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The Usurper's War #1
Acts of War
Somehow I doubt that this is quite how anyone expected Adolf Hitler's death to turn out...--Squadron Leader Adam Haynes, No. 303 (Polish) Squadron
August 1942. London is in flames. Heinrich Himmler's Germany stands triumphant in the West, its "Most Dangerous Enemy" forced to the peace table by a hailstorm of nerve gas and incendiaries. With Adolf Hitler avenged and portions of the Royal Navy seized as war prizes, Nazi Germany casts its baleful gaze across the Atlantic towards an increasingly isolationist United States. With no causus belli, President Roosevelt must convince his fellow Americans that it is better to deal with a triumphant Germany now than to curse their children with the problem of a united, fascist Europe later.
As Germany and Japan prepare to launch the next phase of the conflict, Fate forces normal men and women to make hard choices in hopes of securing a better future. For Adam Haynes, Londonfall means he must continue an odyssey that began in the skies over Spain. American naval officer Eric Cobb finds that neutrality is a far cry from safety. Finally, Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi must prepare himself and his men to fight a Pacific War that is far different than the surprise attack Imperial Japan had once planned but never executed.
Acts of War is the continuation of the Usurper's War series, which charts a very different World War II. As young men and women are forced to answer their nation's call, the choices they make and risks they take will write a different song for the Greatest Generation.
August 1942. London is in flames. Heinrich Himmler's Germany stands triumphant in the West, its "Most Dangerous Enemy" forced to the peace table by a hailstorm of nerve gas and incendiaries. With Adolf Hitler avenged and portions of the Royal Navy seized as war prizes, Nazi Germany casts its baleful gaze across the Atlantic towards an increasingly isolationist United States. With no causus belli, President Roosevelt must convince his fellow Americans that it is better to deal with a triumphant Germany now than to curse their children with the problem of a united, fascist Europe later.
As Germany and Japan prepare to launch the next phase of the conflict, Fate forces normal men and women to make hard choices in hopes of securing a better future. For Adam Haynes, Londonfall means he must continue an odyssey that began in the skies over Spain. American naval officer Eric Cobb finds that neutrality is a far cry from safety. Finally, Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi must prepare himself and his men to fight a Pacific War that is far different than the surprise attack Imperial Japan had once planned but never executed.
Acts of War is the continuation of the Usurper's War series, which charts a very different World War II. As young men and women are forced to answer their nation's call, the choices they make and risks they take will write a different song for the Greatest Generation.
365 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 11, 2014
313 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
James L. Young Jr.
14 books59 followersJames Young is a Missouri native who escaped small town life via spending four years at a small, well-known Federal educational institution in upstate New York. After being set free from the Hudson River Valley, Dr. Young spent the next six years of his life in various locations (both foreign and domestic) having the cost of his education repaid one nickel at a time. Along the way he collected a loving, patient, and beautiful spouse...and various animals that did not fit any of those descriptions.
After leaving the Republic's employ, James returned to the Midwest where he earned his doctorate in U.S. History. He now spends his time basking in the joy of completing his education while writing fiction and working for the Republic (again). His writing awards include winning the United States Naval Institute's 2016 Cyberwarfare Essay Contest and placing 2nd in the 2011 Adams Cold War Essay Contest. He has been published in the Journal of Military History and Proceedings.
After leaving the Republic's employ, James returned to the Midwest where he earned his doctorate in U.S. History. He now spends his time basking in the joy of completing his education while writing fiction and working for the Republic (again). His writing awards include winning the United States Naval Institute's 2016 Cyberwarfare Essay Contest and placing 2nd in the 2011 Adams Cold War Essay Contest. He has been published in the Journal of Military History and Proceedings.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
June 29, 2023
Hitler's death makes things worse., October 25, 2015
This review is from: Acts of War (The Usurper's War Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
We often speculate about the death and suffering which could have been avoided by the early death of Adolph Hitler. In this alternate history Hitler's death does not come early enough. World War Two is already underway, the Nazis remain in power with the vicious, evil Heinrich Himmler at the helm. These events are used to paint a dark picture of what could have happened including the fire bombing of London and the use of poison gas. After this beginning most of the action then switches to the Pacific where the Japanese coordinate timing with the Germans to begin their war of conquest to seize oil supplies and territory. The story is well told, but with some editing problems. There are a lot of characters and relationships to keep track of made more difficult by the occasional use of the wrong characters' names. For instance Sam & David are told that their brother Eric is alive but wounded. A few lines later, Eric is in the group instead of David. There is a "Dramatis Personae" at the end of the book which lists each main character by military unit or geographical location but does not explain their relationships to each other. Enough with the minor problems. It is apparent that Mr. Young knows his history and has done his research. He uses this to weave together an exciting novel of a believable alternate World War Two which avoids glorifying war. The graphic descriptions of death and injury are sobering. I look forward to reading the next volume.
This review is from: Acts of War (The Usurper's War Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
We often speculate about the death and suffering which could have been avoided by the early death of Adolph Hitler. In this alternate history Hitler's death does not come early enough. World War Two is already underway, the Nazis remain in power with the vicious, evil Heinrich Himmler at the helm. These events are used to paint a dark picture of what could have happened including the fire bombing of London and the use of poison gas. After this beginning most of the action then switches to the Pacific where the Japanese coordinate timing with the Germans to begin their war of conquest to seize oil supplies and territory. The story is well told, but with some editing problems. There are a lot of characters and relationships to keep track of made more difficult by the occasional use of the wrong characters' names. For instance Sam & David are told that their brother Eric is alive but wounded. A few lines later, Eric is in the group instead of David. There is a "Dramatis Personae" at the end of the book which lists each main character by military unit or geographical location but does not explain their relationships to each other. Enough with the minor problems. It is apparent that Mr. Young knows his history and has done his research. He uses this to weave together an exciting novel of a believable alternate World War Two which avoids glorifying war. The graphic descriptions of death and injury are sobering. I look forward to reading the next volume.
