End of the Beginning

Days of Infamy #2

by Harry Turtledove

Six weeks ago, Imperial Japanese military forces conquered and occupied the Hawaiian Islands. A puppet king sits on Hawaii’s throne, his strings controlled by the general of the invasion force. American POWs, malnourished and weak, are enslaved as hard laborers until death takes them. Civilians fare little better, struggling to survive on dwindling resources. And families of Japanese origin find their loyalties divided.Meanwhile, across the United States, from Pensacola, Florida, to San Diego, California, the military is marshaling its forces. Steel factories and fuel refineries are operating around the clock. New recruits are enlisting, undergoing rigorous training exercises. All for the opportunity to strike back and drive the enemy from American soil…

Genres: Alternate History, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, War, World War II

456 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2005

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

[Jeffrey Caston · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was more of the same. Good creativity, but not great writing and storytelling in my humble opinion. Lots and lots and lots and lots of telling. It has repetitive references and surplus language that made it too easy to kind of drone on. Loaded with cliches. And I even heard a few internally inconsistent sentences, on occasion.

I was going to rate this one 2 stars. But I have bumped it up to 3 for a few reasons. I liked the inclusion of a couple that overcame prejudices. It also did a pretty fair job of dealing with some of the more difficult issues with war and WWII in particular, POWs, and forced "comfort women." That gave it a slight richness that would have made this book too skewed otherwise.

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conclusion in line with the previous volume. Credible and interesting, teeming with little details that add to the realism, but weighed down by a heavy style and multiple repetitions. I think the procedure for landing on an aircraft carrier is repeated no less than 3 times! And with the same character too!

To be enjoyed more for the intellectual pleasure of "what if?" than for the pure literary style.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a worthy sequel to Days of Infamy, and in my mind, even more enjoyable. The payoff of the Americans retaking Hawaii was satisfying, as was the realistic treatment of characters we’ve spent two books getting to know. As with its predecessor, the writing was basic, but I had too much fun with the clever historical parallels to care.

[Merlin Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second part of Days of Infamy mostly managed to wrap up the story introduced in the first part, but unlike the first book which I enjoyed the second one seemed very rigid in the sense in felt like Turtledove was following a checklist of things he wanted to incorporate in the story rather than follow through with things introduced in the first book. In the rush to get to the American counter-attack, many things are glossed over, making the climax of the novel lacking by association.

For example, the character of Oscar van der Kirk runs into an American submarine, Kenzo Takahashi rescues an American aviator, Charlie Kaapu is arrested by the Japanese secret police, and yet none of them are involved in a spying subplot. This factor was very lacking in the novel as up until the American invasion, there is nothing connecting Hawaii's characters to the US, even though it is said the US had a lot of spying going on the island.

Jane Armitage's story rapidly changes from a civilian trying to survive occupation to a comfort woman to the very end of the novel leaving very little room to establish it. The change was also so sudden that I doubt it was planned in the first novel, as it would have made more sense to introduce it then rather than wait for the second novel. The end result is a very confusing mess of characterization that essentially reinvents Jane for that purpose.

Add to that the endless repetition Turtledove is infamous for; large sections of the novel repeat the first one to a level well in excess of recap. The existence of two POW characters was likewise rather repetitive and took space off new subplots. Jim Peterson in paticular was wasted as a character and it would have been much more interesting if he went on to escape and fight instead of Joe Crosetti who was invented to play his role instead of him.

All in all, the novel was decent but a lacklustre conclusion compared with the first one that makes it clear the author ran out of ideas after following through with the premise.

[Christopher Lutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Battle to Reclaim Hawaii!!!

This alternate history duology was right up my alley. I’m a World War Two buff and this story of a Japanese occupation of Oahu island really helps illustrate how they never really had a chance to win the pacific war, even with a devastating Hawaiian invasion. The “sleeping giant” the Japanese feared still awoke in this alternate timeline, it simply took longer. Japan’s inability to reinforce the island and manufacture additional war material quickly hampered them just as much as it did in our history. When the final naval battle for Hawaii begins for instance, Japan still only had carriers from the beginning of the war available. The US had a force of 24 carriers, 22 of which were built after the initial sneak attack. That’s what alternate history does, reveals the concrete realities of history and how some fates can’t be avoided.

