Bad AH you just HATE!

[Steffen]

The "soviet army respawn bug."

Scenarios where the Soviets are given chrushing defeats every week, moscow taken, volga industrial area taken by the germans but Somehow another big army rises out of the siberian snow for a counterattack. (oh and it´s equipped beautifully even without western aid/

- western aid reaches the soviets when there is NO logical logistical route.


Partition of germany scenarios with the partition the way the US state frontiers are drawn.

 

[Flakktrooper]

I think we can all agree there have been enough Nazi Germany wins and CSA wins threads. Unless you can think of some super creative way to have either of those nations win, which has probably already been done, then please just dont.

 

[Adam Parsons]

The Man in the High Castle's main point--Axis takeover and divisions of the USA--is only plausible if every American leader and the US general public have their heads stuck somewhere anatomically-impossible for decades on end. And the Axis leaders are all geniuses.

Sadly, that particular anatomical condition seems to be prevalent in the plots of AH-based games such as "Red Alert 2" (Soviets building missiles? But they're our friends!) and "Freedom Fighters":

"Hmm...the Soviets have taken over the Old World, placed missiles in Cuba, and are invading South America. Think we should do something about it?"

"I dunno."

Of course, if we tried it for accuracy, it probably wouldn't be as much fun.

 

[Straha]

any AH with a strong CSA. Just No. The most the confederacy could be vwould be another mexico.

 

[sikitu]

my list of bad AH (novels and short stories only)

...not complete yet

Harry Harrison's Stars and Stripes - nice idea, but badly researched and carried out in book 1, and gets worse after that

The short story in Alternate Generals 2 set in the American South with German peacekeeping troops - bad German language, freaky story, some very big research flaws

(Title and author?) A novel in which Aztecs invade England in the 20th century - absolutely unbelievable timeline, badly worked out

 

[Straha]

...not complete yet

Harry Harrison's Stars and Stripes - nice idea, but badly researched and carried out in book 1, and gets worse after that

The short story in Alternate Generals 2 set in the American South with German peacekeeping troops - bad German language, freaky story, some very big research flaws

(Title and author?) A novel in which Aztecs invade England in the 20th century - absolutely unbelievable timeline, badly worked out

wow that sounds like it sucks

 

[Prunesquallor]

You're probably thinking of Chris Evans's AZTEC CENTURY, a strange book and one which I'd have to reread before making a final judgement.

Leaving aside vanity press stuff, etc, looking at books by main stream publishers, I'd say that the leading contenders for worst AH ever written are
the dreadful "1945" by Gingrich and Forstchen and the abysmal OMEGA MAN rip-off " '48 " by James Herbert.

I'll forgive Harry Harrison his alternate Civil War because of his age and the pleasure so many of his books have given me.

 

[Paul Spring]

The short story in Alternate Generals 2 set in the American South with German peacekeeping troops - bad German language, freaky story, some very big research flaws

Actually, that was one of my favorite stories in that particular collection. It was pretty improbable, but I liked it.

There is very little in the world of AH that I actually "hate", but there are some topics that are exceptionally improbable, and there are certain other tendencies that irritate me a little bit

Among the most improbable scenarios, IMHO, are ...

Anything where an empire or other single political entity lasts for thousands of years continuously with no major changes in the ruling structure.

Anything where the 3rd Reich and Imperial Japan defeat all enemies and then go on to conquer the US within a few years.

Anything where one side in a war manages to do EVERYTHING right, and the other side does EVERYTHING wrong (Stars and Stripes Forever, mentioned previously, is a good example of this)

Anything written for the purpose of showing how the world would be absolutely wonderful if only everyone followed the author's ideology.

Anything where any outside power succeeds in conquering the United States after about 1800.

 

[tom]

Any AH where there are altergangers more than about a year after the PoD...I believe in the Butterfly Effect.

 

[Brilliantlight]

The "soviet army respawn bug."

Scenarios where the Soviets are given chrushing defeats every week, moscow taken, volga industrial area taken by the germans but Somehow another big army rises out of the siberian snow for a counterattack. (oh and it´s equipped beautifully even without western aid/

- western aid reaches the soviets when there is NO logical logistical route.


Partition of germany scenarios with the partition the way the US state frontiers are drawn.

Depends, with mine the counter-attack succeeds because the Germans barely succeed and have already taken heavy losses to conquer it.

 

[Chrispi]

I haven't found a bad British North America ATL yet! (Sobel's For Want of a Nail isn't bad, just a little flawed. It's certainly great compared to the likes of Draka and Turtledove.)

 

[aktarian]

TLs that assume that once US enters WW2 nuking Germany is onyl amatter of time (uhm, Manhattan project going wrong, UK out of war, Us popualtion getting tired of war that produces no immediate results....).

Interesting but badly researched PODs (SU attacking West in 1945).

 

[Yellmic Wigwawa]

Harry Harrison's "Stars & Stripes" books are so bad it's unbelievable. They seem to be written by a 19-year-old who has a superficial grasp of history but no idea whatever of practical details. One example is that suddenly, for no reason whatever, the Americans adopt late twentieth century attitudes to race relations in 1864!

 

[Straha]

Any AH where there are altergangers more than about a year after the PoD...I believe in the Butterfly Effect.

I find the butterfly effect to be complate BS in the manner which is applied. You people take it WAYY too far.

 

[Chrispi]

Any AH where there are altergangers more than about a year after the PoD...I believe in the Butterfly Effect.

I agree with you. The only person of note born after my Tory America POD is Karl Friedrich Gauss, and even he's not really an alterganger as he was conceived before the POD (Washington's failed Delaware crossing.)

 

[zoomar]

"Stars and Stripes Forever" I agree with GW. Pure, unmitigated poppycock. Also, Harrisons silly "East (west?) of Eden" series. So cracked as to be funny.

 

[Knight Of Armenia]

Anything where any outside power succeeds in conquering the United States after about 1800.

I'm actually the opposite; I hate this invincibility idea that people here have, to the extent that "we can invade anywhere and destroy but damned if it can happen here." No, the beast can bleed, even if it is the king beast in the menagerie.

 

[Admiral Matt]

Any AH where there are altergangers more than about a year after the PoD...I believe in the Butterfly Effect.

Well, in scientific terms you are undoubtably justified. People who deny that the butterfly effect could "reach" one part of the world in "only" a few decades seem to forget that its very name is derived from the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings can affect weather patterns on the other side of the world. And who will say that weather has no effect on history?!? Or on sex for that matter, which is, you'll remember, how one produces historical figures.

On the other hand, in terms of written fiction, Straha is also pretty much correct. The presence of historical figures in wildly different situations can add a lot to a story. Even references to such people, or characters who are vague parallels tend to make for a more interesting read.

I don't really hate any alternate history either. There's just some I don't feel like reading.

 

[Straha]

WWII and civil war AH tends to not appeal to me. Ancient/medieval/other preindustrial AH also doesn't appeal to me. I prefer the 20th century because theres no limit to how dark it could have been.

 

[Archangel Michael]

There's a TL over at the Election Atlas Election Board What-ifs? Forum in which the US conqueres all of Africa, North America, and Australia and parts of Europe, South America, and Asia by 1950.