50 Alternate History Books Worth Reading
What makes alternate history books different from the usual history books we see? What makes it interesting to read alternate history books? Well, if you have not heard about alternative history books before, you must be curious about the above questions. Let me explain.
First of all, I must say that even if you are not very fond of reading history books, alternate history books can make you a person who would love reading history books after trying a few. The reason is alternate history books do not explain the exact facts about historical events. Instead, it relies on a fantasy element such as “what if Germany won world war II?” Interesting isn’t it? The key is that all the alternate history books depend on the question tag “what if”. These books are not the typical history books and you must try them to expand your thinking limits, according to me.
This post contains some affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I’ll earn a commission, at no additional cost to you.
If you think you are ready to go, check out the list of best alternate history books to read below.
1. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
Guess what is the “what if” question addressed in this book? The Man in the High Castle presents the totalitarian rule by imperial Japan and Nazi Germany after the alternate defeat of the USA in the Second World War. The book ideally representing the environment fifteen years after the great defeat of the USA. The book has won Hugo Award for the best novel in 1963 and there is a popular TV series based on the book which was released in 2015.
Hitler is still alive! Find out how his ruling period would be after winning the Second World War.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 259
Goodreads reading – 3.62/ 5
Our rating – 7.25/ 10
Check the latest price: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
2. His Majesty’s Dragon (Temeraire #1) by Naomi Novik
Aerial warfare gives the Napoleonic Wars an exciting new element as fearless warriors battle formidable dragon battling, created for scale or pace. As HMS Reliant steals a French frigate and grabs the valuable cargo, an unfertilized dragon egg, destiny sweeps Captain Will Laurence into an unknown future from his maritime career–and an unlikely shared history with the most remarkable beast.
He must undergo a refresher course in the bold techniques of aerial combat, thrusting into the rarified realm of the Aerial Corps as lord of the dragon Temeraire.
The first book of the series tells how Laurence, formerly a Captain in the Royal Navy, becomes Temeraire’s handler, and of their early training in preparation for battles against Napoleon’s aerial fleet.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 356
Goodreads reading – 4.06/ 5
Our rating – 8.1/ 10
Check the latest price: His Majesty’s Dragon
3. Leviathan (Leviathan #1) by Scott Westerfeld
This alternate history book is based on Prince Alexander, the heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne who was betrayed by his people. He is left only with few loyal people and a battle-torn war machine. Deryn, a girl disguised as a boy to join with British airforce and Alexander meet unexpectedly and they do not know it will change both their lives in the future.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 440
Goodreads reading – 3.92/ 5
Our rating – 7.7/ 10
Check the latest price: Leviathan
4. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is based upon the ancient magical powers of English magicians. They could order water, mountains, and winds. What else, they had fairies as their servants! But something strange had happened and most of the magic of the powerful magicians have gone away! Mr Norelle in the meantime found the ancient books written on the magic of England and use that power to help the government against Napoleon Bonaparte. Jonathan Strange is a strange person as his name implies itself and was accepted as a student of Mr Norelle.
What was the strange thing about Jonathan? He is always attracted to the magic powers that do bad rather than good. Who is Jonathan and what he is up to?
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 1002
Goodreads reading – 3.82/ 5
Our rating – 7.5/ 10
Check the latest price: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
5. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is a 2007 novel by American author Michael Chabon. The novel is a detective story set in an alternative history version of the present day, based on the premise that during World War II, a temporary settlement for Jewish refugees was established in Sitka, Alaska, in 1941, and that the fledgling State of Israel was destroyed in 1948. The novel is set in Sitka, which it depicts as a large, Yiddish-speaking metropolis.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 414
Goodreads reading – 3.71/ 5
Our rating – 7.3/ 10
Check the latest price: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union
6. Fatherland by Robert Harris
The Second World War II has been a subject for most of the alternate historical books. And guess what, Fatherland also emphasizes some events after the victory of Germany in the world war.
Fatherland is a book by British author and author Robert Harris on alternate history in 1992. Based on a future whereby Nazi Germany won World War II, the main star of the novel is an investigator of Kripo, the secret police, examining the killing of a Nazi public official who was among the Wannsee Conference attendees. Doing so, he finds a scheme to kill all conference participants and support Germany to develop better political ties with the U.S.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 380
Goodreads reading – 3.98/ 5
Our rating – 7.8/ 10
Check the latest price: Fatherland
7. Throne of Jade (Temeraire #2) by Naomi Novik
The story takes place in an alternative historical model of the Napoleonic Wars, and not one that only dragons exist, but they are used in Asia and Europe as a mainstay of air warfare. The dragons are depicted as smart and talented, competent in human language and critical thinking.
