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Stranger Than Fact: 40 Alternate History Fiction Books from the Past Six Years
Alternate history is one of the most reliably interesting subgenres in the book game. As a kind of subset of speculative fiction, alternate history crosses up actual historical events with “what if?” conjecture, building out fictional worlds in which the past and the present turn out a bit differently. Think such classics as Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle ("What if Germany won World War II?") or Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell ("What if the Georgian period of English history had magicians?").
It's fertile ground for authors, and it makes for good reading. We’ve collected below relatively recent alternate history titles—books published in the past six years—with an eye toward the really interesting ideas.
Matt Ruff’s deservedly famous Lovecraft Country imagines a 1950s America in which the horrors of Jim Crow racism spawn additional, literal monsters. In The Kingdoms, Natasha Pulley posits an alternate history of French-ruled London and rebellious Scotland. Jillian Cantor’s ingenious novel Half Life presents an alternate history that hinges on pioneering scientist Marie Curie.
Scroll over the book covers to learn more about each novel, and don't forget to add the titles that pique your interest to your Want to Read shelf!
Do you have a favorite recent alternate history book to recommend? Share your favorite titles in the comments below!
Check out more recent articles:
The 60 Most Reviewed New Books of the Past Five Years
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Check out more recent articles:
The 60 Most Reviewed New Books of the Past Five Years
New Historical Fiction by Time Period
100 Mystery and Thriller Recommendations by Setting
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kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude
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Apr 20, 2022 03:44AM
A great list, some I've read, some I've read and loved and others are on my ever growing TBR.
Is another one that I found compelling.
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Glad to see Natasha Pulley's The Kingdoms on this list! Such an underrated gem of a novel <3
i think its just outside the 6 year point that they drew recommendations from - but I enjoyed the trilogy that started with Front Lines - what if women had had to sign up for the draft in WW2
I add to my TBR list "the once and future witches" by Alix E. Harrow.
Sad to see that none of Ian Tregillis's Milkweed triptych such as Bitter Seeds isn't on this list. A good supernatural alternate history weaved into WWII.Edit: Ok, so it's older than six years, but anyone reading this should definitely check the series out.
ive read a few of these but LOTS are on my tbr!
The Underground Railroad is a classic!
I’m so so SO happy to see Sarah Gailey on this list. The Rivers of Teeth series is five stars all the way. Think bounty hunters and lovable outlaws riding hippos who love and will kill for them. Gailey also wrote a short book recently called Upright Women Wanted and it’s a fabulous alternate history as well. Also I’ve absolutely loved Charlaine Harris’ Gunnie Rose series so far (and there’s no end in sight). An Easy Death wastes no time getting into the action. She’s just a wicked good author though. Found a few new ones on here I’ll check out.
Great list. Added several to TBR list.
A Brightness Long Ago- Guy Gavriel KayUsually classified as fantasy but really more alternate historical fiction of middle ages Italy
I enjoy reading Marie Benedict….her books are not so much alternative but she fills in the unknown gaps in the lives of real women in history. I think I have read all of her books by now and my favorites are Carnegies Maid and The other Einstein
Midnight on the Marne coming out this August!! What if the Germans had won WWI?https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
You left out Ian Tregillis' The Mechanical trilogy - if the Dutch decisively defeated France 100's of years ago & ruled Europe & North America.
I would highly recommend the three "Holmes for the Czar" novels by Paula Goodlett and Gorg Huff be added to this list.They star Miraslava Holmes, a woman who was found to have the same kind of brain as the famous Sherlock Holmes. Rescued from slavery she becomes a "Consulting Detective" for the government of the Czar of Russia in an alternate 1636-37 in the shared fiction universe of Eric Flint's 1632
Best alternate history I've read recently is the After Cilmeri series by Sarah Woodbury. The series is still being added to, and has been being published for several years now - I think it's up to 18 or 19 books total.
I enjoy it because it's delightfully different from the majority of alternate history/historical/time travel books, old or current... but isn't too different as to be unapproachable.
The 'what if' question is a little obscure, probably, at least for Americans (I have no idea what's common knowledge elsewhere in the world, but I'm pretty certain Welsh history is not common knowledge throughout the US): what if Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last Welsh Prince of Wales, hadn't been killed in 1282 making it easy for England to conquer Wales?
The series has time travel, from modern day (starting around 2013) to 13th century Wales. The history is present enough that you learn about the era and understand the setting without it being a fictionalized research paper. The stories are fun and fast-paced, and the characters honest-to-goodness feel like real people. :) I knew nothing about Wales and was never terribly interested in it before,but this series was so good that I have been roped into being fascinated by Welsh history and culture.
Totally my type of list as I've read a lot of these and had a lot already on my TBR! That said, I would say some are actually historical fantasy/horror rather than alternate history (they don't change historical elements, but fantastical things exist - like Lovecraft Country and The Hidden Palace). If you can think "Hmm maybe this could have happened to someone back then", it's not alternate history.
And a few aren't history at all, they are future! Like American War and, I think, Agency.
