Germanica

by Robert Conroy

Best-selling alternate history master Robert Conroy returns to World War II, this time for a dangerous last stand of the Nazis in the heart of the Alps.

GERMANICA, ÜBER ALLES!

Deep in the heart of Europe's Alps in the redoubt called Germanica, Nazi propaganda master Josef Goebbels and a battalion of Nazi zealots hold out against a frantic final Allied push to end World War II. With Churchill losing his election, De Gaulle consolidating his rule over a newly liberated France, and Stalin asserting his own nefarious land-grab in Eastern Germany, only America, led by its untried new president Harry Truman, remains to face the toughest of Nazi warriors as they hunker down for a bitter fight to the last man.

Goebbels knows that if he can hold out just a bit longer, the war weary of the Western nations will back away from unconditional surrender for Germany, and he and his zealots can remain in power never to answer for their war crimes, and able prepare for the moment when their hateful Nazi ideology is ready once again to rise from its alpine grave and strike at the heart of humanity!

But there are Americans and a few stalwart Europeans just as determined to put a final stake in the Nazi heart. It is now up to heroes in the making such as newly minted O.S.S. operative Ernie Janek, commando Captain Scott Tanner, and formerly enslaved Czech "Jew" Lena Bobek, to bring down the dark Nazi menace growing like a cancer in the mountainous heart of the continent..

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

343 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Robert Conroy was a best selling author of alternate history novels. His 1942, which is set within a Japanese conquest of Hawaii, won the prestigious Sidewise Award for alternate histories.

After taking early retirement from automotive management, Conroy decided to combine his loves of history and writing. After discovering that Kaiser Wilhelm had plans to invade the U.S., he wrote his first alternate history, 1901 in which the invasion took place. He found alternate history fascinating and the possibilities never-ending. He also wrote for Military History Magazine.

Conroy had a MBA, was a US Army Veteran and was a retired instructor at Macomb Community College. He had a married daughter and two grandsons. He lived in southeastern Michigan with his wife of forty-plus years. He passed away in December 2014 from Cancer.

Reviews

[Bookwraiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews.

This final alternate history novel from the now deceased Robert Conroy is built around the Third Reich having a National Redoubt at the end of World War II. The idea (as actually proposed by Heinrich Himmler but rejected by Hitler in real world history) was for an Alpine Fortress to be constructed in an area encompassing southern Bavaria and western Austria, so that if the tides of war went against the Nazis, then the government and armed forces could retreat there and attempt to hold out against all comers until a resurgence of National Socialism could take place. And as a theme for an alternate history novel, this really held a lot of promise.

The action starts right away with Hitler dispatching Josef Goebbels, numerous Nazi zealots, and German military forces (mainly SS-type troops) to the National Redoubt after the Battle of the Bulge. With the Russian advance growing closer to Berlin and plans already in place for Nazis to begin committing suicide, Goebbels is delighted to be sent away to keep the flame of National Socialism burning brightly.

Meanwhile, the Allies immediately become aware of the unusual movement of troops and material away from the north and into the Alps. This activity setting off alarms with Dwight Eisenhower, who realizes that he must change tactics to keep the Nazis from actually bunkering down in the Alps, where their removal would be terribly difficult and horribly expensive in casualties. A potential crisis made more pressing since the Allied populations are war-weary and the United States must still deal with the Japanese.

Even as Goebbels and Eisenhower make decisions and take actions that will either extend or shorten World War II, numerous normal grunts are caught up it all. Heroes like new O.S.S. operative Ernie Janek, commando Captain Scott Tanner, and Jewish Czech Lena Bobek. Each of these people doing their individual part in trying to destroy the menace of the Nazis before it can hide itself in the Alps and begin to fester in the rugged heart of the European continent.

Like all Conroy’s novels, this story uses a blend of historical figures like Josef Goebbels and Dwight Eisenhower, regular military grunts, and some war-time romances to move the plot forward from beginning to its ultimate end. There is tons of military action; most of it plausible and well thought out. And, for military history enthusiasts, this is a serviceable and entertaining novels, but it does have problems.

My main criticism of Germanica is that it lacks any real suspense and has a cast of cardboard cutout characters. The narrative progressing from point a to point b just as you’d expect with the good guys doing good things at just the right time to save the day and the bad guys doing bad things at the wrong time to help cause their inevitable defeat. That sort of simple story isn’t a bad thing necessarily – if the author provides a few twists to liven things up. Conroy, however, does not do that, and the story suffers for it.

