The Guns of the South

Rating:
Summary: Nice. Very nice...
Review: After three weeks I finally finished it! The Guns of the South is an enjoyable book, which thoroughly entertained me throughout those three weeks. It successfully combines science-fiction with history, what with the whole time travelling thing and all. The novel was not really about just the South winning the Civil War, but more about what the first few years after the war would have been like had the South indeed won the Civil War. The controversy brought about by Robert E. Lee's plans to manumit the slaves was particularly good, as was the final battle in Rivington, where Rhoodie's men's means of travel to the nineteenth century is discovered. The inclusion of the 47th North Carolina was interesting, as well, and Mr. Turtledove must have gone through a hell of a lot of research to include the various privates and such serving in the regiment. I did a little research of my own, and I happily recognized several names of the 47th's roster, including George Lewis, Ben Drake, and Wren Tisdale among others. And I was pleased that Turtledove didn't go and make the North out to be a bunch of bumbling nitwits like in his other alternate Civil War novel, How Few Remain. Relations between the USA and CSA actually remain pretty good by the end of the Guns of the South, unlike the aforementioned How Few Remain, and its sequel, The American Front. Guns of the South was not perfect, though, the story could have been just as easily told without some of the Nate Caudell scenes. Other than some occasional lags like that, the Guns of the South was a highly enjoyable novel, and if you like reading about the Civil War (like me), then you might like this book, too.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT YARN
Review: GUNS OF THE SOUTH is an excellent book. Well written with a great concept for alternative history buffs: What if the South had received AK-47s. Talk about a force multiplier. If you like this one and the genre`, try WHAT IF? It offers several alternative histories with more credible possibilities.

Rating:
Summary: THE Classic of Alternate History
Review: I generally prefer straight alternate history -- that is, alt. hist. without any SF or other dues ex machina. However, The Guns of the South (which uses the artiface of 21st Century Afrikaners with a time machine bringing Gen. Lee 100,000 AK-47s in 1864) is THE classic of this genre, SF or not. Turtledove so masterfully demonstrates his understanding of military maneuver and equipment in the first third of the book that it simply blows you away: the descriptions of battles following the arrival of the AK-47s is both intricate and utterly engrossing. THEN, as if that weren't enough (and it better not be, since that was only 1/3 of the book), he shows a grasp of the politics and culture of this alternate post-bellum South that simply astonishes. Oh, and by the way, it's a heck of a story. Buy it now, and when you're done, go get all his other stuff; but be warned that you'll never find better than this.

Rating:
Summary: An Extremely Literate Work
Review: I question whether John Thatch read this book at all before reviewing it. The issues he raises concerning the war, its causes, and the probable outcome had the South won are PRECISELY the issues explored in this highly literate, wonderfully realized novel.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Read
Review: "The Guns of the South" opens up in 1864, some time after the battle of Gettysburg. It seems only a matter of time before the ragtag Confederate army is defeated and the Union restored. It is under these desperate circumstances that a mysterious man approaches General Lee with an offer he can't refuse.

This intriguing blend of historical fiction and science fiction offers a little of everything and moreover is a relatively realistic account of what *might* have happened if you accept the device the author uses to change things. As someone who has studied history, I was delighted to see the inclusion of a lot of real-life political figures of the time, especially later on in the book. You don't need to be a history buff to enjoy this one, though -- it stands on it's own. As long as you have a basic idea of what the Civil War was about, you'll be able to understand it just fine and you might even learn something.

This is in some ways a lot better than regular historical fiction because the outcome of things is in doubt. I was also pleased to see that the war itself only extends for 150 pages or so and a lot of the book actually deals with the consequences of what happened. Even history related books and historical fiction books often fall short in explaining what actually *did* happen after that point, so I was pleased to see that the book dealt with the alternate history in detail.

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Summary: A Well-Reseached and Detailed Account of a Past That Wasn't!
Review: This is the first alternate history novel I've read and also the first Harry Turtledove. Just let me say that if the author's other books are this painstakingly realized, I'll be a fan for life. This novel captured me from the first page and didn't let go! I felt I really got to know the characters on a personal level and so cared about what happened to them. Any author that can do that is well worth the time and effort required to read.

Rating:
Summary: A Neat Novel on the Civil War!
Review: I have tried to read several of this authors books. His World at War series, How few Remain, and his Great War Series. I have hated them all and stopped half way through. However, his plots keep intriguing me and I always find myself buying his latest books. Guns of the South was the one book of his I liked. I thought the idea of South Africans going back in time and arming the Confederacy with modern weapons and Robert E. Lee with heart medicine was fantastic. I also liked how he shows the now independent Confederacy dealing with the issue of slavery. So again, my review is one from someone who is not a fan of this author. However, this was a great book and one any fan of the civil war will enjoy.

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Summary: Just can't put it down
Review: This book was amazing. I am a big Civil War fan as well as an alternative history fan. This book killed two birds with one stone for me. The civil war research put into this book was stunning. Even the appendices in the back are worth the time to read. It is plausible that this would have happened if the South had one the war. It really makes you think if you want,yet it is also a fascinating story that makes you forget everything around you. Well worth the time and money..

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, astounding alternate history
Review: In science fiction criticism, they talk of stories that create a sense of wonder. I look for that experience when I buy sf, but it's a hard commodity for me to find. The Guns of the South evoked that sense of wonder, and also provided a very strong sense of time and place -- the Civil War during and after a Confederate victory. The victory, of course, was the work of Nazi-like racists from the future who provided the South with AK-47 assault rifles. The novel focused on two protagonists -- Nate Caudill, a Confederate soldier, and Robert E. Lee, who becomes the president of the new Confederate nation. Both key characters are humble, good men with whom I could comfortably identify. And other than the time travel premise, I found this book remarkably plausible, without the absurd coincidences that serve as plot mechanisms in many best sellers. The ominous machinations of the Rivington men against the backdrop of 19th century America was simply fascinating.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting View of the Confederacy After Victory
Review: From the onset, it's all too obvious that Confederates armed with automatic weapons will slaughter their Union opponents & win the war. The great interest in this book is it's story of what happened after the war: that Abraham Lincoln lived on as a discredited advocate of north/south friendship; that Lee became the Confederacy's progressive president; and that the South was, 1st, to defeat their S. African racist allie, and, 2nd, to learn and apply the 20th Century technology that the S. Africans had bought with them.