The Grapple

Settling Accounts #3

by Harry Turtledove

In this stunning retelling of World War II, Harry Turtledove has created a blockbuster saga that is thrilling, troubling, and utterly compelling.

It is 1943, the third summer of the new war between the Confederate States of America and the United States, a war that will turn on the deeds of ordinary soldiers, extraordinary heroes, and a colorful cast of spies, politicians, rebels, and everyday citizens.

The CSA president, Jake Featherstone, has greatly miscalculated the North’s resilience. In Ohio, where Confederate victory was once almost certain, Featherstone’s army is crumbling, and reinforcements of uninspired Mexican troops cannot stanch a Northern assault on the heartland.

The tide of war is changing, and victory seems within the grasp of the USA. Still, new fighting flares from Denver to Los Angeles.

Indeed, as the air, ground, and water burn with molten fury, new and demonic tools of killing are unleashed, and secret wars are unfolding. The U.S. government in Philadelphia has proof that the tyrannical Featherstone is murdering African Americans by the tens of thousands in a Texas gulag called Determination. And the leaders of both sides know full well that the world’s next great power will not be the one with the biggest army but the nation that wins the race against nature and science–and smashes open the power of the atom.

In Settling Accounts, Harry Turtledove blends vivid fictional characters with a cast inspired by history, including the Socialist assistant secretary of war Franklin Delano Roosevelt and beleaguered Confederate military commander Nathan Bedford Forrest. In The Grapple, he takes his spellbinding vision to new heights as he captures the heart and soul of a generation born and raised amid unimaginable violence.

Genres: Alternate History, Fiction, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, War, Military Fiction, Fantasy

616 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 2006

About the author

Dr Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced a sizeable number of works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.

Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.

Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.

Reviews

[Tomislav · Rating 3 out of 5]

22 May 2009 - These comments are for The Grapple, Settling Accounts #3, Southern Victory #10.

But first, here is a taxonomy of Harry Turtledove’s 11-volume alternate history sequence, known as Southern Victory or Timeline-191. Book #1 is a singleton, titled How Few Remain. Books #2-4 are The Great War trilogy (American Front, Walk in Hell, Breakthroughs). Books #5-7 are The American Empire trilogy (Blood and Iron, The Center Cannot Hold, The Victorious Opposition). Books #8-11 are The Settling Accounts tetralogy (Return Engagement, Drive to the East, The Grapple, In at the Death. All 11 should be read in strict order; there is historical and character continuity across the entire sequence. I read them in clusters by trilogy/tetralogy.

In the Settling Accounts tetralogy there are about 2500 pages of alternate history warfare. It's taken me literally months to read the first three, due to the recent heavy load at my job. But maybe this is a good choice for this time, because they're written in small episodes and repeat background information frequently. What started out as a large number of characters has now diminished, as there have been a few deaths. I'm getting impatient for this war to be over already, and the narrative has become more disturbing as the level of violence has grown more personal. Some of the "good" characters seem to be getting involved in the commission of war atrocities. But after ten volumes, I am going to read #11 and finish it soon.

[Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read

[The other John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ah, the penultimate volume of the Timeline-191 series! I am such an addict! By this time, I have to admit that these alternate history books about the ongoing conflict of the United States and Confederate States have devolved into hackwork. You get the same ideas swirling around and around throughout the tale. Highly competent soldiers on the front lines can (and should) get away with mouthing off to their superiors. Confederate tobacco is much superior than the crap the USA produces. The superior numbers and manufacturing capability of the USA can win the war if it's drawn out... unless the CSA manages to split the atom first. So why do I keep reading? Well, I've come this far. 10 volumes as of this book. I want to see how it ends. Who lives, who dies, and will Jake Featherston get the nasty death that he truly deserves? Guess I'll just have to get the next one to find out. (And pray that Mr. Turtledove hasn't decided to embark on an alternate Cold War epic....)

[Dan McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As good as I remembered!

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Grapple picks up where its predecessor, Settling Accounts: Drive to the East left off. The Confederates, having pushed deep into the United States at Pittsburgh, are now being driven backward. As they retreat through their conquered territory in Ohio, it becomes obvious to just about everyone that something has gone terribly wrong with their battle plan. For those fighting the war in the United States, that is good news.

The fact that they are continually on the defensive in The Grapple, doesn’t stop their final solution of what to do with the Negroes that inhabit the Confederacy. Hitler-like President, Jake Featherston, blames the Negroes for all of the problems of the Confederacy, including the loss in the last war. Internment camps process Negroes and bury them in mass graves out in Texas.