To sum up, as his final alternate history work, this isn’t Conroy’s best, but it is well worth savoring by his fans – if for no other reason than to pay respects to a wonderful writer taken too soon from this world.

I received this book from Baen in return for a honest review. The opinion you have read has not been influenced by anyone and is my opinion alone.

[Sean Smart · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, about what you expect from Conroy. Not his best but not bad. Sad he's gone now and only one more book to go

[Matt Mitrovich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally posted here: http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2015/10/...

The passing of Robert Conroy at the end of 2014 was a blow to the alternate history community as he was one of the most prolific authors in the genre (next to Harry Turtledove). Although some have criticized the late author for his implausible alternate histories, many people have credited him with introducing them to alternate history. Having never read any of his novels, I really couldn’t comment on him as an author, but I made it a point to pick up one of his books as soon as I could since he was obviously important to many alternate historians. So when Germanica came out and it was suggested as a possible candidate for a 2015 Sidewise nomination, I decided to check it out.

The story begins with the Battle of the Bulge. Once it became clear that Germany would be unable to force the Allies to the negotiating table, Hitler orders the construction of the Alpine Redoubt as a last ditch attempt to save the Third Reich. Albert Speer works his magic and creates tunnels in the Germans Alps to house the elite of Hitler’s government and the last of the Germany army to defend them. The plan is simple, hold out long enough until the Allies become tired of war and negotiate peace, allowing for the Nazis to retake control of Germany again in the future. Joseph Goebbels, as the highest ranking Nazi officer at the redoubt, finds himself the new Fuhrer after kills himself and declares a “Republic of Germanica” that announces its independence from Germany. Meanwhile, American politicians and generals fear that they may not be able to take the redoubt as they only have inexperienced troops nearby to attack who are more interested in going home than risking their lives. Meanwhile, their is a growing anti-war movement in America, while Switzerland is warning the Allies not to bomb near their borders. From the eyes of Americans, Germans and others, we get a glimpse at the alternate lead-up to VE-Day.

In terms of alternate history, Germanica is rather weak. From what my preliminary research can tell, things like the Alpine Redoubt and Werwolf (which is also carried out in this alternate history) were more propaganda then real military plans. The purpose of the Alpine Redoubt it seems was just to divert Allied forces from other fronts (and it was successful in doing that) and never really had the support of the Nazi high command who considered talk of such a program as defeatism. Werwolf did get off the ground…sort of. The werewolves were originally planned to be highly trained commandos who would cause chaos behind enemy lines, but as soldiers and equipment were needed elsewhere, they became nothing more then Hitler Youth members instructed to kill themselves and take as many enemies as they could with them.

How numerous the werewolves were is debatable. Some historians liken them to the Iraq insurgency while others argue most of the attacks credited to them were probably just diehard Nazis working alone and not part of any post-war organized resistance. So its unlikely the Nazis ever took either of these ideas seriously and even if they did, I find it implausible that they could have made realistic attempts to carry them out as late as January 1945. Furthermore, Germanica focuses mostly on the short-term changes of such a desperate attempt to stave out utter defeat, without looking into the mid- to long-term consequences of how history could change (except for the implication that a few more Nazis were either captured or made it to Argentina).

What really bothered me about Germanica, however, was how badly it was written. For example, take a look at this quote:

Ernie Janek had gone for an evening’s walk. He was take a break from the intense physical training at the embassy and decide that a beer was in order. Previously he’d gone to a tavern a few blocks away, and decided that a visit to a new one was in order.
I can think of a few English teachers who would knock a few points off for using such a repetitive phrase and their were many instances of that and other grammar/spelling errors throughout the book that I won’t bore you all by showing. I will say though that this wasn’t a review copy. I purchased this book, which is being sold right now as is, so Germanica can’t hide behind the “its a review copy” typo defense.

There are other of odd bits of writing to talk about, such as:

Each young man had a strange patch on his shoulder. It was a stylized animal face with flaming red eyes…”I sincerely hope I’m wrong, but it sure looks like a nightmare version of a werewolf.”
That is kind of a stretch isn’t it? The only thing the reader was told was that it was an “animal face with flaming red eyes”. Why would the character jump to the conclusion that it is a werewolf instead of just a wolf? If it was a wolf-like creature on hind legs, then yeah, I would see a werewolf too, but if the only thing I see is the face I’m going to go with it being a wolf. Also why “nightmare version of a werewolf”? Is there a happy-go-lucky version of a werewolf I am not aware of?

