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Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 12:28 am  Anyone read any of his books?
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| Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 04:27 am Sounds kinky.
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| Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 06:13 am Never heard of this author.... is it of the romantic genre?
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| Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 09:45 am Looked him up on wikipedia (yay for wikipedia!). He wrotes historical fiction. Explains why no one here has heard of him.
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| Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 09:46 am Alter-history genre. Im thinking of picking up some of his books for some light summer reading. Maestro, where do you recommend me to start?
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| Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 10:07 am How Few Remain American Front Walk in Hell Breakthroughs Blood and Iron The Center Cannot Hold The Victorious Opposition Return Engagement Drive to the East The Grapple In at the Death Longest continuous storyline I ever read, haha.
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| Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 03:18 pm I haven't seen any new titles out lately. He's done a number of alternate history books. If you enjoy American Civil war books then try : The Guns of the South. This one gives the war an alternate ending. I've read a dozen of his books. Some alternate history some just fantasy.
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| Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 03:19 pm http://sfsite.com/~silverag/turtledove.html
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| Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 03:26 pm A fun read was his "Worldwar" series. In the middle of World War 2, aliens invade earth. I read all from this series. (8 books)
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| Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 03:37 pm I've read him before and to me, he comes off as a little bit racist. He writes countless books and stories where: 1) Nazi Germany conquers the British Empire and proves to be most effective at stopping India's independence. 2) The South wins the civil war and so racism and slavery still exist. 3) The United States is never founded and so: a) Most states remain pro-slavery b) Except for Mississippi, which is now a black-separatist state. 4) A nuclear war occurs during the sixties and so nearly everyone has a generally nasty attitude towards black people. In all cases, characters are prejudiced against African-Americans, characters use racial slurs and the setting and plot feature racism prominently and sometimes glorify it. 'Negro' occurs, I think, 12 times in the Westside-Valley War. The narrator justifies and rationalizes racism in The Disunited States of America. Of course, not all of his books and stories feature racism or African-Americans. My favourite book of his is The Gladiator, set in an alternate history where the CCCP muscled its way out of economic depression and managed to put Europe minus San Marino under communist rule, and follows crosstime travelers who navigate the dystopia in order to find a way home. Very 1984isc
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| Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 08:09 pm Maybe there is some racism in some of his books, but there is racism in the world. Sometimes reality sucks and an alternative reality can really suck for a certain group of people. Another good alt history writer...John Stirling. Did a three book series on the island of Nantucket being pushed back over 2,000 years.
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| Sunday, April 24, 2011 - 08:31 am Wow! You are very well read, Open Sesame, for a 14-yr-old. I'm impressed! lol
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| Sunday, April 24, 2011 - 04:47 pm "Maybe there is some racism in some of his books, but there is racism in the world. Sometimes reality sucks and an alternative reality can really suck for a certain group of people. " Good point. "You're very ... for a ..." Seems to be the typical format for a left-handed compliment. Thanks anyway.
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| Monday, April 25, 2011 - 01:31 pm Keep in mind, the time period that at least the first few books of the "How Few Remain" series takes place in a time when racism was alive and well, and the norm for the majority of the world. The writer shows various characters as smart, capable and clever, regardless of their color or ethnicitiy. This tends to counter the cry of racism, in my opinion. That being said, while I enjoy his writing, it tends to be a bit repetitive. And his usage of stock phrasing gets be a tad heavy handed... yes, we know he's a fair skinned redhead, yes we know he's gonna put zinc on his nose, yes, we get that he would prefer to be in a cooler cloudier clime... is it necessary to mention it every time the character is active?  Stirling has the same issue, imo. He has a handful of stock characters (the wise and bad ass foreigner, the tough kick ass lesbian, the scheming badguy who revels in his villainy, etc) but I still find him enjoyable. The counterpart to the "Isles in the Sea of Time" series is the Emberverse series. It takes place in the rest of the world after nantucket has gone back in time. All high energy processes stop (sort of, fire still works, body electro-chemistry functions) so gunpowder, electricity, steam engines... all non-functional. Fun, but by no means should it be taken seriously.
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