Rating: 
Summary: Great New Book
Review: If you are an "alternate history" afficianado, don't miss this excellent new book. It is creative, but also very readable and credible. Marvelous use is made throughout of several canine species, but you don't need to be a dog enthusiast to enjoy it."Night Dog" is based on quite plausible shifts in the geopolitical, technological, and economic developments which characterized the seminal period between the late Victorian 1800s in England, the Boer War, and the outbreak of World War I. This was an era that in turn cast long shadows over the rest of the 20th Century. This novel features splendid adaptations of well-known historical figures and groups - including an aging Queen Victoria and a youthful Winston Churchill; industrial pioneers such as Hiram Maxim, Henry Ford, and Germany's Herr Daimler (founder of Mercedes/Benz); plus the famous Zulu nation of Africa - which is cast in a truly unique role. Comparatively, Putnam's writing style attractively combines Harry Turtledove's depth and Harry Harrison's pace, with an intriguing bit of religious mysticism blended in. This is the first book in a trilogy. I'm looking forward eagerly to reading the ensuing volumes.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly A Different World
Review: It sometimes is hard, both as a SF and an alternAtive history buff, to separate the two. This book, especially as a first novel, is wonderful. I do not claim to know anything about English history of the bulldog (and I will look into this over the next few months), but this book is very convincing. The Boer War as postulated is a hard version of the the basic idea of democracies doing pre-emptive war (Dubya not withstanding). The author truly reflects a level of understanding of "those" conflicts as they existed and interacted in our world. The "history" is believable, the wars fit the technology of the time and/or how it could have been "advanced" - though who knows (other than experts), how the rulers really thought and acted). In reality, and with all consideration, the bases of the novel seem real and possible. (Please ignore the specifics of the characters as portrayed in the book for this comment.) If you like an upper class view of history (with very real workers and peasants portrayed - and are interested in something of Winston Churchill's life options), this is a great upper class (or very yuppie) version of late 19th century history. This novel is worth every penny and it fits in with anything Turtledove, Drake and Sterling (among others) have postulated as alternative history in the last few years (though I can go back to the thirties for "better"). (I will not state any of the novel's specifics herein.) Let us just say - that as postulated - an alternative 1890's - the story line is plausible, substantive and believable. There are not as many as precise and worked through as this one (other than the bulldog premise) - and I so say after 40+ years of reading SF). (You may or may not believe my thoughts, dear readers). Thank you !!!
Rating:
Summary: Bulldogs vs.History - and Reality
Review: It sometimes is hard, both as a SF and an alternAtive history buff, to separate the two. This book, especially as a first novel, is wonderful. I do not claim to know anything about English history of the bulldog (and I will look into this over the next few months), but this book is very convincing. The Boer War as postulated is a hard version of the the basic idea of democracies doing pre-emptive war (Dubya not withstanding). The author truly reflects a level of understanding of "those" conflicts as they existed and interacted in our world. The "history" is believable, the wars fit the technology of the time and/or how it could have been "advanced" - though who knows (other than experts), how the rulers really thought and acted). In reality, and with all consideration, the bases of the novel seem real and possible. (Please ignore the specifics of the characters as portrayed in the book for this comment.) If you like an upper class view of history (with very real workers and peasants portrayed - and are interested in something of Winston Churchill's life options), this is a great upper class (or very yuppie) version of late 19th century history. This novel is worth every penny and it fits in with anything Turtledove, Drake and Sterling (among others) have postulated as alternative history in the last few years (though I can go back to the thirties for "better"). (I will not state any of the novel's specifics herein.) Let us just say - that as postulated - an alternative 1890's - the story line is plausible, substantive and believable. There are not as many as precise and worked through as this one (other than the bulldog premise) - and I so say after 40+ years of reading SF). (You may or may not believe my thoughts, dear readers). Thank you !!!