There were also plenty of the dreaded “As You Know, Bob” moments. Take this scene, for example, where Goebbels promotes a loyal SS officer:

“It has occurred to me that you do not have enough rank to do your job properly. Therefore, I am promoting you to the temporary rank of SS-Brigadefuhrer. I understand it is equivalent to being a brigadier general in the American army.”
Why did he say that? Goebbels and the officer should know that, so there was no reason to say it. Even if the SS officer did not know that, who cares? It was completely unnecessary. The reader may not know it, but that’s no excuse for such clunky dialogue. In fact a lot of the dialogue in Germanica was weirdly stilted (“I have other reasons for going with you and they are important and personal“) and not what I would expect from an award-winning author.

Then there was the odd sex scenes scattered throughout the book,including many brutal acts against women or descriptions of them. It was actually kind of uncomfortable and not handled well. The worst scene, however, was just a discussion of rape between a son and his parents who were hiding out at the Redoubt. Here are a few choice lines.

“And don’t forget, I did rape and enslave that Jewess, Lena. If she’s still alive, she could testify against me.”

“By the way, Father, how was she?”

Gustav laughed harshly. “Inert and as passionate as a large piece of meat. You didn’t miss much…”

“Yes, and by the way, what does your sister think about this?”

Anton laughed. “My precious little sister is too busy screwing her brains out with that Hans Gruber boy who think he’s a Werewolf”.
Who the hell talks like that to their parents or their kid? I know there Nazis and the bad guys, but this doesn’t seem realistic at all. These are comic book villains, not real people. It was just ridiculously silly. I couldn’t even take it seriously.

Because I know Conroy has a lot of fans I just want to state I am not trying to attack the author personally. Germanica did have its moments. The aforementioned Lena character was likable and had a good story arc, while I thought Conroy did a good job capturing the personality of Harry Truman. Additionally, while I did feel the story had a lot of similarities with Harry Turtledove’s The Man with the Iron Heart, it lacked the Iraq War political metaphor, so it gets points for that. More importantly, this reads more like an rough draft of a story that hasn’t been looked at by an editor. To be fair, maybe that’s exactly what this book is. It came out after Conroy’s death and the editors at Baen could have been unable or unwilling to make changes to the copy they had. If that’s the case, shame on them for publishing something with Conroy’s name on it that wasn’t ready to be published. If not, then I really don’t see the appeal of Conroy.

Perhaps my first forway into the works of Robert Conroy should have been a book other than Germanica. Many people have recommended some of his earlier works to me, but it may be a while before I take a look at them. So my final thought on Germanica is that its a bad book, but I was entertained by it in a “so bad, its good” kind of way. Although there were plenty of times I wanted to stop reading, I felt compelled to finish just to see what crazy thing Conroy would write about next. So if you want to read a really absurd alternate history, check out Conroy’s Germanica, but I can think of several other books I would rather you read first instead.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this ARC up on the basis of a weakfish recommendation from a colleague, and now I understand why the recommendation was weakish. It is technically well-crafted, and the fictional characters central to the story are interesting and well-developed. There were a few clichéd moments, including one character who is blatantly introduced in order to die dramatically a few pages later, but the death is so off-hand that it barely registers. Still, the character interactions are generally good.
It's the alternate history aspect of the story that is weak.
The basic premise is that the Nazis use various means to drag out the end of the war in Europe, based on things that they were actually working on at one point or another.
As a reader, my problem was that at several points in the book, the Nazi hierarchy went into hand-rubbing glee over some new twist in their plans to which I, as a reader, had an immediate reaction of "but that won't work." In each of those cases, it didn't. For a good "what if" scenario, there has to be some convincing reason why the changes might work, and that the results might matter. Here, they didn't.
Worse, the greatest suspenseful moments of the story HAD NO PAYOFF!!!
The V-1 launch, the mysterious disappearance of Dr. Heisenberg and other such things had disappointing resolutions, if any.
Worse, the V-1 sequence seemed very contrived, since a V-1 just launching should have been VERY interceptable by the American fighters as described. Many of the V-1s were shot down by much slower planes.
So, excellent characterization, and a few good action segments, and some fun stuff involving Allen Dulles and the O.S.S.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed with this book. It had an interesting premise but I am not sure how well the author pulled it off. The book moved fairly quickly, overall, which was a solid point in its favor. The character development was so-so, it has "moments" in the story that felt completely unnecessary, some weird moments, and there were several typos scattered throughout the book (granted, it was amusing because I read a library copy and somebody had gone through and corrected each typo that they came across).

