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The Hot War #1
Bombs Away
In his acclaimed novels of alternate history, Harry Turtledove has scrutinized the twisted soul of the twentieth century, from the forces that set World War I in motion to the rise of fascism in the decades that followed. Now, this masterful storyteller turns his eyes to the aftermath of World War II and asks: In an era of nuclear posturing, what if the Cold War suddenly turned hot?
Bombs Away begins with President Harry Truman heeding the advice of General Douglas MacArthur, whose control of the ground war in Korea has slipped disastrously away. MacArthur recognizes a stark reality. The U.S. military has been cut to the bone after victory over the Nazis—while China and the U.S.S.R. have built up their forces. The only way to stop the Communist surge into the Korean Peninsula and save thousands of American lives is through a nuclear attack. MacArthur advocates a strike on Chinese targets in Manchuria. In actual history, Truman rejected his general’s advice. But here, he does not. And the miscalculation turns into a disaster when Truman fails to foresee Russia’s reaction.
Almost instantly, Stalin strikes U.S. allies in Europe and Great Britain. And as the shock waves are settling, the two superpowers are caught in a horrifying face-off. Will they attack each other directly with nukes? And what countries will be caught in between?
The fateful global drama plays out through the experiences of ordinary people—from a British barmaid to a Ukrainian war veteran to a desperate American soldier alone behind enemy lines in Korea. For them, as well as Truman, Mao, and Stalin, the whole world has become a battleground. Strategic strikes lead to massive movements of ground troops. Cities are destroyed, economies ravaged. And on a planet under siege, the sounds and sites of nuclear bombs become a grim harbinger of a new reality: the struggle to survive man’s greatest madness.
Bombs Away begins with President Harry Truman heeding the advice of General Douglas MacArthur, whose control of the ground war in Korea has slipped disastrously away. MacArthur recognizes a stark reality. The U.S. military has been cut to the bone after victory over the Nazis—while China and the U.S.S.R. have built up their forces. The only way to stop the Communist surge into the Korean Peninsula and save thousands of American lives is through a nuclear attack. MacArthur advocates a strike on Chinese targets in Manchuria. In actual history, Truman rejected his general’s advice. But here, he does not. And the miscalculation turns into a disaster when Truman fails to foresee Russia’s reaction.
Almost instantly, Stalin strikes U.S. allies in Europe and Great Britain. And as the shock waves are settling, the two superpowers are caught in a horrifying face-off. Will they attack each other directly with nukes? And what countries will be caught in between?
The fateful global drama plays out through the experiences of ordinary people—from a British barmaid to a Ukrainian war veteran to a desperate American soldier alone behind enemy lines in Korea. For them, as well as Truman, Mao, and Stalin, the whole world has become a battleground. Strategic strikes lead to massive movements of ground troops. Cities are destroyed, economies ravaged. And on a planet under siege, the sounds and sites of nuclear bombs become a grim harbinger of a new reality: the struggle to survive man’s greatest madness.
404 pages, Paperback
First published July 14, 2015
364 people are currently reading
1679 people want to read
About the author
Harry Turtledove
566 books1,978 followersDr 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
July 8, 2015
More Typical Turtledove! In his latest book, Turtledove imagines what may have happened if Truman decided to use atomic weapons in the Korean War. Unsurprisingly, this decision led to Russia backing China, and a nightmare of atom bombs crossing the Northern Hemisphere. Turtledove uses a variety of characters to develop his plot, letting the reader see the war through several different perspectives. I used to love Turtledove novels. Especially his World War series, and Guns Of The South. Lately, though, it seems like he has settled on a specific formula for each of his books, and it has grown somewhat tiring. For one thing, the books are depressing. Don't read this if you want to feel good, there is little to offer in that way. Second, the language is somewhat stilted. For example, "You did better talking politics with Jim than you did if you talked with your dog, but not a whole lot"; "He had as many ways as beer had bubbles"; and "His stomach wanted to turn over. He sternly told it it would do no such thing. To his relief, it decided to listen to him". And do not expect the book to wrap things up at the end. As usual, Turtledove stretches the plot out so he can turn it into a multi-volume series. It gets frustrating having to wait for the next one. And, after all the waiting, there is no guarantee that he will end the final volume by wrapping up loose ends. He is just as likely to leave you hanging.But people love the formula, I guess. That's why he keeps using it. I wish he would take a little more time, develop characters better, give them better lines, and wrap the story up in a timely manner. I would enjoy them a lot more. I think I may be done with Turtledove. At least until the next volume comes out.
August 13, 2015
There's a lot of this novel that's good, if not particularly my taste, but then again, there's a lot that I had to slog over.
First, the good:
This history of 1951 diverges immediately, and we get immersed in a multitude of characters from around the world, from China, Hungary, Russia, Germany, as well as a host of locations in America, including Seattle, California, and parts of the East Coast. I felt like I was a part of the world as a whole, steeped in not particularly deep descriptions of the locales, but at least enough to get the general feel.
The Atom Bomb drops in Korea, followed by a retaliation from Russia in Alaska, followed by American's retaliation in a podunk Chinese town, followed by an escalation followed by an escalation, until we have a hundred low yield city-busting Atom-Bombs littering the world and taking out all the major cities. Neither Stalin nor Truman can stop the tide, nor do they want to. The bomb dropping, although strictly horrible, is probably the most interesting thing about the novel, because we get seemingly real people's reactions to it, the hardening of their hearts, making do, and continuing to live through all the mess of the world. "I Serve the Soviet Union!" was perhaps repeated too many times, or at least the meaning behind it was.
The novel is served best upon reflection of its reading. I liked remembering all that had actually happened in retrospect.
And now, the bad:
There was way to many characters to ever truly get invested in any, although a few came close. I discovered late in the reading that I may as well treat the book as a survival type horror. Don't get too close to anyone, because they'll probably not be around too much longer. That's fine if that's what you were expecting, but I'm a type of reader that actually likes good character and heroic (even semi- or quasi-heroic deeds). There was remarkably little of any of that in the novel. It was just long parade of characters getting through the changed world, either setting up for another bombing run, running a tank, taking care of the kids, or making a living as a stranger in a strange land. It was okay, but to me it was pretty meh.
It felt like a never-ending list of name dropping, whether it was location or people, and I was very bored and distracted for the main duration of the novel. I had to pick up a caffeine addiction just to keep my mind on the book. I felt like I wanted to do anything, anything at all, OTHER than read this. I'm sorry, but WWII does NOT do anything for me, and neither does the Korean war, or modern war in general. It never has. That isn't to say I haven't tried, of course, and I can list a long number of documentaries, movies, non-fiction, and fiction that I've slogged through to try to "get" the war bug. I never did. And I probably would have DNF'd this after the first thirteen pages, honestly, if I didn't have such iron-self control and dedication to reading through every single novel I finally decided to start reading.
It just wasn't for me, but seeing a protracted atomic war right out of the infancy of the tool IS quite interesting. At practically no other time in history would anyone possibly have a hope to pick up and continue on with their lives. The later explosive yields would have precluded much of that.
It wasn't the end of everything, but it certainly showed the world a fresh hell. Like I said, I like the novel in retrospect. I like thinking about what it accomplished for me without ever wanting to slog through anything like it again.
As for ideas, I think the novel did a great job. As for writing, or getting into the characters... not so much. I would have much preferred a few primary characters going through all those locations, growing as individuals and watching their comrades or friends die, or die themselves, rather than spread too little butter over too much bread the way it was.
Do I recommend this? I'd say yes, if you're the type of person who likes alternate histories, lots of characters showing off lots of locations, and a good appreciation of close-to-reality worldbuilding. Otherwise, no.
First, the good:
This history of 1951 diverges immediately, and we get immersed in a multitude of characters from around the world, from China, Hungary, Russia, Germany, as well as a host of locations in America, including Seattle, California, and parts of the East Coast. I felt like I was a part of the world as a whole, steeped in not particularly deep descriptions of the locales, but at least enough to get the general feel.
The Atom Bomb drops in Korea, followed by a retaliation from Russia in Alaska, followed by American's retaliation in a podunk Chinese town, followed by an escalation followed by an escalation, until we have a hundred low yield city-busting Atom-Bombs littering the world and taking out all the major cities. Neither Stalin nor Truman can stop the tide, nor do they want to. The bomb dropping, although strictly horrible, is probably the most interesting thing about the novel, because we get seemingly real people's reactions to it, the hardening of their hearts, making do, and continuing to live through all the mess of the world. "I Serve the Soviet Union!" was perhaps repeated too many times, or at least the meaning behind it was.
The novel is served best upon reflection of its reading. I liked remembering all that had actually happened in retrospect.
And now, the bad:
There was way to many characters to ever truly get invested in any, although a few came close. I discovered late in the reading that I may as well treat the book as a survival type horror. Don't get too close to anyone, because they'll probably not be around too much longer. That's fine if that's what you were expecting, but I'm a type of reader that actually likes good character and heroic (even semi- or quasi-heroic deeds). There was remarkably little of any of that in the novel. It was just long parade of characters getting through the changed world, either setting up for another bombing run, running a tank, taking care of the kids, or making a living as a stranger in a strange land. It was okay, but to me it was pretty meh.
It felt like a never-ending list of name dropping, whether it was location or people, and I was very bored and distracted for the main duration of the novel. I had to pick up a caffeine addiction just to keep my mind on the book. I felt like I wanted to do anything, anything at all, OTHER than read this. I'm sorry, but WWII does NOT do anything for me, and neither does the Korean war, or modern war in general. It never has. That isn't to say I haven't tried, of course, and I can list a long number of documentaries, movies, non-fiction, and fiction that I've slogged through to try to "get" the war bug. I never did. And I probably would have DNF'd this after the first thirteen pages, honestly, if I didn't have such iron-self control and dedication to reading through every single novel I finally decided to start reading.
It just wasn't for me, but seeing a protracted atomic war right out of the infancy of the tool IS quite interesting. At practically no other time in history would anyone possibly have a hope to pick up and continue on with their lives. The later explosive yields would have precluded much of that.
It wasn't the end of everything, but it certainly showed the world a fresh hell. Like I said, I like the novel in retrospect. I like thinking about what it accomplished for me without ever wanting to slog through anything like it again.
As for ideas, I think the novel did a great job. As for writing, or getting into the characters... not so much. I would have much preferred a few primary characters going through all those locations, growing as individuals and watching their comrades or friends die, or die themselves, rather than spread too little butter over too much bread the way it was.
