Category Archives: Reviews

War Plan Crimson

War Plan CrimsonWar Plan Crimson by Michael Cnudde
Published by Smashwords Edition on 21 June 2011
Genres: Type I - Hard
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
four-stars

Premise - Point of Divergence (POD)

In November 1934 Major General Smedley Darlinton Butler USMC was to sit down in front of the House UnAmerican Activities Committee and expose those intending to overthrow the government. In 'War Plan Crimson' he never made it as the day before he was due to testify he was killed in an 'accident' that involved a very large truck.

The Story

We were lucky.

In our history, Franklin Roosevelt quietly and easily suppressed the 1933 Business Plot, a little-known attempt by a group of Wall Street barons and power brokers to overthrow and replace him with a homeland fascist government.

What if we weren't lucky?

What it the coup plotters had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and placed a homegrown Hitler in the White House? By using hitherto top military secret documents and historical research, author Michael Cnudde tells the story of The War That Almost Was.

The Review

I enjoyed this book immensely. It comes across as being solidly grounded in the history of the time, and shows just how thin the veneer of civilisation can be.

The author’s mixing of historical and fictional characters is well balanced, something that he shares with Harry Turtledove. I particularly liked the portrayal of Erwin Rommel and the role he plays in the story (as well as Rommel’s eventual reward). While many of the characters don’t survive the chaos that follows the coup, the balance between those that don’t and those who do is nicely achieved. And importantly, given how nasty the baddies are, they all end up getting their come-uppances!

Michael is telling a big story from a large number of view points, fortunately he has the knack of being able to quickly introduce a character, and to successfully build a bond between that character and the reader. In some cases this is by reinforcing the views already formed about historical characters, but more often he is introducing someone who is simply in the wrong place in the wrong time. And in this respect, I believe Michael’s ability to create characters for whom the reader cares is superior to that Harry Turtledove. 

Along these lines the death of J Edgar Hoover gave me a totally different view of the man. Talk about going out with all guns blazing!

four-stars

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
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
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

Into the Storm

Into the StormInto the Storm by Taylor Anderson
Series: Destroyermen #1
Published by ROC on 3 June 2008
Genres: Type II - Hard/Soft
Buy on Amazon
four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

Premise – Point of Divergence (POD)

The dinosaurs aren't wiped out and the Earth continues to develop in new, and particularly vicious ways. The evolution of 'Mountain Fish' which prohibit travel in the deep oceans, and the 'Flasher Fish' that seem to resemble particularly nasty piranhas which occupy many of the shallow seas have resulted in significantly differing evolutionary developments on land. As the series develops it becomes clear that this world is a focus for other alternate realities, and not simply our own.

The Story

Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the US Walker—a Great War-era destroyer—finds itself retreating from pursuing Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, desperately leads the Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover—only to emerge into an alternate world. A world where two species have evolved: the cat-like Lemurians and the reptilian Griks, and they are at war.

Series Review

While sometimes patchy the quality of each individual book never falls below 4 stars. Unfortunately I have become less inclined to pursue the series as Taylor progressively layers villain onto villain in a never ending series, and in Deadly Shores in fact stopped reading for a number of months.

Taylor writes particularly strong battle scenes, and he is not adverse to killing off significant characters to maintain interest/realism to what has developed over the series into a truly world war.

Specific Comments About This Specific Book

A strong beginning which certainly grabs your attention and won’t let it go.

four-half-stars

Conquistador

ConquistadorConquistador: A Novel of Alternate History by S. M. Stirling
Published by ROC on 2003
Genres: Type II - Hard/Soft
Pages: 596
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon
five-stars

Premise – Point of Divergence (POD)

Firstside: 1946, John Rolfe accidental creates a portal to the line that is subsequently named New Virginia.

New Virginia: This universe is one in which Alexander the Great lived a full lifespan, creating an empire that stretched from Spain to India. In this world, the MAcedonian Empire proved so strong and durable that it redirected the barbarian migrations of the Goths, Vandals, and others eastward towards China and the rest of the Far East. As a result, what remains of China is a hodgepodge of Indo-European dominated states, the Americas remain undiscovered by the Old Worlds, and technology has barely progressed to a medieval level.

The Story

Oakland 1946. Ex-soldier John Rolfe, newly back from the Pacific, has made a fabulous discovery: a portal to an alternate America where Europeans have never set foot - and the only other humans in sight are a band of very curious Indians. Able to return at will to the modern world, Rolf summons the only people with whom he is willing to share his discovery; his war buddies. And he tells them to bring their families ...

Los Angeles, twenty-first century. Fish and Game warden Tom Christiansen is involved in the bust of a smuggling operation. What he turns up is something he never anticipated: a photo of authentic Aztec priests decked out in Grateful Dead T-shirts, and a live condor from a gene pool that doesn't correspond to any known in captivity or the wild. These finds soon lead him to a woman names Adrienne Rolf - and a secret that's been hidden for sixty years ...

The Review

One of my favourite books ever, and one I have read multiple times. I mean, what could be better than two swashbuckling Rangers (ex-rangers but now serving wildlife rangers) and a beautiful heroine dressed in black and leather boots who shanghais them to the other side of the gate.

There’s even a nod at multiple other alternate realities in the library of one of the main characters, and in the slogans of some of the ruling families, I mean ‘Down Styphon!’. What’s there not to like.

five-stars