The Great War: Walk in Hell

Rating:
Summary: "Another Winner By The Master Of AH"
Review: As usual, Turtledove does an excellent job showing us this alternate WWI through the eyes of his diverse characters. Not only do we see the actual fighting, but we see what goes on behind the lines. Canadians living under U.S. rule, working women dealing with rationing and Western Union death notices and a Socialist woman doing what she can to end the war. The Confederates also have a major problem besides the USA. The blacks in the South have begun a full-scale Socialist Revolution. Turtledove also shows off new inventions thrown into the war, such as flamethrowers and tanks (called barrels by the USA) No matter what side of the conflict his characters are on or what their beliefs are, they are written in such a way that you can't help but care about them.

Rating:
Summary: No Let Down Here!
Review: Mr. Turtledove again proves his established position as the greastest Alternate History Writer. This book is impossible to put down, as a teenager I found this book both insightful and entertaining. I have read the previous books in this series (and the book after this one) and other books written by this great author. I am also a great lover of history and military history, and this fulfills my hunger for great literature (although it is not factual, I still find myself believing this really happened while reading his books). Take my advice, read as many of his books as you can, soon you too will be a Turtledove addict like me.

Rating:
Summary: Great concept, mediocre execution
Review: I've seen plenty of American and British reviews of Turtledove, but I'd like to express my view as a Canadian (as well as a student of history). Turtledove always presents me with a fascinating concept and then proceeds to dissappoint me in how he deals with it.... The author tends to overlook historical logic for the sake of developing the plot as he wishes (and despite this, developments happen so bloody slowly!). Just two Cases in point: 1)a naval attack on the British held Pearl Harbour would likely look more like a Gallipoli than a WWII-style Pearl Harbour- shore batteries are not so easy to take out. 2) Having the North devlop tanks at the same time as the Brits did historically seems like such a cop-out, to avoid having to America's enemies any real advantages. Germany didn't develop a tank before the Brits, and when they did start making WWI tanks, they were shabby copies of the Allied versions- why would the North be any different? However, I will say Kudos to Turtledove for allowing Canada to put up a good fight-they were some of WWI's best soldiers, and wouldn't have gone down easy. Ultimately, I do agree with Turtledove with what the ultimate outcome of this conflict would be, but I disagree with how he reaches it- it just seems too staged for the purposes of his sequels. This combined with the plodding writing style and the bad sex scenes ("He saluted her, but but not with his hands"? I could do without that) makes me say that this book contains a lot of squandered potential for the alternative history buff.