Z
Zadok001
Guest
Making a Thread Title 101: Catch CT's attention by using the word "Turtle" at least once.
I don't know what kind of name "Turtledove" is, but the guy sure can write.
By now, you're probably thoroughly confused. Allow me to start again. I'm chattering about Harry Turtledove, a fiction writer. His books include Guns of the South, the Great War - American Front series, the Worldwar series, How Few Remain, Colonization series, and the American Empire series. Lots o' books. Now, normally, I don't recommend historical fiction. It's often boring to me, since it follows such preset rules. The main characters are either fictional, in which case they can't do anything to change history, or they are historical, in which case they are almost GUARANTEED to do something that changes the world. Such predictability really ruins the genre for me.
Turtledove is a bit different. Oh yes, the books ARE historical. You'll find accurate accounts of German panzers and British Lancasters in the Worldwar series, Guns of the South gives a brilliant description of guns used during the Civil War, and the trench warfare of WWI is very carefully described in all its bloody glory in the Great War series.
But Turtledove is NOT a historical fiction writer.
The more astute of you may have noticed a strange inconsistancy in the last few paragraphs. I mentioned first the series called "Great War - American Front." Then I referred to it a bit later as being about WWI.
The problem with that should be self-evident. That's the thing - Turtledove doesn't write about what DID happen. He writes about what COULD have happened. The Great War series rests on the assumption that the South, with the assistance of England and France (reasons are described in "How Few Remain"), won the War Between the States (aka the Civil War). The plot opens at the start of WWI. In the United States. And the Confederate States.
*grin*
It gets more interesting from there. Needless to say, the US has not been happy about losing to its Southern neighbor, and joins the war on the side of Germany. The Confederate States team up with England and France.
Neat book, neh?
What makes this all the more impressive is that Turtledove manages to write from every possible perspective. His books don't simply follow one character. Instead, he leaps from character to character, scattered across all the fronts of the war - A US fighter pilot stationed on the Canadian border, an assistant to General Custer (who is still alive), a Confederate artillery man, a submarine captian, a low-ranking sailor on a United States ship, a Socialist from New York, the owner of a coffee shop in Washington DC, etc... Literally every aspect of the war. Each character sees through their own eyes. On rare occassions, they meet. On rarer still occassions, they end up shooting at each other.
As a result of this wierd writing style, you end up with a complete view of the war. Neither side is clearly the "good guys," or the "bad guys." When Turtledove is writing from the Confederate perspective, they are the good guys. From an American's perspective? The Confederates should all die.
The socialists hate the republicans. The Reds in the south rise up against the rest of the community. And you've got some part of the plot on every front. As a result, it never really gets dull - As soon as you're tired of one character, you jump to a new one. When you start wondering what happened to one character, Turtledove jumps back to them, and lets you read a bit more.
The guy is GREAT. One of the best writers I've come across in years. I've read the entire Great War series, which is the best one of his so far, and I'm halfway through the World War II series (which is a bit more far-fetched - The aliens have landed). His work is completely engaging. I'm reading over 200 pages a day, and I don't have much time to read.
If you have ANY interest in war, but have found historical fiction somewhat dull, go grab the first Great War book. You WILL like it.
Anyone else here read anything by him? Got any recommendations for when I finish Worldwar?
I don't know what kind of name "Turtledove" is, but the guy sure can write.
By now, you're probably thoroughly confused. Allow me to start again. I'm chattering about Harry Turtledove, a fiction writer. His books include Guns of the South, the Great War - American Front series, the Worldwar series, How Few Remain, Colonization series, and the American Empire series. Lots o' books. Now, normally, I don't recommend historical fiction. It's often boring to me, since it follows such preset rules. The main characters are either fictional, in which case they can't do anything to change history, or they are historical, in which case they are almost GUARANTEED to do something that changes the world. Such predictability really ruins the genre for me.
Turtledove is a bit different. Oh yes, the books ARE historical. You'll find accurate accounts of German panzers and British Lancasters in the Worldwar series, Guns of the South gives a brilliant description of guns used during the Civil War, and the trench warfare of WWI is very carefully described in all its bloody glory in the Great War series.
But Turtledove is NOT a historical fiction writer.
The more astute of you may have noticed a strange inconsistancy in the last few paragraphs. I mentioned first the series called "Great War - American Front." Then I referred to it a bit later as being about WWI.
The problem with that should be self-evident. That's the thing - Turtledove doesn't write about what DID happen. He writes about what COULD have happened. The Great War series rests on the assumption that the South, with the assistance of England and France (reasons are described in "How Few Remain"), won the War Between the States (aka the Civil War). The plot opens at the start of WWI. In the United States. And the Confederate States.
*grin*
It gets more interesting from there. Needless to say, the US has not been happy about losing to its Southern neighbor, and joins the war on the side of Germany. The Confederate States team up with England and France.
Neat book, neh?
What makes this all the more impressive is that Turtledove manages to write from every possible perspective. His books don't simply follow one character. Instead, he leaps from character to character, scattered across all the fronts of the war - A US fighter pilot stationed on the Canadian border, an assistant to General Custer (who is still alive), a Confederate artillery man, a submarine captian, a low-ranking sailor on a United States ship, a Socialist from New York, the owner of a coffee shop in Washington DC, etc... Literally every aspect of the war. Each character sees through their own eyes. On rare occassions, they meet. On rarer still occassions, they end up shooting at each other.
As a result of this wierd writing style, you end up with a complete view of the war. Neither side is clearly the "good guys," or the "bad guys." When Turtledove is writing from the Confederate perspective, they are the good guys. From an American's perspective? The Confederates should all die.
The socialists hate the republicans. The Reds in the south rise up against the rest of the community. And you've got some part of the plot on every front. As a result, it never really gets dull - As soon as you're tired of one character, you jump to a new one. When you start wondering what happened to one character, Turtledove jumps back to them, and lets you read a bit more.
The guy is GREAT. One of the best writers I've come across in years. I've read the entire Great War series, which is the best one of his so far, and I'm halfway through the World War II series (which is a bit more far-fetched - The aliens have landed). His work is completely engaging. I'm reading over 200 pages a day, and I don't have much time to read.
If you have ANY interest in war, but have found historical fiction somewhat dull, go grab the first Great War book. You WILL like it.
Anyone else here read anything by him? Got any recommendations for when I finish Worldwar?