Turtledove follows the same characters he’s been following all along, some of them for years and throughout many novels. Even with what he’s invested in a character, he is not above killing off a character either to further the story or to show the senselessness of the situation. For this reason, no one is safe and it does create an air of suspense as to who will survive. To compensate for characters he’s killed off in the past, Turtledove embraces previously peripheral characters as his new point-of-view characters. One of the best additions he’s made on that front is Jerry Dover, who was previously just the boss of the character Sciopio (a.k.a. Xerxes) at the Huntsman Lodge in Augusta, Georgia. On the other side, Michael Pound who was a gunner under General Morrell now has a command – and a point of view – of his own. Both of these characters are refreshing additions, adding much to the story and some new elements.

To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latest war between the USA and the CSA continues to rage in this further installment of Turtledove's alternate history based on the premise that the South was victorious in the Civil War and established their independence from the USA.

The war described in these books is an analog to the Second World War in our actual history, and is equally global in scope, though these books focus mostly on events in North America. Despite a string of early successes, the CSA is now on the defensive, forced to retreat by US counter-attacks. Jake Featherston remains convinced that his thirst for revenge is justified and is determined to find a way to defeat the US and solve his "black problem" as well. However, as his military options dwindle, his only hope for victory seems to be to hold on long enough for his secret project to harness the power of the atom to come to fruition.

As with all of the books in this series, the story is told from a variety of viewpoints on all sides of the conflict, placing the conflict in a human context and driving home the horror of war. While there are plenty of ways that a student of history might compare and contrast this story to the actual events of WWII, I am beginning to think that my earlier understandings of the points Turtledove might be raising in these stores might have missed the mark. If this story ends (in the next and final book) the way I'm beginning to suspect that it might, then Turtledove might be suggesting that the survival of human civilization in the 20th century may have been the result of the happy accidents of history that provided us with the right set of circumstances. I'm looking forward to reading the final installment in the series to see whether the author has any surprises in store.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

War becomes a long-hard slog. Can I sue for peace?

One problem with any alt-history is that the least interesting part tends to be the actual *fighting* of the war. Absent new technologies or radically different personalities, an alt-history version of "Market Garden" looks about the same in the Netherlands as it does in Tennessee. So this volume suffers as it's the most combat-heavy of the bunch and the combat just tends to blend together.

Both sides continue their atomic bomb development and the CSA continues its final solution against its black population (these sections tend to be the best written and most disturbing) as well as CSA President Jake Featherstone's increasing separation from the tactical reality. The other downside to this volume and series at this point is that the other theaters of war (European and Pacific) just are not that well developed or interesting. Turtledove has to include them to flesh out the "world war" gimmick--rather than just "American Civil War III" - but ultimately feels like unnecessary padding.

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the Confederates essentially conquering Ohio and pushing into Pennsylvania to the reversal which now has the Union pushing into Georgia, nearing Atlanta, the war has definitely turned against the South (as any length war would most definitely have done - just like the analogous war against Nazi Germany...small countries can not win wars of attrition).

I'm not going to be picky about Patton being a "Northerner" in our timeline...I'm not going to be picky about a Southern V2 Rocket Program. Those are fun and keep the story going; Patton vs. Morrel being Patton vs. Rommel is fun.

There are times when I'm envious of this timeline with its active, vibrant, and often in power Socialist Party in the United States...but then there are times when this world seems bleak, with fascism on the rise in France, the United Kingdom, as well as the Confederacy, along with a Russia still under the grips of the Czar.

[Dkolacinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Turtledove is the master of alternative history series, and this is the third volume of a four volume history of the Wars between the States, this segment ending when it appears the Confederacy is going to be crushed, or will it be?

This book was finished as the POTUS acts more and more like Jake Featherston, the President of the Confederacy, with the POTUS today is now accused of calling those who served in wars as "losers." POTUS is as racist as Featherston, but at least Featherston supports his military, having served in the military himself. When I read the final book in this series, I'll know how it ends. I won't know how the reality of POTUS ends, perhaps even in my lifetime.

[Reza Amiri Praramadhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While in the previous book the balance had begun to tip towards the USA. In this one, The CSA felt the brunt of USA’s overwhelming power. However, Jake Featherston refused to surrender, on account of his beliefs on some ‘wonder weapons’. Now, I can see that the story has begins to unravel, I expect nothing really interesting new things, CSA is doomed to fall. However, some, if not most of the viewpoint character that I like to follow hailed from CSA. I still sad from knowing the tragic fates that befell Scipio and Hip Rodriguez, for example. I guess I’m putting hold to the final book of the series until much, much later.

