NEWLY REVISED AND PROFESSIONALLY EDITED Stalin's War is the first installment of the World in Flames Trilogy and tells the realistic story of a powerful and compelling series of events that could have led the two most powerful nations in world history to come to blows in war-torn Europe. This alternative history tells the story of the great leaders of the day, Churchill, FDR, Stalin, Truman, Eisenhower, Zhukov, and numerous other historical figures, as well as, a cast of characters from courageous Polish Freedom Fighters engaged in a near hopeless bid for survival to former Nazi SS officers desperate and willing to do anything to ignite a conflict between the two emerging superpowers to save the Fatherland. But at the heart of this story lies one man's obsessions, paranoia, and desire to dominate the globe...Josef Stalin...the most powerful man on the planet with the largest army in the history of man sees treachery everywhere, yet he misses the one true threat to all of his plans and in one moment of pure terror everything he had long planned nearly comes to an end...leading him to make a momentous decision to crush the Motherland's enemies without mercy once and for all. This fast paced thriller takes readers from the rubble of Berlin to politics in the White House and Kremlin, and ultimately to fields of battle as two great armies move towards an inevitable clash of arms that will determine not only the fate of Europe, but perhaps freedom itself.
flawed, but has good points. Three and a half stars
This review is from: Stalin's War: Volume One: The World in Flames Trilogy (Kindle Edition)
In this alternate history WW2 does not end with the defeat of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan. It continues with Stalin's War in which the vicious, paranoid Stalin decides to crush all enemies and possible threats. He unleashes his own blitzkrieg with a plan to overrun the Allies in days.
I read most of the previous reviews of this book. The complaints about editing and grammar are valid, but the problems are not nearly as bad as those I have seen in other E books. Weapons as simple as a Luger semi-automatic pistol are indeed incorrectly described. However, it appears that the author is knowledgeable concerning this period in history. The personalities of the major characters seem accurately drawn.
Even with the editing and grammar problems, this book moves at a fast and exciting pace. I am looking forward to volume two.
There are several typos in the book that need to be corrected. Otherwise the book was well written. The storyline was good and believable. A good alternative history
This author has created a unique (as much as possible, anyway) scenario with great detail. Kind of like the first third of Redstorm Rising minus 40 years. The only thing missing is an editor. I hope the next installment has been edited.
Excellent book on Stalin's frame of mind and his ambition to conquer the rest of Europe. It also shows you experience and true feelings of General Patton and also the inexperience of Eisenhower in military matter s. Great read!
A realistic account of what might have been if relations with Russia had disintegrated into war in 1945. I look forward to starting the next volume forthwith.
Starts a bit slow and with some of the grammar and syntax errors of e-books, but picks up the pace and plot quickly and becomes hard to put down. Description of the book is very illustrative and this volume ends on a huge cliffhanger. My concern is when the desperately desired follow on volumes will be published. Haven't been able to find any information on that. I would hate hate to be left hanging for years waiting for sequels; I am very anxious to read the rest of Strain's complete narrative. It is extremely compelling thus far. Strain makes some very interesting choices on the personalities and stress-induced reactions of several very well known historical personages. I was unsettled with them at first, and still not convinced as to their accuracy; but it makes his story telling more gripping within his plotlines. Depending on when we can expect the rest of the story, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in alternate history, history, military history, military fiction, or just thrillers.
Surprising good. As alternate history, the true history starts to diverge in the final days of WWII. Stalin becomes more paranoid of Western intentions and after a assassination attempt as he arrives for the Potsdam conference, he goes totally over the edge and orders an all out military assault on the West. That's where this first book ends. The dialog is believable and the characters are strong.One of the problems in writing fiction about real historical characters is that they often come across as cliched. This author avoids that. Other reviews have been strongly critical of the spelling errors, etc. I'm not much bothered by that.
The novel was an excellent read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The author captured the climate of 1945 and built a very plausible alternative direction for the end of World War II in both Europe and the Pacific. I am looking forward to the next installment of the trilogy.
The setup prepares you and creates anticipation for what is to come. I like the mid to high level view the book is maintaining but, and this is the key, the prelude is eventually judged by the follow-up. I look forward to reading them.