Rating:
Summary: American Bulldog Resources
Review: The Gamekeeper's Night Dog is a combination of a Jack London novel with an alternate history/military narrative a la Harry Turtledove. Dave Putnam takes us to the last decade of the 19th century and inside a Britain preparing to fight a war in South Africa. Through cajolery and sheer determination, engaging characters like the cantankerous Fred Greystone provide the British Army with packs of fearsome war dogs before the fighting begins. Anyone that has chaffed under the restrictions of a stifling bureaucracy will cheer Greystone's mission of returning his native land to the freedom and earthiness of an earlier time. Battle sequences with highly trained bulldogs are well crafted, realistic, and chilling; yet the reader is transported into an alternate time and place, an alternate history that could have been: if only. Whether you are a history buff and are familiar with the outcome of the Boer War, or a dog lover that enjoys an action packed military novel, this story line will prove engaging and entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: God is a blackhole and other shortcuts
Review: This book may very well contain the finest last 300 pages in the history of writing, but unless you have a tremendous ability to set aside the absurd you may never see them. While the premise of a military using specially trained dogs in conjunction with infantry troopers is fascinating, the ham-handed dialog, horrible non-sequitors and amateurish prose make getting to the meat of the story very difficult indeed. Early on, you are introduced to Banner, the titular Gamekeeper who through turns of fate set in motion by Satan (yup...Satan) ends up rescuing the last, full blooded bulldog in all of England-Lockjaw. Early on, Banner realizes that Lockjaw is something special...not only is he a brute that has to have his taste of 'man blood', but he understands spoken English (beyond sit,stay,heel,etc) and has reasoning skills beyond most middle managers. To backup his views of Lockjaws special nature, Banner is visited by god in a dream...not necessarily the god you're used to mind, but the black hole at the center of the galaxy who has special 'feelings' for mankind and is really the god that every religion has every followed. This 'god' tells Banner that the bulldog is special and that Satan has been trying to destroy all bulldogs so that god's gift to man is lost. He also tells Banner that the bulldog is critical to changing history or Britain will be forced to fight war after war in the coming century--starting with the Boer war in South Africa. Banner is fed a stream of vignettes of various battles and events that follow the history we're familiar with--although at some point, Britain's future history and that of the US begins to jumble together into a hodgepodge. Banner and his new wife and her grandfather (Lockjaws breeder) begin their god given task of saving the bulldogs and Britain. If anything positive can be said of this book, it is that the author shares his love of the bulldog breed with his readers. The author obviously has a great affinity for the breed that shows throughout the book. Gamekeeper's Night Dog is published by Bulldog Press and I'm sad to say that the quality of the book and it's writing are probably at a second tier publisher because none of the larger publishers would want it. Your book buying money will be better spent reading almost any Turtledove, S.M Stirling or any of the other first rate alternate history authors who don't have to stoop to a blackhole being god and similar literary shortcuts for their history changing impetus.
Rating:
Summary: Truly A Different World
Review: To enjoy this novel, one must be able to suspend disbelief and accept a worldview that is not based upon straight scientific cause and effect. Thus, this novel differs from alternative histories of Turtledove or Stirling (where other than the "divergence event", reality is postulated to follow all the "rules" of the universe as we know them). In many ways, this book reminds me of the style of an old Norman Spinrad novel, the "Iron Dream" in which Spinrad imagines, what if Adolf Hitler had emigrated to America and became a science fiction author in the 30's? The book then takes a point of view that is not entirely rational. Similarly, The Gamekeeper's Night Dog is written from the point of view of someone that is not quite rational. For example, the author explains in great detail why it is better to wipe out thousands of Boers in a battle than to see the Boer nation suffer in concentration camps. What makes this book compelling is the incredible detail about wardogs and Bulldogs and the sense of fanaticism that permeates the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Its A Dog Eat Dog War
Review: Well it wasn't my favorite book, but I did enjoy it. Some reviewers stated that it wasn't well written and that it wasn't alternate history. I have read poorly published books before and this was not one of them. The dialogue was good, and did not stumble (I felt), granted it wasn't a pullizer, but it wasn't trash either. And yes it was Alt. History I don't know how it could have been anything but. Course the develpment of WWI technology in last decade of the 19th cent. Machine guns, yeah, but airplanes, in 1894, that are 10 years more advanced than what the Wright Bro. flew in 1902, eventhough they had divine intervention. So military tech. progressed a little too quickly in this book. The most interesting aspect of this novel was the war dogs. Granted they'd have had more of a place in the Boer War than WWI, as an offensive force, but still Putnam makes them out to be a force to reckoned with.
Rating:
Summary: Historical facts meet great description fiction
Review: Working dog lovers-enthusiasts and historical buffs will love this book. If you enjoy the History channel (especially the shows on WWI & WWII) you will love this book! Dave does a great job of blending historical facts with great fiction to produce a book that keeps you guessing to what is going to happen next. Somehow you become entranced in the rewriting of history and Dave's descriptive ability makes you think you are living this story. Can't wait to get my hands on the next book!
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