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Her Majesty’s American

Her Majesty’s AmericanHer Majesty's American by Steve White
Published by Baen on 4 September 2018
Genres: Type III - Soft
Pages: 240
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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one-star

Premise – Point of Divergence (POD)

1689 - William III and Queen Mary of England unexpectedly produce a male heir (Maurice I)
1775 - First American Revolution
1778 - A reapprochement is reached between the English Crown and the rebels.

The Story

In an alternate future where the British empire never crumbled, the space ships of Her Majesty’s Navy work to keep the spaceways safe. Commander Robert Rogers of the Royal Space Navy is a defense intelligence officer known for his unconventional ways. Rogers is American born-and-raised, a loyal citizen of the Viceroyalty of North America. He’s a descendant of the founder of the highly effective, pro-British Rogers’ Rangers during the Colonial unpleasantries of 1776, and he’s inherited his ancestor’s intelligence and drive in spades.

But there are those among the stars who are not so happy being subjects of the British Empire. In the Tau Ceti system, a cauldron of trouble brews as a terrorist faction of the rebellious Sons of Arnold attacks the empire from within, and warships of the theocratic Caliphate enters the system, prepared to do their worse to destroy the hated empire head on. Yet standing against the coming anarchy and tyranny is one intrepid spy prepared to risk all for queen and empire.

The Review

I bought the book based on the fact that it was billed as an all-new alternate history science fiction from <i>New York Times </i>best-selling author Steve White. Great, I thought, a book from someone who knows how to write – how wrong I was!

Steve White has written this book, while demonstrating all the skills of a first time author, and this is not a good thing. The characters are flat, the chief two villains particularly. But so too is Grey, the female double agent who eventually wins Rogers’ heart (Rogers being the book’s hero). Of course she’s pretty, and naive, but there is never any explanation why she is so stupid.

And Grey is not the only stupid one. Rogers is one of the Royal Navies top investigators and yet he fails to keep his contact at the embassy of his discoveries, and then he gets captured twice. The information he has is both vital, and time critical to the security of the Empire. I mean,seriously, he gets hit by a sonic stunner, and thinks “Idiot!”, then pretty much does the same thing all over again later! Personally, the only hope I have is that he is seriously reamed out on his return, unfortunately I suspect he’ll get away with it as a result of his embellishments/lies in his reports.

But getting back to Mr White’s elementary writing mistakes: he actually uses the phrase “As you undoubtedly know,” when he has one character (De Graeff) launching into providing some back story to Rogers. This is lazy writing, and even lazier editing — if Rogers already knows, why should De Graeff have to waste time telling him.

Perhaps Mr White was so impressed with his own cleverness and the back-history he had created, that he failed to remember that he still had to tell a good story. Frankly, I have no idea what book the reviewers from <i>Booklist</i> and  <i>Publishers Weekly</i>) (the reviews quoted on the Amazon site) were reading but it certainly wasn’t the same one I’m reviewing.

I will admit that my opinion may have been skewed as I had just finished reading Corner-Bryant and Price’s On Editing, so unless you’re in the mood for flat characters, stupid heroes, and a writer who seems to have ditched whatever writing ability they had before starting this book give this one a miss. Having said that, I did actually finish the book, so it does get one star, rather than than the 1/2 it might otherwise demand.

one-star

Eagle in Exile

I received this book for free from Del Rey in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Eagle in ExileEagle in Exile by Alan Smale
Published by Del Rey, Titan Books on 22 March 2016
Genres: Type III - Soft, Type IV - Utterly Implausible
Format: eBook
Source: Del Rey
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four-half-stars

Premise - Point of Divergence (POD)

In 211 AD Geta survives an assassination attempt by his older brother, and co-Emperor Caracalla. Geta wins the following decade long civil war and introduces a number of civil reforms designed to limit his own powers and those of his successors. Military reforms also deter individual legions from aligning themselves with pretenders to the Imperial throne allowing the Roman Empire to continue to flourish, and to successfully weather the subsequent barbarian invasions.

The Story

In A.D. 1218, Praetor Gaius Marcellinus is ordered to conquer North America and turning it into a Roman province. But outside the walls of the great city of Cahokia, his legion is destroyed outright; Marcellinus is the only one spared. In the months and years that follow, Marcellinus comes to see North America as his home and the Cahokians as his kin. He vows to defend these proud people from any threat, Roman or native.

