First published 2020
Around the year 1000, Freydis Eriksdottir sails southwest. In 1492, Columbus never reaches America. By 1531, the tables have turned completely. Atahualpa lands on European shores with his Incan forces, reversing the flow of conquest that shaped our world. He finds a continent torn apart by religious wars, weakened monarchies under constant Turkish threat, and seas crawling with pirates. The Spanish Inquisition terrorizes believers while Luther's Reformation splits Christianity. Capitalism takes its first steps as printing presses spread dangerous ideas. But Atahualpa sees opportunity in this chaos. He rallies the downtrodden masses to his cause: humiliated Jews in Toledo, displaced Muslims in Granada, starving German peasants ready for revolt. Armed with horses, iron, and antibodies that history denied the original indigenous peoples, he studies Machiavelli to navigate European court intrigue. From Cusco to Aachen, through Lisbon and Seville to Florence, Atahualpa builds an empire that stretches to the Battle of Lepanto. This alternate history reveals how close our world came to unfolding in completely reverse.
Genres: science-fiction, historical-fiction, political-thriller, alternate-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: alternate-universe, historical-reversal
Setting: America, Aachen, Cusco, Europe, Florence, Granada, Lepanto, Lisbon, Seville, Toledo, Incan Empire
Period: 1000 AD, 1492, 1531, 16th Century
409 pages · Paperback · Edicions de 1984
Content warnings: colonialism