History may be written by the victors, but alternate histories are written by imaginative authors. This genre is defined by altering an aspect of a pivotal time in history and seeing what changes (sometimes realistic, sometimes fantastical) result. Here are some great alternate history series to get you started!

The Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld takes place during World War I. The major change is that the “Darwinist” British focused scientific progress towards creating modified beasts to perform labor and act as war machines. The German “Clankers” develop steam-powered machines. The series follows the Austrian prince Aleksander, trying to survive after the assassination of his parents and a Scottish girl, Deryn, trying to pass as a boy so that she can fly in the British Air Service. They meet on the great air-beast Leviathan, a giant whale with an integrated ecosystem that allows it to act as an airship.

In the Clockwork Century series, the Civil War has been raging for two decades. The series starts with Boneshaker, which takes place in Seattle. After a maniac with a drilling machine destroyed the city and released a gas that made people turn into Rotters (essentially zombies), Seattle has been largely abandoned and walled off, to contain the blight gas and the Rotters. Zeke, son of the maniac that destroyed the city, goes in the city to look for clues to clear his father’s name. His mother Briar follows, trying to find Zeke before he is killed by the Rotters or the criminals that make their homes inside the walls.

Connect with alternate histories with the Buda Public Library!