1901

Rating:
Summary: Good First Novel, Uniquie Alternate History
Review: "1901", Robert Conroy's first (and, so far, only) novel, is a suprisingly well written, well thought-out work. It isn't a masterpiece by any means, but it is a very good and entertaining alternate history that deals with a very original divergence point. In 1901 Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, desiring a colonial empire to rival England and France, and angered by the USA's refusal to sell their newly acquired colonies from Spain, launches an invasion at New York. As the United States has almost little or no standing army in the country, and Germany has the largest and best army in the world, it becomes clear that the United States may very well lose this war.

Conroy does pretty well with his divergence. It's plausible, which is the golden rule of alternate history. Conroy makes the reader believe that there could have been German troops wandering around Brooklyn and Manhattan, and portrays convincingly a U.S. government, led by Theodore Roosevelt, desperately trying to fight off these very aggressive, very professional invaders. Conroy is also particularly effective in evoking images underlining the brutallity of war. Men are mowed down, heads explode, bodies break, soldiers scream, and cities burn. Essentially, Conroy creates a microcosm of the First World War on American soil.

Conroy also gives a pretty wide set of view-points. He criss-crosses from New York, to Washington D.C., to Berlin, and back again. His protagonist, Patrick Mahan, is thrust into an overwhelming situation, leading a rag-tag brigade of German- and African-American troops, while finding true love. Ludwig Weber wonders why he has come from Germany to this strange country in the service of a ruler he believes insane. TR gnashes his teeth, trots around enthusastically, while managing to hold the country together. Kasier Wilhelm gnashes teeth, asserts his greatness, and constantly demands reassurances from his council, none of whom really are loyal to their ruler.

Conroy is also suprisingly good at maintaining suspense. We care about the characters by and large, and the fact that they could die keeps the reader on his/her toes. More importantly, Conroy builds his suspense by rewriting history. Initially when I began reading, I was convinced the U.S. would win. But as the book progressed, I wasn't so sure, particularly given the one-sided quality of the events. And regardless of who won, the ultimate consequences on the world would be amazing.

Conroy does have some clunky passages, and some of his plot lines are cliched. Not all of his characters are a well defined as they could be. The kaiser in particular seems a little cartoony (in all fairness to Conroy, every biographical essay, text, etc. suggests that Willy had no depth). However it is a first novel, and these problems are easily overlooked. Conroy's novel is simply entertaining and enjoyable. It's a shame it is out of print five years after publication, as it would be an obvious book for DelRey or some other such publisher of alternate history to snap up. I also hope Conroy continues writing books, as he does have a great deal of skill and craft that just needs to be refined. The overall quality of "1901" is proof of that.

Rating:
Summary: Good First Novel, Uniquie Alternate History
Review: "1901", Robert Conroy's first (and, so far, only) novel, is a suprisingly well written, well thought-out work. It isn't a masterpiece by any means, but it is a very good and entertaining alternate history that deals with a very original divergence point. In 1901 Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, desiring a colonial empire to rival England and France, and angered by the USA's refusal to sell their newly acquired colonies from Spain, launches an invasion at New York. As the United States has almost little or no standing army in the country, and Germany has the largest and best army in the world, it becomes clear that the United States may very well lose this war.

Conroy does pretty well with his divergence. It's plausible, which is the golden rule of alternate history. Conroy makes the reader believe that there could have been German troops wandering around Brooklyn and Manhattan, and portrays convincingly a U.S. government, led by Theodore Roosevelt, desperately trying to fight off these very aggressive, very professional invaders. Conroy is also particularly effective in evoking images underlining the brutallity of war. Men are mowed down, heads explode, bodies break, soldiers scream, and cities burn. Essentially, Conroy creates a microcosm of the First World War on American soil.

Conroy also gives a pretty wide set of view-points. He criss-crosses from New York, to Washington D.C., to Berlin, and back again. His protagonist, Patrick Mahan, is thrust into an overwhelming situation, leading a rag-tag brigade of German- and African-American troops, while finding true love. Ludwig Weber wonders why he has come from Germany to this strange country in the service of a ruler he believes insane. TR gnashes his teeth, trots around enthusastically, while managing to hold the country together. Kasier Wilhelm gnashes teeth, asserts his greatness, and constantly demands reassurances from his council, none of whom really are loyal to their ruler.

Conroy is also suprisingly good at maintaining suspense. We care about the characters by and large, and the fact that they could die keeps the reader on his/her toes. More importantly, Conroy builds his suspense by rewriting history. Initially when I began reading, I was convinced the U.S. would win. But as the book progressed, I wasn't so sure, particularly given the one-sided quality of the events. And regardless of who won, the ultimate consequences on the world would be amazing.

Conroy does have some clunky passages, and some of his plot lines are cliched. Not all of his characters are a well defined as they could be. The kaiser in particular seems a little cartoony (in all fairness to Conroy, every biographical essay, text, etc. suggests that Willy had no depth). However it is a first novel, and these problems are easily overlooked. Conroy's novel is simply entertaining and enjoyable. It's a shame it is out of print five years after publication, as it would be an obvious book for DelRey or some other such publisher of alternate history to snap up. I also hope Conroy continues writing books, as he does have a great deal of skill and craft that just needs to be refined. The overall quality of "1901" is proof of that.

