Written by Matthew Patrick and illustrated by his brother John Patrick, Downing Dora Nine adds an intriguing new perspective on a genre that has been steadily growing in popularity — alternate history. The story is set in a world in which aviation has just been born, in a world that has followed a historical trajectory very different from our own. The United States Constitution was never ratified; the United States was never formed. Instead, North America is occupied by five separate Sovereign Nation-States that have evolved across a century of violence from the original 13 colonies. Alternate history as a genre asks the question: What if? Patrick asks: What if the United States had never existed? What if the historical acrimony between the nations of Europe transplanted itself to the North American colonies? What if World War I occurred here in North America rather than in Europe? What if, instead of America coming to Europe's rescue, it was the other way around? What if the grand and majestic airships of World War I had been a success rather than a colossal failure? The story is set in the year 1915, and revolves around two young fliers — Englishman William Hastings and Prussian Heinrich von Gotha — who get tangled in a looming conflict within the Sovereign State of Carolina, and as a result, become the world’s first veterans of aerial warfare. Through the magic of fiction, Downing Dora Nine transfers to America many of technological terrors that Europe experienced in our own reality with the coming of World War I. The novel contains 20 full-color illustrations, rendered in a style reminiscent of the early 20th century, and provides a vibrant portal into this brooding world. The rich graphical composition of Downing Dora Nine bridges the gap between the visually sparse formats of modern fiction and another rapidly growing genre, the graphic novel. Downing Dora Nine is a thrilling opener to a series that promises to be an epic aviation saga.