Do I recommend this? I'd say yes, if you're the type of person who likes alternate histories, lots of characters showing off lots of locations, and a good appreciation of close-to-reality worldbuilding. Otherwise, no.
February 13, 2022
It was a fairly entertaining read, but, I think, too character focused for the story
October 19, 2024
If you're a fan of Turtledove and alternate history, you may like this one. With this book, Turtledove starts a new series, which is an AH version of the Korean War. In this version, the war gets hotter,a lot hotter, as President Truman agrees to permit General MacArthur's use of atomic bombs on China following the Chinese intervention in Korea. It proves to be a major miscalculation, as the Soviet Union stands by "Red China" and atom bombs the US allies in Europe as well as also invading West Germany. Could it have happened? Sure. And why only ***? Because I am somewhat tired of Turtledove's formulaic style. He tells the story through the viewpoints of his characters-which is fine- but I think there are at least 2 or 3 too many characters to follow. He could have told the story in 1/3 the length (the book is over 400 pages) and it is only the beginning of a series.
September 22, 2016
I love alternate history. This one seemed to have an interesting premise. Following WW II, the U.S. (Truman and generals) want to keep the Chinese out of Korea and calculate the best way to do that with the least losses is to drop an A-bomb or two in China. They badly miscalculate the Soviet reaction to this, and before long, it's World War III, with atomic weapons.
First, the good news. This book seems well-researched and credible.
Now the bad news. The book has way too many major characters--protagonists. They all have the same problem, survival, so it's hard to get too attached to any of them. For those characters living under Communist rule, readers are treated to endless examples about the rough life they're having, what they can't say, what would happen if they did, etc.
Also, the writing style is so thorough as to be boring. The author examines every little idea from every possible angle. Does Mr. Turtledove speak the way he writes? How does he ask someone for salt at the dinner table? "Pass the salt, please. By 'pass' I don't mean a football-style forward pass, which would hurt me and spill salt all over. According to some old European traditions, spilling salt is bad luck. Instead, I mean for you to gently hand the salt to me. By 'salt' I really mean the salt shaker, handed to me in an upright orientation, such that the salt itself remains inside. Again, even though it's a superstition, there's no sense spilling salt all over the table by handing the shaker to me upside down. Even if it's not really bad luck, it would be wasteful. Oh, now I see you already passed the salt five minutes ago. Thanks."
Sorry to be so snarky, but this book could have been 1/3 its length and said the same thing, but with more emotional impact.
I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but will say this--don't expect an ending that resolves any of the conflicts. Resolving conflicts at the end is a rather basic rule of literature, but this book ignores that rule.
First, the good news. This book seems well-researched and credible.
Now the bad news. The book has way too many major characters--protagonists. They all have the same problem, survival, so it's hard to get too attached to any of them. For those characters living under Communist rule, readers are treated to endless examples about the rough life they're having, what they can't say, what would happen if they did, etc.
Also, the writing style is so thorough as to be boring. The author examines every little idea from every possible angle. Does Mr. Turtledove speak the way he writes? How does he ask someone for salt at the dinner table? "Pass the salt, please. By 'pass' I don't mean a football-style forward pass, which would hurt me and spill salt all over. According to some old European traditions, spilling salt is bad luck. Instead, I mean for you to gently hand the salt to me. By 'salt' I really mean the salt shaker, handed to me in an upright orientation, such that the salt itself remains inside. Again, even though it's a superstition, there's no sense spilling salt all over the table by handing the shaker to me upside down. Even if it's not really bad luck, it would be wasteful. Oh, now I see you already passed the salt five minutes ago. Thanks."
Sorry to be so snarky, but this book could have been 1/3 its length and said the same thing, but with more emotional impact.
I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but will say this--don't expect an ending that resolves any of the conflicts. Resolving conflicts at the end is a rather basic rule of literature, but this book ignores that rule.
June 30, 2015
I’ve been a Turtledove fan for more than thirty years. I can’t believe it has taken me that long to discover the formula that Turtledove uses in each war story. I suppose I’ve not seen it because of excellent non-war series like Supervolcano and the Krispos series. I suspect I was subconsciously aware of the Turtledove formulaic doctrine (TFD) during the last four books of the southern victory series, but as I read certain characters, situations and even dialect, in Bombs Away, it hit me.
Formula aside, Bombs Away is another war story in classic the Turtledove fashion. Tons of research, characters that are engaging (well, from the TFD, they’re just cut and paste,) and I care about the ensemble cast.
As for story, dropping the A-bomb on China isn’t anything that ‘wows’ me, but they don’t call him ‘the Master of Alternate History’ for nothing.
This review appears to be overly negative, but in reality, Turtledove fans want the TFD, and Bombs Away does not fail to deliver. As a fan myself, I’ll read the next book in The Hot War series. Three stars according to Goodreads is "I liked it" and I did.
Formula aside, Bombs Away is another war story in classic the Turtledove fashion. Tons of research, characters that are engaging (well, from the TFD, they’re just cut and paste,) and I care about the ensemble cast.
As for story, dropping the A-bomb on China isn’t anything that ‘wows’ me, but they don’t call him ‘the Master of Alternate History’ for nothing.
This review appears to be overly negative, but in reality, Turtledove fans want the TFD, and Bombs Away does not fail to deliver. As a fan myself, I’ll read the next book in The Hot War series. Three stars according to Goodreads is "I liked it" and I did.
December 19, 2017
It's been some time since I read any Harry Turtledove, and this one jumped out at me as what could be a great one.. Turtledove imagines WWIII.
Unfortunately, he fails to deliver on the alternative history part. There's very little there. Sure, we get Stalin and Truman tossing Atomic bombs around like candy, but there's not any depth to it... anyone could have come up with both the scenario that kicked it off, and what happens next. We get nothing of the communist motivations, and very little of the US', just that the war started, so it clearly has to keep going until someone quits. Maybe that the the point he was going for, but if so, he missed.. it just felt lazy.
As in most of his other books, the cast is a wide ensemble that shows lots of little slices of life.. most of those are good, and pretty interesting, but they also all could have fit into any 50s historical fiction, they didn't need alternative history to be there.
The book had me turning the pages to see what was coming next and all, but nothing really ever did that was interesting enough to live up to the potential of the set up.
Unfortunately, he fails to deliver on the alternative history part. There's very little there. Sure, we get Stalin and Truman tossing Atomic bombs around like candy, but there's not any depth to it... anyone could have come up with both the scenario that kicked it off, and what happens next. We get nothing of the communist motivations, and very little of the US', just that the war started, so it clearly has to keep going until someone quits. Maybe that the the point he was going for, but if so, he missed.. it just felt lazy.
As in most of his other books, the cast is a wide ensemble that shows lots of little slices of life.. most of those are good, and pretty interesting, but they also all could have fit into any 50s historical fiction, they didn't need alternative history to be there.
The book had me turning the pages to see what was coming next and all, but nothing really ever did that was interesting enough to live up to the potential of the set up.
September 1, 2018
What if Truman and MacArthur had used nukes against China during the Korean War? The author seems to make a living writing alternate histories such as this. Beyond that premise, it follows a large cast of characters as the war escalates and nuclear bombs are dropped here and there. This wasn’t a great book; the writing is not that good. I kept reading because I wanted to find out what kind of mess happened next, but I don’t think I’ll follow up with the next books in the series. I’ve had enough already.
March 10, 2016
This book was a pleasant surprise. Although still clearly recognisable as turtledove, it's much less stereotypical than the books before it. there was much less repetition, less unnecessary explanations, less instances of different characters using the same expressions, geopolitics were excellent, and, yes, it was grittier than we're used to (with possible exception of Joe Steele). And a history lesson to boot.
April 7, 2020
Decent enough storyline of speculative fiction/alternate history. BUT, boy did the simple dialogue make me wince, almost as much as some of the analogies proffered.
The characters are a bit wooden, and the author seems oddly restrained from describing anyone's subjective experience, especially regarding the horror of war's devastation. The entire narrative is written as if by detached observer.
The characters are a bit wooden, and the author seems oddly restrained from describing anyone's subjective experience, especially regarding the horror of war's devastation. The entire narrative is written as if by detached observer.
January 8, 2018
See my full thoughts here: https://youtu.be/bVKMlbg9q9A
I usually read to escape from reality. So imagine how I felt reading this book, which is about an unstable American president dropping nuclear bombs due to a war with North Korea and the Russia (okay, technically it's the U.S.S.R.) invading most of Europe. Less escapism than I had hoped for.
The premise of this book is very simple: During the Korean War, Harry Truman decides to drop nuclear bombs on China. This is something that almost happened in real life, for those who don't know. In retaliation, the Soviet Union drops nuclear weapons on targets in the U.S. and Western Europe and then WWIII begins. And... that's about it. There's not much plot to speak of, this is a very large scale story about how the war changes the world.
There isn't much to say about the character cast either. There are around 20 POV characters in this book and none of them stand out at all. Most of them have one or two moments that give them some sympathy and/or personality but overall they're just a pair of eyes and ears to see the world. And that's fine, this book is more about themes and the world than it is about a person or group of people. I'd be lying if I said it didn't annoy me a little though.
The biggest thing that made this book for me is the horror. Every time a bomb drops and incinerates a city along with making the land unlivable for years, you feel dread for what the future will bring. Every time a soldier is torn apart by machine gun fire, you feel repulsed by what humans can do to one another. Every act of arbitrary violence, every poor idiot that's forced into action by the machinations of those around him, they all make you feel like the end of the world is on the horizon. With many horror stories about ghosts and monsters in the woods, there's a certain disconnect. While reading I know it isn't real, even if it feels real. This is watching humanity kill itself in slow motion. If that appeals to you, read this book.
I usually read to escape from reality. So imagine how I felt reading this book, which is about an unstable American president dropping nuclear bombs due to a war with North Korea and the Russia (okay, technically it's the U.S.S.R.) invading most of Europe. Less escapism than I had hoped for.
The premise of this book is very simple: During the Korean War, Harry Truman decides to drop nuclear bombs on China. This is something that almost happened in real life, for those who don't know. In retaliation, the Soviet Union drops nuclear weapons on targets in the U.S. and Western Europe and then WWIII begins. And... that's about it. There's not much plot to speak of, this is a very large scale story about how the war changes the world.
