American Empire: Blood and Iron

Rating:
Summary: Great page-turner, but I fear it could become predictable
Review: I've enjoyed Dr. Trutledove's Worldwar series thus far, and really enjoyed this installment. Here we see the political and economic consequences of the war, which I find more interesting than the actual battle scenes. But I must echo some of the complaints other reviewers have made. First, Turtledove once again largely ignores Europe, leaving us little idea as to what is going on there. How large is the German Empire now? What happened to Belgium, and, more importantly, to Russia. (You would think that American Socialists like Flora Hamburger would be more interested in the Bolshevik Revolution, if indeed that is what has occurred). What about the French and British empires overseas? A world map would be useful, and some election figures (so the Socialists have a majority- of how much?) Second, a few of the characters were rather boring. Lucien Galtier and Morrell had very little to do (and Galtier never speaks of his new country; is Quebec really that unintersting?). The book needed more politics. Third, I am concerned that Turtledove may simply be repeating our own history in an alternate setting, a fear raised by other critics which I find most distressing. If this is true, than the rise of Featherston and the Freedom Party is inevitable; a new War, almost exactly like our WWII, will occur. Turtledove should take more liberties with his timeline. For example, he could have Featherston assume power in a coup, a la Mussolini, rather than a long series of accumulated electoral victories. He could have a new European crisis (the Austro-Hungarian Empire could collapse, for example; even victory wouldn't help it much- and the same could easily go for the Ottomans). He could even pit the U.S. and Germany against each other, a concept he himself suggested in the last chapter of Blood and Iron- a shift in alliances like the 18th-century Diplomatic Revolution. OF course, whatever he does, I'll be sure to buy his next book.

Rating:
Summary: Average Book From an Overworked Writer
Review: American Empire: Blood and Iron is Harry Turtledoves next installment in an evergrowing series of books focused on the 'what-if-the-South-had-won-the-war' theory. As a reader, I eagerly awaited the book, as did the publisher, I'm sure, eagerly press Mr. Turtledove for another money-making manuscript. The pressures of writing so many stories in such a short time has obviously taken it's toll on both plot and character development in this latest novel. While it can still be called a 'good' book by the reader familiar with Turtledove's previous works, I would never recommend it as a primer for new readers with interest in historical 'what-if' fiction.
The beginning and ending of the novel were OK, but everything in between is definitely subpar. The plot is guessable, and the characters move in hugely predictable patterns. The sense of chaos that should be present in Turtledove's fictional defeated CSA is completely overshadowed by the predicted orchestration of the characters and events.
Buy it if you love Turtledove. Buy another one of his works if you want to get the best of what he can offer.

Rating:
Summary: B for Concept / D for Execution
Review: This is the first book in the newest trilogy ("American Empire") in Turtledove's alternate history where the South won the Civil War, which chronologically follows immediately after his World War I series. For me, it will also be the last. The quality of this book is a lot lower than in the earlier series. I have been a Turtledove fan for a long time, but based on this effort, I will not continue this particular series.

Turtledove had a great opportunity to paint a picture of the Nazi-like Featherston's rise and (presumably temporary) fall. He could also discuss what's happening in the UK, Russia and France. (Is Russia even Communist in this alternate world?) He completely passes on this opportunity, to instead give us hundreds of pages filled with silly and boring prose about characters who have outlived their usefulness by a long shot and should not have appeared in this book at all:
* Nellie and Edna with their ridiculous bickering
* Galtier talking to his horse and engaging in "witty" banter with his family
* Jonathan Moss with his silly relationship with the Canadian woman
* Martin arguing politics with his family
* Sam Carsten with his sunburn

Rating:
Summary: the rise of Featherson
Review: this book traces the rise of Jake Featehrson from a small local Freedom party meeting to a presidential canidate it also traces how many confederates feel after the war and the inflation that follows and this helps explain how featherson becomes such a threat

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Summary: A Disappointing End or A Disappointing Beginning?
Review: American Empire: Blood and Iron is the follow up to the Great War series and this book is supposed to put to rest World War One and transition towards an alternate World War II.

