Alternative-historical works of modern literary process are analyzed in the dissertation. On the basis of analysis of foreign and Ukrainian postmodernist writers' fiction the nature of alternative-historical works of modern literary process is explored. The author analyzes the ontology, genesis and development of alternative history in literary process and science and deduces a formula according to which alternative-historical novels are built. This formula includes 3 components: Current Reality - bifurcation point - Alternative Reality. The thesis develops classification of althistorical scenario modeling. According to the principle of plot formation we single out two types of alternative history in literary process: sheer alternative and pseudoalternative. We divide sheer alternative into two types: realistic and free. Within the concept of plot formation of alternative-historical novels we made a conclusion that two levels of probable scenario building exist: event-trigger and personality. Distinctive features of event-trigger level are historical event removal, insertion of the new event to historical process, changing the result of current reality event, changing some components of the event, changing the time boundaries of the event. Distinctive modeling methods of the personality level are: continuation of existence of historical person, which occurred in current reality, historical person removal from the alternative world, historical person shift from current time and place to Alternative, attribution to a historical person of other unreal actions. One of the main principles of plot formation is simulacrum phenomenon. Authors of modern alternative-historical novels use such simulacra: simulacra of simple reality reflection, simulacra presented by different quasi-documents (quasi-newspapers, quasi-letters, quasi-textbooks, secret archive documents etc.), simulacra of pretended reality, simulacra of distorted reality, simulacra which don't deal with Current Reality. The thesis examines categories of artistic and historical time in althistorical novels, which appear in 2 types: historical time (historical time of humanity process. which is objective) and artistic time (created by the author and subjective, existential). In turn artistic time we divide into 3 types: retroalternative, alternative proper and prognostic (long-term alternative) times. As a basis of this classification was taken a vision model of time division into 3 categories: past, present and future. Other indications which characterize artistic time in alternative-historical novels are: category of certainty/ abstraction, category of subjectivity/objectivity and discrecity. Cited genealogical classification of alternative history in modern literary process, the result of which became the statement that alternative history is interdisciplinary and metagenre formation. The alternative history hasn't genre membership, because its fiction becomes a representative of the whole literary genre system. The leading role of historical fortuity category is revealed. Writers often build historical bifurcation in their novels according to the category of historical fortuity. We marked out two main interpretations of the category "historical fortuity" in alternative-historical novels. The first one: any historical chances lead to unavoidable bifurcation. Though historical chances are submitted to historical laws. The second type is based on the moments of unpredictable fortuity, which elaborates further development of historical scenes, which can be foreseen only up to the next fluctuation, divergence. Here laws are submitted to historical chances, these fortuities represent insignificant events which lead to important consequences. The thesis analyses philosophical mechanism of alternative-historical novels building in modern literary process, which reveals through the category "rhizome". It is the basis of the universe of alternative history philosophy. Rhizome makes possible alternative-historical scenarios develop in all directions, acquire indications of discrecity, join any other segment, forming new "plateau". Rhizome is a mover of fiction, which allows the work to become a construction from hidden and evident quotations.