There isn't much to say about the character cast either. There are around 20 POV characters in this book and none of them stand out at all. Most of them have one or two moments that give them some sympathy and/or personality but overall they're just a pair of eyes and ears to see the world. And that's fine, this book is more about themes and the world than it is about a person or group of people. I'd be lying if I said it didn't annoy me a little though.
The biggest thing that made this book for me is the horror. Every time a bomb drops and incinerates a city along with making the land unlivable for years, you feel dread for what the future will bring. Every time a soldier is torn apart by machine gun fire, you feel repulsed by what humans can do to one another. Every act of arbitrary violence, every poor idiot that's forced into action by the machinations of those around him, they all make you feel like the end of the world is on the horizon. With many horror stories about ghosts and monsters in the woods, there's a certain disconnect. While reading I know it isn't real, even if it feels real. This is watching humanity kill itself in slow motion. If that appeals to you, read this book.
April 21, 2017
Even before World War II ended, American strategists had concerns about potential Soviet incursions into other countries. In particular, the State Department thought it critical to keep the Soviets out of Korea - because not only would Korea provide ice-free ports to the USSR, but it would allow them a strategic advantage in relation both to China and Japan.
As Max Hastings reported in his book, The Korean War, less than twenty-four hours after the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the U.S. military was planning to occupy Korea. The Russians of course objected and the U.N. got involved, dividing the country along the 38th Parallel.
North of the line, the Soviets installed the ruthless dictator Kim Il Sung, and south of the line the Americans sponsored its own ruthless dictator, Syngman Rhee. Relations were not good between the two parts of Korea, and by 1949 border skirmishes were frequent. The defeat in China of the American-sponsored Nationalist army of Chiang Kai Shek by the Communist army of Mao Tse Tung hardened American attitudes and exacerbated fears about the Communists. Thus when Communist Kim Il Sung decided (with Stalin’s express permission) to invade South Korea in 1950, it was only a matter of time before the U.S. went to war.
In the early months of the war, the Americans and South Koreans were nearly driven off the peninsula, but they rallied under the direction of General Douglas MacArthur, who planned and executed a dramatic amphibious landing at Inchon, behind the North Koran lines. The Americans then drove north, captured the North Korean capital, and approached the border of China, which had not yet entered the fighting. Against specific instructions from Truman, MacArthur continued to drive north, provoking a surprise Chinese intervention which turned the tide once again and threatened to push the Americans out of Korea. With his troops retreating, MacArthur tried to get Truman to approve the use of atomic weapons against the Chinese and North Koreans.
President Truman himself did not rule out their use when questioned by the press. Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy, the self-appointed implacable foe of anyone he deemed to be “soft” on Communism, was whipping up public opinion against the Administration, putting more pressure upon it. On December 24, 1950, MacArthur even submitted to Truman a list of targets he wanted to bomb in North Korea and China, requiring twenty-six atomic bombs.
Fortunately, Truman decided against the nuclear option, but the U.S. had come close. Hastings reports that the military was much more enthusiastic about taking this step than the Truman Administration, and he opines:
"…had the Chinese proved able to convert the defeat of the UN forces into their destruction, had the Eighth Army been unable to check its retreat, and been driven headlong for the coastal ports with massive casualties, it is impossible to declare with certainty that Truman could have resisted the demand for an atomic demonstration against China. The pressure upon the politicians from the military leaders of America might well have become irresistible in the face of military disaster.”
Harry Turtledove, “The Master of Alternate History,” uses this book (which is the first of an eventual trilogy) to consider what would have happened if Truman had indeed capitulated to the pressures around him and authorized the use of atomic weapons.
This book is of course very scary, not only because we were just a hair's breadth away from this actual scenario in the past, but because present conflicts in the world raise similar specters.
Turtledove focuses on a few people in different parts of the world to tell what happened in his alternate history and how it affected all of the participants. He certainly knows his history, his weaponry, and the coarse language that men in battle often employ. While this means that much of the writing isn’t as “elevated” as one might want, it seems very authentic.
In a rather ironic plot development (given the March, 2015 real-life incident involving Germanwings Flight 9525 and its suicidal co-pilot), one of the sets of people being followed consists of a pilot and co-pilot of one of the planes that will be delivering the atomic weapons, and the co-pilot seems stressed and depressed. The pilot says to him, “Seriously, though, man, are you good to fly? I don’t want you in that seat if you aren’t up to doing the things you need to do.” There is no way Turtledove could have known how close that particular subplot could come to the tragic accident involving the German pilot for the Germanwings airliner. And yet, he is so adept at conjecturing what *might* happen at any one time, it is no surprise he came so close on this one.
Evaluation: One thing you could never say about Turtledove’s books is that they aren’t thought-provoking. I will be thinking and talking about this one for a long time to come!
Rating: 3.5/5
As Max Hastings reported in his book, The Korean War, less than twenty-four hours after the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the U.S. military was planning to occupy Korea. The Russians of course objected and the U.N. got involved, dividing the country along the 38th Parallel.
North of the line, the Soviets installed the ruthless dictator Kim Il Sung, and south of the line the Americans sponsored its own ruthless dictator, Syngman Rhee. Relations were not good between the two parts of Korea, and by 1949 border skirmishes were frequent. The defeat in China of the American-sponsored Nationalist army of Chiang Kai Shek by the Communist army of Mao Tse Tung hardened American attitudes and exacerbated fears about the Communists. Thus when Communist Kim Il Sung decided (with Stalin’s express permission) to invade South Korea in 1950, it was only a matter of time before the U.S. went to war.
In the early months of the war, the Americans and South Koreans were nearly driven off the peninsula, but they rallied under the direction of General Douglas MacArthur, who planned and executed a dramatic amphibious landing at Inchon, behind the North Koran lines. The Americans then drove north, captured the North Korean capital, and approached the border of China, which had not yet entered the fighting. Against specific instructions from Truman, MacArthur continued to drive north, provoking a surprise Chinese intervention which turned the tide once again and threatened to push the Americans out of Korea. With his troops retreating, MacArthur tried to get Truman to approve the use of atomic weapons against the Chinese and North Koreans.
President Truman himself did not rule out their use when questioned by the press. Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy, the self-appointed implacable foe of anyone he deemed to be “soft” on Communism, was whipping up public opinion against the Administration, putting more pressure upon it. On December 24, 1950, MacArthur even submitted to Truman a list of targets he wanted to bomb in North Korea and China, requiring twenty-six atomic bombs.
Fortunately, Truman decided against the nuclear option, but the U.S. had come close. Hastings reports that the military was much more enthusiastic about taking this step than the Truman Administration, and he opines:
"…had the Chinese proved able to convert the defeat of the UN forces into their destruction, had the Eighth Army been unable to check its retreat, and been driven headlong for the coastal ports with massive casualties, it is impossible to declare with certainty that Truman could have resisted the demand for an atomic demonstration against China. The pressure upon the politicians from the military leaders of America might well have become irresistible in the face of military disaster.”
Harry Turtledove, “The Master of Alternate History,” uses this book (which is the first of an eventual trilogy) to consider what would have happened if Truman had indeed capitulated to the pressures around him and authorized the use of atomic weapons.
This book is of course very scary, not only because we were just a hair's breadth away from this actual scenario in the past, but because present conflicts in the world raise similar specters.
Turtledove focuses on a few people in different parts of the world to tell what happened in his alternate history and how it affected all of the participants. He certainly knows his history, his weaponry, and the coarse language that men in battle often employ. While this means that much of the writing isn’t as “elevated” as one might want, it seems very authentic.
In a rather ironic plot development (given the March, 2015 real-life incident involving Germanwings Flight 9525 and its suicidal co-pilot), one of the sets of people being followed consists of a pilot and co-pilot of one of the planes that will be delivering the atomic weapons, and the co-pilot seems stressed and depressed. The pilot says to him, “Seriously, though, man, are you good to fly? I don’t want you in that seat if you aren’t up to doing the things you need to do.” There is no way Turtledove could have known how close that particular subplot could come to the tragic accident involving the German pilot for the Germanwings airliner. And yet, he is so adept at conjecturing what *might* happen at any one time, it is no surprise he came so close on this one.
Evaluation: One thing you could never say about Turtledove’s books is that they aren’t thought-provoking. I will be thinking and talking about this one for a long time to come!
Rating: 3.5/5
September 10, 2016
Bombs Away is the first book in a new alternate history series “The Hot War”, in which the Korean War goes nuclear. The point of departure (POD) of this alternate history is in 1950, after China intervenes to prevent the loss of Korea to US/UN forces. In this history, President Truman authorizes the use of atomic bombs against the Chinese troops staging in China. He does not directly order them to be used, but gives General MacArthur permission to send out such strikes if, in his view, the situation on the ground can be improved in no other way. In our own real history, it seems that MacArthur was an advocate of nuclear attack, while Truman resisted it – but their specific positions on the question may never become fully public knowledge, not to mention those of Mao and Stalin. So these alternate events form a plausible scenario.
The way to tell a big story is with lots of personal points of view, and what could be bigger than World War III? The narrative switches between twelve lead characters, about half Americans and half Europeans, whose lives are first established and then disrupted as the Cold War gets hot. This allows us to witness the consequences of the escalation of the conflict on both military and civilian populations throughout the world, but especially in North America, Europe and East Asia. I enjoy Turtledove’s attempt to recapture times and cultures through the use of slang and personal habits no longer current. I feel he tends to overly focus on “salt of the earth” type characters, who just want to be left alone in the lives. But he also follows President Harry Truman on the same personal level, which provides an opportunity for a geopolitical perspective. Perhaps due to my own background, I had no trouble distinguishing the Central European and Russian characters by name and historical situation, all of which seemed authentic to me. I really couldn’t judge regarding East Asia, but I think Turtledove is glossing over those cultures, even with the war starting there.
The individual plots are sliced together in chronological segments, and besides following the events of each lead character’s story, and watching for the rare instances of interaction between two of them, I was constantly watching for developments in the bigger story. It is a structure that Turtledove has used before in his big multi-book alternate histories. One problem with this structure is the need for repetition, both of individual plots as each is resumed, and of the bigger plot as each lead character experiences the bigger events. Turtledove maintains the realistic possibility of the death of any of the lead characters. In case that happens, their plot is extended by “promoting” a supporting character to the role of lead, so as to not lose the breadth of the overall story.
