Tag Archives: Kevin Carney

Alternative History: What if Titanic Sinking Was A Conspiracy?

AuthorHouse sent out a press release on 22 June announcing the publication of  “A Cold Night in the Atlantic” by Kevin Wright Carney. Serial numbers that do not match Titanic and a stash of gold found in the wreck lead to the discovery that conventional history got it all wrong. Due to accidents and serious questions about Captain Smith, the RMS Olympic is not considered seaworthy. So in 1912 the White Star Line decided to switch the ships. Titanic became Olympic and Olympic became Titanic. And it was decided to sink the ship to collect insurance. Alas it all falls apart when the plot is uncovered and the sinking occurs prematurely thanks to an iceberg.

“A truly unique and thrilling novel, “A Cold Night in the Atlantic” cleverly breathes new life into a piece of American history,” says the press release. That will come as a surprise to Robin Gardiner and Dan Van Der Vat who wrote the non-fiction book “The Titanic Conspiracy;Cover-Ups and Mysteries of the World’s Most Famous Sea Disaster (1995, Carol Publishing). Their book examines the motivations of the people involved to switch the ships and argues that something nefarious did occur. The book was and still is dismissed by most Titanic historians as nothing more than tabloid fodder.

It seems to finally have found its home in a fictional novel, which is probably where it ought to be. Gardiner and Van der Vat will likely be reading the book as well kicking themselves for not doing the same thing–or sue Carney alleging he used their “facts” to make his book more legitimate. Down the road I can see a miniseries on a cable network (probably Sci Fi Sy Fy).