American Empire: Blood and Iron (Spoilers)

In My Humble Opinion
1

**SEX! SEX! SEX!
**
That seems to be the message of Harry Turtledove’s latest book. Altough I’m given to understand there’s some plot to it. I’ll go over it for you non-Alternate Historians.

This is a Book that takes place in post-WWI North America. Twice in the Past 50 years, the Confederate States had humiliated the USA, but with the coming of WWI, the USA finally had it’s revenge. The CSA was broken. Swaths of it’s territory (But not enough, IMHO) went to the United States. Almost all of Canada south of the Treeline (save Quebec, which became independant) is under American occupation. Whether it’ll be annexed in the future seems up in the air.

Britain is stripped of some of it’s territory, but not all. It’s Navy seems to be relatively intact. France and the CSA slide into a depression fairly quickly, with extremist groups popping up faster than you can say “Timothy McViegh!”.

Now, onto the actual book.

**CSA **

The Confederates are squeezed until they pop. It gets to the point where “Billion dollar bills” are in circulation, inflation is so bad. Two main extremist groups pop up, the Redemption League (Located primarily west of the Mississippi)and the Freedom Party (led by the redoutable Jake Featherson). Both groups resort to anti-black violence, donning white shirts and Khakl pants to go head bashing. As times get worst, they only grow in popularity, with Featherson nearly winning the 1922 Presidential election.

Unfortuantly for the Freedom Party and the Redemption league, 2 things happen.

  1. A member of the Freedom Party assainates the President of the CSA, thus alienating them from the genral public, and

  2. A Socialist President takes office in the United States. Reperations claims are withdrawn very quickly, and the Confederate economy improves almost overnight.

The book closes with Featherson promising to “Put paid to every Son of a Bitch who corssed me”

** USA**

The United States is riding top of the world. The CSA is beaten, Canada, for all intents and purposes, is an American Satillite, and The American Military is number one.

General Custer, the great “Hero” of the war, is sent to Canada to be the military governor. Colonel Morell is given command of the so-called “Barrel Works”. He gets to work designing a newer, better barrel. One that could match any the Confederates my secretly be devolping. Sam Carsten is transfered to the USS * Rememberance*, the first ship of it’s kind. A ship that can carry great fistfulls of aeroplanes.

But all is not what it seems. The Socialists beat out Teddy Roosevelt for the presidency, and Upton Sinclair becomes the first Socialist President. The Socialists overnight slash military spending. The Navy, the most powerful afloat, is tied to dock. The Barrel Works are deactivated. Reperations claims are withdrawn. A Canadian Nationalist tried to Assainate Custer, by throwing a bomb at him (Custer deftly catches the bomb and throws it back. Still makes me giggle).

** The Teeming Millions **

Most other nations are more or less are in the background. Great wars erupt all throughout South America, and former Confederate soldiers flock there. The Confederate government secretly tests new weapons in a uprising in Mexico.

Japan builds it’s navy, and makes threatening overtures toward British Pacific colonies (or lack thereof). A great and bloody Civil war is occuring in Russia, and at the close of 1923, it is not yet clear if the communists will win.

All in all I give the book a “B”. I don’t think it was as good as some of Harry Turtledove’s other books, tough.

2

I still feel bad for General Custer’s assistant.

3

Yes, well, Dowling got promoted. He’s still Custer’s aide, though.

Great Cameo with Ophelia Clemens ( for those of us who read * How Few Remain*)

4

For putting up with Custer that long, he should be on the general staff. It was nice to see Ms. Clemens, though. I would like to see some Republicans, though. I know there were a few Republican congressmen in the congress during the war…are any left? And how is their platform different than the socialists?

One thing I did enjoy was finding out how the Rad. Libs. are different than the Whigs…that really wasn’t dealt with before.

5

I’m not entirely sure how the Republican platform is different from the Socialists, I know that they hate the Demos, so one can assume that they would join a Socialists coalition if the Republicans-Socialists combined out numbered the Demos.

I was more than disappointed by how far and fast the US military fell. We’re tying up boats while the English navy is still a Going concern? While the Japanese Navy is building aircraft carriers?

We’re cutting R&D while the Confederates ( or so-called mercenaries, at any rate) are running new weapons through the paces in Mexico and South America? And, seeing as heavy weapons were the primary advantage during the Mormon insurrection, we’re cutting Barrel research? This all made me very mad.

I can’t wait until Featherston kills himself in his bunker under Atlanta as Morrel (Rommel! Rommel!) burns it to the ground.

6

finally finished that book, i expect this thread to get sucked into the Cafe Society void, that didn’t exist when this was started if i recall correctly, but anyway…

I wasn’t a big fan of MacGregor’s character (the farmer/bomber) so i shed no tear when he was offed. I was surprised by the pace of this book compared to the others, was it 5 years that passed compared to one year for a normal turtledove book? also, all that sex was so everyone would have kids that could fight in World War II, when he gets to writing that series. I can’t wait for a cameo by Hitler, who will probably be a famous artist and have a jewish wife. World War II will be a bloody mess, and i think Germany will develop the bomb and blow the crap out of have the world (after all, why would einstein leave now?). The USA is gonna be sandwiched between Japan and the CSA, and will probably have dark days ahead.

Of course, those are just my opinions. I gotta go read some Brian Jacques now…

7

I think it ended in 1922. You’re right, though: it was hard as heck to keep track!

I predict that Sylvia Enos will be at the forefront of the women’s suffrage movement. Don’t have any other predictions, except the Morell/Rommel one that others have posted.