Rating: 
Summary: A book too far, for a writer who's wasting his talent
Review: Turtledove is a tremendous writer, but he just writes too many books, and this one is proof. The magic in this book is just a plot device -- it does no real work except to occasionally have a spell misfire in some uninteresting way. Turtledove has done some very interesting work with magic (see, e.g., the Toxic Spell Dump) but he hasn't done it here. I love Turtledove's work, but this book offers little to the reader to justify its hardcover price. It's not actually bad, you understand, just not up to his usual standards. I'd put it into a class with "Into the Darkness," which shares its flaws.Harry, you're a hell of a writer. If you're not making enough money to let you write fewer books and focus on the ones that are really first-class, get a better agent.
Rating:
Summary: A book too far, for a writer who's wasting his talent
Review: Turtledove is a tremendous writer, but he just writes too many books, and this one is proof. The magic in this book is just a plot device -- it does no real work except to occasionally have a spell misfire in some uninteresting way. Turtledove has done some very interesting work with magic (see, e.g., the Toxic Spell Dump) but he hasn't done it here. I love Turtledove's work, but this book offers little to the reader to justify its hardcover price. It's not actually bad, you understand, just not up to his usual standards. I'd put it into a class with "Into the Darkness," which shares its flaws. Harry, you're a hell of a writer. If you're not making enough money to let you write fewer books and focus on the ones that are really first-class, get a better agent.
Rating: 
Summary: "Jine" the Unicorn Cavalry?
Review: Turtledove remains brilliant but overly whimsical...I thought the book was a fun romp, but if you're not a Confederate War buff - then you should read Turtledove's "Guns of the South", then some non-alternate history - you'll become a Confederate War buff and be able to enjoy this book. (If that seems like too much work for a light fantasy read, then skip this book - but follow the rest of the advice for its own sake.) Best characterization: Ned of the Forrest, as the oft-maligned Reb cavalry leader who chewed out incompetent General Bragg (Thraxton, here)to his face. Largest flaw: since everything else is a one-for-one correspondance, what precisely does magic represent? "The North has better wizards" like Thraxton and the R.E. Lee character...which would mean leadership (depending on your view of Bragg) but the Thomas Edison character and the spies are presented as "wizards", too - so does it mean military intellegence or engineering instead...? Best use for this book: help someone of strongly-set prejudices (Reb or Yank) re-think the American Civil War - but Turtledove's "Guns of the South" would be better for that purpose...buy it instead.
Rating:
Summary: "Jine" the Unicorn Cavalry?
Review: Turtledove remains brilliant but overly whimsical...I thought the book was a fun romp, but if you're not a Confederate War buff - then you should read Turtledove's "Guns of the South", then some non-alternate history - you'll become a Confederate War buff and be able to enjoy this book. (If that seems like too much work for a light fantasy read, then skip this book - but follow the rest of the advice for its own sake.) Best characterization: Ned of the Forrest, as the oft-maligned Reb cavalry leader who chewed out incompetent General Bragg (Thraxton, here)to his face. Largest flaw: since everything else is a one-for-one correspondance, what precisely does magic represent? "The North has better wizards" like Thraxton and the R.E. Lee character...which would mean leadership (depending on your view of Bragg) but the Thomas Edison character and the spies are presented as "wizards", too - so does it mean military intellegence or engineering instead...? Best use for this book: help someone of strongly-set prejudices (Reb or Yank) re-think the American Civil War - but Turtledove's "Guns of the South" would be better for that purpose...buy it instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun whether you know the Civil War or not
Review: You can enjoy SENTRY PEAK regardless of whether or not you've ever heard of the Civil War. It's a good story in its own right, with interesting characters and lively action. What more could you want? If you do know the war, figuring out who's who and what's what adds to the game. I stayed up till one in the morning finishing it, and I sure don't do that unless I'm having a good time with a book. It doesn't read as though Turtledove intended people to take it too seriously, but who wants to be serious all the time?
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