June 4, 2007
Alternate history master Turtledove brings his 10-book saga of a Confederate Civil War victory to a satisfying if predictable conclusion. Outfought by the United States and their German allies (as anticipated in 2006's Settling Accounts: The Grapple
), the Confederates finally surrender, ending WWII. Now the Southern states must be brought back into the Union after four wars and 80 years of independence. The victorious Northern forces wage a brutal occupation, ruthlessly retaliating against the local population for ambushes and car bombs. While the Union joyously punishes the persecutors of those Negro “residents” of the Confederacy who survived the Freedom Party's genocide campaign, it fails to remedy its treatment of its own black citizens. With Canada and the secessionist Mormon territories remaining under martial law, some readers may wish that Turtledove follows this time line into uncharted territory in yet another sequel.
July 1, 2007
In an alternate world containing a divided and warring North America, the Confederate States of America (CSA) faces defeat at the hands of the United States, guided by its assistant secretary of war, Franklin Roosevelt. With Europe divided in its allegiances, the beleaguered CSA must decide if it should play its deadliest card: the uranium bomb. Concluding his "Settling Accounts" series (e.g., "Return Engagement"), as well as a cycle of stories that make up the "Great War" and "American Empire" trilogies, Turtledove pulls out all the stops in a panoramic display of historical speculation. Turtledove sets the standard for alternate history and once more proves his worth. Recommended for most libraries.
Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2007
Here ends (probably) alternate historys closest rival10 volumesand a prequelto Robert Jordans plethoric fantasy, the 11-volume Wheel of Time. The Confederacy crumbles in ruins, as Jake Featherstone meets the end he richly deserves. Generals Dowling and Morrell end with the high rank and position their efforts deserve, while Michael Pound recovers from burns received in a well-drawn tank battle, and Chester Martin ends his second war successfully, having kept his platoon commander from killing the whole platoon. On the other hand, the sagas four-contestant nuclear race leaves four nuclear powers still standing at wars end, and both soldiers and civilians contemplating the spectacle with crossed fingers. Moreover, race relations in the defunct Confederacy are horrible, entailing the murder of at least six million colored, a genocide that dwarfs this-world Bosnia and Rwanda combined. Meanwhile, Clarence Potter, Cincinnatus Driver, and Flora Blackford willbe working to heal the malignant scars in Turtledoves parallel continuum, so who can say how the U.S.might emerge?Perhaps into a three-cornered cold war (U.S., Germany, Japan)if and when Turtledove obligesreader curiosity A conclusion worthy ofa nonpareilsaga.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)