Add a ‘bitch’ to the end and see if it makes more sense.
All right, Rand, I forgive you. You didn’t spoil that much.
Clearly, I have my copy now! I was stressing over how I would get the package, since both Mr. Rilch and I had to work today, and my car is still on the disabled list. I wasn’t eager to take the bus out to the UPS office if I missed the second delivery attempt, but Mr. Rilch saved the day. While returning from dropping me off at work, he saw the UPS guy and flagged him down. Woohoo!
I’ve read through the first character rotation. So far,
[spoiler]it has been balls-to-the-wall. And dark, much more so than the GW series: some characters have become very bitter. And this war is so much more brutal. If cities where I used to live start getting pounded, I may cry.
It appears that Merle Grimes, Armstrong’s dad, was right: war is going to make a man of him.
I didn’t think the excerpts from Mein Ka^H^H^H^H^H^Over Open Sights were very profound, or that they even made much sense, but then I haven’t spent years being molded by Featherston’s propaganda machine.
I wish I’d been able to read the paragraph where Morell sticks his head out of the “barrel” to see what’s happening outside without picturing Michael Dukakis. Why can’t I rid myself of that image? There’s no comparison between the two! I need to find a photo of a WWII tank commander to replace it.[/spoiler]
BTW: Thank you, lno. I thought, “Rodriguez lives in Sonora, not Sonova!”
Aesiron, just out of curiosity, what’s holding you up, that you don’t have your copy yet?
Rilchiam, here’s a picture of US troops looking out of a tank (taken in front of the Arc d’Triomphe during the liberation of Paris)
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/research_topics/world_war_2_photos/images/ww2_104.jpg
Here’s a pic of troops advancing in a German city. The tank’s hatch is open and the tankers are looking out.
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/research_topics/world_war_2_photos/images/ww2_120.jpg
I hope that fills your head with better images. 
Thank you, Captain! That’s tons better.
Finances. I just moved into my first apartment last month, have some debts to pay off, and a lot of furnishings to buy so a new novel is a bit of a luxury at the moment. How long does it take for Amazon to get used copies for sale?
By the way, in case no one has noticed, email notifications don’t omit spoilers behind tags. I just noticed in Rilchiam’s last post. Thankfully, she didn’t spoil anything.
That’s entirely up to the market. I remember used copies of Harry Potter 5 being available almost immediately; I guess people were reading them once and reselling them, or just buying them in order to resell them. In this case, I dunno. There might not be enough demand for immediate resale, but I also think it’s unlikely that anyone who was eager enough to buy it new will, after reading it, toss it aside. Just put it on your wish list and check it regularly.
Omigod, I am so sorry. And after what I said to Rand! Personally, I don’t read e-mail notifications; I get updates directly from my subscription list. The other drawback to reading e-mails is that the post you see might not be the only new one. And if the post is a direct response to another post that’s quoted, you don’t see the quote. Mouseover preview is the same way.
Anyway, I’m up to page 106 now, and one of my speculations has been proven correct. And, total non-spoiler here, but I wonder what possessed HT to use so many parentheses. I don’t know what Messrs. Strunk and White would say, but putting entire sentences in parentheses always strikes me as sloppy. If it’s important enough to say, give it equal weight.
It’s fine. While I prefer to not spoil this book, I’m usually someone who searches them out so it’s no big deal if I accidentally read something I shouldn’t. Not that that is an invitation to bombard me with them. 
I’ll put the book in my wish list. Maybe some kind Doper will take pity on me…
::cough::
Come to Ohio for the party in a few weeks. I’ll give you mine.
If I can’t afford the book, I don’t think I’ll be able to afford the 2,000 mile road trip either. Thanks for the offer though.
I just got it!
I’ll let y’all know how it is when I finish!
I got it today and am about 175 pages into it. Turtledove must be taking correspondence courses on writing because the amount of repetition in this book is greatly decreased from his previous works.
Og bless Harry Turtledove. Winnie-the-Pooh exists in this timeline.
Well, I am on page 400, and I have come to the conclusion, again, that being a character in one of HT’s books is kinda like being the guy in the red shirt on a Star Trek landing party. I knew this before, of course, but every time read one it comes back to me forcefully.