February 11, 2016
Acts of War is a fine example of a new genre called "Alternative History," which takes timelines which have already occurred then follows a splintered branch off of it. Still bound by the rules of reality which were in place at the time of the divergence, Mr. Young has crafted a tale of how the Second World War might have gone down. The book has a large cast of characters. Some walk onto the page, say something, do something, then leave. They may pop up later in a heroic moment or tragic death, but the treatment of the secondary characters is actually well done in this work and each serves his/her purpose in propelling the plot forward and acting as a cog in the wheels to convince the reader to turn the page. The primary characters of this book, Adam Haynes and Eric Cobb, appear in greater detail, more often and with more interaction between pivotal players. Each officer executes his duty to his conscience, his nation, his family in believable ways, but while Mr. Young does an excellent job of portraying these examples of "America's fighting men," this is not a character study.
It is a robust, shoot-'em-out-of-the-sky, blow-'em-out-of-the-water, kick-'em-in-the-stern and take names kind of tale.
The aerial battle scenes can make you feel dizzy, transported along with the pilot, his gunner, and his wingman. The efficacy of the naval aviators is impressive. Cool men, acting under fire, can lose their composure and in those brief, brief seconds, the outcome of their lives can be forever changed, impacting their squad, their carriers, their families and indeed, their entire country. While never preachy, and I don't think Mr. Young for a moment held this conscious thought as he wrote of these battles, it presses home that it does take everyone's best efforts cooperating together to win a war.
In the naval battle scenes, I worried for my heart. Fast-paced, grueling, relentless, and gripping. Whether on board the submerged Nautilus with Nick Cobb or exposed on the Hornet's carrier decks with Eric, the action is fast-paced and throughout most of it, the men are surfing blind, given the non-existence of instant tele-communications and the new emergency of this fancy technology called "radar." As Japanese aerial strikes bomb the hell out of your ships, the responses are staggering. Told with brief explanations as not to bog down the story, the reader learns of American weapon's capabilities and how they're employed. Sometimes the naval successes are attributed to "dumb luck;" sometimes the failures are chalked up to operator error, sometimes the FUBAR theory unfolds, revealing the "seemed like a good idea to the weapon maker in times of peace" explanation why so many warheads didn't detonate upon impact.
Reading the stories, though, all intertwined, separate and yet connected, the human cost of war is driven home with a sledgehammer. Young uses a deft hand in short mentions of shot-up carcasses, shark attacks, decapitations, burning flesh, vaporized upon impact death so that it soon begins to feel like the death of a thousand ant bites. Quick, short strokes showing a young men's lives repeatedly taken for a cause not yet fully understood. That is, of course, the whole point in any war. Young doesn't flinch in incorporating in Acts of War. Be brave, reader, and read this book, study the lessons between the pages, and you'll learn a valuable lesson in the complexity of the human condition --- not bad for a book that's not a character study; then again, maybe it is, after all.
It is a robust, shoot-'em-out-of-the-sky, blow-'em-out-of-the-water, kick-'em-in-the-stern and take names kind of tale.
The aerial battle scenes can make you feel dizzy, transported along with the pilot, his gunner, and his wingman. The efficacy of the naval aviators is impressive. Cool men, acting under fire, can lose their composure and in those brief, brief seconds, the outcome of their lives can be forever changed, impacting their squad, their carriers, their families and indeed, their entire country. While never preachy, and I don't think Mr. Young for a moment held this conscious thought as he wrote of these battles, it presses home that it does take everyone's best efforts cooperating together to win a war.
In the naval battle scenes, I worried for my heart. Fast-paced, grueling, relentless, and gripping. Whether on board the submerged Nautilus with Nick Cobb or exposed on the Hornet's carrier decks with Eric, the action is fast-paced and throughout most of it, the men are surfing blind, given the non-existence of instant tele-communications and the new emergency of this fancy technology called "radar." As Japanese aerial strikes bomb the hell out of your ships, the responses are staggering. Told with brief explanations as not to bog down the story, the reader learns of American weapon's capabilities and how they're employed. Sometimes the naval successes are attributed to "dumb luck;" sometimes the failures are chalked up to operator error, sometimes the FUBAR theory unfolds, revealing the "seemed like a good idea to the weapon maker in times of peace" explanation why so many warheads didn't detonate upon impact.
Reading the stories, though, all intertwined, separate and yet connected, the human cost of war is driven home with a sledgehammer. Young uses a deft hand in short mentions of shot-up carcasses, shark attacks, decapitations, burning flesh, vaporized upon impact death so that it soon begins to feel like the death of a thousand ant bites. Quick, short strokes showing a young men's lives repeatedly taken for a cause not yet fully understood. That is, of course, the whole point in any war. Young doesn't flinch in incorporating in Acts of War. Be brave, reader, and read this book, study the lessons between the pages, and you'll learn a valuable lesson in the complexity of the human condition --- not bad for a book that's not a character study; then again, maybe it is, after all.
August 29, 2021
Not a bad start for a what-if world war II novel. But, too many back story questions for the plot to flow evenly. A lot of jumping around from plotline to plotline slows the storyline down a little. The story does pick up here and there, but then you throw in the family plotline of the "Cobbs', also known as the "Waltons". I kept waiting for John-Boy to pop up somewhere in the story. I mean there was a "Cobb" for every military service except Air Force and Coast Guard, a very military based family. Just a little too over the top, wherein every skirmish there is a "Cobb". Not a lot of back story on the main plot lines, you are just kind of thrown in and expected to figure it out as you go along. Maybe there is more back story in the second novel, I plan on finding out. And maybe finishing the series.