Rating:
Summary: High hopes...
Review: ...for this book (I thought the premise was fascinating, and involved a time period/scenario that's received too little attention in the alt-history genre) were quickly dashing as I started trying to read it...Mr. Conroy's research is no doubt accurate, and it's a truly great idea for a book, but the writing itself is just, well, horrid. I hate saying that, but it's true. It's a shame he didn't enlist the help of someone with a writing background to co-author this with him. It could have been an interesting read if it was readable.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting "What If"
Review: A refreshing change of pace. Very well-written, even if I do disagree with the premise of the story.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting read of a little known era
Review: As Conroy's first novel, he does a fine job of delving into an era that, to my knowledge, has not been touched by any other alternate history novelists. The book picks up towards the second half but the ending is a bit rushed. A good read, nonetheless.

Rating:
Summary: Overall, a great read if you like alternate history.
Review: Conroy manages to take a single premise, what if the German Reich of Wilhelm II went to war with the United States to gain its newly acquired colonial territories, and weaves a great book. While the plot is a fairly straightforward telling of the story of the war and its effect on a few people, he interweaves so much of the American history of the early 20th Century into the book that, at each turn, you find yourself wondering who will turn up next. Conroy uses a number of points of view on both the American and the German side to tell the tale of the war. He also tells it on high and low levels. We get to see the war from the seats of power in the White House and in the German Chancellery as well as from the ground. Conroy gives a story that ends entirely too soon. I found myself wanting a lot more detail and a lot more story. Simply, I wanted the book to last longer than it did, so I could savor it all the more. If you like alternate histories, along the lines of Harry Turtledove's "The Guns of the South," you will like this book.

Rating:
Summary: Overall, a great read if you like alternate history.
Review: Conroy manages to take a single premise, what if the GermanReich of Wilhelm II went to war with the United States to gain its newly acquired colonial territories, and weaves a great book. While the plot is a fairly straightforward telling of the story of the war and its effect on a few people, he interweaves so much of the American history of the early 20th Century into the book that, at each turn, you find yourself wondering who will turn up next. Conroy uses a number of points of view on both the American and the German side to tell the tale of the war. He also tells it on high and low levels. We get to see the war from the seats of power in the White House and in the German Chancellery as well as from the ground. Conroy gives a story that ends entirely too soon. I found myself wanting a lot more detail and a lot more story. Simply, I wanted the book to last longer than it did, so I could savor it all the more. If you like alternate histories, along the lines of Harry Turtledove's "The Guns of the South," you will like this book.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but doesn't convince
Review: Conroy starts with an interesting premise, set in a fascinating period which has not received much attention. Unfortunately, within a few pages the errors of fact and atmosphere begin to mount up.

On introducing the Bavarian private Ludwig Weber, the principal German character, we are told he belongs to the implausibly-named "kaiser's Imperial 4th Rifles" - it's not terribly difficult to track down an actual Bavarian regiment (Koenigreich-Bayern 4. Infanterie-Regiment, for example?!).

More to the point, the dialog doesn't come across as authentic - a little more reading around late-19th c. American lit might have suggested to Conroy that the favorite oath of well-bred American gentlemen in the period was not an Anglo-Saxon term for manure.

Naturally, the Germans must be cast as the bad guys, but I couldn't help thinking as I read it that one might just as well substitute Wells' Martians for Conroy's cardboard-cutout squarehead automatons in pickelhube helmets.

In short, Conroy began with an interesting idea, but in the end his book is spoiled by a lack of research, both as regards the technical military details but more importantly the ambience of dialog, character and zeitgeist.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the time
Review: Conroy takes a risk here in exploring an actual plan that now with hindsight seems wildly unlikely. It's easy to forget that the U.S. wasn't perceived as a much of a military power in 1901 in any measure and really wouldn't be one until 1942-3, although Conroy's drawing on our Civil War and Spanish America experiences is very reasonable. I think any fan of alternate history and the period will find this a quick and enjoyable read. My only quibble was Conroy's obsession with smokeless powder German bolt-action rifles against American black-powder Springfields until the arrival of the regulars with Krag-Jorgenson smokeless rifles...sure it's a big advantage but Winchester and Remington were making vast numbers of smokeless, repeating rifles after 1894 and their plants are in very close proximity to the German invasion so rearming National Guard, veterans, State Militia, West Point's cadets, etc. extremely quickly would be unusually easy here, as opposed to anywhere else on the continent. One reviewer asks about the citizenry but I don't think folks in that region might be as heavily armed with smokeless powder hunting rifles as say the Western states. He also ignores calling back up the tens of thousands recently mustered and somewhat trained soldiers from the 1898-1899 enlistments to fight Cuba...far from all stayed in the Army and transferred to the Phillipines campaign, most would again be living along the East Coast and Midwest in rail-served communities. Of course ignoring this makes for a more dramatic climax and tension so it serves the story well.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely a MUST read for Alternate History Buffs!!
Review: Conroy's 1901 is a joy of a book and a great read! Alternate history is by nature painted with a broad brush and its stories are more generalized than specific. It IS an "alternate" history, after all, and not meant to be 100% consistent with actual history as we know it. I question some of the negative reviews in that the author wrote a novel and should not be slammed for not being "historical". If you liked "1945" by Gingrich and Fortschen, or "Fox on the Rhine", you will enjoy "1901". I just want to know if the sequel is in the works......