After successfully repelling an invasion by the fearsome Iroqua tribes, Marcellinus realizes that a weak and fractured North America won’t stand a chance against the returning Roman army. Worse, rival factions from within threaten to tear Cahokia apart just when it needs to be most united and strong. Marcellinus is determined to save the civilization that has come to mean more to him than the empire he once served. But to survive the swords of Roma, he first must avert another Iroqua attack and bring the Cahokia together. Only with the hearts and souls of a nation at his back can Marcellinus hope to know triumph.

The Review

This book is where the trilogy really took off for me. No longer concerned with the author’s conceit (defn. a fanciful thought, idea, or expression, especially of a strained or far-fetched nature – see [post2post id=”a-clash-of-eagles”], I just found myself immersed in the story. And what a story!

Once again Marcellinus is the focus of actions that will shape the future of his world, but rather than just the two continents that had clashed in the first book, this time he is the focus for three continents. While I had concerns that in the first book in the series too much was happening to him, in this book he takes history by the neck and bends it into a pretzel.

Surprisingly, given the scale of the events that occur around Marcellinus, this book remains primarily character driven – although I do have to warn you that the number of characters, and the foreignness of their names, makes keeping track of everyone impossible. Something that I am now taking to heart in my own writing.

I particularly liked the developing relationship between Marcellinus and the Emperor, and the way that Kimi, Siski, Tatay, and Enopay continue to grow, and develop.

I look forward with anticipation to reading the next book in the series.

four-half-stars

Gunpowder Empire

Gunpowder EmpireGunpowder Empire by Harry Turtledove
Series: Crosstime Traffic #1
on 2003
Genres: Type III - Soft
Pages: 286
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Buy on Amazon
three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

Premise – Point of Divergence (POD)

Homeline: The discovery by Galbraith and Hester in the 2040's on the home timeline of the alternatives allows the creation of 'Crosstime Traffic'. Traffic is undertaken via capsules.

Agrippan Rome: General Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa did not die until much later and thus oversaw the conquest of Germania. Agrippa later succeeded Augustus as emperor, and laid the foundation for a more stable and longer-lived empire.

The Story

Jeremy Solter is a teenager growing up in the late 21st century. During the school year, his family lives in Southern California - but during the summer the whole family lives and works in the city of Polisso, on the frontier of the Roman Empire. Not the Roman Empire that fell centuries ago, but a Roman Empire that never fell.

For we now have the technology to move between the timelines, and to exploit the untapped resources of those timelines that are hospitable to human life. So we send traders and business people - but as whole-family groups in order to keep the secret of Crosstime Traffic to ourselves.

But when Jeremy's parents duck back home for emergency medical treatment, the gateways stop working. So do all the communications links. Jeremy and his sister are on their own. Polisso is suddenly under siege, and there's only so much you can do when cannonballs are crashing through your roof ...

The Review

Obviously this was developed as a primer and a way of introducing young adults to the Alternate History genre. As a result there is a lot of info dumping as the young reader is introduced, whether they like it or not, to the concept of alternate histories.

I enjoyed the book, but there certainly wasn’t much depth to the characters, and I don’t think Turtledove was able to realistically portray the young brother and sister who were the hero’s of the book.

Turtledove’s strengths have never been his characters, and in this book  restricted by length and a fairly generic back-story he can’t play to his strengths, nor can he play around with history. As a result I think it stumbles as an introduction to the genre.

three-stars

A Clash of Eagles

I received this book for free from Del Rey in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Clash of EaglesA Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale
Published by Del Rey, Titan Books on 20 March 2015
Genres: Type III - Soft, Type IV - Utterly Implausible
Pages: 416
Format: eBook
Source: Del Rey
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four-stars

Premise - Point of Divergence (POD)

In 211 AD Geta survives an assassination attempt by his older brother, and co-Emperor Caracalla. Geta wins the following decade long civil war and introduces a number of civil reforms designed to limit his own powers and those of his successors. Military reforms also deter individual legions from aligning themselves with pretenders to the Imperial throne allowing the Roman Empire to continue to flourish, and to successfully weather the subsequent barbarian invasions.

The Story

The Roman Empire never fell. Now, in 1218 AD, jaded commander Gaius Marcellinus leads his legion into North America confident that he will find easy victories and the gold necessary to finance his Emperor’s endless wars with Mongol China.

Marcellinus couldn’t be more wrong. The inhabitants of Nova Hesperia have impressive fighting skills, along with sophisticated flying machines constructed of wood, skin and sinew which decimate even his disciplined legionaries. And after a harrowing march into the middle of the vast continent, Marcellinus will face the full might of the Mississippian mound-builder culture in a battle that will change his life forever….