The book focuses on incidents involving Temeraire and his rescuer, William Laurence. The series ‘ first book focused on how Laurence, formerly a Royal Navy Captain, become the rescuer of Temeraire and their early mentoring in preparing for fights against aircraft fleet of Napoleon.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 398
Goodreads reading – 3.89/ 5
Our rating – 7.5/ 10
Check the latest price: Throne of Jade
8. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
As I already mentioned, alternate history relies upon “what if” question. 11/22/63 is a story about a person who time-travelled to stop the assassination of President Kennedy which occurred on November 22, 1963 (according to the book). Jake Epping who discovered a way to time travel by his friend goes back to the past to change history and prevent bad events that have occurred after the assassination of Kennedy. Would he be able to complete his mission?
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 849
Goodreads reading – 4.31/ 5
Our rating – 7.7/ 10
Check the latest price: 11/22/63
9. 1632 (Ring of Fire Main Line Novels #1) by Eric Flint
The series is set in 17th-century Europe, in which the small fictional town of Grantville, West Virginia, in the year 2000 was sent to the past in central Germany in the year 1631, during the Thirty Years’ War. It emphasizes the religious war between aristocrats and peasants, also the life and struggles faced by the American mine workers.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 597
Goodreads reading – 4.04/ 5
Our rating – 8/ 10
Check the latest price: 1632
10. The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
This book is written based on the question “what if 99% of the people lived in Europe were killed instead of one-third of the total population?”… I hope you know about Black Death which occurred during the 14th century. If you don’t, find out what is Black Death and it will inspire you to read this horrifying and emotional story.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 763
Goodreads reading – 3.73/ 5
Our rating – 6.8/ 10
Check the latest price: The Years of Rice and Salt
11. The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove
The story interacts with a group of time-travelling white supremacist participants of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) from envisioned South Africa of the 21st century who are attempting to produce Robert E. Lee’s Northern Virginia Army with AK-47s and small quantities of many other materials (including nitroglycerin tablets for Lee’s heart disease). Their actions and technology lead to a war victory for the Confederate. But, afterward the leaders of the AWB learn that their plans for the Confederate States and Lee’s are not the same as they thought and that the general and the people of the South have a brutal falling out for the white nationalists of the future.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 528
Goodreads reading – 3.95/ 5
Our rating – 7.8/ 10
Check the latest price: The Guns of the South
12. The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next #1) by Jasper Fforde
This book is a must-read book because it conjugates fictional characters from the famous novel Jane Eyre with the era in Great Britain where time travelling was a daily routine, dodos are the pets of people, and Francis Bacon has written Shakespeare, and with Acheron Hades, the third most wanted person in the world. What else could you imagine? Read the book and get impressed by how these characters interact with each other.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 374
Goodreads reading – 3.94/ 5
Our rating – 7.7/ 10
Check the latest price: The Eyre Affair
13. Black Powder War (Temeraire #3) by Naomi Novik
This is both an alternative and an adventurous book, according to my idea. It depicts the journey of Captain Will Laurence and his extraordinary dragon to rescue a valuable cargo of dragon eggs. They take the silk route crossing mountains and desserts and help beleaguered Prussians to battle against Napoleon.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 365
Goodreads reading – 3.89/ 5
Our rating – 7.9/ 10
Check the latest price: Black Powder War
14. The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal
Soon afterwards President Thomas Dewey directed the United States to succeed in the 1952 space race, Chesapeake Bay was hit by a comet, damaging much of the Eastern Seaboard. Mathematician and retired WASP pilot Elma York estimates in the wake that the ensuing global warming would uninhabited the earth in 50 years. This challenge speeds up alien exploration attempts and drives Elma to enter the Global Aerospace Coalition in its attempt to strike first the Earth, then Mars.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 431
Goodreads reading – 4.06/ 5
Our rating – 8/ 10
Check Latest Price: The Calculating Stars
15. Behemoth (Leviathan #2) by Scott Westerfeld
Through Leviathan, Behemoth begins an alternative story of history. It is 1914, and the Darwinist nations of the Us, France, Russia, and Yugoslavia are on the verge of a world war with Germany and Austria-Hungary’s clanker countries. War was declared, but it has not reached the Ottoman Empire. The Darwinists utilize genetically modified livestock science; while the Darwinists use it while the Clankers machinery.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 481
Goodreads reading – 4.18/ 5
Our rating – 8.3/ 10
Check the latest price: Behemoth
16. Empire of Ivory (Temeraire #4) by Naomi Novik
Empire of Ivory is the fourth novel in the Temeraire alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. The series follows the actions of William Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire.
