Thanks for these, @Myr  I have read stories by several of these great authors, and really enjoy --  @Geron Kees, @astone2292, @dkstories, @Myr, @W_L, @R. Eric's Ark II series, @Mawgrim, @Bill W, @Rob Colton, @Thorn Wilde, @Refugium, @northie --  And I have read some of the other authors when I was going through a "non-commenting phase" because I lost my login and password due to not putting my cryptic reminders in enough places.

Myr, are the Flintlock sub-genre and Gaslamp sub-genre also a subcategory of Historical Fiction?

1 hour ago, Myr said:

They could be, but the stories in the general typically have magic or other fantastical elements. Many of the genres are flexible and bit wide ranging.  While some are high specific with troupes.  (Military Sci-Fi is specific with troupes.  Arthurian is an obvious specific fantasy type)

That's pretty true, it's hard to do gaslamp/flintlock or even general steampunk historical fiction without fantastical or sci-fi elements. Alt-history is possible of course in the genres, but you have to know your stuff to go down that rabbit hole. Harry Turtledove is my favorite of this genre, followed by authors like William Forstchen (His Rally Cry a part of the Lost Regiment series is a good alt-history story to be a companion to Harry Turtledove's Southern Victory series).

For me @ReaderPaul, history fiction is a fun speculative "what-if". I like the background history of various individuals and technological breakthroughs, especially when you realize how dumb luck plays a role in major historical events.

People chalk major events to divine intervention, ex. Martin Luther for instance said his decision to become a priest was due to being stuck in a lightning storm, then vowing to God he would become a priest if he survived. However, in context, he wasn't doing well as he was dropping out of law school, was doing poorly in classical studies at the university, and his father had spent a lot of money on his education as the eldest son. Along with the death of two friends around the time of the lightning storm, if you viewed these events in their totality, it was more a matter of someone reaching their mental and emotional limit than spontaneous divine revelation. However, that choice of career created a religious revolution in Europe, costing nearly a hundred million lives over a century and creating modern nation-states. What if he wasn't failing law or classical studies, what if his friends didn't die causing him to have mild depression, or what if he wasn't the eldest son with so much pressure from his father? I didn't add those facts into my story as Luther was long dead by the time Of Pride and Power, but I knew about it.

That stuff makes historical fiction in my mind, it's the little details that create the magic of chaotic consequences.

@W_L -- I agree that Harry Turtledove is the best at alternate history that I have read.  He produced several books of alternate history, and had a lot of detail well-presented in them.

The Spirit of the Plum Blossom Tree (TSPBT) has a really good narration style. It really harkens me back to the streets of Kowloon. The pace of the narration is slow, which lends itself to the kind of story it is, which I like—short and punchy.

I just wish the translator frigging finishes the story since it's been nearly three years now and it's still not yet finished. 😔