The Alternate History Subgenre, Explained

gamerant.com:

Speculative fiction is the umbrella category that contains everything from science fiction to fantasy. Everything that imagines a world based on conjecture fits into that super-genre, but one interesting piece uses history to create its new world. When a writer examines the possible future as influenced by a new past, they enter the world of Alternate History fiction.

Science fiction and fantasy are, in many ways, the same concept in reverse. Sci-fi explores a possible future, influenced by theoretical scientific development. Fantasy considers a world influenced by magic and myth. Alternate history is much more grounded, as it seeks to change everything we know about the real world.

Exploring Sci-fi Without Aliens

Alternate History depicts different routes that the timeline could have followed, imagining a modern-day or distant future on that path. Every Alternate History story has a point of divergence, a moment or period during which things went differently. Typically, the story doesn't primarily take place at the POD, it usually occurs long after, giving the timeline plenty of time to change. Some common choices for points of divergence include major wars, big-name assassinations, massively influential moments in art, examples of imperialism, or advances in technology. These Alternate Histories are separate from Alternate Universes, which introduce a fictional element to the existing timeline. If aliens land on Earth, changing the events of World War II, that's an Alternate Universe. If the Axis Powers win and the rest of the story is about the fallout of that event, that's Alternate History.

Alternate History is fan fiction for history. As such, it's one of the oldest disciplines in fiction. The earliest examples come