1945 by Newt Gingrich, William Forstchen
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Book Reviews of 1945
Book Review: Enjoyable page turner, but a little uneven
Summary: 3 Stars
First off, let me say I'm not a fan of Newt Gingrich. However, I did find the idea of the story fascinating. I'm just getting into Alternate History and I like to compare and contrast these works with those of historians such as Stephen Ambrose.The writing isn't bad, but it's fairly uneven. The characterizations are interesting as well as behind-the-scenes political and tactical manuevering. However, some of the dialogue seems out of place for 1945 and the characterizations and dialogue for the 2 women who appear in the story are just plain silly.
It's a good page turner and both authors appear to be quite knowledgeable about military hardware, but toward the end it does trend toward military geek-speak.
Too bad to hear about the sequel; maybe Newt can put it on his Web page ala Stephen King and you can download in serial form.
Book Review: Save yourself some time and some money
Summary: 1 Stars
Not a bad book, however keep in mind it is the first part of a series that has not seemed to have any more parts. So if you have a strong desire to buy a book that just gets a story set up with plot and some character development and then ends. It is sort of like if Star Wars had ended 20 minutes into the movie. If you like reading books and then making up your own endings then go ahead and spend the money.The authors version of what the world could have been like in 1945 if the US and Germany had not gone to war in WWII was within the realm of posibility. The authors tend to sprinkle the story with names from the era without much rhyme or reason. A mention of a "great pilot" named George Bush. Sgt. York from WWI makes an appearance, etc.
Save yourself some money and get a different book
Book Review: Surprisingly decent, once the action starts
Summary: 3 Stars
I borrowed this and read it in a day, because, well, I had to go back to school. Amazingly enough, I did enjoy this, up to a point. After the "gimme", it sets up an interesting premise (which I won't bother going into). Unfortunately, the dialogue and writing are atrocious, for the most part. I'm fairly sure real people did not and do not speak the way they do in this novel. Also, the writers are rather tech-happy, too much so for their own good.
Now, the saving grace in this book is the raid on Oak Ridge. Forschten/Gingrich wrote this very well, and I was deeply impressed. I also thought the political element (i.e. the locals taking to arms to defend against the raid) were nicely put, but not obtrusive.
It is unfortunate that the sequel, Fortress America, never found a publisher. Oh, well. Maybe in a few years, it will.
Book Review: VERY GOOD,NEWT & BILL.
Summary: 4 Stars
1945,IS A VERY SUPERIOR PIECE OF FICTION. A little bit of brown nosing the Republican party here and there. But was a great what if story. How about Alic Baldwin as Lieutenant Commander James Mannheim Martel,and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Colonel Otto Skorzeny? Hey! it's all fiction,right? I would most definitely love to read chapter two. THANK YOU,JAMINJIM.Book Review: Very good book... when is the sequel?
Summary: 4 Stars
The premise is very believable. Many times I myself have wondered why Hitler inexplicably kept his word to his Japanese Allies (for the first time in his career, he did what he said he would), by declaring war on the US. He had absolutely nothing to gain by this action. The plot line flows well, with Martel (hero) showing just enough self-conscious angst mixed with brilliant deduction. He is a very likable character. Some of the "unknown" (ie, not historical) characters are a bit thin, but not too bad. Come on guys, let's get that "to be continued" going.