As expected, in this first book of a series about a hypothetical world war, there is plenty of mass death and destruction of famous landmarks, but there are also hints towards major historical divergences which could occur in the subsequent books. As primarily a science fiction fan, I am looking for conceptual development beyond simply mass death and destruction of famous landmarks. Is there a natural tendency for the universe to pull things back to “true” history - or is there no single true history? Will there be an extended recast of true historical events into this alternate setting – such as some new variant of the Vietnam War or the Space Race? Hopefully the next novels of the series will reveal Turtledove’s plan for this universe he has created – and then my rating of this first book will be influenced by that greater plot. For now though, it is a promising start, and I am definitely planning to read Book Two.
The way to tell a big story is with lots of personal points of view, and what could be bigger than World War III? The narrative switches between twelve lead characters, about half Americans and half Europeans, whose lives are first established and then disrupted as the Cold War gets hot. This allows us to witness the consequences of the escalation of the conflict on both military and civilian populations throughout the world, but especially in North America, Europe and East Asia. I enjoy Turtledove’s attempt to recapture times and cultures through the use of slang and personal habits no longer current. I feel he tends to overly focus on “salt of the earth” type characters, who just want to be left alone in the lives. But he also follows President Harry Truman on the same personal level, which provides an opportunity for a geopolitical perspective. Perhaps due to my own background, I had no trouble distinguishing the Central European and Russian characters by name and historical situation, all of which seemed authentic to me. I really couldn’t judge regarding East Asia, but I think Turtledove is glossing over those cultures, even with the war starting there.
The individual plots are sliced together in chronological segments, and besides following the events of each lead character’s story, and watching for the rare instances of interaction between two of them, I was constantly watching for developments in the bigger story. It is a structure that Turtledove has used before in his big multi-book alternate histories. One problem with this structure is the need for repetition, both of individual plots as each is resumed, and of the bigger plot as each lead character experiences the bigger events. Turtledove maintains the realistic possibility of the death of any of the lead characters. In case that happens, their plot is extended by “promoting” a supporting character to the role of lead, so as to not lose the breadth of the overall story.
As expected, in this first book of a series about a hypothetical world war, there is plenty of mass death and destruction of famous landmarks, but there are also hints towards major historical divergences which could occur in the subsequent books. As primarily a science fiction fan, I am looking for conceptual development beyond simply mass death and destruction of famous landmarks. Is there a natural tendency for the universe to pull things back to “true” history - or is there no single true history? Will there be an extended recast of true historical events into this alternate setting – such as some new variant of the Vietnam War or the Space Race? Hopefully the next novels of the series will reveal Turtledove’s plan for this universe he has created – and then my rating of this first book will be influenced by that greater plot. For now though, it is a promising start, and I am definitely planning to read Book Two.
September 14, 2015
What might have happened had Harry Truman decided to use a couple of atomic bombs to stop the Chinese hordes from rushing south into North Korea in 1951?
I know that option was considered, but ultimately rejected in favour of what actually happened.
Harry Turtledove, the master of alternate history (at least where plotting goes, at least in my opinion) looks at the alternative in this interesting first book of a series (duology, maybe?).
A Turtledove tradition is to tell his story from a number of disparate viewpoints, from the major historical figures (Truman, in this case) to soldiers on the ground in Korea and Europe, from both sides. As well, there are a number of civilians on both sides as viewpoint characters too.
As is usual for me, Turtledove's plots are the attraction for me, as I find the writing itself rather tedious. Some of his books are better than others, but Bombs Away is not one of them. None of the characters are that distinctive, with an added issue brought on by the international narrative of this series. That issue is that they all kind of sound alike, even the Russian/Hungarian/German characters.
Variations of "I could tell you you're wrong, but I'd be lying" when discussing various events, or "You know, you have a point there" when somebody points out the bloody obvious abound.
That's why I avoid Turtledove's books unless the alternate history grabs me, and in this case it did. The world has come close to nuclear catastrophe a number of times during the Cold War, and it's interesting to explore what would have happened if somebody had gone the opposite direction. As atomic bomb after bomb are dropped on various cities, escalating what started as a local use and then retaliation for that use, you have to wonder where it's going to stop.
(One thing I had to keep reminding myself is that this is the age just before ICBMs were created, though mention is made in the book that they are coming, so the thought of massive retaliation to wipe out everything and end humanity isn't quite there yet)
Still, there are a couple of oddities that I couldn't find an explanation for.
Once the Soviets get involved, just what is their goal for invading Germany? And then Italy? I just don't see an endgame there and nobody in the book mentions it either (Truman's a character, but not Stalin). I could see perhaps just Germany (reuniting the country under Soviet rule), but then mention is made of invading northern Italy and that reasoning went out the window.
Hopefully that will be explained in the next book.
Overall, Bombs Away kept me reading just to see what happened globally. I didn't really care about any of the characters. Turtledove thankfully kept away from the cringe-worthy sex scenes, though his references to sex were as uncomfortable as having your grandfather make such references (ewwww).
I can't really recommend this book to anybody unless you're like me: so interested in the big picture alternate history that you're able to slog through a book where you're not a fan of the writing.
Basically, if you're me, you'll enjoy it!
Kind of.
I know that option was considered, but ultimately rejected in favour of what actually happened.
Harry Turtledove, the master of alternate history (at least where plotting goes, at least in my opinion) looks at the alternative in this interesting first book of a series (duology, maybe?).
A Turtledove tradition is to tell his story from a number of disparate viewpoints, from the major historical figures (Truman, in this case) to soldiers on the ground in Korea and Europe, from both sides. As well, there are a number of civilians on both sides as viewpoint characters too.
As is usual for me, Turtledove's plots are the attraction for me, as I find the writing itself rather tedious. Some of his books are better than others, but Bombs Away is not one of them. None of the characters are that distinctive, with an added issue brought on by the international narrative of this series. That issue is that they all kind of sound alike, even the Russian/Hungarian/German characters.
Variations of "I could tell you you're wrong, but I'd be lying" when discussing various events, or "You know, you have a point there" when somebody points out the bloody obvious abound.
That's why I avoid Turtledove's books unless the alternate history grabs me, and in this case it did. The world has come close to nuclear catastrophe a number of times during the Cold War, and it's interesting to explore what would have happened if somebody had gone the opposite direction. As atomic bomb after bomb are dropped on various cities, escalating what started as a local use and then retaliation for that use, you have to wonder where it's going to stop.
(One thing I had to keep reminding myself is that this is the age just before ICBMs were created, though mention is made in the book that they are coming, so the thought of massive retaliation to wipe out everything and end humanity isn't quite there yet)
Still, there are a couple of oddities that I couldn't find an explanation for.
Once the Soviets get involved, just what is their goal for invading Germany? And then Italy? I just don't see an endgame there and nobody in the book mentions it either (Truman's a character, but not Stalin). I could see perhaps just Germany (reuniting the country under Soviet rule), but then mention is made of invading northern Italy and that reasoning went out the window.
Hopefully that will be explained in the next book.
Overall, Bombs Away kept me reading just to see what happened globally. I didn't really care about any of the characters. Turtledove thankfully kept away from the cringe-worthy sex scenes, though his references to sex were as uncomfortable as having your grandfather make such references (ewwww).
I can't really recommend this book to anybody unless you're like me: so interested in the big picture alternate history that you're able to slog through a book where you're not a fan of the writing.
Basically, if you're me, you'll enjoy it!
Kind of.
August 5, 2015
Believe it or not, this is actually the first ever Turtledove I've had the pleasure of reading. I've managed to build a small collection, grabbing assorted works at garage and library sales over the years, but they always seem to be the middle bits of series. Not this time! This time I'm in on the ground floor for his new series exploring what might have happened had the Cold War gone hot in the early days. In the later days, that's no fun since it would mostly just result in the planet becoming a cinder....
At the height of the Korean War, with Red Chinese forces pouring over the border, the idea of using nuclear weapons to turn the tide was under serious consideration. In the world we inherited President Truman decided against unleashing that genie, but now Harry Turtledove turns his pen to exploring the potential consequences of such action. Come along for the ride in Bombs Away as Turtledove picks apart the threads of history and weaves them together once again in a different and altogether horrifying configuration….
There’s a reason Harry Turtledove is billed as “The Master of Alternate History.” Several reasons, in fact. The man seems to possess an unparalleled grasp of history, knowing instinctively just where to push in order to set events onto a new, believable course. Just as importantly, his characters all feel very real—figures both fictional and historical leap off the page and pull you into their world. While story thrives on conflict, Turtledove stands testament to the fact that you don’t necessarily need a villain, shying away from easy caricature in favor of focusing on ordinary men doing the best they can. From the White House to the trenches of Korea, from the cockpit of a B-29 bomber to the streets of divided Germany, Harry Turtledove gives a stellar introduction to a hellish world that could have been.
CONTENT: Harsh, R-rated language, widespread but not gratuitous. In a world sprouting mushroom clouds, profanity seems appropriate.... Strong violence, as you would expect from World War III. Occasional sexual content, semi-explicit. Some of the characters are racist, and the fallout of the Holocaust is dealt with to a degree.
At the height of the Korean War, with Red Chinese forces pouring over the border, the idea of using nuclear weapons to turn the tide was under serious consideration. In the world we inherited President Truman decided against unleashing that genie, but now Harry Turtledove turns his pen to exploring the potential consequences of such action. Come along for the ride in Bombs Away as Turtledove picks apart the threads of history and weaves them together once again in a different and altogether horrifying configuration….
There’s a reason Harry Turtledove is billed as “The Master of Alternate History.” Several reasons, in fact. The man seems to possess an unparalleled grasp of history, knowing instinctively just where to push in order to set events onto a new, believable course. Just as importantly, his characters all feel very real—figures both fictional and historical leap off the page and pull you into their world. While story thrives on conflict, Turtledove stands testament to the fact that you don’t necessarily need a villain, shying away from easy caricature in favor of focusing on ordinary men doing the best they can. From the White House to the trenches of Korea, from the cockpit of a B-29 bomber to the streets of divided Germany, Harry Turtledove gives a stellar introduction to a hellish world that could have been.
CONTENT: Harsh, R-rated language, widespread but not gratuitous. In a world sprouting mushroom clouds, profanity seems appropriate.... Strong violence, as you would expect from World War III. Occasional sexual content, semi-explicit. Some of the characters are racist, and the fallout of the Holocaust is dealt with to a degree.
November 12, 2021
It was.... not bad? Something?
