New Netherlands until 1813. Despite this, New Amsterdam is still called New York, as it is in our world. So, it would appear the Second Anglo-Dutch War happened differently, if it happened at all.

I spot a few issues here. First off, it's kind of odd that the British left America full stop in 1865. Wouldn't it make more sense for America to become a self-governing dominion, and then transition to full independence like Canada did in our world? Or perhaps the Revolutionary War could have been averted all together. It is speculated that, had the French won the Seven Years Wars, and either gained the Ohio River Valley or kept their North American colonies, it might have resulted in Britain's North American colonies having a closer relationship with their mother nation, and thus being considerably less likely to rebel.

On that note, the fact that the Dutch kept the New Netherlands until 1813 also makes an alternate American Revolution questionable. The New Netherlands would cut British North America in half. This would cause New England and the Southern Colonies to drift further apart in terms of culture and their relationship to each other. This means a united revolt is unlikely, especially since the South was traditionally largely Loyalist, and perhaps more so in such a scenario. In fact, even if they did get independence, the colonies might choose to become separate nations. This is sort of like how Australia and New Zealand as separate nations, despite being former British colonies locate relatively close to each other.

Okay, but even assuming the disunited British colonies would choose to be a single nation, why would New Netherlands be part of them? They were ruled by a separate nation, got their independence sooner, and presumably have a very different culture compared to British North America. I should have noted this before, but it is mentioned that Alaska is a colony of the Eastern United States. This is despite the EUS lacking any land bordering the Pacific Ocean. Uh, how does that work? Does the EUS own the Panama Canal? For that matter, is the canal even in Panama, or is it in Nicaragua?    

We're also given hints that the Native Americans survived in the western portions of the Eastern United States due to the British sticking around. I highly doubt this, given that Canada and Australia screwed over their native populations just as much as America did. It is also mentioned that the capital of the Eastern United States is Washington. First off, Washington wasn't a preexisting city. It was created after America got its independence as a city that was neither Northern nor Southern. Even if it somehow still gets founded, I seriously doubt it would be named after an anti-British rebel...unless Washington fought for the British in the world of Roma Nova.

Now, one touch I did like is that there is still resentment amongst some people, especially in rural areas, over Britain suppressing the rebellion. In our world, a disturbingly high number of people bemoan the fact that the Confederacy lost the American Civil War. This resulted in the Lost Cause narrative, which deified the Confederates as noble defenders of the South, and totally ignored the brutality and inhumanity of slavery. So, it is possible that something similar happened with the American Revolution in the world of Roma Nova. 

Okay, so the worldbuilding outside of Roma Nova has some issues. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Roma Nova is the focus of the novels, as it rightly should be, and the rest of the world is primarily there to add flavor to the setting. Obviously, this means that rest of the world wouldn't have the same amount of attention and detail put into it. I've done this a lot of times in my own writing, and so have plenty of other alternate history writers. The depiction stood out to me as an American. I'm sure that there are certain things about British History I've missed in my own writings.

Okay, now that we've got that out of that way, let's talk about characters, and a but more about Roma Nova itself. Karen is actually the Anglicization of our protagonist's real name, Carina. Her mother was Roma Novan, her father was British, and she was raised in the Eastern United States. She speaks Latin due to taking Saturday Morning Latin Class. She serves, in this novel at least, as the audience surrogate. We learn about Roma Nova through her eyes, and she the one who asks questions that explain how Roma Nova works.

She has a love interest in the form of Conrad Tellus. He's half-Austrian and half-Roma Nova. I kind of had a hard time envisioning him. The church my family attended had three ministers, one of whom was named Conrad. As such, I always associated Conrad as being an old man name. Though, I concede, this is more of a just me issue.

So, a bit about Roma Nova I should have mentioned before. Roma Nova has an extremely high degree of gender equality, and they always have. In fact, in certain regards, women have the upper hand in Roma Novan society. Early in the history of Roma Nova, men had to commit to the defense of the fledging nation, while women were left to run the settlements by themselves. Women quickly rose through the ranks of the new government, and some even joined in the fledgling army of the new nation.