Beyond the history I found the human story very compelling. I felt so sorry for the agony felt by the civilians and and POW’s alike who were going though absolute hell under occupation. No one was able to avoid suffering, but I really felt for Jane, Fletch, and especially Jim. I couldn’t help but be excited when the US counterattack began because I was so invested in these people’s stories and the hope these they would survive. The mark of any enjoyable novel.

So far this has been my favorite alternate history story. I’m looking forward to reading more books from this genre. It’s new to me but I’m absolutely loving it.

[Edward Lorden]

As always, Dr. Turtledove does a fantastic job of weaving a number of viewpoints through his story telling. In this book, as well as the next (The Beginning of the End, not yet read but requested) he takes on the question of what if, after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan followed through with an invasion of Oahu, the Hawaiian Island with the capitol, Honolulu. He steps through the military invasion to it's conclusion in the first book. He includes the military leaders of both sides, along with person-in-the-street view of the operation especially in the Islands themselves and the military organizations involved.

The stories he told have the feel of authenticity, no matter the perspective provided. All in all, the first book was a joy to read. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in World War II.

[Ben Hightower · Rating 2 out of 5]

Turtledove does well because of his topics, not his writing. That's the only reason I stuck with this series. The characters are flat and predictable. He repeats his unnecessary explanations constantly. I actually listened to the audiobook rather than reading a hard copy and the narrator was terrible as well. He would make a great radio announcer or action movie trailer narrator, but narrating a book was a bit much for him. If you want a story with an alternate reality where the Japanese took Hawaii badly enough that good writing doesn't matter to you, pick this one up. If not, move on to something else.

[Kami Neely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story. Sequel to Days of Infamy, the story of what might have been if the Japanese army had invaded Hawaii when they attacked Pearl Harbor. This book is the story of the US trying to retake the island. It’s told from many viewpoints - civilian, Navy, Army, male, female, Japanese, American. Through those characters you get a sense of what people felt and thought at the time. The writing is excellent with great descriptions of not just scenery, but events. One example is this description of the order to launch aircraft.

‘On the Bunker Hill, as on any ship, the skipper was God, and the exec was his prophet.’

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I could become a fan of alternate history. End of the Beginning was a believable conclusion to Days of Infamy. We'll never know exactly how things would have turned out had Japan invaded Hawaii instead of just attacking Pearl Harbor but Turtledove's imagination and his background in history presents a believable result had December 7, 1941 gone in a different direction. However, the author's style of writing is at times rather dull otherwise I would have given this one 5 stars.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to Part I of this -- it's hard to put down and clever. Every character's voice is the same, and there's one key part involving the construction of a landing strip that occurs entirely off-page, but the biggest issue with this book is that if you don't start it with a lot of time on your hands, you'll be mad when you have to put it down to get back to work.

[eric quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fictional account of a Japanese occupation of the Hawaiian Islands.

Dec 7th 1941, the Japanese not only attack Pearl harbor, but invade Oahu. The accounts of civilians and American POW's keeps the story interesting and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

[Douglas Ogurek · Rating 5 out of 5]

With authentic WWII-era dialogue, detailed descriptions of weaponry, and compelling action sequences, Harry Turtledove delivers an engaging alternative history tale in which Japan manages to capture Hawaii. I especially enjoyed Turtledove's vivid descriptions of aerial battles.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first book, but still worth reading.

[Peter C Lyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stellar! One of the Best HT books I've read. Even better than "Days of Infamy"

[Kathy Corpus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trilogy?

Wondering if there will be 3rd installment. Would like to see how this version of the war in the Pacific progress

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A typical Turtledove book. Sort of an ending and sort of open story at the end because history doesn’t end it just keeps going.

Spoiler at least the USA got Hawaii back and I liked the last page

[CASPER HILEMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hawaiian Islands are occupied by the Japanese Empire and the people living there are forced to deal with the occupation of the islands. Brutality ensues and begins to drive people to resist.

[Scott Gardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2 which tells of the retaking of Hawaii , told through the same characters as the first one

[Bob Roadarmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts…

The characters the author developed were amazing. Even
though a book about the ravages of war, the human spirit emerged.

