Alternate Tyrants

2022-01-02T16:26:24Z

2A02:A467:BB49:1:D471:BBEC:5B7C:A5AE:

{{short description|book of stories compiled by Mike Resnick}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Alternate Tyrants
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = Alternate Tyrants.jpg
| caption =
| editor = [[Mike Resnick]]
| author =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre = [[Alternate history]], [[political fiction]]
| publisher = [[Tor Books]]
| pub_date = February 1997
| english_pub_date=
| media_type = Print (paperback)
| pages = 337
| isbn = 978-0-8125-4835-8
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}

'''''Alternate Tyrants''''' is a 1997 [[Tor Books|Tor]] [[alternate history]] [[anthology]], edited by [[Mike Resnick]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hellekson |first1=Karen | author-link=Karen Hellekson |title=The Alternate History: Refiguring Historical Time |date=2001 |publisher=Kent State University Press |isbn=0873386833 |page=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/r/mike-resnick/alternate-tyrants.htm|title=Fantastic Fiction.com: Alternate Tyrants by Mike Resnick|website=www.fantasticfiction.com}}</ref> The anthology contains 20 short stories, with each story by a different author, and presents a scenario where an individual becomes a [[tyrant]] or [[dictator]] in a way that did not occur in real life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uchronia.net/label/resnaltern.html|title=Uchronia: Mike Resnick anthologies|website=www.uchronia.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fictiondb.com/title/alternate-tyrants~mike-resnick~107517.htm|title=Alternate Tyrants by Mike Resnick|website=www.fictiondb.com}}</ref>