This isn't as crazy as it might sound. Imperium, the right of rule, was very important to Roman society. How much imperium you had depended on your social standing. The male head of household would have the most in a villa, but it wasn't uncommon for his wife to have the second most imperium within the family. Furthermore, highly martial societies such as the Spartans, the Mongols, and the Aztec often had great gender equality because women had to keep things running while the men were off to war. I should also probably mention the inspiration for the series. Alison first got the idea for Roma Nova when she visited some Roman ruins as a child. She began to ponder what it might have been like if woman had been allowed to rule the Roman Empire.

Despite Roma Nova being a republic, Carina's grandmother, Aurelia Mitela, is one of the most respected people within the Roma Novan government. In fact, Carina's family is practically royalty by Roma Novan standards. She even remarks on how it is like The Princess Diaries...which was somehow still written, meaning Meg Cabot must somehow still exist. This raises an even bigger question: does Rick Riordan exist in this world? If so, did he still write Percy Jackson and the Olympians? And what would the Roma Novans think of it? Hmm, I guess that's really only a question I would care about.

Modern Roma Nova pays homage to its ancient roots in numerous ways. Gladiator games are still a popular, but they're no longer to the death. You also can't maim or seriously injure your opponents, and everyone where's safety gear. Police departments enjoy bread and honey rather than doughnuts or...whatever it is British police officers stereotypically eat. Roma Nova, as mentioned, worships the traditional Roman gods, but secularism is on the rise in more recent times. And they all still speak Latin...somehow. Roma Nova might have taken step to preserve the language, but look at how many languages Latin splintered into in our world. Surely, Latin in Roma Nova would have gone through at least a few changes?

Roma Nova certainly sounds like a fairly nice place. I'm not sure if I'd want to live there, but I certainly would want to visit it if I could. I did like that it isn't shown to be completely perfect and does have its own problems. For example, Roma Nova currently has a bit of an illegal drug problem, and they had a civil war back in the 1960s. The flaws made Roma Nova feel more like a real place.

Inceptio is really about setting up the action for the rest of the series. In that regard, it does an excellent job. My only complaint would be that the ending felt a tad rushed. Other than that, Inceptio is an excellent book. I really will have to get back to checking out the other books in the series. Thankfully, this will be easy, because the first four Roma Nova books are available as audiobooks. Inceptio is narrated by Cailin Thorburn, who does an excellent job.

So there you have it. Inceptio is a great start to what looks to be a very promising alternate history series. It has my attention, and I’m eager to see where the story goes from here. Check it out if you haven't already. 

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

Book Review: Lake on the Moon by H.E. Wilburson

I've already given my spiel about my policy with reviews. As such, let's cut right to the chase with this one. We'll be taking a look at Lake on the Moon, book two of The Martian Diaries, by H.E. Wilburson.

Lake on the Moon picks up the actions a few years after the previous book. Ogilvy the astronomer has come to a freighting conclusion: the Martians' collective conscious is spread via the mysterious red weed. He knows because he sampled some of the red weed, and made contact with the Martian hive mind. Worse, the red weed has infiltrated the water supply, meaning the Martians might gain the ability to take over human minds. Ogilvy and George, our narrator, are going to have to push themselves to the limits of their knowledge to find a solution to this impending crisis.

In my pervious review, I noted that The Day of the Martians, had a few issues. So, how does Lake on the Moon do addressing these? It's a bit of a mixed bag. As per usual, let's start with the positives. Lake on the Moon has much better pacing than The Day of the Martians. Lake on the Moon is twice as long as its predecessor, and it certainly benefits from the additional length. I also liked how the music was a much better fit for the time period of the story than last time round. The sound-effects were also somewhat better integrated into the story.

We also get an explanation for how Ogilvy is here, despite having died in The War of the Worlds. Lake on the Moon begins with a flashback to the first Martian invasion. Turns out he was only mostly dead when he got hit by a Martian heat-ray. That is, his body was covered in third degree burns, he was in quite a bit of pain, but he survived. I liked that this segment because it really focused on what it was like for average people caught-up in the invasion. At one point it is mentioned that the hospital had to start rationing medication because of the massive influx of patients. I mean, ouch, that can't have been fun.