The book takes place in Africa and follows Laurence and Temeraire’s search for a cure to the disease that has paralyzed the dragon community. Naomi Novik visited southern Africa in search of places in the fourth novel.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 404
Goodreads reading – 3.92/ 5
Our rating – 7.9/ 10
Check The Latest Price: Empire of Ivory
17. Farthing (Small Change #1) by Jo Walton
The novel is set in 1949 of alternate history. Although the focus of deviation from real history appears to become the escape of Rudolf Hess to Scotland in May 1941, it is inferred in the book’s continuation Ha’penny that the critical difference was the reluctance of the United States in 1940 supply assistance to Britain.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 319
Goodreads reading – 3.81/ 5
Our rating – 7.5/ 10
Check the latest price: Farthing
18. Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century #1) by Cherie Priest
Boneshaker is a science fiction novel by American writer Cherie Priest, combining the steampunk genre with zombies in an alternate history version of Seattle, Washington. It was nominated for the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Novel. It won the 2010 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 416
Goodreads reading – 3.19/ 5
Our rating – 7.1/ 10
Check the latest price: Boneshaker
19. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
Throughout the Lindbergh presidency, the book obeys the wealth of the Roth family as antisemitism becomes more recognized in American life and Jewish-American families such as the Roths are being persecuted on different levels. The book’s main character is the young Philip, and the care given to his misunderstanding and devastation tends to make the book as much about the mysteries of having grown up as it is about American politics.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 391
Goodreads reading – 3.76/ 5
Our rating – 7.2/ 10
Check the latest price: The Plot Against America
20. How Few Remain (Timeline-191 #1) by Harry Turtledove
During the Civil War, the timeframe discussed in the series starts and lasts nine centuries, until the mid-1940s. The Confederate States overpower the United States of America in the sequence in 1862, thus making it better their effort at independence and become an independent country. Ensuing books are designed based on of this alternative timeline to envision things.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 596
Goodreads reading – 3.89/ 5
Our rating – 7.8/ 10
Check the latest price: How Few Remain
21. Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters
Underground Airlines is Ben Winters ‘ 2016 novel set in a futuristic alternate-history United States where the American Civil War never existed since Abraham Lincoln was killed before his arrival in 1861 and instead a variant of the Crittenden Compromise was implemented. As a consequence, in the “Hard Four” (a collection of southern states that have retained slavery) slavery has been legal: Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and a reunited Carolina. The designation about its context evokes the Underground Railroad. The novel attracted praise through the alternative-history mechanism to explore racism.
Genre – Alternate history/ Adventurous
Pages – 336
Goodreads reading – 3.83/ 5
Our rating – 7.4/ 10
Check the latest price: Underground Airlines
22. Victory of Eagles (Temeraire #5) by Naomi Novik
Victory of Eagles is the fifth novel in the Temeraire alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. The series follows the actions of William Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire.
The book was released in hardcover in North America and the United Kingdom by Voyager Books on July 8, 2008.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 352
Goodreads reading – 4.04/ 5
Our rating – 7.8/ 10
Check the latest price: Victory of Eagles
23. In the Balance (Worldwar #1) by Harry Turtledove
An alternate historical novel by American novelist Harry Turtledove is in the Ring. It is the world war tetralogy’s first novel and the first iteration in the expanded Worldwar sequence that involves the Colonization trilogy and the Homeward Bound novel. The storyline starts at the end of 1941, while the World is ripped apart by World War II. An alien invasion threatens to destroy the earth, causing the warring nations to make uncomfortable alliances against the invaders. Elsewhere, the humans, who name themselves the Race, consider their adversary far more powerful and technologically advanced than anticipated.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 465
Goodreads reading – 3.82/ 5
Our rating – 7.4/ 10
Check the latest price: In the Balance
24. Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger
The story is based on a woman without a soul. Is this possible?
