At one time there used to be a thriving sub-genre of near-future stories of Britain being invaded. Over the years the identity of the invaders has changed in-line with the geo-politics of the era, from French to German to Soviet to accomodate the then-current bogeyman.
But have there been any such novels since the turn of the century? I'm looking for (very) near-future, rather than alternate-history and I can't really think of any. The reason is pretty obvious really, it is a bit hard to plausibly write about, for example North Korea or Iran invading the UK, so coming up with a creadable is a lot hard than it used to be. But surely there must be some books that have tried?
> At one time there used to be a thriving sub-genre of near-future > stories of Britain being invaded. Over the years the identity of the > invaders has changed in-line with the geo-politics of the era, from > French to German to Soviet to accomodate the then-current bogeyman.
> But have there been any such novels since the turn of the century? I'm > looking for (very) near-future, rather than alternate-history and I > can't really think of any. The reason is pretty obvious really, it is > a bit hard to plausibly write about, for example North Korea or Iran > invading the UK, so coming up with a creadable is a lot hard than it > used to be. But surely there must be some books that have tried?
Can't think of one, always wanted to write a secret conspiracy thriller where the UK regains the US, just on a wish fulfillment basis
In article <31fe0e30-6eb5-4db3-9bc8-7b452886a...@q5g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>,
<nick.cut...@lycos.com> wrote: >At one time there used to be a thriving sub-genre of near-future >stories of Britain being invaded. Over the years the identity of the >invaders has changed in-line with the geo-politics of the era, from >French to German to Soviet to accomodate the then-current bogeyman.
>But have there been any such novels since the turn of the century? I'm >looking for (very) near-future, rather than alternate-history and I >can't really think of any. The reason is pretty obvious really, it is >a bit hard to plausibly write about, for example North Korea or Iran >invading the UK, so coming up with a creadable is a lot hard than it >used to be. But surely there must be some books that have tried?
Mostly they're Britain-some-years-after-a-successful-invasion stories. Jo Walton's _1947_, for instance. Turtledove's _Ruled Britannia_ tells of an alt-hist wherein the Spanish Armada conquered England.
I do have a copy of an anthology, _Gold From Crete_ by C. S. Forester (he of Horatio Hornblower fame, or perhaps infamy*) containing several World War II stories (purely fictional) and a long essay, "If Hitler Had Invaded Britain."
He begins, "So often it has been said, if Hitler had made the attempt to invade Britain after the evacuation of Dunkirk, he would have won the war, that it is worth analyzing his chances. He must be given in this narrative every possible chance, but none of the impossible ones."
He then tells, in a proper alt-hist fashion, the story of Hitler's invasion of Britain and how it seemed assured of success at first, and then failed.
"An hour ago the last organized of the Nazi army in England made its surrender among the ruins of Rye. There are still scattered German soldiers hiding from our forces in the woods and fields of Kent and Sussex. Their lives will be spared, and I call upon the Local Defense Volunteers to be merciful, however justified they may think they are in exacting vengeance for our burned villages and slaughtered civilians. Let us reserve our vengeance for Hitler and the guttersnipe crew who surround him. Today they know the first taste of defeat, and that is a taste with which they will become more familiar in the days to come."
> At one time there used to be a thriving sub-genre of near-future > stories of Britain being invaded. Over the years the identity of the > invaders has changed in-line with the geo-politics of the era, from > French to German to Soviet to accomodate the then-current bogeyman.
> But have there been any such novels since the turn of the century? I'm > looking for (very) near-future, rather than alternate-history and I > can't really think of any. The reason is pretty obvious really, it is > a bit hard to plausibly write about, for example North Korea or Iran > invading the UK, so coming up with a creadable is a lot hard than it > used to be. But surely there must be some books that have tried?
Harry Harrison, _Stars and Stripes Forever_, _Stars and Stripes in Peril_, _Stars and Stripes Triumphant_ is a "recent" trilogy that ends with the USA of Abraham Lincoln fighting a war with Britain and eventually invading--successfully.
> > At one time there used to be a thriving sub-genre of near-future > > stories of Britain being invaded. Over the years the identity of the > > invaders has changed in-line with the geo-politics of the era, from > > French to German to Soviet to accomodate the then-current bogeyman.
> > But have there been any such novels since the turn of the century? I'm > > looking for (very) near-future, rather than alternate-history and I > > can't really think of any. The reason is pretty obvious really, it is > > a bit hard to plausibly write about, for example North Korea or Iran > > invading the UK, so coming up with a creadable is a lot hard than it > > used to be. But surely there must be some books that have tried?