[Juanita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: End of The Beginning by Harry Turtledove.

The end of an amazing two book triumph for Harry Turtledove. The first was Days of Infamy which I already wrote a review on over a month ago. This book was extremely as great as the first if not better. I like the authors alternate history style which consists of showing life from the viewpoint of multiple characters including high officers, POWs, marine NCOs, navy pilots from both nations, and civilians allows sympathize with the Japanese even as we hope for their inevitable defeat.

Now for a year and a half since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and won the invasion take-over of Hawaii and controlled the Islands it was time for the Americans to show their strength and power to take Hawaii back.

While the Japanese had control the native Hawaiians, most American Japanese, all Americans, and tourist suffered from hunger and very little use of freedom. Especially female civilians were treated much worse because they were secluded and used as whores for the Japanese soldiers. However, within this time span all American prisoner of war were the ones who were treated the worse. Japanese Military believe the soldiers who surrendered were worthless and they did their best to starve and work them to death. There were some graphic punishments in descriptive details done to the American military but not enough to pass this story up.

The author does an excellent job showing the Japanese justification for war while not shrinking from the horrible crimes against humanity that the Japanese systematically conducted. Also, one of the virtues of alternate history is that it lets us consider how the world might have changed if different decisions had been made. Well written, understandable, and greatly recommended. Just keep in mind 26 1Cwhat if 1D and its only fiction 26..

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most powerful questions available to any writer is "What if?" What if there were a monster living under a small New England town? What if you could time travel back to the Middle Ages? What if you could build a new universe in the lab? Most of the time, these "What if" questions become fantasy or science fiction, but in the hands of someone like Harry Turtledove, they become history. In this case, the question was, "What if the Japanese had occupied Hawaii after attacking Pearl Harbor in 1941?"

As I discovered when I turned the last page of the book, this is actually a sequel to the book Days of Infamy, which describes the actual attack and occupation. Knowing this helped explain a few things that bugged me about this book, namely the over-rapid shift from character to character. We whip from pilot-in-training Joe Crosetti to Japanese Lieutenant Saburo Shindo to American POW Jim Peterson with lightning speed, sketchy backgrounds and an assumption that you already know who they are. Which, if you had read the preceding book (which I will, if I can find it), you would have.

The first half of the book is kind of jumpy and tough to follow, mainly because I was coming into the story halfway. But the second half, when the Americans come to retake the island, was brilliant. Turtledove has spend most of his career writing about war and combat and can make what could be a chaotic mess of airplane dueling and ship combat into an exciting page-turner. Even better, he knows his history cold, and is able to extrapolate from what really happened into what might have happened.

Well worth the read.

[Ron Decaigny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy good altenate history and this one is not bad. My problem with this book is length and repetition. Either the editor was asleep or Mr. Turtledove was being paid by the word. How many times do we need to be reminded of Adm. Yamamoto's most famous quote, apparently it's more than six. OK it was prescient and is pretty much the plot string of the two books, but you had to know that going in. Oh did I mention the fact that Japan wasn't a signatory of the Geneva Convention, theres another one.
To the pluses, characters and lots of them, well developed and they behave in believable and understanable fashion, after all thats the real story here. Unfortunately two of this periods most interesting real life characters don't make it out of the book alive, however even this is handled with respect for their real life characteristics. The alternate history is also true to character if not fact, You see the Japanese track record from China and other places run out against American civilians but we don't overlook a few of our own not noble historic moments, internment anyone?
If you enjoy what if, this book is worth the time.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked this as I do pretty much any Turtledove alternate history. I was sad at one character's death and wish he had at least made reference in the book that others knew of what happened. I know one character escaped the event and could tell others but I wish that aspect had a little more closure. In fact, the end of the book seemed a bit rushed to me but still, enjoyed it a great deal and would recommend it to anyone who likes this type of story. One other note, I started reading my paperback copy of this but picked up a new Sony ebook reader and finished reading it on there to see how I'd like the reader so this is the first book I've read on there. I like using it to read but don't like the lack of available titles nor the fact that an ebook costs as much as the real physical book which feels like gouging to me. Maybe things will improve as time goes by, I'd love to by the physical book and get the ebook for say $2 or $3 extra. I still like having the real book and would buy a lot with that setup.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

End of the Beginning is a good sequel to Days of Infamy. It also reads a lot better.