Soulless is Gail Carriger’s steampunk paranormal romance book. Soulless was first published by Orbit Books in the U.S. on October 1, 2009, and is the first book in a projected five-novel series “The Parasol Protectorate,” each featuring Alexia Tarabotti, a soulless woman, as its leading character. A finalist for several literary prizes and 2010 Alex Award winner, Soulless has been named one of the “Best Books of 2009” by Publishers Weekly. Yen Press released a manga version of the first 3 volumes of the novel in July 2011
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –357
Goodreads reading – 3.91/ 5
Our rating – 7.9/ 10
Check the latest price: Soulless
25. Wolf by Wolf (Wolf by Wolf #1) by Ryan Graudin
The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at Victor’s Ball in Tokyo.
Yael, a former death camp prisoner has decided to enter the contest and win the prize, then kill Hitler who was the reason to lost all the beloved ones of Yael. Would she be successful in doing so?
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –388
Goodreads reading – 4.26/ 5
Our rating – 8.5/ 10
Check the latest price: Wolf by Wolf
26. American Front (Great War #1) by Harry Turtledove
After a prolog of Robert E. Lee crushing the Potomac Army at the Camp Hill War, Pennsylvania did not lose Special Order 191, in October 1862, and the Confederate States of America’s eventual Anglo-French international recognition. The resentful Abraham Lincoln informs British Ambassador Richard Lyons that perhaps the U.S. will finally become even by seeking a European partner to balance both the United Kingdom and France; the Ambassador smiles disdainfully, but the forecast of Lincoln is real when the U.S. would become the solid alliance of Imperial Germany by 1914.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 562
Goodreads reading – 3.89/ 5
Our rating – 8.5/ 10
Check the latest price: American Front
27. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter #1) by Seth Grahame-Smith
Abraham Lincoln found the reason for his mother’s longtime illness, which is also known as the Milk Sickness has been caused because of a vampire. Lincoln then vows to kill the vampire who caused trouble to his family and succeeds. He is also later gets attacked by a vampire and the story flows down as a diary written by the president.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 336
Goodreads reading – 3.7/ 5
Our rating – 7.3/ 10
Check the latest price: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
28. Dread Nation (Dread Nation #1) by Justina Ireland
Jane McKeene was raised two days since the fallen started walking the Gettysburg and Chancellorsville battlefields trying to derail the U.S. Revolution and constantly evolving America. Protection for everyone depends on a few individuals in this new country, and legislation such as the Native and Negro Reeducation Act allows some children to go to fighting schools. However there are rewards too and Jane is training to be an Attendant, trained in using weapons to protect well-to-do. It’s an opportunity for Negro girls such as Jane to have a better quality of life. However, becoming a rich white Southern woman’s daughter couldn’t save her from either the societal expectations.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 457
Goodreads reading – 4.14/ 5
Our rating – 8/ 10
Check the latest price: Dread Nation
29. Watchmen (Watchmen #1-12) by Alan Moore (Author), Dave Gibbons (Illustrator/Letterer), John Higgins (Colorist)
Remember the time you were super mad about the superheroes who rescued people and contributed to peace? If so, check out Watchmen and you will fly to that age you loved superheroes much.
Watchmen portrays an alternative history in which superheroes arose in the 1940s and 1960s and their existence changed the course of history such that the United States managed to win the Vietnam War and then never subjected the Watergate break-in. In 1985, with the Soviet Union, the country edges towards World War III, freelance costumed vigilantes have been prohibited, or most longtime superheroes are either retired or operating for administration. The story centres on the lead characters ‘ individual development and ethical hardships as they are pulled out of retiring by an inquiry into the killing of a government-sponsored superhero.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 416
Goodreads reading – 4.36/ 5
Our rating – 8.7/ 10
Check the latest price: Watchmen
30. Goliath (Leviathan #3) by Scott Westerfeld, Keith Thompson (Illustrator)
If you have been reading this article from the beginning, you should have an idea about the Leviathan series. Well, if you have roughly gone through the content, let me explain about the series a bit. The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Prince Alexander and Deryn who is disguised as a boy to join the British Air force are accidentally meeting. People of the kingdom have betrayed Prince Alexander and only what he has is a war machine and a team of loyal members. So that is how this story series begins.
