Alt-history writing project

Everything cultural, pop or otherwise. Books, movies, music, comics, poetry, random cultural geekery.
Post Reply
User avatar
MiddleAgedKen
Posts: 2871
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:11 pm
Location: Flyover Country

Re: Alt-history writing project

Post by MiddleAgedKen »

tfbncc wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:34 am We're waiting (tap tap tap)
Don't rush him. You rush your miracle man, you get lousy miracles. ;)
Shop at Traitor Joe's: Just 10% to the Big Guy gets you the whole store and everything in it!
User avatar
Captain Wheelgun
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:31 am
Contact:

Re: Alt-history writing project

Post by Captain Wheelgun »

MiddleAgedKen wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 2:20 am
tfbncc wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:34 am We're waiting (tap tap tap)
Don't rush him. You rush your miracle man, you get lousy miracles. ;)
Don’t worry, this project is more than just ‘partly alive’. :lol:

In fact, here, have some more...

Snippet deleted due to upcoming book release March 2, 2022.
Last edited by Captain Wheelgun on Wed Feb 16, 2022 9:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"What is this, the Congress Avenue Independence Day Parade?" - Capt. Karl von Stahlberg, RTN
Republic of Texas Navy Archives
User avatar
Captain Wheelgun
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:31 am
Contact:

Re: Alt-history writing project

Post by Captain Wheelgun »

I’m thinking about going back and re-designing the Galveston and Fayette County class ships to be regular monohulls instead of trimarans. I think this would fit much better for the period and the supposed capability of the Texas Navy and their shipbuilding program. This means I will need to rewrite several parts of the book.

What do y’all think? I like the current versions under the ‘rule of cool’, but I don’t want people throwing the book at the wall.
"What is this, the Congress Avenue Independence Day Parade?" - Capt. Karl von Stahlberg, RTN
Republic of Texas Navy Archives
tfbncc
Posts: 895
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:00 am

Re: Alt-history writing project

Post by tfbncc »

Well, if you re-write it, we can compare the two passages and see which one reads better. There are still technological advances and advantages you can write into the new RTN ships to keep some of the drama alive. You will have to come up with something to surprise the French, of course.
User avatar
randy
Posts: 8334
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:33 pm
Location: EM79VQ

Re: Alt-history writing project

Post by randy »

Well, it's an Alt History, not an academic paper on naval architecture.

Is the reason on one did back then is because no one thought of it? Or is there some reason that makes it a "Bad Idea". Which doesn't mean they might not do it just because someone told them they couldn't. Texans tend to be ornery about being told what they can't do.

I'm thinking of the Graysons in the Honorverse that did a lot of interesting technological things because they were cut off from the mainstream and/or no one would tell them how something was done, they could see it was possible, so they went ahead and did it their way.

I'm thinking specifically of the Fission power plants they put into LACs when no one else had considered it possible or useful.
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
User avatar
Captain Wheelgun
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:31 am
Contact:

Re: Alt-history writing project

Post by Captain Wheelgun »

randy wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:04 am Well, it's an Alt History, not an academic paper on naval architecture.

Is the reason on one did back then is because no one thought of it? Or is there some reason that makes it a "Bad Idea". Which doesn't mean they might not do it just because someone told them they couldn't. Texans tend to be ornery about being told what they can't do.

I'm thinking of the Graysons in the Honorverse that did a lot of interesting technological things because they were cut off from the mainstream and/or no one would tell them how something was done, they could see it was possible, so they went ahead and did it their way.

I'm thinking specifically of the Fission power plants they put into LACs when no one else had considered it possible or useful.
After thinking about it some more, I’m going to leave it alone. Mostly out of sheer laziness. That’s a LOT to re-write.

Randy, everything I’ve put in so far (and a few things I haven’t yet) was known in the 1930’s What started this was that I’ve been binging on Drachinifel’s Drydock videos on YouTube lately, and in one of them he went over the downsides of multi-hull warships, and that got me thinking. However, he did say that trimarans would be MUCH better than a catamaran design. I think I can come up with plausible workarounds for the potential problems.

You’re right about the Graysons. They’re some of my favorite people in the Honorverse. And now that I look at it, Texas is kind of turning out to be the Grayson of 1930’s Earth.

TFBNCC, I’ve got some NASTY surprises in store for the French, and eventually the Germans (hint: nitrous oxide works as well in torpedos as it does in airplane engines, and it’s a lot safer than oxygen). But that’s in the next book... :twisted:
"What is this, the Congress Avenue Independence Day Parade?" - Capt. Karl von Stahlberg, RTN
Republic of Texas Navy Archives
User avatar
Netpackrat
Posts: 13983
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:04 pm

Re: Alt-history writing project

Post by Netpackrat »

If I were to guess, I would imagine one of the biggest disadvantages of a multi-hull warship would be that now you have more than one hull to armor. That may not matter as much to the Texans if they are not working within the treaty limitations that the other navies of the time were, but it's still more weight to push around.

Other thing about the Graysons and their fission plants... It's not just that they were cut off from mainstream engineering; they were also stuck on a planet full of heavy metals and radioactives. To them fission fuels were plentiful and since they were already living in a hazardous waste nightmare, generating more nuclear waste that would have to be dealt with wasn't really a significant downside.
Cognosce teipsum et disce pati

"People come and go in our lives, especially the online ones. Some leave a fond memory, and some a bad taste." -Aesop
User avatar
Captain Wheelgun
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:31 am
Contact:

Re: Alt-history writing project

Post by Captain Wheelgun »

Snippet deleted due to upcoming book release March 2, 2022.
Last edited by Captain Wheelgun on Wed Feb 16, 2022 9:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"What is this, the Congress Avenue Independence Day Parade?" - Capt. Karl von Stahlberg, RTN
Republic of Texas Navy Archives
tfbncc
Posts: 895
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:00 am

Re: Alt-history writing project

Post by tfbncc »

Very nice, but it seems a bit short. It gives the impression that within 5 minutes, Karl has been able to cross verbal swords with both the German and French captains. Almost to the point that one or the other foreign captains could have demanded satisfaction from Karl on the field of honor. I somehow think that the night would have progressed a bit further, after the dancing and dinner perhaps, before this little scene would have evolved. It would give you opportunity to build up the scene a bit more. It was easy to foresee that Karl would probably have words of this sort, so why not use the opportunity to build up the rivalry and enmity slowly? I'm trying to remember if you mentioned before if Karl spoke French. We know he speaks German. The Europeans have always seen Americans as "colonials" and barbarians who lack even the most rudimentary social skills. Going so far as hinting that Texas is just a breakaway territory of the United States, which in itself is still somewhat considered a rogue English colony. They would try and embarrass Karl in subtle ways to prove that he was not fit company and by extension, Texas. But I surmise that he would surprise quite a few of the attending military hierarchy and other distinguished guests, with his previous experience with embassy dinners and politics. Perhaps even catching the eye of some of the Royal Family who may be in attendance and earning some "friends in high places".

(I'm getting quite invested in the character of Karl Von Stahlberg. I hope you don't mind)

Ray
User avatar
randy
Posts: 8334
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:33 pm
Location: EM79VQ

Re: Alt-history writing project

Post by randy »

I would think that a senior Naval Officer, particularly one with Attaché' experience, would not have gone so far as to deliberately insult Der Führer at a social/diplomatic event in peace time. That paragraph should probably do with a re-write. Along the lines that any "theft of secrets" is an issue between the diplomats of the involved countries, not "simple sailors"...yet.

Given the history between the Texans and French in this timeline, his response to the Frog officer was just about right, particularly stating essentially "fuck around and find out".
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
Post Reply