Alternate history is definitely a favorite genre of mine, so no surprise I got around to this. Not shockingly, its a "cold war gone hot", but this time if MacArthur had convinced truman to use atomics.
The escalation aspects seemed.... thin? I'm hardly a historical expert for that era, but it felt like a stretch. To me, a good alternate history novel is either A) just gonna go nuts with the event to set the story on its "new" path (See the wonderful Sci-Fi Axis of Time series) or B) somewhat careful design to explore the idea in depth. This feels like it tried the latter and then went a little off the rails.
There werent an overwhelming number of characters/arcs to follow but enough that hopping between them was occasionally irksome (especially on the kindle version). The story didn't feel like it had time to breathe and felt rushed, with never really getting a great feel for whats going on. But maybe the chaos and confusion was part of the point?
I dont know. I did enjoy it and will probably go onto the next one but there was something just a little off the whole time.
Alternate history is definitely a favorite genre of mine, so no surprise I got around to this. Not shockingly, its a "cold war gone hot", but this time if MacArthur had convinced truman to use atomics.
The escalation aspects seemed.... thin? I'm hardly a historical expert for that era, but it felt like a stretch. To me, a good alternate history novel is either A) just gonna go nuts with the event to set the story on its "new" path (See the wonderful Sci-Fi Axis of Time series) or B) somewhat careful design to explore the idea in depth. This feels like it tried the latter and then went a little off the rails.
There werent an overwhelming number of characters/arcs to follow but enough that hopping between them was occasionally irksome (especially on the kindle version). The story didn't feel like it had time to breathe and felt rushed, with never really getting a great feel for whats going on. But maybe the chaos and confusion was part of the point?
I dont know. I did enjoy it and will probably go onto the next one but there was something just a little off the whole time.
September 8, 2018
I've been thinking about reading the Hot War series for a while because its premise interested me. It takes, as its point of departure, the decision to avoid using atomic weapons during the crisis initiated by the Chinese entry into the Korean War in 1950. In Turtledove's version, President Truman accepts General MacArthur's recommendation to use the A-bomb on various Chinese transportation hubs to slow the Chinese advance. The result is mayhem, of course, but very much in the Turtledove style.
As is his style, Turtledove tells this story through the lives of a host of characters from both sides, both leaders and followers. He has chosen a time when an atomic war would create appalling casualties, but before many of the technological innovations which gave these weapons a world-wide reach and the potential to exterminate all of humanity. His writing combines the everyday caught up by the earth-shaking realities of such a war. That is, in many ways, its strength.
The downside is that there is an inevitability in this book which makes it sometimes predictable. It is punctuated by various rounds of nuclear exchanges amid the general horror of the new weapon and helplessness about how to get out of this mess. There are, of course, two more books in this series, so looking for a resolution in the horror is still a while away. It is good start and I look forward to the rest of the series.
As is his style, Turtledove tells this story through the lives of a host of characters from both sides, both leaders and followers. He has chosen a time when an atomic war would create appalling casualties, but before many of the technological innovations which gave these weapons a world-wide reach and the potential to exterminate all of humanity. His writing combines the everyday caught up by the earth-shaking realities of such a war. That is, in many ways, its strength.
The downside is that there is an inevitability in this book which makes it sometimes predictable. It is punctuated by various rounds of nuclear exchanges amid the general horror of the new weapon and helplessness about how to get out of this mess. There are, of course, two more books in this series, so looking for a resolution in the horror is still a while away. It is good start and I look forward to the rest of the series.
October 4, 2018
This Turtledove alternate history follows his well followed pattern: a tweak to history at a crucial turning point and leads to vast consequences across the whole world which we see through the eyes of clusters of people, great and small, in many different places. Bonus: with so many "main" characters, Turtledove could unexpectedly kill off anyone and still have plenty left to follow. No hero is guaranteed to come through triumphant.
In this book (and 2 sequels) the tweak is that President Truman and General MacArthur agree to use atomic bombs against the Chinese pouring into Korea in 1951, so that Korean War becomes the spark for World War III as Russia supports the Chinese and soon the US and USSR are dropping bombs across eastern Asia and all of Europe and North America. It's the war my generation was taught to worry about when in elementary school. The lead characters include government leaders, American and Russian bomber crews, Russian tank crews in Germany, and ordinary folks near the radioactive ruins of Seattle and LA and cities in China and Russia. Turtledove is very good at helping us move quickly from situation to situation. After all, he's been using this format for sprawling series for years. Looking forward to fitting the next book into my schedule.
In this book (and 2 sequels) the tweak is that President Truman and General MacArthur agree to use atomic bombs against the Chinese pouring into Korea in 1951, so that Korean War becomes the spark for World War III as Russia supports the Chinese and soon the US and USSR are dropping bombs across eastern Asia and all of Europe and North America. It's the war my generation was taught to worry about when in elementary school. The lead characters include government leaders, American and Russian bomber crews, Russian tank crews in Germany, and ordinary folks near the radioactive ruins of Seattle and LA and cities in China and Russia. Turtledove is very good at helping us move quickly from situation to situation. After all, he's been using this format for sprawling series for years. Looking forward to fitting the next book into my schedule.
March 23, 2020
Interesting enough for an alternate history, but not Turtledove's best writing. Must remember not to suggest this one as an introduction to his writing, but steadfast fans of the genre and Turtledove's body of work will still add this to their shelves.
June 14, 2022
Wide-ranging, analytical, scary.
January 1, 2023
Great concept wasted on forgettable characters and glacial plot. I typically have liked Turtledove’s books thus far but this one seemed phoned in.
May 13, 2022
I was compelled to rewrite this review after all the nasty little comments on my reviews, exploded into naked racist and anti-socialist tirades on my review of "Powers of the Earth" (libertarian claptrap). See that review, comments recorded and current and other reviews.
You now should understand my low regard for Amazon, given its support for pro slavery speech (on second thought, it does agree with its treatment of its workers. I will have to give it a pass for consistency). Goodreads has also finally convinced me that it is more 4 Chan than book forum. A really, really, racist/white nationalist/libertarian/National Socialist site with members claiming to speak for all white (it goes without saying) americans. Based on my experience,with the exception of one other commenter, they appear to be correct.
USA! USA! USA! I have to do that chant regularly to appease the dark gods or else.
GLORY TO UKRAINE ! For myself.
Never have I so appreciated my good fortune that despite being born into a Catholic (ugh!), working class family (at the poverty end, regardless of metric), that I was at least not an american born.
Originally I wrote a good account of his great writing but in retrospect, it felt as if I was defending the writer. He needs no defense. He introduced me to alternate history for which I will always be grateful.
If the reader can not process that the USA is not the center of the world, this writer is not for you. If the reader pretends that the US is not a very racist society (more so even than Britain or France) and is proud of it, this writer is not for you. If the reader does not realize that other countries are well aware of the US social reality and have imported the Confederate flag into countries that outlaw the public display of Swastikas (the commonly portrayed Confederate flag is only one of at least six used through 1865), this writer is not for you.
If you do not fall into any of the above groups and can enjoy writing above the fifth year, than he is a treat. His books are regarded as the best of the genre by many and I heartily agree.
For a more sane, mature and thoughtful community of readers I recommend from among its many tubes, the booktubers of YouTube. All things that warm a bibliophile's heart can be found there. I spend much of my entertainment time on the other channels as well.
Here are some of my favorites.
Owen Jones, Zoe Baker, UA Courage, Munecat, TaraMooknee, Quinn's Ideas, Some More News, Novara Media, Sarah Z, Art by Annamarie, Spacedock, Eliot Brooks, Lady of the Library, Media Death Cult, Enby reads, Renegade Cut, Lindsay Ellis, Lady knight the Brave, Sabine Hossenfelder, Noah Sampson, Alayna Joy, Kitty G, Maggie May Fish, France 24, Double Down News, DW News, Big Joel, The Irish Reader, Patrick is a Navajo, The Armchair Historian, The Narrowboat Pirate, The Narrowboat Experience, The Shades of Orange, The Templin Institute, A Cup of Nicole, A Clockwork Reader, A Life of Lit, Lily Alexander, Between the Lines, Emmie, Hello Future Me, Beautifully Bookish Bethany, Autumn's Boutique, Natasha's Adventures, Cari can Read, Merphy Napier, Jenny Nicholson, Katie Colson, Jack Edwards, Brittany the Bibliophile, Dakota Warren, Austin McConnell, Indigo Gaming, Spacedock, Jabzy, History Hit, Between the Wars, Alize, Artificial Intelligence Universe, Practical Engineering, Mrs Betty Bowers, Make Better Media, Kings and Generals, SandRhoman History, Sabaton History, Jabzy, Karolina Zebrowska, Celtica, Jill Bearup, Lily Alexander, Ancient Americas, Swell Entertainment, We're in Hell, Zoe Bee, Cold Fusion, Sufficiently Advanced Lena, Reading Wryly, Writing with Jenna Moreci, Books with Emily Fox, The Radical Reviewer, I'm Rosa, Mrs Betty Bowers, Tom Nicholas, Philosophy Tube, Jake Tran, IzzzYzzz, Cruising the Cut, Cruising Alba, Rebecca Watson, Jack in the Books, Petrik Leo, Hailey in Bookland, The Bookleo, Noelle Gallagher, Bookslike Whoa, Atun Shei, BrandonF, Traveling K, With Olivia, Lilly's expat life and Savage Daughter.
To any who have read this, I wish you a happy morning, a refreshing afternoon, an exciting evening and a wonderful night. Hope and Courage are twin strengths.
You now should understand my low regard for Amazon, given its support for pro slavery speech (on second thought, it does agree with its treatment of its workers. I will have to give it a pass for consistency). Goodreads has also finally convinced me that it is more 4 Chan than book forum. A really, really, racist/white nationalist/libertarian/National Socialist site with members claiming to speak for all white (it goes without saying) americans. Based on my experience,with the exception of one other commenter, they appear to be correct.
USA! USA! USA! I have to do that chant regularly to appease the dark gods or else.
GLORY TO UKRAINE ! For myself.
Never have I so appreciated my good fortune that despite being born into a Catholic (ugh!), working class family (at the poverty end, regardless of metric), that I was at least not an american born.
Originally I wrote a good account of his great writing but in retrospect, it felt as if I was defending the writer. He needs no defense. He introduced me to alternate history for which I will always be grateful.
