Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I've always regarded "alternative history" as a subset of SF.
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Really? I recall reading "If the South Had Won The Civil War" in High School.* It was based the premise that General Grant died in an equestrian accident at the beginning of the war, IIRC. No science (fictional or otherwise) or fantasy involved in any way.
That pretty much set my assumption for what the term meant.
It is indeed frequently combined with SF, but on the Venn diagram, I see it as an intersection, not a subset.
*OK, I never read anywhere near the whole book, I found it excruciatingly boring. But I was assigned it, and it helped cure insomnia for several nights. Put me right out.
ETA: I just
looked up the book to refresh my memory. It looks like some people really like it. And it has an introduction by Harry Turtledove.
OK, back to the topic. As you were.