To do this, Turtledove follows the day-to-day exploits of the large cast of characters we've come to know and either love, tolerate, or skip past. Sylvia Enos struggles as a single mom, Cincinnatus Driver adjusts to life in the USA, Reggie Bartlett sells cough syrup, Arthur McGregor continues to plot revenge, et cetera.

The main plotline in the CSA surrounds Jake Featherston and his "Freedom Party" (an obvious parallel to the Nazi's), which sucks in a couple more regular characters, Jefferson Pinkard and Roger Kimball, while in the USA the Government is going Socialist, which means Flora Hamburger is moving up in the world and there are drastic cuts to the military.

As someone who enjoyed How Few Remain, American Front and Walk in Hell (and wasn't overly thrilled with Breakthroughs), I found myself quite disappointed in Blood and Iron for a couple reasons:

Firstly, there seemed to be little closure to the Great War, especially in the USA. Once the war is over, people just start going about their lives again like nothing ever happened. Rather then try and explain the impact that the war has had on society we get pages of Lucien Galtier talking to his horse and Sam Carsten burning.

Secondly, I thought this book would give Turtledove a chance to add a new dimension to his characters, a type of in-depth look at personalities that would be lost in a book that focuses on telling a war, but there was none of that. Instead the characters still remain just names on a page floating aimlessly through their lives rather then appearing as "real people".

On the plus side, I found it much easier to skip large portions of this book knowing that I wouldn't be missing out on anything important. The Martin's fighting at dinner again about politics? Who cares, next. Nellie Jacobs arguing with Edna? Who cares, next. Anne Colleton controlling the world somehow? Yawn. Sam Carsten studying and sunburnt? Well, you get the idea.

I give this book two stars, because, frankly, I don't think it is any good. There are some isolated portions of the book that are enjoyable, but once you get 200 pages in and realize that nothing is going to happen you begin to lose interest. The lack of plot, conflict, character development, and the disturbingly frequent graphic and creepy sex scenes all contribute to this being a stinker.

If you haven't read any of the Great War Series, do not start here.

Rating:
Summary: What if...
Review: History is full of "what ifs." What if the Roman Empire had never existed? What if the Vikings had actually settled in America? What if the Black Death hadn't killed so many people?

With hindsight, it is easy to see what would have happened immediately after an event if it had been different. What is more difficult however is to plot out where things would have gone further down the track. There are so many more variables. Harry Turtledove has taken a central event in the history of the United States, namely the Civil War, and changed the result. In his novels, the war was still fought in the 1860s, but America remained divided, the Union in the north and the Confederation in the south. Sixty years down the line, the continent is still divided. The Great War has just ended, with the Union on top. Canada is occupied, Quebec is independent, and France, Britain and Russia have been beaten. Could history have travelled this way? Following this book, it could have, very easily.

This is no simple tale. There are several stories told all at once, from the upper echelons of national politics through to the poverty stricken and widowed. The war has affected them all differently. A former confederate submarine captain is central to the formation of the fascist Freedom Party. General George Custer, still alive and well, occupies Canada. Former slaves leave the Confederate states for a better life in the north, while hyperinflation destroys the Confederate economy. A brilliant young colonel develops the weapon of the future, but his government does not agree on it's effectiveness. The United States navy assists the Irish in throwing the British out of Ireland.

While world events have changed drastically, the story remains historically accurate as far as society, technology and attitudes go, making this all thoroughly plausible. Perhaps the only criticism which can be made of this book are that there are too many different threads to try to follow. If you put the book down for any length of time, you find yourself having to skim back a few pages to remember who is doing what.

In terms of alternate history fiction, this is hard to beat. As part of a series of books, it leaves the reader wanting to know what happened before, and where things will go next, but it also works as a stand-alone story.

