Stars and Stripes in Peril

Stars & Stripes #2

by Harry Harrison

In a war room in Washington, William Tecumseh Sherman and General Robert E. Lee huddle together and plan their next, joint military operation. In the jungles of Mexico, Ulysses S. Grant is locked in brutal combat with the best of the British Army. And in the heart of the new American South a fragile peace is threatened . . .In the dazzling alternate history of Harry Harrison, this is the world as it stands in 1863. Just three years before, a titanic Civil War loomed in America. But an incident involving a British ship and two Confederate spies changed everything. As Abraham Lincoln defied Britain's Lord Palmerston, tensions between the two nations boiled overæand Her Majesty's Navy unleashed an attack on American soil aimed at bolstering the Confederate cause. The results were catastrophic. A stunned North and South put aside their differences and a new kind of war erupted, with Americans fighting side by side against the British on two in the South and on the Canadian border. Now, Britain has been defeated and America is struggling to keep its union togetheræuntil another blow is struck.It comes from Mexico, where elite units of Her Majesty's Armyæincluding the famed Gurkha fightersæare massing for a possible attack through Texas. Into the gauntlet Lincoln sends his chosen angel of death, General Grant. But the weary president knows that two centuries of British power will not be ended with a single battle. So his top soldiers, including Lee and Sherman, plan the most daring naval invasion ever an assault on British soil itself. And in a secret that must be protected by an underground army of spies and secret agents, the U.S. will invade the Emerald Isleæto set the Irish free at last.Filled with real characters on both sides of the conflict, Stars and Stripes in Peril is the new masterwork from one of our most provocative authors. Harry Harrison brilliantly examines the machinations that drive our world, the choices that shape the future, and the people and passions that compose nations both great and small. Venturing beyond a fascinating question of what if, Harrison shows how technology and world politics had the power to shape history's first great World Waræhalf a century before it began.

Genres: Alternate History, Fiction, War, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Military Fiction, Civil War

354 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 28, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) was an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He was also (with Brian W. Aldiss) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three words: America liberates Ireland!

Two books into this series and my continuing impression is that this Harry Harrison is something like a Harry Turtledove (Lite). This is in no way meant to be an insult or derogatory or bad, as I am finding these books to be just as good as, but different. I feel that Mr. Harrison believes that someone who is interested in speculative fiction / alternate history already has a familiarity with the subject and thus knows the personalities of the historically important characters he places in his novels, thusly, he doesn't feel the need to explain to, expound upon, or otherwise inform the reader why Person X is they way that they are. Whereas, Mr. Turtledove will delight in explaining the personality of said character, often a few times, so that the reader is very aware. Neither is necessarily better than the other, just different.

I also feel that Mr. Harrison is more interested in the "bigger picture" of his story rather than the gritty details, unlike Mr. Turtledove. I'm not saying that Mr. Turtledove doesn't care about his story, but he'll pepper his story with every little gritty detail imaginable. In particular, the Battle for Ireland, whilst the seemingly main plot point of this particular book, was quickly over and done with, whilst if it were done by Mr. Turtledove, I could see it being the entire setting for a couple of hundred pages. As such, these novels, which appear to be roughly 900 to 1,000 pages in total, could easily be three times that if they were written by Mr. Turtledove. Again, neither good nor bad - just different.

With that out of the way, I really enjoyed this second entry in the Stars and Stripes series. I can't say that I'm 100% conversant with the time period to rule upon its plausibility and I still feel that the American Civil War was still resolved far too quickly in the first book - although there are some inclinations in this book that this may not actually be the case. I am very interested to see where the story goes and where it takes us. And I'm very interested to see if there are any ramifications over this increased hostility between the UK and the USA. I think, in our modern day, we often forget the animosity that was present between our two nations before the World Wars of the 20th Century - and even somewhat after. The world FDR envisioned after World War Two did involve breaking the worldwide grasp of European colonial authority, after all.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book 2 in Harrison's trilogy that began with the Civil War and shifted dramatically to the Union and the Confederacy reuniting to successfully fend off an invasion by England. But England returns in this book seeking revenge for their defeat. Harrison writes the Americans (for the most part) as oh-so good and noble and the Brits as petty villains. It's still fun. The differences from our world in how technology develops is interesting and mostly plausible - and part of the fun.

[Vickie Woodard · Rating 4 out of 5]

RIP ROARING

Such subterfuge!! So sneaky. And SO effective.
This book is alternative history. It 'stars' people who actually lived at the time.
But, OH, how the story has changed.
After the US earned their freedom from Great Britain its only fair they help another country do the same.
This book takes place in the early 1860's. If you didn't read the first book in the trilogy, you'll be a bit confused.

[Michael Jarrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second book of Harrison's trilogy, was a really good read! The situations and characters all came together, along with the excellent writing, to make a worthy story! Well done, Mr. Harrison! Another winner!

[Ernest Hogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alternate universe mayhem. Good entertainment for apocalyptic times. Especially when we're being reminded that for a lot of people, the Civil War never ended.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on a reunified America taking on the British who can’t seem to forget we beat them twice and soundly

[Joshua Hutchison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alternate History. I thought the idea was very cool. It's been several years, but I definitely remember the book being a good read.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed quite a few alternate history novels, including some by Harry Turtledove as well as S.M. Stirling. But many times I've been disappointed as well, because, no matter how interesting the hook is, no matter what tiny thing may happen to change history and launch a cool plot, it still comes down to good writing. A good novel still has to be a good story with well developed characters, etc.