[Julian White · Rating 4 out of 5]

The war rolls on. In this volume the US is slowly advancing south, pushing the CS forces back. Both sides are working on a major war-winning weapon dubbed the uranium bomb; the 'population reduction' programme continues but is becoming a propaganda weapon in the US...

This lengthy series (and its predecessors) continue to be an engaging read. In addition to the events in the Americas we are given glimpses of the war elsewhere - in Europe and the western Pacific - that add to the worldview of this alternate WWII.

One more push to the end!

[Noah P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last few chapters were the most interesting. I agree with everyone who says that this book should have been combined with Drive to the East. In fairness, Turtledove is one of those guys churning out 600 page books every other year. Anyone who writes a seven-plus-book series seems to have this problem. If memory serves me correctly George RR Martin had this same issue with A Feast for Crows.

[George Flannary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story except the V2s

I know the author is trying to show the Confederates as Nazis but there’s no way they could of come up with something like the V2s. You can’t have that kind of rocket without Van Braun. If he was even born in this timeline, he would be working with the Kaiser, not the Confederates. Other than that great story

[Mattias Sandström · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still a fascinating universe and as I discovered the three prior parts it's a mind-boggling achievement to keep all the pieces together. The 24h+ audiobook zipped passed on my lunch walks and I still enjoy them. One more book to close the "Timeline-191" universe and I already look forward to listening to it.

[Valerio Pastore · Rating 3 out of 5]

It could have been worse.
In short, as with so many other volumes in this long saga, with 200 fewer pages you did a better job on characterization and events. It remains a well-done book, but the amount of dialogue for its own sake and dead time weighs it down!
We are approaching the finale with a bang, the BIG bang, and nothing is yet taken for granted.

[Matt Morrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't Flabble about it

I'm a committed turtledove fan, and so I've been hooked on the series. My only gripe with this book is how many times characters use the word "flabble". Is that even a real word???

[Ellen Broadhurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read because my son was reading the series. Not really my preferred genre, but overall an interesting work of fiction.

[Scott Gardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

By far one of the biggest books in the series , and not a good one , very very slow going , the USA go onto the offensive .

[Francis X DuFour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just when you thought the USA was finally going to defeat the CSA in their war in the 1940’s, there’s another volume in this series. Not sure when I will be able to read it, but I will!

[Michael Toleno · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 10th book of an 11-book series. Very entertaining and packed with interesting twists on history from after the American Civil War until the end of World War II. I'm saving the four- and five-star rating for weightier material.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the latest volume of his ongoing alternative history series, Harry Turtledove moves beyond the battle of Pittsburgh, the turning point in the war between the U.S. and the Confederate States with which he concluded the previous installment. The Confederacy, which had enjoyed dramatic success at the start of the war, now finds itself on the defensive as the U.S. drives them back. Increasingly the Confederate president, Jake Featherston, grasps onto the slim hope of secret weapons to turn the tide against the superior numbers and resources of the United States, which is bearing down upon the South in a campaign with echoes of the American Civil War.

Fans of the series will find much to satisfy them here. Once more he chronicles events the course of the war through the experiences of over a dozen characters scattered on both sides, though by this point the diversity of experience is much reduced as nearly everybody he chronicles is at the front; home front interludes are virtually nonexistent. The tactics of present-day wars are even more apparent in this installment they were before, as combatants use suicide bombers, car bombs, and even truck-mounted machine guns in ways more familiar to soldiers of today than those of sixty years ago.

Yet while readers will find many of the same strengths that engaged them in the previous volumes, the weaknesses are there as well While the plot moves forward nicely, the individual episodes themselves have a rote and repetitive feel to them. Characters find themselves repeating the same actions from scene to scene, and even their dialogue is largely the same as before. The increasing confinement of the narrative to the battlefield only enhances this, as characters do the same things over and over because they find themselves stuck in the same situations – something that Turtledove successfully avoided in his far more diverse coverage of the alternative First World War in the earlier volumes.

In short, readers of the earlier volumes will find much the is familiar here, as events move down well-work paths towards an inevitable conclusion. About the greatest surprise contained within these pages is that Turtledove doesn’t wrap up the war, but instead plans at least one more installment of his “Settling Accounts” series. Fans will probably be rewarded with more of the same as before, as the whole series finds a groove that is both comfortable and predictable.

