History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Review of To Climates Unknown by Arturo Serrano

| November 17, 2021

To Climates Unknown by Arturo Serrano (2021) is a masterful and epic novel spanning centuries and continents. Envisioning an alternate world in which the Mayflower did not reach North America, and the events that both led to that effect and the myriad changes that rippled out from that cause, Serrano has created a stunning portrayal of […]

Review of The Awakening by Dusk Peterson

| October 27, 2021

The Awakening by Dusk Peterson (Love in Dark Settings Press, 2021) is the first book in their Dungeon Guards series. An alternate history story, it consists of four interconnected novellas about guards who work in the Eternal Dungeon and their lives both within and out of the dungeon. The alternate history aspect of this book […]

Review of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

| September 29, 2021

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2015) is the first book in their young adult space opera Illuminae Files series. A mix of sci-fi, thriller, and mystery, Illuminae is a story told in found documents from interview transcripts to AI artistry. Just a day after Kady Grant broke up with […]

Review of Powered Personnel: The Big Startup by K. A. Maxwell

| September 15, 2021

Powered Personnel: The Big Startup by K. A. Maxwell (2021) is an interesting look at how the corporate world might look when it’s controlled by people with super powers. The book centers on Chloe Ceres, recently hired by a major corporation to start a new department, along with her best friend, Melinda. The two women […]

Site Recommendation: 101 LGBTQ Picture Books!

| September 8, 2021

If you’re looking for a good book recommendation for a kid that’s more in the age range for picture books than books they read on their own, check out 101 LGBTQ Picture Books! Created by a college student who decided to read all of the LGBTQ picture books she could find, rather than trying to […]

Review of It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility edited by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin

| August 4, 2021

It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility, edited by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin (Speculatively Queer, 2021), is a lovely collection of 22 affirming stories of queer possibility. The stories range between science fiction and fantasy, worlds you can easily recognize and those you can’t, and always filled to the brim with queer characters […]

TV Recommendation: Loki

| July 28, 2021

So it’s been hard to look any direction on the internet lately without seeing people raving about the Loki series on Disney+. And I’m here to join the clamor! Though Loki may not have had quite the same pace and flash as some of the other recent MCU series on Disney+, it more than made up […]

Review of The Atrocities by Jeremy C. Shipp

| July 21, 2021

The Atrocities by Jeremy C. Shipp (tor.com, 2018) blends a modern setting with a spooky Gothic tale. In turns, it maintains creeping dread and sustains quick action. Danna Valdez has just taken a position to educate the young daughter of a wealthy and somewhat eccentric family. But when she arrives at their unusually appointed estate, […]

Review of The Silence of Bones by June Hur

| July 14, 2021

The Silence of Bones by June Hur (Feiwel & Friends, 2020) is a historical young adult mystery set in early nineteenth century Korea, full of rich detail and wonderful characters. The mystery is also phenomenal, and it will keep you guessing all the way to the reveal! Damo Seol is an indentured servant, bound to […]

Movie Review: In the Heights

| June 30, 2021

We saw the stage production of In the Heights at the height of Hamilton popularity, when it was nearly impossible to get a ticket for the latter. We decided that the ticket prices for In the Heights were much better, so we went to see a musical we knew very little about, aside from the fact […]