If the reader can not process that the USA is not the center of the world, this writer is not for you. If the reader pretends that the US is not a very racist society (more so even than Britain or France) and is proud of it, this writer is not for you. If the reader does not realize that other countries are well aware of the US social reality and have imported the Confederate flag into countries that outlaw the public display of Swastikas (the commonly portrayed Confederate flag is only one of at least six used through 1865), this writer is not for you.
If you do not fall into any of the above groups and can enjoy writing above the fifth year, than he is a treat. His books are regarded as the best of the genre by many and I heartily agree.
For a more sane, mature and thoughtful community of readers I recommend from among its many tubes, the booktubers of YouTube. All things that warm a bibliophile's heart can be found there. I spend much of my entertainment time on the other channels as well.
Here are some of my favorites.
Owen Jones, Zoe Baker, UA Courage, Munecat, TaraMooknee, Quinn's Ideas, Some More News, Novara Media, Sarah Z, Art by Annamarie, Spacedock, Eliot Brooks, Lady of the Library, Media Death Cult, Enby reads, Renegade Cut, Lindsay Ellis, Lady knight the Brave, Sabine Hossenfelder, Noah Sampson, Alayna Joy, Kitty G, Maggie May Fish, France 24, Double Down News, DW News, Big Joel, The Irish Reader, Patrick is a Navajo, The Armchair Historian, The Narrowboat Pirate, The Narrowboat Experience, The Shades of Orange, The Templin Institute, A Cup of Nicole, A Clockwork Reader, A Life of Lit, Lily Alexander, Between the Lines, Emmie, Hello Future Me, Beautifully Bookish Bethany, Autumn's Boutique, Natasha's Adventures, Cari can Read, Merphy Napier, Jenny Nicholson, Katie Colson, Jack Edwards, Brittany the Bibliophile, Dakota Warren, Austin McConnell, Indigo Gaming, Spacedock, Jabzy, History Hit, Between the Wars, Alize, Artificial Intelligence Universe, Practical Engineering, Mrs Betty Bowers, Make Better Media, Kings and Generals, SandRhoman History, Sabaton History, Jabzy, Karolina Zebrowska, Celtica, Jill Bearup, Lily Alexander, Ancient Americas, Swell Entertainment, We're in Hell, Zoe Bee, Cold Fusion, Sufficiently Advanced Lena, Reading Wryly, Writing with Jenna Moreci, Books with Emily Fox, The Radical Reviewer, I'm Rosa, Mrs Betty Bowers, Tom Nicholas, Philosophy Tube, Jake Tran, IzzzYzzz, Cruising the Cut, Cruising Alba, Rebecca Watson, Jack in the Books, Petrik Leo, Hailey in Bookland, The Bookleo, Noelle Gallagher, Bookslike Whoa, Atun Shei, BrandonF, Traveling K, With Olivia, Lilly's expat life and Savage Daughter.
To any who have read this, I wish you a happy morning, a refreshing afternoon, an exciting evening and a wonderful night. Hope and Courage are twin strengths.
October 20, 2017
Goodreads defines the two-star rating as "it was okay," and that's what Bombs Away: The Hot War was. Just okay. This novel is an alternate history, examining what might have happened if the United States had responded to China's entry into the Korean War by using atomic bombs to blunt the massive invasion by hitting the Chinese supply lines (at the same time, killing many thousands of Chinese citizens). While China didn't possess such weapons then, the author envisions the USSR taking up the defense of its Communist brothers and starting World War III, exchanging atomic bombings with the United States.
That's an interesting premise, but the author isn't very good at character development or plot twists. The plot was very predictable, and the many characters were, by and large, underdeveloped and uninteresting. It's like he said, okay, so let's have some Soviet soldiers and pilots, and we'll need some American pilots and soldiers and so on, as if just giving them names and painting general battle situations was enough. It simply wasn't. A number of these characters come to violent ends, and not one of those deaths elicited the slightest feeling from me because these were strangers with no qualities to make me feel invested in them. The author created characters, from foot soldiers to housewives to refugees to President Truman, and not one of them was particularly compelling.
So I finished the book, and I suppose its non-ending ending was supposed to leave the door open for further books in a series (as this author seems to like writing series), but what's left? Incinerating the handful of major cities that didn't get bombed in this book? Or intense negotiations to reach peace? I might be interested in seeing if there would be some wholly unexpected plot twist, but wholly unexpected plot twists were nowhere in the vicinity of this book, so I wouldn't hold my breath for anything in the future.
This was a book with an interesting premise, but it didn't deliver.
That's an interesting premise, but the author isn't very good at character development or plot twists. The plot was very predictable, and the many characters were, by and large, underdeveloped and uninteresting. It's like he said, okay, so let's have some Soviet soldiers and pilots, and we'll need some American pilots and soldiers and so on, as if just giving them names and painting general battle situations was enough. It simply wasn't. A number of these characters come to violent ends, and not one of those deaths elicited the slightest feeling from me because these were strangers with no qualities to make me feel invested in them. The author created characters, from foot soldiers to housewives to refugees to President Truman, and not one of them was particularly compelling.
So I finished the book, and I suppose its non-ending ending was supposed to leave the door open for further books in a series (as this author seems to like writing series), but what's left? Incinerating the handful of major cities that didn't get bombed in this book? Or intense negotiations to reach peace? I might be interested in seeing if there would be some wholly unexpected plot twist, but wholly unexpected plot twists were nowhere in the vicinity of this book, so I wouldn't hold my breath for anything in the future.
This was a book with an interesting premise, but it didn't deliver.
July 15, 2015
I think Turtledove is a Pall Mall man, and a vodka man though I can't prove either supposition. I could not finish The War That Came Early series because every character was joined by their collective disgust at wartime smokes, victuals, and booze and I do not exaggerate when I say that this occurred in every vignette of that series.
Things are....improved...somewhat in this book, the start of a new series, that while it's not every vignette, it is at least every other. It does lead to a bit of foreshadowing. You see eventually I expect Turtledove to break down the fourth wall. Suddenly my mental image will turn to black and white and Harry Turtledove will walk on. Taking a drag from his cigarette he'll turn to face me, and exhale: "Ahhh... Hello. You know nothing beats the smooth inhale of Pall Mall tobacco because only Pall Mall tobacco comes recommended for its refreshing taste, and pleasant smell. Oh," he'll add, "and don't forget to wash that down with some Grey Goose brand vodka the only vodka that comes recommended by this book. So, why don't you stop down to your favorite grocery store and pick up a bottle. You won't regret it." Then with a wink he'll take a sip while the book fades back to its plot line. Admittedly that wouldn't necessarily be all that bad because it would add a new character in a book of scant variety
So far while every character doesn't completely sound the same there are really only two and a half characters for the book. If you have read prior books by him you've already met their clones, and so there's nothing really new. But, the setting is interesting at least.
Things are....improved...somewhat in this book, the start of a new series, that while it's not every vignette, it is at least every other. It does lead to a bit of foreshadowing. You see eventually I expect Turtledove to break down the fourth wall. Suddenly my mental image will turn to black and white and Harry Turtledove will walk on. Taking a drag from his cigarette he'll turn to face me, and exhale: "Ahhh... Hello. You know nothing beats the smooth inhale of Pall Mall tobacco because only Pall Mall tobacco comes recommended for its refreshing taste, and pleasant smell. Oh," he'll add, "and don't forget to wash that down with some Grey Goose brand vodka the only vodka that comes recommended by this book. So, why don't you stop down to your favorite grocery store and pick up a bottle. You won't regret it." Then with a wink he'll take a sip while the book fades back to its plot line. Admittedly that wouldn't necessarily be all that bad because it would add a new character in a book of scant variety
So far while every character doesn't completely sound the same there are really only two and a half characters for the book. If you have read prior books by him you've already met their clones, and so there's nothing really new. But, the setting is interesting at least.
July 16, 2015
[I received an ARC from Netgally in exchange for an honest review.]
This is one that I had high hopes for going in—the postwar era, alternative history, and humans coping with nuclear fallout are some of my favourite topics in fiction. I ended up finding the story drawn out and frustrating, if only for the sheer number of characters that Turtledove juggles and plodding pace.
I admire his ability to give most of those characters different voices and motivations, to keep the narrative largely unbiased, and to tell the story from a point of view that was not limited to western characters alone. However the language could be stilted and simplistic at times and the twelve main characters were sometimes lost on me (this may be down to having an ARC, but the change in perspective was sometimes jarring and I was often left trying to remember where I'd left the new character because of the cast's enormous size). It felt like too much at times.
That said, it was a slow read and likely could have moved at a much quicker pace with more story. 3 stars for a solid idea, but average execution.
This is one that I had high hopes for going in—the postwar era, alternative history, and humans coping with nuclear fallout are some of my favourite topics in fiction. I ended up finding the story drawn out and frustrating, if only for the sheer number of characters that Turtledove juggles and plodding pace.
I admire his ability to give most of those characters different voices and motivations, to keep the narrative largely unbiased, and to tell the story from a point of view that was not limited to western characters alone. However the language could be stilted and simplistic at times and the twelve main characters were sometimes lost on me (this may be down to having an ARC, but the change in perspective was sometimes jarring and I was often left trying to remember where I'd left the new character because of the cast's enormous size). It felt like too much at times.
That said, it was a slow read and likely could have moved at a much quicker pace with more story. 3 stars for a solid idea, but average execution.
July 6, 2015
In Bombs Away: The Hot War, Turtledove tweaked history twice. First, the Chinese ambush of the First Marine Division around the Chosen Reservoir was much more successful in destroying American forces retreating to Wosan. The second tweak develops out of the first since in this timeline, President Truman gives General MacArthur permission to use atomic weapons on staging locations over the border in China. Stalin then retaliated by bombing locations in Europe. A tit-for-tat response ensues through out the book with the West Coast of the US and Maine being hit, Moscow and Kiev going up in smoke among many others. Turtledove does a nice job of providing viewpoint characters to flesh out the story. Bombs Away is a sobering look at what could have happened.
March 27, 2016
After reading this book, I'm glad that Truman didn't listen to MacArthur and use an atomic bomb on China during the Korean War. The world would have probably been pretty miserable.
The story was ok, but ended without any kind of real conclusion. Would there really have been 25 or 30 atomic bomb attacks around the world had Truman made that call?
The story was ok, but ended without any kind of real conclusion. Would there really have been 25 or 30 atomic bomb attacks around the world had Truman made that call?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2015
Typical Turtledove, if you enjoy his alt history then you should enjoy this one. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
March 2, 2021
Great alternate reality SciFi! A great read if you enjoyed Amazon's Man in the High Castle.
