Alternative history in popular literature in different national contexts
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| Citation | |
| Description | Changing history in sci-fi novels imagining worlds in which some events happened differently is a very well-known trope that can be used in multiple ways. Sometimes as a mean to create an interesting set up for a story, other time as ideological wish to change the course of history. In post-soviet Russia, a specific genre of popular fantastic literature emerged, called “Popadancheskii” novel. The word “popadanets” refers to people who suddenly find themselves in another world or time. One type of these novels including the traveller in time, who changes the past in way corresponding with Russian national tendencies, has recently gained more popularity. This paper compares examples of alternative history novels from Russian, Czech and Anglophone sci-fi literature, and asks why one is perceived as nationalistic while others not, even though the basic premise is generally quite similar. |
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