One thing that was especially weird to me and I have no idea why it was included was a bizarre conversation between a Nazi father and his son involving the father's experience in raping their former Jewish servant. I cannot imagine any parent having that kind of a conversation with his or her child. It was really bizarre (that, and then followed by their then discussing the sexual activities of the boy's sister/father's daughter).

I felt like nearly all of the characters were "dumbed down" in some way; perhaps the author was trying to get across that the soldiers available to both sides were more along "the dregs of society" and no longer the "cream of the crop"? I could see that with Germany more than the United States, but it still felt like the intelligence quotient was not nearly as high as it ought to have been.

Some of the sentences and paragraphs were a little awkward as well, which took away from my enjoyment of the story.

The German infantrymen continually talking about surrendering and deserting until it was "too late" to do so got pretty old, pretty quick. I don't think it was meant to be "funny" as much as maybe show how much life can not go the way you want it to, but half of those conversations (moments) in the book could have been left out without ruining the story. Too, it was kinda "goofy" to have these men mowing down American soldiers in one of the few "battles" that take place and then immediately begin talking about surrendering again. It was a bizarre juxtaposition, but I am sure the point could also be made that warfare and the battlefield is filled with such oddities (like how a horse pulling a cart around survived the battle for "its" city on D-Day).

It was kinda funny how the Germans would reference German ranks and then say what the American equivalent was, as if the other German did not know or even cared what the equivalent American rank was. I realize it was for the reader's benefit, but it kinda made the Germans look a bit stupid and added unnecessary verbiage. I don't remember how often it happened; I just remembered it happening a time or two when it was completely unnecessary. At least he did not do the reverse - have two Americans talking and one of them saying what the equivalent German rank would have been.

For a book about fighting in a World War (even if said War is "winding down"), there seemed to be very little actual fighting going on. The book is a lot of conversations going on throughout the narrative. There are some "battle scenes", yes, but they feel like they are either obligatory or an afterthought, like the author realized he was supposed to be writing a book involving warfare and felt the need to add something to "spice it up" for a moment. Even the ending was kinda anticlimactic; I never truly believed that the Germans would be able to set off an atomic bomb of their own, and I never doubted the Americans would lose or lose badly (with a tremendous amount of casualties). I almost found myself wishing that some of the "main characters" had died by the end of the book, they mattered so little to me.

There were a couple of moments I really liked. I was wondering if the Americans would use poison gas or not, so that was a nice surprise for me that they used tear gas instead. I felt was one of the better moments in the book, and quite clever on the part of the author. So props to him (may he rest in peace) for including this nice turn of events.

I also thought it was hilarious when the Americans discovered that they had a free path with no defenders into the Redoubt once the Russians surrendered after being given guarantees they would not be turned over to the Russians.

I was also glad that the author had Truman announce he would order that any Russian soldiers who surrendered not be turned over to the Communist forces. I mentally understand why that was done under FDR but still think it was incredibly stupid because those soldiers were immediately executed upon their return. It was nuts that over eleven thousand-plus troops surrendered like they did; again, one of the better parts of the book (granted, the author also had to write it that way lest he have to come up with more "battle scenes" and increase the book's length).

Overall, I did like Lena's character; I thought she was pretty cool and smart and sharp, and I was glad in some respects that she survived the War. She was probably the "fictional" character I liked the most in the book, to be honest. I found myself wishing he had expanded some of the other, lesser (more minor) characters, too, as he would bring in characters and then dispose of them. I am thinking specifically of a U.S. tank commander - I kinda liked his character even though he only has some small roles in the book; I found myself wishing the author had developed him a bit more (also because it was implied he was friends with members of the 105th and yet we did not see him really interacting with the 105th very much).

It was weird - I really felt like the author was hyping a "sequel" to this book involving a "Third World War" between the Free World and Communist Russia as the book drew closer to the end. There was all this talk about the coming battle between the West and the Communists and then nothing happened. I might have thought the author actually intended to write a sequel until I read the "epilogue" of this book which takes place in 1960 or so. So a bit of a jump, there, between the end of WWII and 1960; that, and there is no discussion of any kind of conflict between the West and Russia.