One of my complaints with The Day of the Martians was that it played things safe in terms of plot, and that much of it felt like little more than glorified battle scenes. I appreciated that Lake on the Moon was willing to take more risks and try new things in terms of plot. The red weed being used not only as part of a Martian hive mind, but also as a mind control plot, was certainly a unique angle. In addition to the pacing, I felt there was much more solid plot structure than in The Day of the Martians. We didn't just get action scenes; it felt, for the most part, like the proper progression of a novel's plot. I also really like how it is revealed that the Martians are returning to Earth because of the connection that Ogilvy inadvertently established with their hive mind. I also liked how the early segments of the novel had the feel of a Victorian mystery novel, with even some slightly Gothic elements to them. 

I should have mentioned this last time, but I got a slight chuckle every time Crewe was mentioned. As a lifelong fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, I remember Crewe as being the place Henry the Green Engine was sent to so he could be rebuilt, and wouldn't need his special coal anymore. Admittedly, I didn't know that when I was a kid, since I grew up with the American version narrated by George Carlin. It was just a little something that probably only mattered to me.

Once again, Harry Preston returns as our narrator. He did slightly better this time round, but he still came across as a bit too flat and monotone. For example, there's a part where the main character's wife gets crushed to death by a tripod. This is a major emotional moment, but Harry's flat and monotone delivery undermines the moment. This might be an audiobook, not an audio drama, but that's no excuse for lackluster narration. If anything, an audiobook narrator must be even more committed, and have more range, because they alone are tasked with carrying the book all by themselves.

With all of this having been said, Lake on the Moon still has a few issues. We finally get an answer for how the Martian invasions effected World War I. Oh, it was delayed by a few years, but it went pretty much as it did in our world. The Spanish Flu also went basically as it did in our world. Really now, two invasions by aliens from Mars, and that had absolutely zero impact on geopolitics? I would be more willing to accept there still being a war if there had been at least a few changes. Maybe a few changes in alliance, neutral nations picking a side, or participants from our world choosing to sit the war out. Or, maybe instead of Entente vs. Central Powers, we could have the alliances be based on something else.

Spanish Flu, maybe it could happen, but it still seems a bit unlikely. The name is a misnomer. Spain was neutral during World War I, so their newspapers were uncensored. As such, they were one of the only nations that talked about the flu before it got really big. This resulted in the flu becoming associated with Spain. It used to be believed that it came from either Kansas or Mexico, but now experts think it might have originated in China. So, would it have happened in the world of The Martian Diaries? Maybe, but still seems odd it went more or less as it did in our world.

So, what about the titular lake on the Moon. It is discovered by our narrator early into the novel. It is a liquid water lake located on the surface of the Moon. Does this mean humanity is going to develop a space program and take the fight to the Martians? Are we going to have an adventure on the Moon? Nope, turns out it was a bit of a red herring. Though the main character does advocate for humanity going into space at the end of the novel. So, I suppose it was setting things up for book three.

The Day of the Martians suffered from having too simple of the plot, but Lake on the Moon has the opposite problem. I felt that the plot became a bit too complex and convoluted for its own good. Apparently, Ogilvy believes that they need to somehow go back in time and ensure the Martians never invade Earth in the first place. When I first heard this, I got very excited. It sounded like it was setting up a crossover with The Time Machine, another of HG Wells' novels. Unfortunately, this does not happen, which is a shame because that was a serious missed opportunity. Apparently, the time travel is mental in nature, and is achieved by consuming the red weed...I think. It was all very confusing and difficult to follow.

Then the plan gets changed to possibly changing things so that Mars was never habitable to multicellular life...somehow. Again, it was confusing and hard to follow. It seemed like it was going to setting up alternate timelines and history, but we didn't get that...or maybe we did, but if so, it was hard to tell.

I would be remiss if I didn't say that Lake on the Moon is a much stronger novel than The Day of the Martians. Even if the execution didn't work out, it was at least willing to take chances, take more risks, and try new things. It also had a stronger sense of pacing, and integrated music and sound-effects into the audiobook much better than its predecessor did. That all having been said, it still has quite a few issues, and perhaps bit off a bit more than it could chew. Although, if there is a third book, I would very much like to think that all of this is a sign that said third book will be even stronger than this one.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.