The Review

I will start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and that if I hadn’t its significant failings wouldn’t have been so important. But the author has told a damn good story, with believable, likeable characters. I am aware that other reviewers are complained that there is too much focus Marcellinus, with other characters remaining undeveloped. But I must beg to differ here. Certainly Marcellinus serves as the focus of the plot, but other characters were developed sufficiently for you to understand their needs and desires. As Marcellinus learnt about them, so did the readers.

As an ‘alternate’ history, however, this rates well up there with Harry Turtledove, and not in a good way. I mean, flying machines, and a Roman Army with a technology that hasn’t progressed in over 1,000 years. I mean, pleeese!

What I couldn’t decide is whether the author’s world he designed was so utterly implausible by accident, or whether he deliberately designed the story to be a work of fiction. In the end, given the number of references on the Roman Army he quoted I had to plump on the side that he deliberately designed it as a fantasy. In short, this is a conceit (defn. a fanciful thought, idea, or expression, especially of a strained or far-fetched nature). Admittedly a very well written and entertaining conceit, but if you intend reading it you need to be aware of this.

The army as described by the author appears to closely represent the Roman Army of the 1st century. But the book takes place 1218, over 1,000 years after the Point of Dviergence (POD). More importantly many of the technologies used by Marcellinus’s soldier had already changed by the POD. Take for example the pugio, a dagger used by Marcellinus and other Roman soldiers – the problem is that there is no archeological or artistic evidence of the pugio past the 3rd century. And then there’s the shields. By the third century the familiar convex, rectangular shield were already being replaced by a simple oval or round shield. And then the pila. Macellinus’ soldiers still used the pila yet by the POD Roman soldiers had replaced these with half a dozen lead-weighted throwing darts, which incidentally would have proved very useful against the native Americans.

The biggest failure, however, is Rome’s exclusive use of foot soldiers. OK, so there are contrary views concerning whether the Roman Army was actually making greater use of cavalry during the 4th century (the traditional view). But Marcellinus’ Roman Empire is now involved in an endless series of wars with Mongol China, which would have required a heavy use of cavalry. And it’s not impossible to transport horses across the Atlantic (as witnessed by the fact that Marcellinus did have his own personal mount). In support of the expectation that the legion should have included at least a number of light cavalry Spain had established sufficient horses in the Caribbean within 27 years of Colombus’ first voyage, to permit Cortez to include 15 horses with his expedition against the Aztecs.

So am I going to purchase the sequel? Yes – I like Marcellinus and I want to see him achieve his dream – but it doesn’t get a five from me.

four-stars

Gunpowder God

Gunpowder GodGunpoweder God by H. Beam Piper
Series: Paratime
Published by Sphere on 1978
Genres: Type III - Soft
Pages: 189
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon
five-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

First Published as: "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen" 1965

Premise - Point of Divergence (POD)

Aryan-Transpacific line (Aryans move east rather than west, eventually settling the Americas)

The Story

The Paratime Police patrolled the vast number of alternate time-dimensions, the worlds which had branched off at every crucial point in history. Their job was to keep the existence of the alternate Earths a secret. And to keep them from mixing and destroying each other.

But even the Time cops could make mistakes. They made a big one when Calvin Morrison, an apparently ordinary State Trooper from the Fourth Level, Europo-American / Hispano-Columbian subsector was accidently switched through the dimensions into the Aryan-Transpacific sector, Styphon's House subsector.

In a mere few week, Morrison was being hailed as Lord Kalvin. Even worse, he was masterminding a local war that could blow the whole Paratime secret sky-high.

The Review

OK – I have to admit that this is one of my favourite books of all-time, and I must have read it at least ten times over the past 20 years. But what else do you need in a book other than:

  • a pretty, intelligent, and unattached princess;
  • a hero whose skills are not terribly useful on his own line, but who finds himself ideally suited for the new line he gets dumped into;
  • a fight worth fighting against the House of Styphon; and
  • a well set out alternate history.

As Verkan Vall tells the Chief of the Paratime Police on his return from investigating Kalvan Morrison’s accidental transfer to the Styphon subsector timeline:

“Look what he has, on his new time-time, that is old one could never have given him. He’s a great nobleman: they’ve gone out of fashion on Europo-American, where the Common Man is the ideal. He’s going to marry a beautiful princess, and they’ve even gone out of fashion for children’s fairy-tales. He’s a sword-winging soldier of fortune, and they’ve vanished from a nuclear-weapons world. He’s commanding a good little army, and making a better one of it, the work he loves. And he has a cause worth fighting for and an enemy worth beating.”

The only problem is that the book is no longer in print!

five-stars