[Joel Flank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Settling Accounts: The Grapple, by Harry Turtledove is the 3rd book in his alternate history series about WWII after the South won the civil war and has been the Confederate States of America ever since. I'm running out of things to say about this series that I haven't already mentioned in the reviews of the first two books in the series, so I'll keep this one brief. In general, this book was another great read from Turtledove, and he continues to push forward his alternate version of WWII to its logical conclusion based on the course of previous events. There's still the epic sweep of a war that's tearing apart two countries, with a "cast of thousands" which covers all aspects of the war and life during wartime for both sides of the conflicts.

In this book, the tide starts to shift as the momentum of the CSA surprise attack peters out, and the USA is fully mobilized against the invasion. Despite the huge early successes and their impact on the USA, the CSA starts to feel the weight of its northern neighbor's superior industrial capabilities and larger population. It's very rewarding to see some of the characters that have been around for 9 novels now start to show success on a greater scale as they advance in their careers, such as Generals Morrel and Dowling, and Lt. Sam Carstens, the mustang officer in the US Navy. In addition, as would be expected in WWII, characters, both minor and major die and get replaced with new ones, including major point of view characters. As is fitting for a huge conflict that shows no mercy and deals death at random, there's rarely any warning, which does an excellent job of illustrating that even when your cause is just (as both sides of the conflict believe) war is never a good thing, and has a steep price to all sides.

By the end of the book, things seem to have an end in sight, not only for the reader (knowing that there's only 1 book left in the series), but many of the characters start to look ahead and wonder how their lives will be afterwards, and will there be a place for them in the changed world after the war ends. It's these philosophical elements in the book that keeps it fresh, even though many of the events and themes have been repeated many times due to the length of the war, and the series itself.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

FINALLY! That's about the best I can say for this penultimate volume of Settling Accounts. Harry, Harry, Harry; what happened to Canada? Some of my favorite characters were from the two Canadian storylines but hardly a peep from them in this entire book!

Worst part of this is that it has left me so uninspired to start Book 4. It's almost come down to a complete re-play of WW2 with just minor details changed for the sake of calling it "alternative history". I can't say that this volume could even rate as speculative fiction since so little originality seems to have been incorporated.


Did we really need a Holocaust-like depiction of gold dental work being pried from the mouths of Camp Determination victims? With the negoes so routinely repressed in this alternative Confederacy would there have that many of them running around with expensive dental work? I think not...

What's up with the suicide bombers in the USA'a capital of Philadelphia? Who or what would be able to pull that off? I don't know, nor am Im sure that Mr. Turtledove even gave it much thought. He simply and quite blandly used it as a convenient plot device to kill off the infequent guest star Congressman Robert Taft (who doesn't seem to resemble the real-life Robert Taft in any way shape or form).

Did Harry gleen all of his WW2 knowledge from a Complete Idiot's Guide publication? Feel free to blow off your publisher for a little while and work in a vacation, okay? I think you need one because your writing is certainly getting to the point of salt-mine like drudgery.

Ten Down & One to Go :(

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Turtledove’s third sequel to the Settling Accounts tetralogy, called The Grapple, the war between the USA and the CSA is entering its third year into the war. The year is 1943. The genre of this book is alternative history and it takes place in the time of WWII. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, General Irving Morrell attempts to push the Confederates out of the two states and succeeds. He then pushes them back to Kentucky, Tennessee and then Georgia. Xerxes, (Scipio) Bathsheba, (His wife) and Antoinette (their daughter) have all been sent to Camp Determination after a “clean up” swept them. In Camp Determination in Texas, things are going well for the whites. Blacks are being killed by the thousands if not millions each day. One of those Blacks includes Scipio. General Abner Dowling wants to shut down this camp and does succeed at a time. In the Georgia countryside, Spartacus, a Black guerilla, continues to raid attacks with his band and the escaped P.O.W., Jonathon Moss.