Rating:
Summary: English project
Review: Harry Turtledove is a master at alternate history. This latest novel, following his well written Great War series, is well written and brings up intriguing questions about what the world would be like if the Confederate states still existed and fought the United states in the Great War. The authors grasp of historic events is masterfully woven into this tail changing the very nature of United states history and following the most likely time line for the world he has created. The characters interactions with actual troubles from the United States real history are perfectly written. Turtledove's use of the varying aspects and the differing nature of his characters lives and points of view are well tied together to bring about a great story. From the struggles of blacks in a white powered south, to the conflicts of American soldiers in their newly controlled territory of Canadian, and the fights between war veterans, now working in steel mills, and the greedy owners of those mills. Turtledove masterfully combines these aspects of history and fiction into a thrilling tale of life in the 1920's.

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Summary: Turtledove's Look at the birth of a Nazi Confederacy
Review: I see I'm not the only reviewer who sees obvious parallels between the Freedom Party in an early 20th Century Confederate States of America and the rise of the Nazis in Germany between the two world wars. Turtledove draws some intriguing, obvious parallels between both that aren't so easy to fathom until you reach the end of his novel. It's one of his best recent efforts at alternate history, easily eclipsing his "World War" series for its quality of pacing and plotting. Anyone who wonders why Harry Turtledove should be regarded as the master of the alternative history genre of science fiction should definitely read this fine book.

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Summary: The Rise and Fall Of the Second Reich...
Review: ...takes place during the immediately previous generation, on the North American continent rather than Europe, but under startlingly identical circumstances to the Third Reich in the real world. The Freedom Party, partially founded by embittered Great War veteran Jake Featherston, draws on racism, demagoguery and runaway economic inflation due to war reparations. They should have beaten the damnyankees in the war, should have kept minorities "in their place" by putting down their Socialist uprising before it had a chance to cripple the war effort--but the mainstream leadership in Richmond sold everyone out. As one of the central characters in this book, Featherston becomes a Dixie would-be Fuehrer running against a moderate mainstream candidate who's the direct descendant of a Civil War general. In the USA, Socialist Party standard bearer Eugene Debs sees the handwriting on the wall and awards his delegate base to labor expert Upton Sinclair, after having the torch passed to him by former President Abe Lincoln, who wasn't assassinated as in the real world. Among his grassroots supporters is Flora Hamburger, a charming and idealistic Congresswoman from New York. Being of Cold War roots, I find it peculiar to be turned on by a "commie"! Enough to forget the fact that Socialists obsesses about class struggle to the point of belief that "defense" and "foreign policy" as such are unneccessary--who gives a hoot about all that nationalist crapola? The answer to that question is that you can repudiate nationalism all you want--until some nation that believes in it attacks you. I admire Turtledove's capacity to recognize that fact despite the fact that he's clearly not a believer in nationalism himself. But after all, he would have that clear a vision on weltpolitik--he was once a history prof. In conquered Canada, three stories unfold. One is of Arthur MacGregor, an embittered Manitoba farmer whose son was executed for sabotage by occupying US forces and plots revenge against the elderly General Custer, who Turtledove also keeps alive for purposes of the story. In the puppet "republic" of Quebec, Lucien Galtier must come to terms with his daughter's marriage to an American doctor who stayed on as a resident alien when the military pulled out. Far from the Ugly American, Galtier's new son-in-law hauls his college French out of mothballs and speaks only that language around his in-laws. Elsewhere, former officer of occupying forces John Moss falls for a local woman and sets up a law practice so as to be near her and possibly win her love. This book was supposed to have been a fourth volume to Turtledove's "Great War" series, but is now the first volume in what might end up another trilogy based on a post-Great War era. I found Turtledove's "Colonization" trilogy a bit tiresome, based as it was on his previous "Worldwar" tetralogy. That saga had been based on a rather weak sci-fi premise "borrowed" from TV's "V" miniseries and had proven that, as an alternative-history author, Turtledove isn't much of a sci-fi writer. This saga puts him back into his element and has him sticking to what he's best at.

Rating:
Summary: If I only knew.......
Review: About 100 pages in I realized that I could have gained a lot of insight about the world presented in this had I read the The Civil War Series and the Great War Series.
This book presents short looks at people lives and how the war from the previous series has effected their lives. In that way I think the book is great as it shows how political decisions effect those people's lives. I did think the book lacked an over all story. I understand that the book is part of a series but even one book in a series must stand on it's own in someway.