Goliath is the third book of the series and it depicts Sharp rescue Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla from the site of a 1908 Siberian Tunguska event meteorite blast. Along the way, Alek sees through Deryn’s male disguise of Dylan on the organic airship Leviathan while gradually learning of Tesla’s motives of using his invented weapon Goliath to end the war on his own. Alek destroys the inventor and his Goliath weapon under German attack in New York, triggering the entry of the U.S. into World War I.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 543
Goodreads reading – 4.25/ 5
Our rating – 8.1/ 10
Check the latest price: Goliath
31. 1633 (Ring of Fire Main Line Novels #2) by Eric Flint, David Weber
Ring of Fire is a collection of short stories half by several of well-established science fiction authors welcomed into the world, half fan fiction by fans who helped take the stand-alone novel into a sequence of numerical plays in the tens of books; all set in the universe created by Flint’s science fiction novel 1632 published as a stand-alone novel.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 673
Goodreads reading – 4.01/ 5
Our rating – 7.9/ 10
Check the latest price: 1633
32. River of Teeth (River of Teeth #1) by Sarah Gailey
President James Buchanan announced a plan in the 1850s to introduce hippopotamuses as livestock into the United States. Years later, Louisiana’s uncivilized marshes become populated with dangerous wild hippos and employed to clean them out by Winslow Houndstooth and his band of misfits.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 114
Goodreads reading – 3.54/ 5
Our rating – 7.2/ 10
Check the latest price: River of Teeth
33. Tongues of Serpents (Temeraire #6) by Naomi Novik
The story starts in New South Wales, where after his traitorous acts in Empire of Ivory Laurence was subjected to “transportation.” He is joined by Temeraire; Captain Granby and his fire-breathing Kazilik Iskierka; Tenzing Tharkay, his half-Nepalese friend; Tom Riley, HMS Allegiance captain who sailed them from there; and three dragon eggs sent by Admiral Jane Roland to form the foundation of New South Wales ‘ Aerial Corps.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 274
Goodreads reading – 3.71/ 5
Our rating – 7.6/ 10
Check the latest price: Tongues of Serpents
34. Island in the Sea of Time (Nantucket, #1) by S.M. Stirling
Around 9:15 p.m. Edt on March 17, 1998, the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Eagle was transported back to the Bronze Age about 1250 B.C. by an unexplained event (called “The Event”). (This corresponds to the late Trojan War Heroic Age).
Panic is gripping the island as the truth of what has happened sinks in.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 608
Goodreads reading – 4.01/ 5
Our rating – 8.3/ 10
Check the latest price: Island in the Sea of Time
35. Walk in Hell (Great War #2) by Harry Turtledove
The U.S. and Confederate States are stagnant as both of their bombing raids have failed; the U.S. pressing south in Kentucky, the C.S.A. moving north in Maryland. The Confederacy also has to deal with their increasing Hispanic population in Marxist-driven rebellion, and a shift of government as the term of President Woodrow Wilson ends.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 608
Goodreads reading – 3.92/ 5
Our rating – 7.9/ 10
Check the latest price: Walk in Hell
36. Tilting the Balance (Worldwar #2) by Harry Turtledove
Worldwar: Tilting the Balance is an American writer Harry Turtledove’s alternative history novel. It is also the second novel in the tetralogy of Worldwar, and also the expanded Worldwar collection that comprises the trilogy of Colonization and the Homeward Bound.
Throughout the book, the world’s leading forces are struggling to create the first biological nuclear bombs with stuff from the alien invaders recognized as The Race.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 478
Goodreads reading – 3.82/ 5
Our rating – 7.7/ 10
Check the latest price: Tilting the Balance
37. Breakthroughs (Great War #3) by Harry Turtledove
The Great War of 1917 appeared to be very expensive for both the United States and the Confederacy. Following the initial seemingly infinite impasse that was the first two years of war, the U.S. is starting to consolidate power gradually, becoming capable of building and deploying armed units quicker and more widespread than the CSA. Their compact “barrel” (tank) offensive is critical because vulnerable Confederate lines cannot stop the advance of General George Armstrong Custer to Nashville, Tennessee. The U.S. will eventually free Washington, D.C. in the South. Confederate power, even though most of the region is in the process of leveling.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages – 624
Goodreads reading – 3.94/ 5
Our rating – 8/ 10
Check the latest price: Breakthroughs
38. Crucible of Gold (Temeraire #7) by Naomi Novik
Crucible of Gold is American author Naomi Novik’s seventh book in the alternative history/fantasy series of Temeraire. This instalment incorporates William Laurence’s adventures in South America with his dragon, Temeraire.