September 30, 2018
The research for orders of Battle seemed pretty thorough. The historical divergence would allow for even more differences between the historical and the fictional naval lineups, so the change in the navies is not presented with as much deviation from history as it could have been.
The outcomes of battles/campaigns lean towards the historical also. Given that he references the US having broken the IJN high level codes, the historical battle outcomes were the worst possible for the Japanese Navy's ambitions.
In this book, the Japanese Navy changed their codes to achieve surprise. The outcomes of the battles in the book, should very plausibly favor the Japanese Navy to a much greater degree. The emphasis on the "old" US battleships being pivotal is misplaced in what both Navies considered to be a carrier war.
The changes in the political situation are interesting. Historically, FDR couldn't bring the US into the war without a Pearl Harbor attack because of anti-war sentiment in the US. The book references the fact that the US military knew long before 1941 that war was coming. There is no mention of the US embargo of Japan that strangled its economy and it wasn't clear to me if the Japanese were tied down in China or not. If they were in China, then I would have been interested to see the explanation for no embargo (a guarantee that the IJN and IJA would have to fight). If the Japanese were not involved in China, the entire might of the Japanese Amy and Army Air Force would have been available for South East Asia and the Philippines, since the Japanese began the war in control of Singapore and Malaysia, in this history.
You can't write about the awesomeness of US land based air and then ignore how awesome Japanese land based air should be, unless there is some factor that the writer hasn't demonstrated (land based air, especially high altitude bombers were ineffective against naval targets whether Japanese or allied).
The book isn't written for a detailed high level overview of the war. It's more of a World War 2 romance in several senses. Turtledove uses a shifting POV also but only with less than a dozen significant characters per book and they give a reader a sense of the real world environment and the consequences of the changes that he introduces to history.
Here the military narrative is more of a backdrop for (military) family drama and romantic interludes. The drama could demonstrate the misogyny, segregation and racism that surrounded Japanese, US and European decision making but it doesn't.
There is one mention of the fact that a black servant aboard ship has a college degree but no mention of the fact that black sailors were forbidden from serving the weapons by law (no offense to Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the Pearl Harbor movie). They were limited to kitchens and wardroom service, I don't think they were even permitted on damage control parties. They would die with the ships but weren't good enough to help defend them! The US early in the war, awarded medals to a submarine that torpedoed a troopship and which surfaced as the target sank in order to machine gun the Japanese troops struggling in the water. Since black americans weren't allowed into the Marine Corps (historically, until after the casualty numbers were tallied post Guadalcanal), I'm curious how or if their introduction will be addressed in the ground war. Makes it a little harder to gush over the american naval/marine characters.
Historically, the British nobility and policy makers included a significant number of admirers of both Hitler and Mussolini. The Admiralty opposed a German/Japanese threat to British naval superiority rather than the Nazi attempted genocide of Jews, Gypsies,etc., reluctance to betray their French and other allies, the treatment by Japan of Korean, Chinese, SE Asian civilians.
Instead of exploring these historical perspectives and their impact on the combatants' ability to and method of waging war, the book normalizes the Hollywood roles of wartime 'ladies' and "non-ladies", the John Wayne jingoistic themes, the incredible stereotyping of Japanese sailors and pilots, etc.
The combat certainly captured the feel of real combat overall but some of the performance descriptions of ships, planes and crews was off. The narrative favors the US navy besting the Japanese, whether by a lucky submarine attack, for example or Japanese naval indecisiveness, for another.
For an interesting glimpse of the intersection of geopolitics, economics, military readiness as a function of political realities and a peek at the historical underpinnings of the Pacific War, this might have been worth reading. These are exactly what he doesn't address. The sections which cover the all american heroes at home are a definite miss. A much better and important look at the US military in this period is James G.Cozzens' novel, "Guard of Honor", or "Catch 22" or "Slaughterhouse Five".
The writing isn't too bad where it involves combat. For relationships between males, it does an OK job, even though the characters are stock. The interactions with and relationships either woman to woman or woman to man are awful.
I'm going to read the next volume to see how the geopolitics unfold. I don't think it will have much more of value for a lot of readers.
The outcomes of battles/campaigns lean towards the historical also. Given that he references the US having broken the IJN high level codes, the historical battle outcomes were the worst possible for the Japanese Navy's ambitions.
In this book, the Japanese Navy changed their codes to achieve surprise. The outcomes of the battles in the book, should very plausibly favor the Japanese Navy to a much greater degree. The emphasis on the "old" US battleships being pivotal is misplaced in what both Navies considered to be a carrier war.
The changes in the political situation are interesting. Historically, FDR couldn't bring the US into the war without a Pearl Harbor attack because of anti-war sentiment in the US. The book references the fact that the US military knew long before 1941 that war was coming. There is no mention of the US embargo of Japan that strangled its economy and it wasn't clear to me if the Japanese were tied down in China or not. If they were in China, then I would have been interested to see the explanation for no embargo (a guarantee that the IJN and IJA would have to fight). If the Japanese were not involved in China, the entire might of the Japanese Amy and Army Air Force would have been available for South East Asia and the Philippines, since the Japanese began the war in control of Singapore and Malaysia, in this history.
You can't write about the awesomeness of US land based air and then ignore how awesome Japanese land based air should be, unless there is some factor that the writer hasn't demonstrated (land based air, especially high altitude bombers were ineffective against naval targets whether Japanese or allied).
The book isn't written for a detailed high level overview of the war. It's more of a World War 2 romance in several senses. Turtledove uses a shifting POV also but only with less than a dozen significant characters per book and they give a reader a sense of the real world environment and the consequences of the changes that he introduces to history.
