Storm Front (Twilight of the Gods Book 1)

Storm Front (Twilight of the Gods Book 1)Storm Front Published by Author Self Published on 11 December 2015
Genres: Type II - Hard/Soft
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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four-half-stars

Premise - Point of Divergence (POD)

In 1941, Adolf Hitler didn't declare war on the United States.

The Story

Now, in 1985, the Third Reich stretching from the coast of France to the icy wastes of Eastern Russia, appears supremely powerful. With a powerful force of nuclear warheads and the finest military machine on Earth, there is no hope for freedom for the billions who groan under its rule. Adolf Hitler’s mad dreams have come to pass.

And yet, all is not well in the Reich. The cold war with the United States and the North Atlantic Alliance is destroying the Reich’s economy, while a savage insurgency in South Africa - a war the Reich cannot win and dares not lose - is sapping its military strength. And, while the Reich Council struggles to find a way to save the Reich from its own weaknesses, a young German girl makes a discovery that will shake the Reich to its core.

But the Reich Council will not go quietly into the night ...

The Review

I read this at a time (not that long ago) when I was seeking reassurance that evil would not triumph, and that in general the vast mass of humanity was intrinsically good, or at least not necessarily evil. Christopher makes a succinct, and in my opinion, successful argument that evil cannot continue indefinitely (although for those who had to live through the 52 years of Nuttall’s Third Reich it may very well have felt like it).

Photo of model of Hitler's Germania

Model of Germania

Nuttall’s alternate history posits that the Third Reich was successful in beating the Soviets, and winning the war. As a result Hitler’s dream of Germania, a new capital to challenge that of Ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Rome is built, and the Nazi Empire has spread itself across most of the former Russian lands.  Despite that the Reich has never admitted to the evils it committed during the war.

It is now 1985 and the Reich is locked in a cold war with the USA and the rest of the free world (including the UK). The war is expensive, and in conjunction with the Reich’s enormous unfunded state based welfare system is threatening the collapse of its economy. A collapse which is speeding up as a result of the Reich’s involvement in actively supporting the apartheid regime in South Africa.

It is in this world that a university student, Gudrun, the daughter of a policeman, and betrothed to a soldier fighting in South Africa discovers that the government is lying about the state of the war in South Africa. Full of righteous indignation Gudrun persuades some of her fellow students to protest. Despite their naivety the protests quickly snowball (think the 2019 example in Hong Kong). One of the aspects I particularly liked about the story was how Gudrun’s father eventually came round to supporting his daughter.

four-half-stars

Marked in Flesh

Marked in FleshMarked in Flesh by Anne Bishop
Series: The Others #4
Published by ROC on 8 Mar 2016
Genres: Type X - Alien Space Bats
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
three-stars

Premise – Point of Divergence (POD)

NOT APPLICABLE

The Story

For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they're willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community...

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don't realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs...

The Review

Well first off, let me wish the marketing genius who decided that this work of fantasy is alternate history to a shared cell with one of Ms Bishop’s ‘others’, because it isn’t. Not at all, no way. The central premise for the series being that the ‘gods’ are real, and that shapeshifters share the world with humanity – explain to me how that is Alternate History.

Obviously ROCS marketing department decided that Ms Bishop had a better chance of getting a number one rating in Alternate History rather than in the much larger field of Fantasy. Can’t argue with that – EXCEPT ITS WRONG PEOPLE!

Having said that, although I really enjoyed Books 1-3 I found ‘Marked in the Flesh’ quite frustrating, for the simple reason that the Human Supremacists are stupid. Mindbogglingly stupid. I mean how could any organisation without nuclear weapons (or even with nuclear weapons for that matter) believe they had any chance of beating the Mediterranean, let alone the Atlantic.

three-stars

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
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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

Genealogy software for writers

Science Fiction and Fantasy writers often have the need to keep track of enormous numbers of people. Genealogy programs would appear ideal for this purpose but SF&F writers often need to be able to identify individuals by their planet (or in my case 54 individual ‘timelines’ or ‘alternative reali) and/or be able to operate multiple calendars. Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts to find a program to meet my needs the closest I’ve been able get is Genopro. Other software includes GRAMPS and Agelong Tree 4.

Genopro can at times be frustrating to use, but it does allow the user to include user definable fields. So in addition to the normal:

  • Place name
  • Parent place
  • Place category (eg university)
  • Place Description
  • Street Address
  • City
  • Zip / Postal Code
  • County / Region
  • State / Province
  • Country
  • Latitude and Longitude
  • Comments

You can include additional fields like

  • Planet
  • Political alignment

It also has the ability for the date a chart has been prepared to be included, eg if you have a family tree and you want to see how old everyone is in 2013, just set the date to 2013. If you want to see how old they were in 2009, just change the date to 2009. Unfortunately if you have a character who died in 2012 aged 59 it continues to show the individual as dead in 2009, aged 59. Given that my Clemhorn Trilogy covers approximately 7 years of extremely bloody fratricidal civil war you can see the difficulty I have if I attempt to use the same chart for the beginning as I do end of the war.

In addition Genopro doesn’t handle imaginary calendars. Clemhorn’s Cross-Temporal Empire measures time beginning with its establishment in 1884CE, i.e. 0AE. In Genopro I simply show birth and death dates in AE and set the display date as 95AE (or 103AE for the situation at the end of the war). However other genealogy software uses the system or today’s date which makes for some extremely old character (think nearly 2000 years old).

While GRAMPS has the ability to create entirely fictitious calendars it requires a significant amount of programing skill in python (and even then the amount of instructions regarding the method are woefully lacking).

The one big problem I have with Genopro (and any other program I’ve looked at) is its inability to automatically distil a complex family tree and create something suitable for publication. Finally, however, I found that it was possible to use Excel and manually create the required family tree. See FIRST FAMILIES OF THE CROSS TEMPORAL EMPIRE (95AE).