August 23, 2015
First in The Hot War alternate history science fiction series and revolving around the Korean War.
This ARC was sent to me by NetGalley and Del Rey for an honest review.
My Take
What IF the war was going so badly for the UN troops in Korea that Truman decided to drop multiple atomic bombs on cities in China that were providing men and supplies to the North Koreans?
What IF Stalin does decide to come to the aid of his "allies"?
And the Americans are caught with their pants down and fast asleep?
Oooee, Turtledove does not like MacArthur! I don't know much about MacArthur or the truth of his actions in either World War II or Korea, but if those actions were anything like the generals of World War I, I wouldn't blame Truman for being pissy.
The bombings in the United States could probably have been lessened if people hadn't been so complacent. Just like the 9/11 bombers who got through, our intelligence community screwed up as much as the military did. How could they not think that Stalin would retaliate? If they didn't think he would, why wouldn't they take extra precautions? Just for the fun of it? It's just too bad that the enhanced bombs don't do anything like what Truman or MacArthur expected. They'd have been better off with regular bombing runs. They could've got the Lubyanka anyway and spared those lovely onion domes.
Turtledove brings to life what survival means in a refugee camp, what war does to a conscientious man's psyche. He also provides insight into one good reason for smoking, lol. It made me wonder if it was war that made smoking so very popular. I have to admit, it was weird reading a story in which so many people are lighting up for a smoke.
It is a complex cast of characters, but one well used to provide us with a round of domestic and martial views on both sides of this war. Marina and Aaron provide the look-in at the domestic American side of life with Marina and her daughter representing the American refugees and Aaron the softer side of survival in the U.S. Daisy represents the English struggles with life after World War II. Ihor and Vasili provide that same peek at the Russian and Chinese domestic life with Vasili's delving deeper into life after an A-bomb attack as one of the few Russians in a Chinese-dominant enemy city. Curtis and Bill show us the American martial side in Korea while the rest of the men cover both the German and Russian/allies side.
There certainly isn't any love lost for the Russian government. With good reason. They did then, and still do, take what they can get from their citizens and those subject to the Soviet Union. Not caring how or if those people survive.
There's a beautifully Christian act in this one. One that makes Cade Curtis reflect on the lack of true Christianity back home. It's both sad and funny that the Christians Cade meets up with use Latin to communicate with him.
It's also an interesting look at bigotry. Hard to believe that intelligent people did (and do) think this way.
I do wish Turtledove had used some kind of text separator between the various groups.
The Story
It didn't matter that the enemy was so poorly equipped: They had the men to spend, and their generals were willing to splurge. It only seemed practical to drop a few A-bombs to distract the Chinese.
Only Stalin didn't ignore the challenge to his allies, and he retaliates with his own A-bombs.
The Characters
Korea
Lefty didn't make it out of the Choisin Reservoir. Lieutenant Cade Curtis did and is now a first lieutenant with a company of his own. Staff Sergeant Lou Klein could run it better. Sergeant Bernie O'Higgins is in charge of the guns. Major Jeff Walpole is the battalion commander.
Pusan is…
…where First Lieutenant Bill Staley is a co-pilot on a B-29 with Major Hank McCutcheon as the pilot. The rest of the crew includes Sergeant Hyman Ginsberg on the radio, Roger Williamson as navigator , and Steve Bauer. Brigadier General Matt Harrison is the base commander.
Douglas MacArthur is in charge of the Korean War. Colonel Linebarger is a psy-ops man whose family is high-up — Sun Yat-sen was his godfather.
United States
Everett, Washington, is…
…where the Staleys live. Marian Staley is Bill's wife; they have a daughter, Linda. Fayvl Tabakman is a cobbler and a concentration camp survivor.
Camp Nowhere for Washington survivors is…
…officially Seattle-Everett Refugee Encampment Number Three. Fayvl's friends include Yitzkhak and Moishe. Daniel Philip Jaspers is a teenager who tried to rob Marian's car.
Bill Devin is the mayor of Seattle.
Glendale, California, is…
…where Aaron Finch lives and delivers washing machines for Blue Front, which is owned by Herschel Weissman. He'd tried to join the army, but they'd refused him for being nearsighted and too old, so he joined the merchant marine instead. It still didn't make him eligible for postwar benefits. Ruth is his wife, and they have a son, Leon. Martin is his well-to-do brother married to Sarah, a Phi Beta Kappa who has faded under Martin's shadow. Olivia is Martin's thirteen-year-old daughter. Caesar is their vicious German shepherd. Roxane Bauman is Ruth's first cousin married to an unsuccessful actor, Howard Bauman. They're both pinkos.
Finch will capture one of the ejecting Russian pilots, Lieutenant Yuri Svechin, a navigator. Lieutenant Colonel Del Shanahan is with Air Force Intelligence.
Jim Summers is Aaron's lazy partner. Elizabeth and Krikor Kasparian raise chickens and sell their eggs. Quite a lucrative business in a bomb-torn city.
Harry Truman is the U.S. president. Fred is an aide. Stephen Early replaced his former press secretary, Charlie Ross. Then Early is replaced by Joseph Short. George Marshall is the secretary of defense. Rose Conway is Truman's personal secretary. General Groves had ramrodded the Manhattan Project through.
Germany
Konrad Adenauer leads the Federal Republic of Germany.
Fulda is…
…a city in the American Zone. Gustav Hozzel had fought in World War II on the Eastern Front. Now he fights the nightmares alongside his wife, Luisa. He now works for his old commander, Max Bachman, who owns a print shop. Willi Stoiber is the Burgomeister. Horst is the grocer. The aggressive Rolf was with the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and the Waffen-SS during WWII. He still fights like a homicidal maniac.
Meiningen is…
…on the American-Russian border. Sergeant Konstantin Morozov is a tank commander in the Red Army. Mikhail "Misha" Kayanov is the driver, Pavel Gryzlov is the gunner, and Mogamed Safarli is the loader. Comrade Captain Oleg Gurevich is the company commander. Yevgeny Ushakov will be the replacement driver. Corporal Igor Pechnikov's father made brick stoves. Captain Arkady Lapshin is handing out tanks and assigns Morozov a new crew: Juris Eigims, Gennady Kalyakin, and Vazgen Sarkisyan.
The Hungarian People's Army squad squad has…
…Sergeant Gergely in command and includes Privates Tibor Nagy, Isztvan Szolovits is a Jew who proves himself to Gergely, Gyula Pusztai is as stupid as a bull, Ferenc's family went up in Szekesfehervar, and Andras Orban.
Admiral Horthy had tried to escape the German conflict once he saw what it was doing to his country. Too bad he didn't consider this when he first courted the Nazis in his zeal to recover lost Hungarian territory.
Outside Munich is…
…where Gribkov will land his plane next. Colonel Madinov commands the base there. Klement Gottwald will take Asakov's seat for the Paris attack.
England
Fakenham is…
…where an air base is located with English and American pilots like American First Lieutenant Bruce McNulty. Daisy Baxter runs the Owl and Unicorn alone since her husband Tom's tank blew up at the end of World War II six years ago. Wilf Davies is the one-handed mechanic in town; his father had been the town blacksmith and farrier.
Panama
Arnulfo Arias is the president of Panama.
Russia
The Russians are known as Ivans . Joe Stalin rules with a very heavy hand. Molotov is a hard nose. Gromyko, a.k.a., Mister Nyet, Grim Grom, is the U.N. ambassador from Russia. Yuri Levitan is the Radio Moscow broadcaster whose replacement is Roman Amfiteatrov. Kuibishev is the alternate capital for the USSR.
Provideniya…
…is a base commanded by Colonel Doyarenko until the Americans drop a bomb on it. Boris "Pavlovich" Gribkov pilots a Tu-4, a dead ringer for a B-29. Vladimir "Volodya" Zorin is his co-pilot. Alexander Lavrov is the bombardier. Gennady Gamarnik is the engineer while Leonid "Abramovich" Tsederbaum is the navigator and Andrei Aksakov is on the radio. Colonel Fursenko is the air-defense commander.
Commander Anatoly "Ivanovich" Edzhubov captains the destroyer that picks up the Russian fliers.
Lieutenant Colonel Osip Milyukov is the base commandant outside Leningrad.
Outside Kiev, Ukraine, is…
…the site of one of Stalin's inefficient farm collectives, a kolkhoz. Former Sergeant Ihor Shevchenko is married to Anya. Nestor was a fine tasty pig. Pyotr. Olga Marchenkova is Volodymyr's wife. Orest Makhno rode off to see what was left of Kiev. Mykola is their best fixer. Petro Hpochka is the collective leader, er, I mean, kolkhoz chairman. Irina is his wife. Gavrysh Bogdan Stepanovich is married to Elizaveta.
Stepan Bandera and his nationalist band still skulks across the Ukrainian countryside. Vanya and his partner are MGB Chekists "recruiting" for the Motherland.
China
Harbin is…
…an important city in Manchuria now in the hands of the Communist Chinese. Vasili Yasevich works as a carpenter although his chemist father had taught him to compound drugs. His parents swallowed poison when the NKVD rolled in. Mei Ling is the serving girl Vasili is sweet on.
Commissar Wang is the husband madame wants to keep going. Wu is not someone to trust.
I think rodina means Motherland. A cosmopolite is a polite way to say kike *eye roll*.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a very 1940s feel to it with the silhouette of a bomb and the lightning bolts sizzling out from its point of impact. Speaking of impact, that black background with the worn brown around its edges and the distressed gold of the text is enough to tell me this will be a grim story.
The title is too accurate, for once that first bomb is dropped, it goes on with more Bombs Away as this Cold War goes hot.
This ARC was sent to me by NetGalley and Del Rey for an honest review.
My Take
What IF the war was going so badly for the UN troops in Korea that Truman decided to drop multiple atomic bombs on cities in China that were providing men and supplies to the North Koreans?
What IF Stalin does decide to come to the aid of his "allies"?
And the Americans are caught with their pants down and fast asleep?
Oooee, Turtledove does not like MacArthur! I don't know much about MacArthur or the truth of his actions in either World War II or Korea, but if those actions were anything like the generals of World War I, I wouldn't blame Truman for being pissy.
