Although this blog is mostly about science fiction and fantasy, one of the contributors has a chapter in a book coming out next month about UK politics. The Grand Admiral is notoriously not a fan of politics or elections - the Chiss don't really do elections, but the amount of backstabbing and intrigue produced by their family-based oligarchy is arguably even worse than the democratic version and enough to put anyone off politics for life. The Brits do go in for politics and here are 89 unusual and interesting elections. We thought it possible that one or two of our readers might be interested.   Iain Dale has put together a book about the 88 most consequential British by-elections since 1769. It will be published on 18th September 2025 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon at British By-Elections 1769–2025: The 88 By-Election Campaigns That Shaped Our Politics: Amazon.co.uk: Dale, Iain: 9781785909788: Books Or from Politicos (signed by Iain) at British By-Elections 1769-2025 - The 88...

Today is the 80th anniversary of the surrender of Japan. There will be VJ Day 80 commemorations to mark the anniversary of the final end of the second world war. A series of events will be held in Britain and around the world, although the USA commemorates VJ day a few days later than we do. In Britain: There will  be an event at the National Memorial Arboretum to honour VJ veterans which will be broadcast live The Red Arrows will join historic Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft for a flypast over national VJ Day 80 commemorations Members of the public are encouraged to participate in a national two-minute silence at noon BST today (Friday 15 August 2025)  to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. (That is 1pm Greenwich Mean Time or 13:00 UST) A Service of Remembrance will honour and remember those who fought and died during the Second World War in the Far East at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, which will be broadcast live on BBC1 from mi...

Following the VE day commemorations in May this year to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, VJ Day 80 on Friday will mark the anniversary of the final end of the war. A series of events will be held in Britain and around the world, although the USA commemorates VJ day on September 2nd, a few days later than in Britain and the Commonwealth. In Britain: There will  be an event at the National Memorial Arboretum to honour VJ veterans which will be broadcast live The Red Arrows will join historic Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft for a flypast over national VJ Day 80 commemorations Members of the public are encouraged to participate in a national two-minute silence at noon BST on Friday 15 August to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.  A Service of Remembrance will honour and remember those who fought and died during the Second World War in the Far East at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, which will be broadcast ...

"Powerless" by Harry Turtledove is an alternative history novel set in a world dominated by the Soviet Union. The first two chapters of this full-length novel originally appeared in slightly different form in the September/October 2018 issue of " The magazine of Fantasy and Science Fictio n."  Greg Benford suggested to Harry Turtledove that he extended it into a novel and this is the result. Like the majority of Turtledove's alternative history novels, the story in this book operates on two levels. On the surface level, it is a work of fiction set on an alternative version of Earth. On a deeper level, it is an account of a real-world series of historical events told from an alternative perspective. The world of "Powerless" begins to diverge from our own with the Confederate States of America successfully winning independence in the 1860's. By the time in which the novel is set, many years later - and we are never told exactly how much later - the a...