Alternate histories in steampunk and cyberpunk aesthetics – variations on a theme of January Uprising in novels by Konrad T. Lewandowski and Adam Przechrzta

Abstract

This article analyzes two polish novels of alternate history genre: Orzeł bielszy niz gołebica by Konrad T. Lewandowski and Gambit Wielopolskiego by Adam Przechrzta. In both novels the point of divergence is the January Uprising, but authors apply different conceptsand project different visions of history. It is determined by aesthetics used in novels: steam-punk in Lewandowski’s novel and cyberpunk in Przechrzta’s. Authors enrich the range of alternate history strategies with tropes taken from other trends of fantastic prose, expanding capabilities of genre and in unconventional way they fit their novels in discussions about polish insurrections.