Norton The Third

By Mark Bowles

Norton The Third tips its hat to the alternative history literary genre, proposing a single (craven) act on July 2, 1863, that determines the outcome of the United States Civil War. After only a brief visit to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, the story races off in its own direction, into the modern era. By the time 150 years have passed, the North American continent is home to Canada, Mexico, the United States, the Confederate States, and the Empire of California. Not your father's alternative history yarn, Norton The Third is an adventure story inspired by the styles of Tom Clancy, John LeCarre, and Kurt Vonnegut. Our hero, the United States ambassador to California, witnesses the assassination of the Emperor, is accused of committing the crime, and goes on the run in the authoritarian world of the Empire. In an effort to clear his name, he receives assistance from a beautiful slave girl, a vast underground organization, a Confederate spy, and a brilliant but extremely dangerous Imperial master Machiavellian. Norton The Third includes cameo appearances by Joshua Norton, Leland Stanford (senior and junior), Ambrose Bierce, and the ancient and honorable brotherhood, E Clampus Vitus. It's a slightly-tall tale of California, San Francisco, and one honorable man's attempt to survive in a corrupt and complicated world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1521421722
• ISBN13: 9781521421727
• Release Date: June 2017
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 415 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 1.0" x 5.3"