The bombings in the United States could probably have been lessened if people hadn't been so complacent. Just like the 9/11 bombers who got through, our intelligence community screwed up as much as the military did. How could they not think that Stalin would retaliate? If they didn't think he would, why wouldn't they take extra precautions? Just for the fun of it? It's just too bad that the enhanced bombs don't do anything like what Truman or MacArthur expected. They'd have been better off with regular bombing runs. They could've got the Lubyanka anyway and spared those lovely onion domes.
"Einstein … was supposed to have said, that he didn't know what the weapons of World War III would be like, but that he did know … [they would fight World War IV with rocks]."I loved the tone Turtledove set in this. I knew I was reading this on a Kindle, but it felt as though I were reading a 1950s paperback with those fragile yellowy pages and the smell of an old book, all through the words and the burbly 1950s setting he created back in the U.S. Turtledove has the language, the culture, the fashion, and the mores down pat. It's a lovely complement to his switching back and forth between the cozy domestic homelife of Americans with Vasili's struggles in Manchuria, Daisy's worries in Fakenham, Ihor's inner thoughts in the Ukraine, and those of the soldiers and families in Germany.
Turtledove brings to life what survival means in a refugee camp, what war does to a conscientious man's psyche. He also provides insight into one good reason for smoking, lol. It made me wonder if it was war that made smoking so very popular. I have to admit, it was weird reading a story in which so many people are lighting up for a smoke.
It is a complex cast of characters, but one well used to provide us with a round of domestic and martial views on both sides of this war. Marina and Aaron provide the look-in at the domestic American side of life with Marina and her daughter representing the American refugees and Aaron the softer side of survival in the U.S. Daisy represents the English struggles with life after World War II. Ihor and Vasili provide that same peek at the Russian and Chinese domestic life with Vasili's delving deeper into life after an A-bomb attack as one of the few Russians in a Chinese-dominant enemy city. Curtis and Bill show us the American martial side in Korea while the rest of the men cover both the German and Russian/allies side.
There certainly isn't any love lost for the Russian government. With good reason. They did then, and still do, take what they can get from their citizens and those subject to the Soviet Union. Not caring how or if those people survive.
"Nice of the Russians to give us the chance to die for their country."There's a complexity to Bombs Away, a fearsomeness. Those Germans in the American Zone are thrilled to be there as opposed to being in the Russian one, but it doesn't mean they like the Amis, the Americans. The fighting Russians also remember how the German army treated its people during World War II, and it adds an extra impetus now as they battle their way across Germany. But as much as they hate the Germans, they hate their own government as well, for they well understand how awful Stalin is. It did crack me up "listening" to the Russian soldiers and their allies re-interpret the slogans they have to spout.
"What were innocent children doing playing in a park in the middle of a nighttime air raid?"As for the fear, this whole story is too possible. It feels so real! Cade's escape across Korea, the soldiers' reactions and fears on all fronts, Vasili's problems in Harbin. But what's bad is how Turtledove leaves us, desperate to find out what's left.
There's a beautifully Christian act in this one. One that makes Cade Curtis reflect on the lack of true Christianity back home. It's both sad and funny that the Christians Cade meets up with use Latin to communicate with him.
It's also an interesting look at bigotry. Hard to believe that intelligent people did (and do) think this way.
I do wish Turtledove had used some kind of text separator between the various groups.
"He would have to keep turning the pages of his life to discover [the answer]."
The Story
It didn't matter that the enemy was so poorly equipped: They had the men to spend, and their generals were willing to splurge. It only seemed practical to drop a few A-bombs to distract the Chinese.
Only Stalin didn't ignore the challenge to his allies, and he retaliates with his own A-bombs.
The Characters
Korea
Lefty didn't make it out of the Choisin Reservoir. Lieutenant Cade Curtis did and is now a first lieutenant with a company of his own. Staff Sergeant Lou Klein could run it better. Sergeant Bernie O'Higgins is in charge of the guns. Major Jeff Walpole is the battalion commander.
Pusan is…
…where First Lieutenant Bill Staley is a co-pilot on a B-29 with Major Hank McCutcheon as the pilot. The rest of the crew includes Sergeant Hyman Ginsberg on the radio, Roger Williamson as navigator , and Steve Bauer. Brigadier General Matt Harrison is the base commander.
Douglas MacArthur is in charge of the Korean War. Colonel Linebarger is a psy-ops man whose family is high-up — Sun Yat-sen was his godfather.
United States
Everett, Washington, is…
…where the Staleys live. Marian Staley is Bill's wife; they have a daughter, Linda. Fayvl Tabakman is a cobbler and a concentration camp survivor.
Camp Nowhere for Washington survivors is…
…officially Seattle-Everett Refugee Encampment Number Three. Fayvl's friends include Yitzkhak and Moishe. Daniel Philip Jaspers is a teenager who tried to rob Marian's car.
Bill Devin is the mayor of Seattle.
Glendale, California, is…
…where Aaron Finch lives and delivers washing machines for Blue Front, which is owned by Herschel Weissman. He'd tried to join the army, but they'd refused him for being nearsighted and too old, so he joined the merchant marine instead. It still didn't make him eligible for postwar benefits. Ruth is his wife, and they have a son, Leon. Martin is his well-to-do brother married to Sarah, a Phi Beta Kappa who has faded under Martin's shadow. Olivia is Martin's thirteen-year-old daughter. Caesar is their vicious German shepherd. Roxane Bauman is Ruth's first cousin married to an unsuccessful actor, Howard Bauman. They're both pinkos.
Finch will capture one of the ejecting Russian pilots, Lieutenant Yuri Svechin, a navigator. Lieutenant Colonel Del Shanahan is with Air Force Intelligence.
Jim Summers is Aaron's lazy partner. Elizabeth and Krikor Kasparian raise chickens and sell their eggs. Quite a lucrative business in a bomb-torn city.
Harry Truman is the U.S. president. Fred is an aide. Stephen Early replaced his former press secretary, Charlie Ross. Then Early is replaced by Joseph Short. George Marshall is the secretary of defense. Rose Conway is Truman's personal secretary. General Groves had ramrodded the Manhattan Project through.
Germany
Konrad Adenauer leads the Federal Republic of Germany.
Fulda is…
…a city in the American Zone. Gustav Hozzel had fought in World War II on the Eastern Front. Now he fights the nightmares alongside his wife, Luisa. He now works for his old commander, Max Bachman, who owns a print shop. Willi Stoiber is the Burgomeister. Horst is the grocer. The aggressive Rolf was with the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and the Waffen-SS during WWII. He still fights like a homicidal maniac.
Meiningen is…
…on the American-Russian border. Sergeant Konstantin Morozov is a tank commander in the Red Army. Mikhail "Misha" Kayanov is the driver, Pavel Gryzlov is the gunner, and Mogamed Safarli is the loader. Comrade Captain Oleg Gurevich is the company commander. Yevgeny Ushakov will be the replacement driver. Corporal Igor Pechnikov's father made brick stoves. Captain Arkady Lapshin is handing out tanks and assigns Morozov a new crew: Juris Eigims, Gennady Kalyakin, and Vazgen Sarkisyan.
The Hungarian People's Army squad squad has…
…Sergeant Gergely in command and includes Privates Tibor Nagy, Isztvan Szolovits is a Jew who proves himself to Gergely, Gyula Pusztai is as stupid as a bull, Ferenc's family went up in Szekesfehervar, and Andras Orban.
Admiral Horthy had tried to escape the German conflict once he saw what it was doing to his country. Too bad he didn't consider this when he first courted the Nazis in his zeal to recover lost Hungarian territory.
Outside Munich is…
…where Gribkov will land his plane next. Colonel Madinov commands the base there. Klement Gottwald will take Asakov's seat for the Paris attack.
England
Fakenham is…
…where an air base is located with English and American pilots like American First Lieutenant Bruce McNulty. Daisy Baxter runs the Owl and Unicorn alone since her husband Tom's tank blew up at the end of World War II six years ago. Wilf Davies is the one-handed mechanic in town; his father had been the town blacksmith and farrier.
Panama
Arnulfo Arias is the president of Panama.
Russia
The Russians are known as Ivans . Joe Stalin rules with a very heavy hand. Molotov is a hard nose. Gromyko, a.k.a., Mister Nyet, Grim Grom, is the U.N. ambassador from Russia. Yuri Levitan is the Radio Moscow broadcaster whose replacement is Roman Amfiteatrov. Kuibishev is the alternate capital for the USSR.
Provideniya…
…is a base commanded by Colonel Doyarenko until the Americans drop a bomb on it. Boris "Pavlovich" Gribkov pilots a Tu-4, a dead ringer for a B-29. Vladimir "Volodya" Zorin is his co-pilot. Alexander Lavrov is the bombardier. Gennady Gamarnik is the engineer while Leonid "Abramovich" Tsederbaum is the navigator and Andrei Aksakov is on the radio. Colonel Fursenko is the air-defense commander.
Commander Anatoly "Ivanovich" Edzhubov captains the destroyer that picks up the Russian fliers.
Lieutenant Colonel Osip Milyukov is the base commandant outside Leningrad.
Outside Kiev, Ukraine, is…
…the site of one of Stalin's inefficient farm collectives, a kolkhoz. Former Sergeant Ihor Shevchenko is married to Anya. Nestor was a fine tasty pig. Pyotr. Olga Marchenkova is Volodymyr's wife. Orest Makhno rode off to see what was left of Kiev. Mykola is their best fixer. Petro Hpochka is the collective leader, er, I mean, kolkhoz chairman. Irina is his wife. Gavrysh Bogdan Stepanovich is married to Elizaveta.
Stepan Bandera and his nationalist band still skulks across the Ukrainian countryside. Vanya and his partner are MGB Chekists "recruiting" for the Motherland.
China
Harbin is…
…an important city in Manchuria now in the hands of the Communist Chinese. Vasili Yasevich works as a carpenter although his chemist father had taught him to compound drugs. His parents swallowed poison when the NKVD rolled in. Mei Ling is the serving girl Vasili is sweet on.
Commissar Wang is the husband madame wants to keep going. Wu is not someone to trust.
I think rodina means Motherland. A cosmopolite is a polite way to say kike *eye roll*.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a very 1940s feel to it with the silhouette of a bomb and the lightning bolts sizzling out from its point of impact. Speaking of impact, that black background with the worn brown around its edges and the distressed gold of the text is enough to tell me this will be a grim story.
The title is too accurate, for once that first bomb is dropped, it goes on with more Bombs Away as this Cold War goes hot.
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