Look to the West Series by Tom Anderson

History can turn on the smallest of things. In the history we know, King George II's son Prince Frederick was an obscure footnote of history. Hated by his father (who threatened to exile him to the American colonies), his political career cut short when he was fatally struck by a cricket ball, of all things. The Prince never became King Fred and instead the throne passed to his inexperienced son, George III, who proceeded to lose America... moreHistory can turn on the smallest of things. In the history we know, King George II's son Prince Frederick was an obscure footnote of history. Hated by his father (who threatened to exile him to the American colonies), his political career cut short when he was fatally struck by a cricket ball, of all things. The Prince never became King Fred and instead the throne passed to his inexperienced son, George III, who proceeded to lose America.But what if one tiny slight - a trip on a coronation carpet, a misplaced laugh - had tipped George II over the edge and he had made good on his threat? What if, in the year George Washington was born, the American colonies had found themselves home to an exiled Prince stripped of his inheritance? And what if that Prince had ambitions to reclaim his birthright by any means necessary, including with the help of his colonial subjects...?The Look to the West series begins with the story of Frederick and the very different America that results from his exile, but it is a tale that encompasses the whole world. Every action we take has unforeseen impacts: a revolutionary South America, a defeated Prussia, a divided India, a European Enlightenment transformed by phlogiston theory, Cugnot steam engines and Linnaeus' Theory of Evolution. Diverge and Conquer covers the history of this world from the time of Frederick to the era when Europe is torn apart by a French Revolution very different to the one we know - and hints at a mysterious future to come... less

The Jacobin Wars have devastated Europe. With the defeat of Lisieux’s Republic, the reactionary powers of the postwar order seek to return the spirit of revolution to the Pandora’s Box from which it came and stamp down hard on the lid. Britain, ravaged by French invasion during the war, groans under the increasingly authoritarian rule of the Duke of Marlborough, while across the divided kingdoms of Germany, men of new ideals seek to create a single nation... moreThe Jacobin Wars have devastated Europe. With the defeat of Lisieux’s Republic, the reactionary powers of the postwar order seek to return the spirit of revolution to the Pandora’s Box from which it came and stamp down hard on the lid. Britain, ravaged by French invasion during the war, groans under the increasingly authoritarian rule of the Duke of Marlborough, while across the divided kingdoms of Germany, men of new ideals seek to create a single nation. Slavery is debated in the Empire of North America, the Spanish royal family plots a return from exile in Mexico, and the United Provinces of South America emerges from defeat to build a new place for itself in the world. In China, two rival dynasties struggle for supremacy, while Japan falls increasingly under the Russian bootheel. But know this: as Sir Isaac Newton wrote, every action must come with an equal and opposite reaction. As nostalgics try to dial back the clock to the ancien régime as though the French Revolution never happened, pressure is building from below. The fires of revolution are rising once again, and this time it will truly be a people’s battle, a global struggle: The Popular Wars shall begin. As men fight beneath flags not for the legitimacy of their rulers, but for the spirit of their nation and the welfare of their people, the world will never be the same again… less

The world of “Look to the West” reaches the mid-nineteenth century. Many things are different; America never had her Revolution, though these days the Crown rather prefers things in the old colonies over the motherland, wracked by unrest and increasingly run by the working classes. This is the age of the Democratic Experiment across both the Old and New Worlds. Optical semaphore is challenged by the electric telegraph, and inventors work on the first submarines. But some things are inevitable... moreThe world of “Look to the West” reaches the mid-nineteenth century. Many things are different; America never had her Revolution, though these days the Crown rather prefers things in the old colonies over the motherland, wracked by unrest and increasingly run by the working classes. This is the age of the Democratic Experiment across both the Old and New Worlds. Optical semaphore is challenged by the electric telegraph, and inventors work on the first submarines. But some things are inevitable. America is still politically divided, tensions rising between the slaveholding Confederation of Carolina and the northern provinces. Tensions mount in Europe over the question of German unification. Charismatic leaders lead revolts in India and West Africa. One spark in restive California ignites the Great American War. For America is not the only great power in the New World; the United Provinces of South America is drawn into the vast, bloody conflict that will reshape the world. And down there in the UPSA, a man named Pablo Sanchez writes of the absurdity of war and the united destiny of humanity, and finds he is making converts… Look to the West Volume IV: Cometh the Hour… comes complete with over a dozen maps, flags and other graphics to accompany the story, as well as full appendices and an accompanying chronology. less