I think some of it has to do with the fact that America finally does to do something right. I'm also bias being an America. However, where it really shines is that all the plot lines I didn't like in the previous book, actually pick up here instead of constantly training.

For whatever reason, the Japanese here feel more sympathetic, at least the ones that we follow. They don't all seem the same and even if some are zealous in their duty and country, another aspect is added here.

All the other non-combatant characters still make for a good read like they did in the first book. So nothing's lost there.

I am curious. Is this the last book in the series or will there be more? It's pretty obvious to see how this ends and if it continues, the fight will have to continue at Midway, the Philippines, etc. I don't if I want it to continue. Unless it shifts and deals with non-combatants in those places, the characters in Hawaii will no longer be necessary.

In any case, Banzai!

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turtledove has always favored the Herman Wouk school of historical fiction - create a lot of characters in a lot of different situations and then jump from one plot line to another with an occasional overlap. If you like that sort of thing, it's the way the majority of his multi-book series work. I'm the fence about it.

The problem with END OF THE BEGINNING was the length... while the story definitely needed more than one book, I'm not sure it needed two. It really began to feel drawn out toward the end - stretched beyond what the level of writing (decent but not brilliant) could bear.

The idea (as is always true in Turtledove's novels) is intriguing - what if the Japanese landed troops on Hawaii following the Pearl Harbor attack? The execution was not as good as the idea.

I really would have liked to see some historical notes on where the ideas/characters came from and more information about how seriously the Japanese considered such an attack.

[Allen McDonnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth Reading

I read a lot of alternate history. This novel is gritty to the nth degree with the horrors of war and very little of the glory in so many war stories. I have no problem with that, real war history is a lot grimmer than people like to think and if people understood that maybe we would work harder to avoid wars.
My reason for an average rating is this novel just ends mid war. Sure the advantages the USA holds over Japan are just as real as they were in real history so the end is never in doubt. But it still feels unsatisfying and unfinished. After spending a thousand pages getting to know these characters I want to hear about how they finished the war and what kind of lives they built afterwards. Even how did the changed path the war took influence the 1950-2000 period of history. Instead the second novel ends at the close of 1943 leaving everything to come untold.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with the first novel in this brace of books, End of the Beginning is somewhat unsatisfying. Too many traditionally happy endings permeate the book. And the Fisherman's fate was never in doubt. The one surprise was the demise of Jim Peterson and his fellow POWs. I felt as if the author abandoned them in that tunnel; forgotten by everyone and never mentioned again, nor was a rescue attempted or even discussed. Instead of final, that felt like an untidy loose end left dangling. Reading outside of the book about the actual lives of the real-life characters, such as Genda and Fuchida was interesting. I was disappointed to discover that the king and queen were fictional, but the restoration of the Kingdom of Hawaii was a good touch. One of too few unfortunately.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gets the same comments as the Days of Infamy that came before it. *** PLOT SPOILER ALERT*** I am only disappointed in the remaining questions surrounding the United States much later start in pushing Japan back. Doesn't it stand to reason that we would have had far more atomic bombs by the time we could attack the Island of Japan? What effect would it have had that FDR wasn't President during the last years rather than months of the war?
I would like to see a third book to answer these questions.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the author's alternate history followup to "Days of Infamy," concerning the Japanese invasion and occupation of Hawaii. Using the multiple points of view perspective that his his hallmark, Turtledove shows the reality of a Japanese occupation (probably based on the occupation of the Phillipines and Singapore). Very well done book. If this genre appeals to you, or if you have never tried it but want to, this two book arc is worth a look.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The occupation of Hawaii becomes the liberation of Hawaii in Turtledove's conclusion to his reasonably enjoyable tale of the Japanese invading (instead of just bombing) Hawaii on 7 Dec 41. THe entirety of the action takes place on Oahu which leaves open questions about why the Americans didn't attempt landings on the other islands like they did in the Pacific during the actual war, but that quirk aside, it's still an enjoyable what-if scenario.