Crucible of Gold was published on March 6, 2012, by Voyager Books in paperback and e-book formats in North America and the UK.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –325
Goodreads reading – 3.94/ 5
Our rating – 8.1/ 10
Check the latest price: Crucible of Gold
39. Blood & Iron (American Empire #1) by Harry Turtledove
American Empire: Blood and Iron is Harry Turtledove’s first volume of the American Empire series of alternate historical fiction novels. It is a successor to How Many Survive and the continuation of the Great War and is part of the series of Southern Victory.
Blood and Iron include incidents immediately after The Great War’s closing events: breakthroughs. From 1917 to 1924, it takes the TL-191 Earth.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –656
Goodreads reading – 3.84/ 5
Our rating – 7.4/ 10
Check the latest price: Blood & Iron
40. Upsetting the Balance (Worldwar #3) by Harry Turtledove
World war: Striking the Balance is American novelist Harry Turtledove’s alternate historical novel. It is World war’s fourth and final novel, and also the fourth book in the series in the expanded World war series which involves the Colonization trilogy and the book Homeward Bound.
Whereas the Race deems destruction or ongoing conflict throughout this book, human beings stand for the earth’s autonomy.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –481
Goodreads reading – 3.8/ 5
Our rating – 7.7/ 10
Check the latest price: Upsetting the Balance
41. Seventh Son (Tales of Alvin Maker #1) by Orson Scott Card
Seventh sons have incredible “knacks” (specific mystical skills), and seventh sons of seventh sons are extremely uncommon and powerful in reality, it seems that young Alvin is the one in the universe. His qualities make him the object of The Unmaker, who considers the forces of Alvin as those of a Maker only the second ever, and it has been a long period since the very first turned water into wine and turned around.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –241
Goodreads reading – 3.86/ 5
Our rating – 7.8/ 10
Check the latest price: Seventh Son
42. The Center Cannot Hold (American Empire #2) by Harry Turtledove
American Empire: The Cannot Hold Center is Harry Turtledove’s second book in the alternative history series of the American Empire. It occurs during the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression period (especially from 1924 to March 4, 1934). During this period in the Southern Victory world of Turtledove, the Confederate States of America, extending from Sonora to Virginia, are led by Whigs (with the Fascist Liberty Party gaining more and more power) whereas the United States of America (who occupied Canada, Newfoundland, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Sandwich Islands) is governed by Socialists.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –640
Goodreads reading – 3.90/ 5
Our rating – 7.9/ 10
Check the latest price: The Center Cannot Hold
43. 1634: The Galileo Affair (Assiti Shards #3) by Eric Flint, Andrew Dennis
1634: The Galileo Affair is the fourth book of the 1632 collection and the third novel. It is co-written and released in 2004 by American writers Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis. This describes an ambassador party’s actions sent by the United States of Europe (Grantville) to Venice, Italy, in which the three young Stone brothers become associated with the local Correspondence Committees and the Galileo Galilei court of the Inquisition.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –675
Goodreads reading – 3.67/ 5
Our rating – 7.4/ 10
Check the latest price: 1634: The Galileo Affair
44. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The alternative historical novel tells the story of Cora and Caesar, two slaves in the south-eastern United States throughout the 19th century, who bid for liberty from their farms in Georgia by obeying the Underground Railway, which the novel describes as mainly a rail transport system concerning to a sequence of military camps and hidden paths.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –306
Goodreads reading – 4.02/ 5
Our rating – 8.1/ 10
Check the latest price: The Underground Railroad
45. Return Engagement (Settling Accounts #1) by Harry Turtledove
Return Engagement is the very first novel of alternative historical novels from Harry Turtledove’s Settling Accounts series. A metaphor between the United States and the Confederate States of World War II, known as the Second Great War, is being conducted on American soil.