Ah, well. It was a mixed bag as I both enjoyed it and was disappointed by it. There were moments it moved fast and other moments it felt like it bogged down, but it was still a decent enough pace to hold my interest and get me to finish the book. I would probably rate it 2.3-2.5 stars, rounded down. All in all, I am glad I took a chance on reading this book.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Germanica is an alternate history take on the end of World War II that postulates that Hitler authorized an Alpine redoubt for Germany's final stand. Convoy follows his usual practice of telling the tale through just a few characters with some additional historical filler. There is a decent amount of action, but plenty of main character development to keep the reader's interest. A nice AH is what Germanica turned out to be.

[Steven Raszewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always liked Conroy's stuff. Read just about everything he wrote. This one is my favorite. All his works are entertaining, plausible and realistic, and quick reads.

[Nigel Brand · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining 'what if'

I have enjoyed many of Robert Conroy's books. In a sense he is like a younger Harry Turtledove or WEB Griffin, but more concise.
Germanica assumes that the German High Command established a redoubt in the Alps, from which to continue the war after the fall of Berlin. The Allies feared exactly this although the Germans historically dismissed the idea as impractical. The book has some interesting characters, including a Jewish woman enslaved by a middle-class German family dustinguished only by their ordinariness; an appropriately nasty SS officer; and a variety of Americans led by a fughter pilot who becomes an OSS agent after being shot down over Switzerland.
I wondered if the author had played a strategic WW2 game which outlined the action.
The politics involved in dealing with the neutral Swiss are interesting and ring true. Discussions in the White House seem less convincing. Anti-war sentiments in the US were quite strong for much of the war, but news about them was censored, for obvious reasons.

A couple of maps would have been helpful. I know publishers hate them and they are tiresome to draw but, given geography is central to the plot, it would have helped.

This book will appeal to many fans of alternate historical fiction.

[Joe Stamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another reviewer, Sean Smart, wrote; "It was okay, about what you expect from Conroy. Not his best but not bad." Well, that about nails it. Robert Conroy's novels follow a formula - he takes a historical military event and twists it with a heavy dose of "what if?". His writing has an old-fashioned feel and is quite simplistic, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, although his characters can be a bit corny. The stories are always told by a variety of people, from high and low in the hierarchy and on both sides, which gives the stories greater authenticity. Germanica follows the myth that the Nazis had an Alpine redoubt where they could retreat to make a final stand after the fall of Berlin. These what-ifs are always fascinating, although some of Conroy's ideas for alternative history are better than others. This deserves a seven out of ten, rounded down to three stars.

[Daniel Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough to decide between three and four stars. I chose 4 because of the plausibility and the well developed characters. But sometimes I got confused with all the characters: sometimes I think characters and angles were added with minimal effect on the story (like the tank commander, or the bombers, or the protesters at home). But overall, the major characters were good, the plot not as exciting as you would expect from a war story, but instead subtle and well done. So overall very good.

[David Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

These alternate history books are like reading comic books for me when I was adolescent. I’ve read some Robert Conroe books before. These are sophisticated stories, or particularly well researched nor innovative. Like a comic book, an easy read, splashy and entertaining. Convoy is not a great writer. But I’ll probably keep reading this type of alternate history fiction because the various premises that authors come up with is fascinating.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly unlikely scenario, but the takeoff point from WW2 history is engaging and entertaining, as always with Conroy's alternate histories. Enjoyed it very much.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This author has a real bizarre way of writing AH, if he doesn't like or cannot find a reason for a country not to be apart of the story line he one sentence them away.

[Kevin Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad to think that this could have happened. Mr. Conroy has a special gift in dreaming this stuff up. I felt the story flowed nicely and was believable.

[Matthew Schultz · Rating 3 out of 5]

mediocre read, predictable ending

[Robert Prideaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of his best

Basic premise was very flawed, Characters badly drawn, especially Goebbels. Some scenarios more n line with “pixie dust” than reasonable variants on history.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent Conroy book, this one on the possibility of a Germanic redoubt in the Alps

[Remick Bakey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good alternative history book on World War II in my opinion.

