The world of Somal is no stranger to change. The most powerful nation in Somal is the Alkon Empire, at the heart of which is the vibrant, teeming metropolis, Alkos City. An industrial revolution and a rich, new source of fuel from the steppe lands frontier has accelerated the growth of the empire and given it more power than any other nation. Factories and smokestacks now dominate the city’s skyline, while trains, carriages and armored ships replace more conventional methods of transport.
At the University of Alkos, several students are caught up in events that will change their lives; a young mage teacher uncovers terrible crimes; and an assassin is forced to turn on her masters after a fateful reunion. On the streets of Alkos City, the watch wage a desperate war against a ruthless drug lord; socialist revolutionaries fight for their rights against corporate barons; while the emperor and his government race for time against an ultimatum; and a hidden cult with a sinister purpose moves in the background. The empire of industry and intrigue will find itself tested. Wealth breeds jealousy and avarice, powerful hands weave plots and make moves that will bring war and chaos on a scale the world has never seen before. |
In our history Nanking went unnoticed by most of the world, despite the public slaughter and reports and photographs made by several reporters. The Panay incident occurred and was even filmed, but no Japanese plane was ever shot down and the footage was cut down at the request of the state department. It was shown in cinemas but had little effect on the isolationist sentiment of the USA.
At the time, Germany still had a military liaison in China and had yet to commit itself to Japan, so a change in attitude to China is not hard to imagine, especially since the Japanese attempted to act as if nothing was going in Nanking in our history and they would likely act the same way even if some diplomatic officials were killed. The civilian Japanese government had little control over their military and tried to keep most of its actions in Nanking under wraps as long as they could. The Nanking War is a work of alternate history, a scenario that would lead to the Japanese atrocities at Nanking being even more exposed to the world at large and leading to a war by the western powers to aid China against Japan. A single bullet turns slightly differently and changes everything. That bullet changing direction, allows a single Chinese soldier to survive and events ripple out from there. The story follows a US Marine, a Japanese infantry soldier, politicians and generals on both sides, the brave souls of the Nanking International Zone, two eager Wehrmacht soldiers and a young Chinese NRA soldier whose fate changes the wheels of history. Historical characters abound a plenty in this story, from Chiang Kai Shek and Isoroku Yamamoto to Franklin Roosevelt and Douglas MacArthur. |
In 1904 Russia and Japan were the two great powers of Asia and their competing interests would soon spark a war that would set the stage for revolution and chaos in Russia and an aggressive and expansive stance in Japan, each of which would define their future development through the 20th century.
But what if Russia had won the war instead? How would Japan react if it could not claim to be an equal to the western powers as it did in our history? How would this affect both Russia and Japan’s international relations with other countries? A Japanese sea mine which detonated in our history does not here and the effects ripple out, detailing an alternate history that never was through authored historical works, newspaper articles and real time accounts as well as notes for each chapter with details on background history. |