Each book is part of a series of bigger books. For simplicity’s purposes, this is known as the Southern Victory series by many Turtledove followers. This takes Earth from 1941 to 1942 from the Southern Victory Collection.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –656
Goodreads reading – 3.86/ 5
Our rating – 7.8/ 10
Check the latest price: Return Engagement
46. The Difference Engine by William Gibson, Bruce Sterling
I am sure you all know about the difference engine which we were taught about it in our basic computer science classes in the school. The “The difference engine” book has a connection with this actual difference engine which was created by Charles Babbage although the alternate history books are fantastical elements.
The Difference Engine (1990) is William Gibson and Bruce Sterling’s alternative history novel. It is widely considered as a novel that helped to create steampunk genre conventions.
This posits a British Victorian era in which significant technological and social reform took place after the triumph of the pioneer inventor Charles Babbage in his attempt to create a mechanical engine (actually his Analytical Engine rather than the Differential Engine).
The book was qualified for the 1990 British Science Fiction Prize, the 1991 Nebula Award for Best Book and the 1992 John W. Campbell Memorial Award as well as the 1992 Prix Aurora Award.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –429
Goodreads reading – 3.41/ 5
Our rating – 6.9/ 10
Check the latest price: The Difference Engine
47. Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1) by Rachel Caine
It is all about a magical library!
He is from England and a rather angry little creature who adores BOOKS TO DEATH. He was going to die for reading. His family uses him as a spy and he tries to enter the library service. His relatives also operate a book trafficking business since owning original books is wigging illegally. Why Jess is used as a spy by his family who runs an illegal business? Will he be able to enter the Library staff? What would happen afterward? Read the first book of the “The great library” to find the answers!
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –352
Goodreads reading – 3.96/ 5
Our rating – 7.9/ 10
Check the latest price: Ink and Bone
48. Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger
If you are one who loves reading about werewolves and vampires? Then this is the best book to go!
Changeless is laid in a Victorian-era British alternative view of history in which werewolves and vampires are recognized as working people in society. Alexia Tarabotti has no conscience yet, but she’s got a boyfriend now. Also identified as Lady Maccon, she discovers her beloved werewolf in trouble. His sudden appearance incapacitates her with such a mysterious military battalion, a party of exorcized spirits, and Queen Victoria herself. Alexia utilizes her sharp tongue, acute intellect, and optimistic parasol in her quest to solve the problems she encounters and to find Lord Maccon.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –374
Goodreads reading – 4/ 5
Our rating – 8.2/ 10
Check the latest price: Changeless
49. Anno Dracula (Anno Dracula #1) by Kim Newman
Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula series named after Anno Dracula (1992), the first book of the series is a horror work describing an alternative history in which the protagonists of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula fail to stop the invasion of Britain by Count Dracula, culminating in a future where vampires are popular and gradually powerful throughout culture. Whilst also Dracula is a key figure in the series ‘ occurrences, he is a secondary character in the novel itself and appears in just a few of every book’s climate pages.
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –547
Goodreads reading – 3.78/ 5
Our rating – 7.5/ 10
Check the latest price: Anno Dracula
50. The Second Sleep by Robert Harris
Christopher Fairfax, a young priest, appears in a rural English village to attend his administration’s funeral. The surrounding land is scattered with ancient artifacts coins, bits of glass, human bones which were gathered by the old parson. Has his previous abuse caused his death?
Genre – Alternate history
Pages –330
Goodreads reading – 3.54/ 5
Our rating – 7.1/ 10
Check the latest price: The Second Sleep
50 of the best Alt history books worth checking out this year hope you enjoyed the list, please comment and share your favourite Alternate History Books.
Conclusion
Read More: Top 50 Must-Read Action and Adventure Books
Top 50 All-Time Dystopian Movies to Watch
Also See : Australia History – A Commencement to a Multicultural Society – 1950
10 Must-Read Chick lit Books to Read
Fun Fact
What are alternate history books?
Alternative history (noun) 1: fiction that is based on history and that explores what might have happened if certain historical events, figures, etc., had been different. That’s how Merriam-Webster defines the genre, but books are rebellious little things and they’ll test that definition in any way they can.
One more interesting title you might want to check out is Salvation on Peril Island by Nash Knight. In takes place in near-future, in the year 2028, where Trump won second term and a an internet-originated document changed the geo-political map of the world. It also features new technologies and even cultural movements, creating a whole new world that feels realistic and organic. If you are a fan of the show Years and years you should definitely give this one a go.