Here the military narrative is more of a backdrop for (military) family drama and romantic interludes. The drama could demonstrate the misogyny, segregation and racism that surrounded Japanese, US and European decision making but it doesn't.
There is one mention of the fact that a black servant aboard ship has a college degree but no mention of the fact that black sailors were forbidden from serving the weapons by law (no offense to Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the Pearl Harbor movie). They were limited to kitchens and wardroom service, I don't think they were even permitted on damage control parties. They would die with the ships but weren't good enough to help defend them! The US early in the war, awarded medals to a submarine that torpedoed a troopship and which surfaced as the target sank in order to machine gun the Japanese troops struggling in the water. Since black americans weren't allowed into the Marine Corps (historically, until after the casualty numbers were tallied post Guadalcanal), I'm curious how or if their introduction will be addressed in the ground war. Makes it a little harder to gush over the american naval/marine characters.
Historically, the British nobility and policy makers included a significant number of admirers of both Hitler and Mussolini. The Admiralty opposed a German/Japanese threat to British naval superiority rather than the Nazi attempted genocide of Jews, Gypsies,etc., reluctance to betray their French and other allies, the treatment by Japan of Korean, Chinese, SE Asian civilians.
Instead of exploring these historical perspectives and their impact on the combatants' ability to and method of waging war, the book normalizes the Hollywood roles of wartime 'ladies' and "non-ladies", the John Wayne jingoistic themes, the incredible stereotyping of Japanese sailors and pilots, etc.
The combat certainly captured the feel of real combat overall but some of the performance descriptions of ships, planes and crews was off. The narrative favors the US navy besting the Japanese, whether by a lucky submarine attack, for example or Japanese naval indecisiveness, for another.
For an interesting glimpse of the intersection of geopolitics, economics, military readiness as a function of political realities and a peek at the historical underpinnings of the Pacific War, this might have been worth reading. These are exactly what he doesn't address. The sections which cover the all american heroes at home are a definite miss. A much better and important look at the US military in this period is James G.Cozzens' novel, "Guard of Honor", or "Catch 22" or "Slaughterhouse Five".
The writing isn't too bad where it involves combat. For relationships between males, it does an OK job, even though the characters are stock. The interactions with and relationships either woman to woman or woman to man are awful.
I'm going to read the next volume to see how the geopolitics unfold. I don't think it will have much more of value for a lot of readers.
August 23, 2021
I love a good alternative military history book and as that goes, this is a pretty good one.
The first part of the book is a bit slow as it kinda of establishes the backstory of the family members that the book seems primarily focuses on. Once the action really takes off the author does a good job of keeping it going.
The battles described are realistic and run somewhat parallel to events that played out in reality. The tactics and capabilities of each side remained the same, just a different alternative if someone had done Action B instead of Action A and how that change cascaded.
Looking forward to reading the next in the series.
The first part of the book is a bit slow as it kinda of establishes the backstory of the family members that the book seems primarily focuses on. Once the action really takes off the author does a good job of keeping it going.
The battles described are realistic and run somewhat parallel to events that played out in reality. The tactics and capabilities of each side remained the same, just a different alternative if someone had done Action B instead of Action A and how that change cascaded.
Looking forward to reading the next in the series.
October 3, 2021
Quite a good book
I enjoy alternative history, some more than others. This one is in the “more” categories.
The author has created great characters, and believable plot lines.
I look forward to reading more of his work.
There were a great many typographical errors, which were distracting. The proofreaders were napping.
I enjoy alternative history, some more than others. This one is in the “more” categories.
The author has created great characters, and believable plot lines.
I look forward to reading more of his work.
There were a great many typographical errors, which were distracting. The proofreaders were napping.
June 21, 2022
Believable alternate history
A great read with believable characters and scenarios. A few twists to actual history creates a realistic alternate timeline. The built in prejudice of a peacetime United States military mirrors the incompetence of senior officers which blunted the bravery of individuals in actual events.
A great read with believable characters and scenarios. A few twists to actual history creates a realistic alternate timeline. The built in prejudice of a peacetime United States military mirrors the incompetence of senior officers which blunted the bravery of individuals in actual events.
September 8, 2021
Calamity of war
This is a very different take on how the calamity of WWII could have been like in the very early days of that war. It is very well written with interesting characters.
This is a very different take on how the calamity of WWII could have been like in the very early days of that war. It is very well written with interesting characters.
August 28, 2025
The King is dead. God save the Queen! When the RAF accidentally killed Hitler during a night-bombing and Himmler negotiated an armistice, many thought that was the war done. Tough luck for the Poles, but worse things happen at sea, you know. Speaking of — Himmler’s a bit of a pill and only negotiated the armistice so he could have more time to build air fleets, and now London’s being bombed into ashes and a general sea battle in the Atlantic has left the Germans smarting but HM George the Fifth rather…dead. Now his sixteen year old daughter Queen Elizabeth II is reigning in exile, and her uncle Edward, briefly King before he abdicated to chase skirts instead, has decided to call his former reign a mulligan. Welcome to Acts of War, a rather different alt-history novel in which things are….actually different. The Japs went to war with the Bolshies, for instance, Himmler has removed unworthies like Goering from the Nazi ranks, and he’s intent on being the potentate Hitler only dreamt of being. The Commonwealth is divided – which monarch to back, what war to fight? — and America’s sword still lies dead in her sheath, never wakened in the Sunday skies of Pearl Harbor. Although I’m still trying to understand the premise, Acts of War made for some fun naval 1940s naval fiction.