==Contents==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Title !! Author !! Scenario
|-
|"Children of Tears" || [[Adrienne Gormley]] || After [[Boer]] [[Military history of South Africa#Boer Wars|uprisings]] in [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]] during [[World War II]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] imposes extreme measures throughout the [[British Empire]] with special attention being given to suppressing [[Indian nationalism|Indian nationalist]]s such as [[Mohandas K. Gandhi]], [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], and [[Vinoba Bhave]].
|-
|"Boss" || [[Mark Bourne]] || As told via a (fictitious) [[Studs Terkel]] oral history, [[Al Capone]], inspired by observing a chance astronomical event, embarks upon a political career and establishes a decades-long [[American Mafia|Mafia]]-like presidency in the United States.
|-
|"The Rising Sun at Dusk" || [[Jack Nimersheim]] || [[General (United States)|U.S. General]] [[Douglas MacArthur]] renounces his American citizenship and becomes dictator of [[Japan]] in the aftermath of [[World War II]], enacting harsh policies to accelerate [[Occupation of Japan|Japanese reconstruction]] and [[Manufacturing in Japan|industrial output]]. The [https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1299171456i/293343._UY475_SS475_.jpg front cover of the anthology] depicts Douglas MacArthur in [[Japanese clothing|Japanese style clothing]] while standing in front of both the [[Flag of the United States|American]] and [[Flag of Japan|Japanese flags]], referencing the story.
|-
|"And Make Death Proud to Take Us" || [[Karawynn Long]] || [[Cleopatra]] does not commit suicide and instead seduces [[Octavian]] to become his consort and the power behind the throne of the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]].
|-
|"Infallibility, Obedience, and Acts of Contrition" || [[Brian M. Thomsen]] || [[Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli]] begins radically reinvigorating the [[Catholic Church]] early in his career. After becoming Pope, he calls for a world-wide [[Religious war|holy war]] against [[Israel]] at the [[Second Vatican Council]] that ultimately leads to [[World War III]].
|-
|"Causes" || [[Frank M. Robinson]] || [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] Admiral [[Horatio Nelson]] is killed at the [[Battle of the Nile]] in 1798. [[First French Empire|France]] goes on to win the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and become the leading superpower of the world.
|-
|"Amandla!" || [[Laura Resnick]] || [[Nelson Mandela]] is assassinated after taking office and as the [[African National Congress]] and [[Inkatha Freedom Party]] struggle for power, South Africa descends into a blood-soaked [[race war]].
|-
|"In the Last Chamber" || [[Kathe Koja]] and [[Barry N. Malzberg]] || A young [[Caligula]] experiences tormenting visions of Christ's [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]] and converts to Christianity, leading to a more peaceful (and sane) rule of the [[Roman Empire]].
|-
|"That'll Be the Day" || [[Jack C. Haldeman]] and [[Barbara Delaplace]] || An amendment to the [[United States Constitution]] lowers the voting age and America's youth elects [[Elvis Presley]] as [[President of the United States|president]]. Presley establishes an [[Ageism|ageist]] dictatorship, bans all music other than [[rock 'n roll]], and fosters an unstable political system violently dominated by musicians.
|-
|"The Symmetry of Duty" || [[Louise Rowder]] || After experiencing psychological trauma caused by a bullet-wound, [[Albert Einstein]] accepts the offer to become the [[President of Israel]] and oversees continued [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict|atrocities]] committed against the [[Palestinians]].
|-
|"Jubilee" || [[Richard A. Lupoff]] || [[Julius Caesar]] survives the [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|attempt on his life]] in 44 BC. The [[Roman Republic]] survives and goes on to dominate the world.
|-
|"Mahogany Dreams" || [[Lyn Nichols]] || [[Ronald Reagan]] [[Ronald Reagan assassination attempt|is assassinated in 1981]] and is succeeded by [[George H. W. Bush]]. However, [[Secretary of State of the United States|Secretary of State]] [[Alexander Haig]], determined to preserve the presidency from continued denigration, masterminds a plot to remove his rivals, including Bush, and place himself in the [[Oval Office]].
|-
|"A Stable Relationship" || [[Lawrence Schimel]] || [[Mike Resnick]] becomes the "tyrant" of the American publishing world.
|-
|"Faith" || [[Kristine Kathryn Rusch]] || A widow claiming to be the [[Heavenly Mother|wife]] of [[God]] tells her husband's checkered and disillusioned story.
|-
|"The October Crisis" || [[Edo van Belkom]] || [[Prime Minister of Canada|Canadian Prime Minister]] [[Pierre Trudeau]] takes drastic steps to crush the [[Front de libération du Québec]] during the [[October Crisis]] in 1970.
|-
|"The King of Poland's Foot Cavalry" || [[Roland J. Green]] || [[Maurice de Saxe]] becomes [[King of Poland]] and revolutionizes the [[Polish Armed Forces|Polish military]]. He aligns with [[Kingdom of France|France]] during the [[Seven Years' War]] and sends [[Polish cavalry]] to assist the French in the [[French and Indian War|North America theater]] against the British.
|-
|"Dao De Qing by Lao Tzu" || [[Nicholas A. DiChario]] || Instead of preaching peace, [[Lao Tzu]] writes a treatise on how to be an effective tyrant unbound by morality or emotion.
|-
|"The Sword in the Stone" || [[Michelle Sagara]] || [[Prince William, Duke of Cambridge|Prince William of Wales]] engineers a series of political crises in order to restore the power of the [[British monarchy]].
|-
|"The Crab Lice" || [[Gregory Feeley]] || The [[List of Greek mythological figures|Greek god]] [[Dionysos]] begins taking a more active role in the life of [[Aristophanes]], warping the development of drama.
|-
|"[[The Lincoln Train]]" || [[Maureen F. McHugh]] || [[Abraham Lincoln]] survives an [[Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|attempted assassination]] by [[John Wilkes Booth]], but is rendered a [[Persistent vegetative state|vegetable]] as a result. [[William H. Seward]] takes over in Lincoln's stead and organizes brutal [[population transfers]] of Southern civilians who had owned slaves to the [[Western United States|Western territories]] on a neo–[[Trail of Tears]], where they are left to die of starvation and disease.
|}

==See also==
* [[List of works by Mike Resnick]]
* ''[[Alternate Generals]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* ''[https://books.google.se/books/about/Alternate_Tyrants.html?id=7LLOHAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y Alternate Tyrants]'' at [[Google Books]]

[[Category:1997 short story collections]]
[[Category:Alternate history anthologies]]
[[Category:Tor Books books]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Augustus]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of John Wilkes Booth]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of George H. W. Bush]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Julius Caesar]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Caligula]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Winston Churchill]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Cleopatra]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Albert Einstein]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mahatma Gandhi]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Douglas MacArthur]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Nelson Mandela]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Napoleon]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Horatio Nelson]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Elvis Presley]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Ronald Reagan]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Pierre Trudeau]]
[[Category:American Civil War alternate histories]]
[[Category:World War II alternate histories]]
[[Category:Novels set during World War III]]
[[Category:Works set in the 1st century BC]]
[[Category:Works set in the 1st century]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1970]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1981]]

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Alternate Tyrants