Her Diamond Heart
read it here if you're a member of AH.com.
Written by User:Analytical Engine and hosted on Alternatehistory.com Her Diamond Heart is loosely based on The Peshawar Lancers by S.M. Stirling (and completely unautorised by said author).
Though it shares the book's point of divergence - a meteor shower bombarding the Northern Hemisphere in 1878 - the differences between the two start building up almost immediately. One particular difference is the survival of the United States of America and certain parts of Europe.
Historical characters who appear or are referenced in the timeline:
- Benjamin Disraeli
- Edward VII
- Queen Victoria
- Theodore Roosevelt
And a host of others
Provides examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion
- After the End
- Alternate History
- Apocalypse How: A definite Class 1
- Balkanise Me: The Ottoman Empire, China (for a while), Russia, and (naturally) the Balkans themselves
- The British Empire: Called the Angrezi Raj, much like the book.
- Colony Drop: The Fall
- Eagle Land: Unlike the book, the United States is very much alive.
- External Retcon: Quite a few major differences between the book and this timeline.
- Humans Are Bastards: Hey, whoever said a post-Apocalyptic scenario would be nice?
- I Am a Humanitarian: Averted. Anyone with a decent knowledge of biology will tell you that cannibalism is not a sustainable feeding habit.
- Inferred Holocaust: There are several references to "ethnic liquidation", though this timeline has no separate term for ethnic cleansing and genocide- make of that what you will...
- Istanbul Not Constantinople: Averted - the city is still called Constantinople.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: The author's main intention was plausibility rather than storytelling.
- Rightful King Returns: In China, though it actually requires a change of dynasty.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Absolute monarchy is rather common in this timeline.
- Sliding Scale of Realistic Versus Fantastic: Compared to its source material, this timeline is far closer to the realistic end of the scale.
- Take That: A recent post contains a not-so-subtle refutation of the obligatory cannibal cultures of the book.
- Unreliable Narrator: Many of the references "quoted" in the timeline are somewhat biased one way or another.
- Warrior Prince: Ali ibn Hussein
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: There are quite a few of these scattered around. YMMV on just how well intentioned they were, though.