The Cobb family are the heart of Acts of War, as every single one of the brothers have joined some branch of the service or another, and several of them are stationed around Hawaii where their sister also lives. One of the brothers was so gung ho to fight Germans that he began as a volunteer in Spain, then moved to fight in the Battles of Britain alongside some Poles who had escaped. By the book’s midpoint, everyone gets involved in the scrapping, because Japan decides to attack the United States in 1942, and Himmler follows suit for whatever reason. As far as the action goes, it’s good: we are witness to two full-sized battle, the Battle of Regicide (where the German and British surface navies to head to head) and the Battle of Hawaii, this universe’s version of the opening of the Pacific War. Both in terms of equipment and performance, the battle seemed believable, and while there’s a fair bit of gore it’s not center stage. Given how many Cobb brothers are involved in different outfits — one is a fighter, one aboard a submarine, etc — it seems inevitable that their mother will be getting some bad news.
One thing that puzzles me is the geopolitics of the war: this series is called the Usurper’s War, so presumably Edward VII is meant to play some central role, but US-Japan naval & air action dominated the book for me, and that has continued into the second book as far as I’ve gotten into it. What the consequences are for the UK having two contesting monarchs has not yet been delved into. The disposition of Japan, and the ambitions of Germany, are also a bit puzzling. We’re told that the Soviets attacked Japanese-held China and drove them out, so thoroughly destroying one battle group that Japan’s cabinet members all killed themselves in disgrace. There’s no obvious sign that Japan has been altered by this, though: her forces are evidently stronger than they were in 1941 of our own time, with more warplanes: but how many men were killed in the Russian war? How many men were freed from Chinese occupation by the failure? It’s all unclear, as are Himmler’s motives. Hitler, at least, had a cogent plan: he wanted to claim Eastern Europe for “living room”, destroy the Bolshies, and depopulate his new empire of those deemed enemies of the Reich. Himmler appears to be going for standard-issue villainy, and it’s hard to imagine an uncharismatic creep like him being able to command the party faithful after Hitler died. I’m intrigued but so far underwhelmed by the worldbuilding. I like the general change in premise, though, especially the dramatic potential of a divided Commonwealth, but I hope the Nasties and the Bolshies get to killing each other. I’m also hoping that Chinese resistance will be a lingering pox for Stalin, but we’ll see.
Aside from being a bit suspicious of the premise, I didn’t have any real qualms with this one: the action scenes are good, and there’s a nice mix of humor and tension.
The Cobb family are the heart of Acts of War, as every single one of the brothers have joined some branch of the service or another, and several of them are stationed around Hawaii where their sister also lives. One of the brothers was so gung ho to fight Germans that he began as a volunteer in Spain, then moved to fight in the Battles of Britain alongside some Poles who had escaped. By the book’s midpoint, everyone gets involved in the scrapping, because Japan decides to attack the United States in 1942, and Himmler follows suit for whatever reason. As far as the action goes, it’s good: we are witness to two full-sized battle, the Battle of Regicide (where the German and British surface navies to head to head) and the Battle of Hawaii, this universe’s version of the opening of the Pacific War. Both in terms of equipment and performance, the battle seemed believable, and while there’s a fair bit of gore it’s not center stage. Given how many Cobb brothers are involved in different outfits — one is a fighter, one aboard a submarine, etc — it seems inevitable that their mother will be getting some bad news.
One thing that puzzles me is the geopolitics of the war: this series is called the Usurper’s War, so presumably Edward VII is meant to play some central role, but US-Japan naval & air action dominated the book for me, and that has continued into the second book as far as I’ve gotten into it. What the consequences are for the UK having two contesting monarchs has not yet been delved into. The disposition of Japan, and the ambitions of Germany, are also a bit puzzling. We’re told that the Soviets attacked Japanese-held China and drove them out, so thoroughly destroying one battle group that Japan’s cabinet members all killed themselves in disgrace. There’s no obvious sign that Japan has been altered by this, though: her forces are evidently stronger than they were in 1941 of our own time, with more warplanes: but how many men were killed in the Russian war? How many men were freed from Chinese occupation by the failure? It’s all unclear, as are Himmler’s motives. Hitler, at least, had a cogent plan: he wanted to claim Eastern Europe for “living room”, destroy the Bolshies, and depopulate his new empire of those deemed enemies of the Reich. Himmler appears to be going for standard-issue villainy, and it’s hard to imagine an uncharismatic creep like him being able to command the party faithful after Hitler died. I’m intrigued but so far underwhelmed by the worldbuilding. I like the general change in premise, though, especially the dramatic potential of a divided Commonwealth, but I hope the Nasties and the Bolshies get to killing each other. I’m also hoping that Chinese resistance will be a lingering pox for Stalin, but we’ll see.
Aside from being a bit suspicious of the premise, I didn’t have any real qualms with this one: the action scenes are good, and there’s a nice mix of humor and tension.
October 29, 2025
Three and a half stars. Detailed firefights, but lacks a coherent plot to hold it together. Also needs a lot of nautical fact-checking.
I was excited to read this book. I have played strategy wargames since I was 12, and World War II was my favorite era. I have often thought through "What would it have taken for Germany to win, given the enormous wartime output of the Soviet Union and the United States?" My answer is multi-faceted:
- Use the Wermacht at Dunkirk, not just the Luftwaffe. Don't allow your primary adversary to evacuate over 350,000 soldiers.
- Take your time before attacking the Soviet Union. Use 1941 to attack and take Malta, then push on to attack Suez. Break the economic lifeline of the British Empire.
- Keep the United States out of the war as long as possible. Use diplomats and sympathizers to take advantage of isolationist sentiment in the United States.
I respect the author as a fellow service academy grad. Personally, I went to the Severn River School of Seamanship and did 4 deployments on aircraft carriers, including a war cruise.
That said, the author is a landlubber. The book could use some nautical fact checking.