[Bjoern · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this had stayed purely with the military side of things, this could have been an outstanding book. I mean the formula works well (fans of the genre will know what i mean... multiple PoV characters playing roundrobin to let us see as many as possible theaters / decisions / important moments as possible... but this is also a disguised espionage novel and there the shortcommings begin... the german anti-espionage effort is handed pretty early on to a maniacal SS colonel/brigadier (Conroy refuses "for clarity" to use the SS name scheme with Sturmbannführern and such things and also uses english titles for german army ranks fwiw) which leads to very ugly scenes and a lot of hateful diatribes being vented throughout the books 450 pages...
And the american efforts to spy on the Alpine redout out of Switzerland take up a lot of space while ending up a lot like Hogan's Heroes or similar low brow television depictions of spywork... I liked the characters, but their actions were awfully amateurish and unbelievable in front of the historical background. I can't say much about their spy leader, Allan Dulles of later CIA fame, but i fear he has been pretty butchered and drawn into the grotesque for his handling of this "spy network"...

Then we've got the american Captain and intelligence analyst for the Division commander tasked with crossing the Rhine, cutting off german troops from the alps and in the End attack and conquer the main bridgehead / capital city of the remaining redoubt (Bregenz at the shore of Lake Constance/ Bodensee) who suffers from barely healed trenchfeet and is advised to not get his feet wet, only to end up in every single amphibian maneuver of this phase of the war... Bravo, that's coincidentially funny... maybe. Sometimes. For certain people. On the german Side, to reduce a bit the impact of our "dear" BDSM-enthusiastic SS general, the NSDAP Party Bonze spouting flaming rhetoric about "the cause" and a weird young boy "dying" to become one of the Werewolf Partisans all together heaping up a giant slaughterbill of disgusting statements and ideologically colored actions, we end up with a couple of Landsers enjoying to talk about surrendering but never really coming around to it until the war is over anyway. In the beginnign that wasn't even bad, but halfways through their storyline their superior joins them in seditious talk and from then on it's handled as if it were comedic relief... which fells a bit ... awkward. After all it's only being shot in the back of your head that may lurk behind the next meeting with any upright Nazi as "reward"...

And then there is the timing question... At the beginning it starts out solidly and even concentrates mostly on "real war issues" showing the end of the Battle of the Bulge and then going on with the Rhine Crossing (not Remagen but south of Freiburg at the Upper Rhine almost adjacent to Switzerland), after that we see a lot of refugees and retreating troops. After Germanica (the name for the Alpine Redoubt to distinguish it from "occupied Germany") is established things slow down a lot, with the focus going over to a shot down pilot who after being shot down over Swiss territory is interred and then hired by the OSS. And then, after maybe 2/3 of the story it suddenly starts to get hurried and just ticks off things until it very hastily ends in a confusing description of a big final battle so all could be brought to an end still in 1945... basically the development of Suspense is at first a nice solid EKG graph only to then after 70% to get a stroke and jump eratically all over the place... Which probably deserves the title of biggest disappointment in this story. Everything else is kind of forgivable... weak moments for some characters, pointless PoV chapters ending nowhere and adding little to the realism or storytelling of the novel and a weird mix out of gory Nazi horrors and misplaced humor all at least have SOME good things, but the timing of the story arc simply is bad. Giving up on the two worst cul-de-sac pov chapters (the Tank commander and the Landing boat guy that only gets one appearance and is next mentioned to lie dying on his boats floor) and using that to better balance the middle to end bits so it doesn't feel like space to tell it properly was missing and as if the Author suddenly remembered he had had a fixed end date for his story in mind all the time but never got aroudn to tell it to us before that moment, would have vastly improved on that front. Or maybe not making the "spies" in Switzerland quite so soap opera like and more like actual OSS adventures in real WW II ?

[Allen McDonnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I learned just two days ago that one of my favorite authors, Robert Conroy, died of cancer December 30,2015 I was shocked. I had looked forward to many more novels from him though I had little time to read over the last few months. When I learned of his loss I went to Amazon and read the reader reviews of his last few novels and this be had the best rating.

I really enjoyed this novel, though it bogged down for a chapter around the three quarters mark. Fortunately it picked back up and finished strong. I only wish I had read it sooner, but life got in the way.

