The Empire of Fear - Brian Stableford

From the title of the novel, and indeed from its cover description, one might be mistaken for thinking that ‘The Empire of Fear’ is a horror novel. In fact, Empire is a work of science fiction, and more precisely of alternative history. For those not au fait with this little subgenre, alternative history involves the telling of a story set in a background which is different from what we know to be true. Not all such stories are necessarily set in the past (despite the genre title), but many indeed are, and are essentially tales set in historical backgrounds subtly (or, sometimes, not-so-subtly) altered by a change in the chain of events which has ...