- Ask anyone who has sailed on a boat: those are lines, not ropes.
- Ships list rather than slant.
- The Spitfire's throttle quadrant does not have a War Emergency Power setting. I almost fell out of my chair laughing at this. The actual settings are Rated Power and Climb Takeoff Power. Everything else is up to the pilot.
- The Commanding Officer of a warship is referred to as Captain, regardless of rank. The second-in-command of a submarine is referred to as Commander, regardless of rank. The term 'master' had fallen out of use by World War II. In the days of sail, a Master was a master mariner who had navigation experience and skills that would not typically be found in a naval officer.
- The USS Nautilus of WW II could not fire a 12-torpedo spread. She had 4 forward torpedo tubes and 2 aft. She could fire a 4-torpedo spread, but then it would several minutes and a lot of lifting to reload each torpedo tube.
- Much of this book concerns an aircraft carrier battle. One critical item the author completely left out is that carriers must turn into the wind to launch and recover aircraft. That means every 90 minutes, they're turning into the wind to launch the next aircraft package, then recover the previous package. This can put a huge damper on thoughts of moving a long way while conducting flight operations, especially if the wind is astern or off the quarter.
Recommended for those who like alternate history.
I was excited to read this book. I have played strategy wargames since I was 12, and World War II was my favorite era. I have often thought through "What would it have taken for Germany to win, given the enormous wartime output of the Soviet Union and the United States?" My answer is multi-faceted:
- Use the Wermacht at Dunkirk, not just the Luftwaffe. Don't allow your primary adversary to evacuate over 350,000 soldiers.
- Take your time before attacking the Soviet Union. Use 1941 to attack and take Malta, then push on to attack Suez. Break the economic lifeline of the British Empire.
- Keep the United States out of the war as long as possible. Use diplomats and sympathizers to take advantage of isolationist sentiment in the United States.
I respect the author as a fellow service academy grad. Personally, I went to the Severn River School of Seamanship and did 4 deployments on aircraft carriers, including a war cruise.
That said, the author is a landlubber. The book could use some nautical fact checking.
- Ask anyone who has sailed on a boat: those are lines, not ropes.
- Ships list rather than slant.
- The Spitfire's throttle quadrant does not have a War Emergency Power setting. I almost fell out of my chair laughing at this. The actual settings are Rated Power and Climb Takeoff Power. Everything else is up to the pilot.
- The Commanding Officer of a warship is referred to as Captain, regardless of rank. The second-in-command of a submarine is referred to as Commander, regardless of rank. The term 'master' had fallen out of use by World War II. In the days of sail, a Master was a master mariner who had navigation experience and skills that would not typically be found in a naval officer.
- The USS Nautilus of WW II could not fire a 12-torpedo spread. She had 4 forward torpedo tubes and 2 aft. She could fire a 4-torpedo spread, but then it would several minutes and a lot of lifting to reload each torpedo tube.
- Much of this book concerns an aircraft carrier battle. One critical item the author completely left out is that carriers must turn into the wind to launch and recover aircraft. That means every 90 minutes, they're turning into the wind to launch the next aircraft package, then recover the previous package. This can put a huge damper on thoughts of moving a long way while conducting flight operations, especially if the wind is astern or off the quarter.
Recommended for those who like alternate history.
February 19, 2021
Japanese version of the war
I have never read a series of novels as bad has this one. The author obviously hates the US Navy and quite possibly the USA. The Japanese continually sink allied ships with an unseemly supply of aircraft. Every attack contains 30 to40 aircraft all making successful hits while allied attacks continually miss or are shot out the sky. The author continues to make Japanese victorious while making the allied forces like they have no idea how to fight. I'm on the 3rd and final book of the series and I see no improvement in how the author portrays the allies. Even a new ensign would see how the battle plans as presented by the author have failed and not change his way of thinking.
I have never read a series of novels as bad has this one. The author obviously hates the US Navy and quite possibly the USA. The Japanese continually sink allied ships with an unseemly supply of aircraft. Every attack contains 30 to40 aircraft all making successful hits while allied attacks continually miss or are shot out the sky. The author continues to make Japanese victorious while making the allied forces like they have no idea how to fight. I'm on the 3rd and final book of the series and I see no improvement in how the author portrays the allies. Even a new ensign would see how the battle plans as presented by the author have failed and not change his way of thinking.
November 21, 2017
It's not my genre, but I did like it. Probably in need of some editing, maybe could've done with less characters to develop. I found myself wanting more of Adams, less of the brothers and their sister. However, the parts of the story surrounding actual war are fantastic. I was enthralled and you can tell Young knows his stuff, especially with how the officer characters related with each other. However, the character building/outside of work relationships didn't work as well for me.
October 15, 2018
Acts of War (The Usurper's War Book 1) brings an excellent "What if" perspective to the events that culminated in WW II. The story is fast paced and well written, with realistic and believable characters. As with any armchair quarterback, I do not necessarily agree with all of the plot lines, however, that is the benefit of being an armchair quarterback. People who enjoy Harry Turtledove alternate histories will love this book, as will military science fiction affectionados.
November 9, 2018
Fast action
A rather interesting on WWII. As I read this as a student of action in the Pacific. The action is almost non-stop. Also the details of both sides aircraft is really true to form. Also there is a lot of truth in the way the admirals acted in real life. I hope that there is a second book coming soon. I well look forward to reading the alternative to the battle of Midway.
A rather interesting on WWII. As I read this as a student of action in the Pacific. The action is almost non-stop. Also the details of both sides aircraft is really true to form. Also there is a lot of truth in the way the admirals acted in real life. I hope that there is a second book coming soon. I well look forward to reading the alternative to the battle of Midway.