The characters are well developed. There are enough viewpoints to give a full picture of the events in the main plot, but not so many that they all start blending together and lack depth. This scenario is plausible though obviously history took a different turn in the real world. My only complaint about the historic backdrop is that events outside the main plot proceeded exactly as they did in history, unaffected by the changed circumstances developed in the story. It seems unlikely to me that historical figures were predestined to die on the same dates, and that lucky accidents of war like the failure of the Ramagen bridge sabotage still take place exactly as they did historically weeks and months after the changes caused by the main plot.

The book was a quick read for me, starting early morning on the 16th and finishing early this morning just 48 hours later. Highly recommended for fans of Robert Conroy or World War II fiction.

[Not HG · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final alternate history novel by Robert Conroy (rest in peace) is, I'm happy to report, excellent.
The book is fast-paced, with lots of battles and skirmishes. We get to see POVs from high-ranking people like Truman and Goebbels to learn the plans for battle, as well as grunts to see those plans clash in the battles.
The characters were great, even the female ones (one of his weaknesses). This time around the women were useful in believable ways, like translators.
I want to say I have a complain, but it's really not, but it felt like the book was going to be part of a series because the last fourth or so felt a bit changed. It would have been amazing if that's what Mr. Conroy was going for, a post-war world with an existing, if small and weak, Nazi state.
I was a little afraid his last novel would be a dud like Liberty 1784 (Custer in Chains was good, but nothing great), but I'm extremely happy to inform it's a great novel with great characters and fast-paced action.

[Theresa Jehlik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This alternative World War II novel takes place in 1945 after Hitler's death and just prior to the bombing of Japan. The last Nazi holdouts have moved their base to the Bavarian Alps and named it Germanica. The population is rife with high-ranking officers and almost non-existent with fighting men and equipment. Through a series of character sketches, Conroy tells the stories of fascinating people on both sides of the conflict. This novel gives you a very different view of war than the newsreels and movies that were made during that time period. My only quibble is that the epilogue didn't tell "the rest of the story" for more characters. Psst...the evil Nazi general got it in the end...

[John Love IV · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I should say that Conroy was one of my favorite alternative history authors and I was quite sorry to hear of his passing.

This book is standard fare for Conroy. I can't say it stands out from the others but that still puts it at a high standard. As always, well researched without hurting the story, excellent characters, and an exciting book through out.

My only complaint is that it's another in a large group of WWII books. I would have liked to see more covering of different times. I'll still read all of his books mind you, just wish there were more from the Revolution, War of 1812, maybe even non-US history.

[MAB LongBeach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another alternate history military fiction from Conroy. The war in Europe is almost over, and the surviving Nazi leadership, getting desperate, decides to fall back to a Redoubt in the southern part of the Reich, across Lake Geneva from Switzerland. The Allies, particularly the Americans, have to decide how--and whether--to dig them out, while a peace movement gains strength at home.

Solid military action. The extrapolations and tactics are plausible. The characters are best-quality cardboard, but they get the job done. Recommended for fans of military fiction, especially World War II, particularly those who like counterfactuals and What If?s.

[Friedrich Haas]

I go into any alternate history rather cynical now, seeing as the ending never changes, not when written by an American anyways, however there is good stuff here. After the death stench of a prison camp, we get the death stench of a German city. There are Germans that want to stop fighting, as well as Americans, but it's not like the Officers will just let them go home. If that happened, the armies of the world could fight it out in a day, what would be left of them.
Hans Gruber though, mmmm?
Well, SPOILER ALERT LOL, the Americans win AGAIN. However, it was a good read and I recommend it easily.

[Howard Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Germanica" followed the formula Robert Conroy used successfully in most of his alternative history novels. I liked the premise of the book: the realization of Hitler's "Alpine Fortress," but without Hitler himself. The story included an impressive list of characters, both real and imaginary, that were well developed. While Mr. Conroy's story was well-written and fast-paced, at the end I found myself wishing that the author had delved a bit deeper into his subject; that he had reached a satisfactory conclusion all too soon.

[Rob Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if the Nazis had activated the redoubt in the Alps? Conroy explores this possibility. The action is intense, and his characters bring the story to life. If you enjoy alternate history, an excellent read.

[Pam Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great alternate timeline book by a great author. I am sorry that i didn't discover this great talent until his death last year. If you like the genre, please find his books and give them a try.

[Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another twist

Conroy again handles the what ifs very well. An interesting point of view on post war politics and alliances. Does well in skirting the Patton question, but shows that America does not have the stomach or backbone for a long fight.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Robert. I will miss you