> Harry Harrison, _Stars and Stripes Forever_, _Stars and Stripes in Peril_, > _Stars and Stripes Triumphant_ is a "recent" trilogy that ends with the USA > of Abraham Lincoln fighting a war with Britain and eventually > invading--successfully.
> Yes, I thought it was pretty implausible too.
> -- > Mike Dworetsky
> (Remove pants sp*mbl*ck to reply)
I read the first and could see where it was going so never read the rest
nick.cut...@lycos.com wrote: > At one time there used to be a thriving sub-genre of near-future > stories of Britain being invaded. Over the years the identity of the > invaders has changed in-line with the geo-politics of the era, from > French to German to Soviet to accomodate the then-current bogeyman.
> But have there been any such novels since the turn of the century? I'm > looking for (very) near-future, rather than alternate-history and I > can't really think of any. The reason is pretty obvious really, it is > a bit hard to plausibly write about, for example North Korea or Iran > invading the UK, so coming up with a creadable is a lot hard than it > used to be. But surely there must be some books that have tried?
Newt Gingrich wrote one. The invaders come down from the north through Scotland. Unfortunately his grasp of British geography is weak, and UK readers will find the mountains odd.
In article <K8C3wH.1...@kithrup.com>, Dorothy J Heydt <djhe...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>Mostly they're Britain-some-years-after-a-successful-invasion >stories. Jo Walton's _1947_, for instance.
What?
Did someone else write a book called _1947_, or are you thinking about _Farthing_ and its sequels? If the latter, Britain was not actually invaded. (Also, _Farthing_ and _Ha'Penny_ take place in 1948 rather than '47.)
-- David Goldfarb |"Do you know what Freud said about dreams of flying? goldf...@ocf.berkeley.edu | It means you're really dreaming about having sex." goldf...@csua.berkeley.edu | "Indeed. Tell me, then, what does it mean when | you dream about having sex?" -- _Sandman_ #15
David Goldfarb <goldf...@OCF.Berkeley.EDU> wrote: >In article <K8C3wH.1...@kithrup.com>, >Dorothy J Heydt <djhe...@kithrup.com> wrote: >>Mostly they're Britain-some-years-after-a-successful-invasion >>stories. Jo Walton's _1947_, for instance.
>What?
>Did someone else write a book called _1947_, or are you thinking >about _Farthing_ and its sequels? If the latter, Britain was not >actually invaded. (Also, _Farthing_ and _Ha'Penny_ take place in >1948 rather than '47.)
You're right, it's _Farthing._ Duh. She wrote a *poem* called "1947," which I wish I could find (it used to be online on her old site but it's not now). It describes postwar Britain in OTL, tired, battered, discouraged, but still, "We won. We could so easily have lost."
Dorothy J. Heydt Vallejo, California djhe...@kithrup.com
nick.cut...@lycos.com wrote: >At one time there used to be a thriving sub-genre of near-future >stories of Britain being invaded. Over the years the identity of the >invaders has changed in-line with the geo-politics of the era, from >French to German to Soviet to accomodate the then-current bogeyman.
>But have there been any such novels since the turn of the century? I'm >looking for (very) near-future, rather than alternate-history and I >can't really think of any. The reason is pretty obvious really, it is >a bit hard to plausibly write about, for example North Korea or Iran >invading the UK, so coming up with a creadable is a lot hard than it >used to be. But surely there must be some books that have tried?
Doesn't The Doctor save the UK from such invasions pretty much every other week?
In article <ZzwGk.1174$P5....@nwrddc02.gnilink.net>, Brenda Clough <clo...@erols.com> said:
> Newt Gingrich wrote one. The invaders come down from the north > through Scotland. Unfortunately his grasp of British geography > is weak, and UK readers will find the mountains odd.
That would be his and William R. Forstchen's 1945, right?
> nick.cut...@lycos.com wrote: > >At one time there used to be a thriving sub-genre of near-future > >stories of Britain being invaded. Over the years the identity of the > >invaders has changed in-line with the geo-politics of the era, from > >French to German to Soviet to accomodate the then-current bogeyman.
> >But have there been any such novels since the turn of the century? I'm > >looking for (very) near-future, rather than alternate-history and I > >can't really think of any. The reason is pretty obvious really, it is > >a bit hard to plausibly write about, for example North Korea or Iran > >invading the UK, so coming up with a creadable is a lot hard than it > >used to be. But surely there must be some books that have tried?
> Doesn't The Doctor save the UK from such invasions pretty much every > other week?
Yes, especially in the episode _Dr Who and the Invasion of the Polish Plumbers_ . In that story, an evil polish genius equips an army of plumbers with small mobile tanks. They are fitted with ray guns to defend themselves and brandish sink plungers as a symbol of their profession. Since they come from far away, they are known as daleka ...