November 26, 2024
A more than decent alt WWII book. Some of the best surface war naval action I have read, especially in a WW2 book. Young really makes these scenes come alive and one gets an excellent picture of the action. His damage reports are absolutely chilling. The interpersonal stuff is not so well handled and some of his characters verge on annoying but he keeps stuff moving at such a good pace it is not a great problem.
March 10, 2024
I have been having problems reading books and the do not really captivate me. While I like several
Arthours and would reread the books, I found that not having a new storyline kept the enjoyment out of rading. recently, I found three new writers whom I enjoy reading. this writer is definitely one of them. Thank you much
Arthours and would reread the books, I found that not having a new storyline kept the enjoyment out of rading. recently, I found three new writers whom I enjoy reading. this writer is definitely one of them. Thank you much
August 4, 2024
interesting tale
While I disagree with some of the concepts the author puts forth nevertheless it’s a pretty good story line. The lack of stars in the review is for the totally unnecessary plot with the brothers and sisters in Hawaii. Nothing to do with the alternate history. Seriously debating whether to move on to the second book.
While I disagree with some of the concepts the author puts forth nevertheless it’s a pretty good story line. The lack of stars in the review is for the totally unnecessary plot with the brothers and sisters in Hawaii. Nothing to do with the alternate history. Seriously debating whether to move on to the second book.
August 16, 2025
Not great but not to bad
This book needs a prologue explaining the changes that occurred in the timeline. The author tells a decent story, however the amount of hits ships took seems excessive and not realistic. The political problems don't seem correct with what was happening in the story.
This book needs a prologue explaining the changes that occurred in the timeline. The author tells a decent story, however the amount of hits ships took seems excessive and not realistic. The political problems don't seem correct with what was happening in the story.
July 15, 2017
Very enjoyable
Another good 'what if' book. It's obviously been well researched and is quite unnerving to think how close to disaster the allies were in WW2.
Looking forward to the next one.
Another good 'what if' book. It's obviously been well researched and is quite unnerving to think how close to disaster the allies were in WW2.
Looking forward to the next one.
October 28, 2021
This was a ok novel. Fairly good battle scenes but I thought there was a lack of character development. I had a hard time keeping track of who is who. I’m not sure if I will read book two. I’m leaning towards no.
July 17, 2023
Action from very 1st page
I enjoy this series, a few errors in it here and there, but nothing to distract from story.
No Naval officer would talk to a Queen that way. Japan would own the sky's against Russia. Their aircraft even more out dated then ours.
I enjoy this series, a few errors in it here and there, but nothing to distract from story.
No Naval officer would talk to a Queen that way. Japan would own the sky's against Russia. Their aircraft even more out dated then ours.
October 16, 2024
Quite good, but it was disconcerting in that it appears to start halfway through, with lots of back stories hinted at. I went backe several times to check I wasn't reading the 2nd or 3rd book in the series.
September 8, 2025
Rated it a 3 because there is too much non-military drama and gratuitous sex. Did not rate it any lower because the alternate strategic and tactical narrative is intriguing and kept me turning the pages.
September 9, 2019
good story
I like the story and characters. Will be reading the second book. I'm always a sucker for alt history or time travel. love the what if
I like the story and characters. Will be reading the second book. I'm always a sucker for alt history or time travel. love the what if
January 17, 2021
Good book
This book is one of the best book I have read in a long time. I enjoy the book very much
This book is one of the best book I have read in a long time. I enjoy the book very much
April 10, 2021
Enjoyable Read
This as an enjoyable read in the Usurper War Series. I am downloading Book # 2 as soon as I finish my review. I found it hard to put down.
This as an enjoyable read in the Usurper War Series. I am downloading Book # 2 as soon as I finish my review. I found it hard to put down.
October 12, 2024
Entertaining alternative history.
Text could use some editing, but still good entertainment.
Text could use some editing, but still good entertainment.
Read
March 20, 2025Another good read
Enjoyable what-if. A tad too much personal drama.technically excellent on jargon, technology and history. Will be reading second book asap.
Enjoyable what-if. A tad too much personal drama.technically excellent on jargon, technology and history. Will be reading second book asap.
July 7, 2015
Originally posted at: http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2015/07/...
World War II alternate histories tend to follow the same formula. Usually they are set in a world where the Axis are victorious and may or may not have occupied Britain and/or the United States. Occasionally you will see something different, usually along the lines of the war itself being fought differently instead of focusing on the nightmare outcome I previously mentioned. A good example of this is Acts of War by James Young.
Now Acts of War is actually the second book of James’ The Usurper’s War series, however, since the events of Acts of War take place before the events of book one, “Pandora’s Memories” (which is actually a short story), this is one of the few instances where you don’t need to start with the first story in the series. That is good for me because I haven’t read “Pandora’s Memories” yet, but I may do so now that I’ve read Acts of War.
This novel is set in a world where Hitler is killed by a (un)lucky strike by a Royal Air Force bomber in 1940. Two years later, Germany has not invaded the Soviet Union and has instead focused on knocking Britain out of the war, which it finally succeeds in doing after a massive firebombing of London, complete with poison gas. A new British government sues for peace, but the Royal Family and many elements of military rebel after the new peace treaty stipulates that British must hand over all foreign fighters to the Germans on British soil. With a “Usurper” now on the throne, the rebel British try to rally the Commonwealth to keep the war going.
Meanwhile, Japan has had some pretty bad luck after their attack on the Soviets got them kicked off the continent. This disaster has taught them their lesson and with new technology from the Germans and bases ceded to them by the defeated British, the Japanese have decided now is their chance to finally strike at the Americans, but without the element of surprise they had in our timeline.