This novel, Stars & Stripes in Peril is the second in the "Stars and Stripes" trilogy by Harry Harrison. This is an alternate history novel set in the Civil War era, with all the major US and Confederate historical figures interacting. In the first book, the "hook" was that Queen Victoria's husband did not live long enough to convince her not to enter the American Civil War on the Southern side...so the British did indeed enter the conflict. However, they attacked the wrong target, hitting Biloxi instead of New Orleans to stop Grant, and so the South teamed up with the North to fight a common foe. Now in this second book, the war with Britain is over but Queen Victoria isn't finished. The US forces take the war to Great Britain, fighting for the freedom of Ireland this time.

I enjoyed reading this one, mostly because it was fairly simple and straight forward. The plot was interesting and the author has thrown in lots of historical tidbits. I like seeing people like Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman, working alongside Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and others in cooperation. That part was cool but, the overall characterization was lacking. I found them to be pretty flat, and one dimensional. The major historical characters always seemed to think the same and even used the same phrases. The non-historical characters came off a little better. But that was OK. I did appreciate the American's use of technology here, particularly the next generation of ironclads as well as an improved version of the Gatling gun. I have one more to read in this trilogy and I will definitely do so.

[John Love IV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stars & Stripes in Peril is the follow up to Harrison's Stars & Stripes Forever in which the US and Confederacy mend fences in the middle of the Civil War to fight off the British who have invaded both. (Not a brilliant move on their part.)

The PM and Queen, not to mention a ton of other Englishmen, are not happy at the loss and plot to once again attack the soft underbelly of the US in the gulf. Using the French control of Mexico as their excuse (must help our French buddies who we love so much get their money back), the English start building a road across Mexico to bring their Far East troops to the gulf side and give them a convenient launching point for the invasion.

The US still has a lead in technology and keeps making better equipment but the English aren't far behind. Espionage and military trickery come into play as each side tries to out trick the other.

Once again, very believably written. With the situation, as left in 'Forever', one could easily see events transpiring as written. Actually, there were less "REALLY?" moments in the book for me than the previous one. Also, once again, the book deals with major players in the events and not some unheard of minor player (which Turtledove loves and Conroy plays with as well).

One thing I was never sure of was how the PM stayed in power after losing the 'Civil War'. Not even just losing it but totally blowing it!!! Being in charge in that kind've loss wasn't good for one's political future in that era of England.

In any case, a fun and thought provoking book. I look forward to reading the last in the series.

[Jim Holthaus · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the first book, the United States saw off the British invasion of both the North and the South during the Civil War. Now, tensions continue to rise between the US and Britain, and the US believes Britain is planning an invasion of the US. The response? Let's take the war to the British and invade Ireland. Hmmm.

The story revolves around the use of new weapons (rapid firing rifles, gatling guns, and ironclads) that have an attendant impact on how war is fought. In this case, because the Americans had lots of first-hand exposure to these new technologies during their civil war, they are assumed to have adapted their tactics accordingly. The result? Yes, the Americans invade Ireland, defeat the British garrisons, and establish a united, independent Ireland.

Harrison has worked hard to model the characters off of historical facts. The problem is that he's writing an alternate history that is far enough from historical fact that the characters didn't really address this kind of situation. Real people would adapt to the changed circumstances. Harrison's historical characters (Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, etc.) are stuck in this strange in-between land: they are allowed to adapt their behaviors to the situation, but not their dialogue. Consequently, I found the dialog stilted and sometimes painful.

[The other John · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one's the sequel to Stars and Stripes Forever". I read Peril because I had picked it up before I had obtained Forever. While I was unimpressed with Forever, I have a very hard time letting a book leave my reading stack without reading it, hence my reading and hence this review. It was more of the same, really. After the events of Forever, Britain has no intention of losing gracefully and so starts up shenanigans in Mexico. The United States responds down south, but also thinks about starting a second front over in the British Isles. It wasn't a horrible read but, like its predecessor 'twas but waiting room material. Now I can let it leave my reading stack with a clear conscience.

[Lance Keashly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up in a bin a while back. This is an alternate history story where the British are intent on bringing the USA back as a colony. While this is the second book in a series the key change seems to be that the British made there attack during the civil war and attacked both sides. This common enemy united the north and south causing an interesting war situation to occur as the fragile forming USA becomes a formidable industrial nation focused on war.

Not my usual taste but it was fun read in the sun while dealing with a fever. I will not hunt out the other books in the series, no further interest for me.

[Robert Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the second book in the late author Harrison’s Stars and Stripes alternate history series. This book is well worth reading, and should be used as a great example in those writing seminars on SF. I fear that alternate history is often ignored as a possible book idea due to the massive amount of research necessary for proper preparation. Author Harrison was a master of the genre, and his talents are sorely missed.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this installment of the series was a bit better than the first, perhaps because the divergence from actual history (again based only on a small change from historical records initially) became greater. The second half of the book taking place in Ireland didn't hurt either!

[Travis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only got through the first 44 pages. I think this is alternate history for the middle school and younger crowd.

[Patrick Nichol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The new U.S.-British war moves to the U.K., where the newly-unified Americans exact revenge for the British attack on Charleston. Terrific stuff.

[Stan · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the numbers alternate history set during the 1860s.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it and I'm on to the last book of the trilogy...intresting alternate history ideas...not the most well written or sophisticated execution...but it fits my mood at the moment...😊