1945 by Newt Gingrich, William Forstchen
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Book Reviews of 1945
Book Review: A good read, but not the best
Summary: 3 Stars
I first read 1945 six years ago, and recently picked it back up after hearing about Gettysburg, another forthcoming collaberation by the authors. Gingrich and Forstchen do any amiable job in fabricating this world, but I can't help but feel as though the authors wanted to give it something more, but settled for a romance novel. World War II scenarios have been almost as popular in this sub-genre as the Civil War, but I don't believe anyone has come close to matching Fatherland or The Man in the High Castle, unless you count an alien invasion by Turtledove (which I enjoyed despite the romance aspect). Personally, I'm still waiting for the follow-up.Also recommended for WWII fans: Rutman's A Clash of Eagles and with a slightly different twist, Under the Yoke by S.M. Stirling.
Book Review: Don't read it
Summary: 4 Stars
I just finished this book this evening and found it very entertaining. The alternate history was intriguing, if not always plausible. However, unless you like books with no ending, do not even start this book. It ends "to be continued", but as far as I can tell, the sequel was never published.Book Review: Entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
A book by Newt Gingrich? I'm sure you're thinking that it must really stink right now just from those words. You're wrong. This is an imaginative story about a different history where Hitler was involved in an aircraft accident, and as a result was in a coma and did not declare war on the United States after Pearl Harbor. The premise was interesting, but the characters were shallow and one-sided. There were also too many coincidences to help the good guys to make it really interesting for me. Even still, it's worth picking up, especially on a Saturday when you have nothing else to do but sit in the shade and relax.Book Review: An alternative history that needed a better writer
Summary: 3 Stars
The book, on a whole, is something you would want to read. I did wish to read page after page. But the style was amateurish. There are far more accomplished authors who could have written this. The wording is repetitive. The author(s) felt that smiling was a consistent trait to be used to reflect every emotion in their characters head, particularly Germans. The premise is that we never entered the war to fight Germany. This is a realistic enough thought. But the book has too many flaws to earn better than three stars.
For starters, in a spy vs. spy world of WWII and before, regardless of any weapon one side built, the other side would have been able to copy it within months. And no nation as powerful as the U.S. would ignore the fact that Germany was building jets of such quality as to surpass the real ones we built ten years later. The idea that we would ignore obvious signs of war is also too weak. Not a likely reality. Even in a fully occupied Europe, we would have had better intel than is presented in this book.
The clincher, however, is the fact that book ends on a cliffhanger. It does not look like there will ever be a sequel. In that case, I recomment reading a series in which there is at least an ending. Want a better book? Read Fatherland.
Book Review: Here is a thought.........Just read the book and enjoy it.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not a Tom Clancy knock off because he doesn't do alternative history and this is historically a reach because this isn't an historically correct book. It's alternative history. One should also forget who wrote/co-wrote the book if they have issues with either one of them. People who read this and didn't like it because of the afore mentioned reasons must have smashed thier heads thru the wall after watching NBC's version of Noah's Ark or burned any one of J.R.R. Tolkien's books because of improper use of the English language.
Read the book and enjoy it. This is a great and fun book to read. If you are into the Luftwaffe '46 genre craze and/or into any ALTERNATIVE HISTORY and know the difference between reality and FICTION then you will enjoy this book and hope that the sequel is eventually published. I don't know the story as to why a publisher hasn't picked up the sequel yet, and it's not because someone thinks the book is bad, but we can only hope it does get picked up.
I just hope a sequel to 'Down to the Sea' from the Lost Regiment series eventually comes out.