I thought that this book was very well written. I am an absolute fan of Alternate History. Harry Turtledove had a lot of strengths. Things that I do like is the fact that the view of the story changes from Confederate to American, or at times it stays at one side of the country on some parts. Three things that I do not like is the fact that Xerxes died, we see nothing of the US president, and the language everyone in the South use. I would recommend reading the first book in the series, Return Engagement, but if you really want to begin at the whole series of the Timeline-191, read How Few Remain.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Harry Turtledove's Settling Accounts: The Grapple, the third book in the Settling Accounts series, Turtledove continues to show a darker, more sinister history with the ultimate what if, "What if the south won the Civil War?" Fast forward eighty years. It's 1943, and World War 2 has been going on for three years, which started after the Confederate sneak attack. Now in The Grapple, it's the USA's turn to be on the offensive. As American forces drive into the heart of the CSA, the Confederacy's darkest secrets are just beginning to be revealed. Turtledove's writing style is unique in many ways. One, he doesn't sugar coat the way war is. Don't expect to find too many heroic stories here. This is more true to reality, showing how war is an ugly and nasty business. Another way he tells his story is from the viewpoints of around a dozen different main characters. This is effective in telling multiple mini stories that will ultimately crisscross each other and add to the overall story of the USA and CSA. Some of my favorite moments from the book are when different main characters run into each other in Turtledove's world. While I have grown us to this writing, it can be confusing to get a hang of at first. Overall though, "The master of Alternate History" has made yet another masterpiece. Those who aren't interested in history, and never asked themselves the question "what if?" during class, probably won't enjoy this book. For the history buffs out there, this is a good read, but I would recommend reading the other books in the story first.

[Tyler Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Harry Turtledove's Settling Accounts: The Grapple, the third book in the Settling Accounts series, Turtledove continues to show a darker more sinister history with the ultimate what if, "What if the south won the Civil War?" Fast forward eighty years. It's 1943, and World War 2 has been going on for three years, which started after the Confederate sneak attack. Now in The Grapple, it's the USA's turn to be on the offensive. As American forces drive into the heart of the CSA, the Confederacy's darkest secrets are just beginning to be revealed.
Turtledove's writing style is unique in many ways. One, he doesn't sugar coat the way war is. Don't expect to find too many heroic stories here. This is more true to reality, showing how war is an ugly and nasty business. Another way he tells his story is from the viewpoints of around a dozen different characters. This is effective in telling multiple mini stories that will ultimately crisscross each other and add to the overall story of the USA and CSA. Some of my favorite moments from the book are when different main characters run into each other in Turtledove's world. While I have grown use to this writing, it can be confusing to get a hang of at first. Overall though, "The Master of Alternate History," has made yet another masterpiece.
Those who aren't interested in history, and never asked themselves the question "what if?" during class, probably won't enjoy this book. For the history buffs out there, this is a good read, but I recommend reading the other books in the series first.

[Edward C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book, I was convinced that Turtledove was mailing it in, just trying to reach the destination he marked in 1997 with How Few Remain. This book is, after all, the tenth in an eleven book series. The second half of the book, however, redeemed the first, and it convinced me that there does actually need to be a fourth book to this sub-series.

Two notes: The famous (real world) "Nuts!" response makes an appearance. Should we read into it? And I was disappointed that Turtledove brought out the tired and incredibly fictitious idea that Pope Pius "did nothing" during WWII. There's still time to redeem that as well, but come on.

Anyway, on to the conclusion. When I started these books, I was 17. I'll finish them at 35 (not quite a decade behind their being published!).

Here goes nothing.

[Holden Attradies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up blowing through this book faster than any other one I've read in the series. Normally the pace for these books isn't very fast but when the balance of the war tips from the south the the north every started moving at a really fast pace (for this series) and I had a hard time putting it down.

This volume saw a few characters pass on that had been with the series for a long time. Both of the big deaths caught me a little off guard, as they were characters that had both made it through so much and I thought they might make it to the end of the series.

The Holocaust storyline has been intense to watch play out. I actually like that it has paralleled so close to real history and it's lead me many a times to read up on real world events and see how close this fiction is.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I am a little upset on the way Scipio died. His POVs were a little repetitive and boring at times, but I really thought he would have gone out fighting instead of in a gas chamber. Not really interested in Cassius POV either especially with there being a POV from the black guerrillas with Moss.

I am glad that Hip Rodriguez is dead, never cared for him or his story in Sonora, much less in the camp so I don't like that his son as a POV now.

Overall a good book and I cannot wait to start the last book. I would start it now but it's almost midnight

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Turtledove continues his masterpiece series where the South won the Civil War. This part takes place in an alternate WWII, where the U.S. is allied with the Kaiser's Germany against the fascists in the Confederacy, England and France, and the Tsar's Russia. What makes this series so good is just how damn plausible it is. A chilling look at what could have been.