All of this is told from the point of view of mostly American soldiers (with a couple American civilians and Japanese officers thrown in) preparing to enter a war that most people know is coming, but really hope they can avoid, especially now that the British have been knocked out of the fight. Generally I enjoyed the story, finding it a nice change of pace from the usual grimdark Nazi-wanks that dominate alternate history. James’ strength as a writer was most apparent during the naval and aerial battle scenes. You can really see the research he put into these scenes.
Admittedly I found that some of the character development scenes were a touch too long. This isn’t bad, per se, because having complex characters is important and we don’t want to fall into the trap of what Karen Hellekson calls “battlefield fetishism”. That being said, sometimes I like detailed and exciting action scenes and that is what I was in the mood for when I sat down to read Acts of War. Again the scenes weren’t bad, but five or ten percent of their text could have been cut and I would have been happier.
Despite all that and a few typos, I still found James’ Acts of War to be enjoyable read that I can recommend to anyone looking for a good war alternate history. If you are interested in more of James’ work, check out his article, “Nagumo’s Missing Turkey: The Kido Butai’s ‘Third Strike’ at Pearl Harbor“, on Alternate History Weekly Update.
World War II alternate histories tend to follow the same formula. Usually they are set in a world where the Axis are victorious and may or may not have occupied Britain and/or the United States. Occasionally you will see something different, usually along the lines of the war itself being fought differently instead of focusing on the nightmare outcome I previously mentioned. A good example of this is Acts of War by James Young.
Now Acts of War is actually the second book of James’ The Usurper’s War series, however, since the events of Acts of War take place before the events of book one, “Pandora’s Memories” (which is actually a short story), this is one of the few instances where you don’t need to start with the first story in the series. That is good for me because I haven’t read “Pandora’s Memories” yet, but I may do so now that I’ve read Acts of War.
This novel is set in a world where Hitler is killed by a (un)lucky strike by a Royal Air Force bomber in 1940. Two years later, Germany has not invaded the Soviet Union and has instead focused on knocking Britain out of the war, which it finally succeeds in doing after a massive firebombing of London, complete with poison gas. A new British government sues for peace, but the Royal Family and many elements of military rebel after the new peace treaty stipulates that British must hand over all foreign fighters to the Germans on British soil. With a “Usurper” now on the throne, the rebel British try to rally the Commonwealth to keep the war going.
Meanwhile, Japan has had some pretty bad luck after their attack on the Soviets got them kicked off the continent. This disaster has taught them their lesson and with new technology from the Germans and bases ceded to them by the defeated British, the Japanese have decided now is their chance to finally strike at the Americans, but without the element of surprise they had in our timeline.
All of this is told from the point of view of mostly American soldiers (with a couple American civilians and Japanese officers thrown in) preparing to enter a war that most people know is coming, but really hope they can avoid, especially now that the British have been knocked out of the fight. Generally I enjoyed the story, finding it a nice change of pace from the usual grimdark Nazi-wanks that dominate alternate history. James’ strength as a writer was most apparent during the naval and aerial battle scenes. You can really see the research he put into these scenes.
Admittedly I found that some of the character development scenes were a touch too long. This isn’t bad, per se, because having complex characters is important and we don’t want to fall into the trap of what Karen Hellekson calls “battlefield fetishism”. That being said, sometimes I like detailed and exciting action scenes and that is what I was in the mood for when I sat down to read Acts of War. Again the scenes weren’t bad, but five or ten percent of their text could have been cut and I would have been happier.
Despite all that and a few typos, I still found James’ Acts of War to be enjoyable read that I can recommend to anyone looking for a good war alternate history. If you are interested in more of James’ work, check out his article, “Nagumo’s Missing Turkey: The Kido Butai’s ‘Third Strike’ at Pearl Harbor“, on Alternate History Weekly Update.
August 30, 2016
I suppose this book is classified as science fiction, but I feel uncomfortable with that designation. Alternate history is usually included as a subgenre of science fiction, but it has been argued that it really deserves a separate genre of its own and I tend to agree. Science fiction is speculative fiction, but there are several kinds of speculative fiction. By speculative fiction it is meant that there is the implied question of what if and after the word if is a fantastic supposition. A fantastic supposition is an event or condition that has never been experienced by any human being. The answer to the what if question, or at least one answer, is the story itself. In the case of fantasy the fantastic supposition is assumed within the context of the story to be a manifestation of the supernatural and in science fiction it is assumed to be a manifestation of reality whether the supposition is possible or not. In alternate history the fantastic supposition is simply assumed to be that something in history happened a different way than it actually did and so the rest of history unfolded differently thereafter. That really does not strike me as either science fiction or fantasy and this novel is an illustration of that.
In real history an assassination attempt was made against Adolf Hitler in 1942 and it failed. In this story it succeeded and the rest of World War II unfolded entirely differently because of that. However, that is the only fantastic supposition. This book does not read like science fiction. It reads like a war story. It's just that the war in question did not really happen that way. If you didn't know anything about the history of World War II, though, you wouldn't notice anything fantastic at all. You would just follow characters through battles and their personal lives just like in any war novel. I am not saying that the story is bad. In fact, it is not bad. It's just that if you are a science fiction fan you should not expect this to be anything like the science fiction you are used to.
In real history an assassination attempt was made against Adolf Hitler in 1942 and it failed. In this story it succeeded and the rest of World War II unfolded entirely differently because of that. However, that is the only fantastic supposition. This book does not read like science fiction. It reads like a war story. It's just that the war in question did not really happen that way. If you didn't know anything about the history of World War II, though, you wouldn't notice anything fantastic at all. You would just follow characters through battles and their personal lives just like in any war novel. I am not saying that the story is bad. In fact, it is not bad. It's just that if you are a science fiction fan you should not expect this to be anything like the science fiction you are used to.
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