What’s weird is that I get outraged at the things Featherstone and company are doing-even though the USA in this book is not my USA, and is in fact a lot darker than the real USA, it still angers me, which is stupid. I can easily see the world being like that, however, and that, I think, is what scares me- the idea that there but for the grace of God go I. It is also what intrigues me about HT’s books.
When I wrote that, I was under the assumption that
Hipolito Rodriguez had died in his kitchen, electrocuted by the light switch
I see now that I was wrong. The principle still holds, though.
Just finished it.
WOW.
That’s all I have to say at the moment. I’ll post, with spoiler boxes of course, after I’ve let it sink in.
Ditto.
Do Jesus, do I really have to wait a year for part two???
Almost certainly. While he’s got several other books in the pipeline there’s not even a release date for the next book in this series on his site.
Okay, I’m ready to discuss it.
This is it. This is Turtledove’s ROTK. He did what people always say they wish writers would do: he laid the groundwork and developed the characters. And it all led up to this (and, presumably, the next two installments), and it was worth it. This is twice as fast as the Great War, twice as intense, twice as brutal, and twice as scary.
Character development:
[spoiler]Dowling, Morrell, and Moss are all very different people from the ones we met in the Great War. Moss has absolutely nothing to lose; it’ll be interesting to see him as POW. Morrell being sniped was, in a way, the ultimate compliment. Of course, he wasn’t the only target, but seemed to be the most important. Dowling is very good at what he does, even if they don’t appreciate him in Philadelphia. He learned more being Custer’s adjutant than he would have serving under someone competent. He learned what NOT to do.
Many people predicted that Tom Colleton would take over for Anne, if it ever came to that. So it did, and now we don’t have to hear any more of her griping about how the years have stolen her looks. That’s what bitterness does to you, sister: makes you old before your time. Although I wonder what it might have been like for her to survive, maimed and therefore looking as thoroughly ugly on the outside as she was on the inside.
Featherston is really Vadering out.
Lucullus Wood rocks. If Cincinnatus gets taken out of rotation, he would be the one to take over. I’d love to know more about how his mind works.
Just too cute, Professor: Yossel Reisen and Armstrong Grimes in the same company. And talking of Grimes, that is nothing short of amazing. I take back what I said about his surviving by sheer dumb luck. He is turning out to be one hell of a soldier. I like him a lot.
I’m also very satisfied with Dr. O’Doull, both as a character and for the way his sequences play out. I’d said I wanted to see the MAS*H point of view, and it’s as intense as I’d anticipated.
So George Enos doesn’t want people making a big deal about his parents. That must explain why he keeps mentioning them.
That Quinn fellow, the one who leads the Baroyeca chapter of the Freedom Party, is really something. HE should be the propaganda minister. He could really spin, and he’s totally charming. Shame he’s too far from Richmond to rise further in the Party.
Way to turn a cliche on its head: Joshua Blackford. Instead of being the device, asking questions and having them answered by an adult, he’s the one thinking two moves ahead.[/spoiler]
Plot:
[spoiler]Featherston, you fucking egotistical cracker you. You had it; you had it right in your hairy-knuckled hand, and you tossed it away. Putz!
Silly ol’ me thought they’d go up the Mississippi. Forgot about Pontiac. Michigan is easy to cordon off.
George Washington said, “In time of peace, prepare for war.” Darned shame that the USA didn’t remember that. But they’ve disavowed him because he was from Virginia.
The one worm on the rose petal: Martin joining up. Don’t we have enough military types? I would have liked to see what he’d do with wartime manufacturing.
[/spoiler]
References:
[spoiler] Perhaps Joe Kennedy Jr. will survive the war.
Lot of historical quotes: “Day of infamy”; “final solution”. Two direct quotes in the last scene (well, one was what LBJ said after Kennedy was shot, but still).
Dr. Sheldon Silverstein patched up Morrell, eh? Such nice handwriting, and a quick wit! Perhaps he could use those skills in a non-medical field after the war. 
Ustinov? Oh come ON.
No Mussolini: they laughed at him and moved on. Presumably no Hitler, either: probably still that guy’s adjutant. [/spoiler]
Predictions:
Pomeroy will go down, big time. What she did to the postmaster must have been designed to wipe out any remaining shreds of sympathy the audience may have had for her.
So Scipio’s in the ghetto. Well, we’ve seen how much Jerry Dover values him as a worker. Wonder how much he values him as a person. Enough to hide a family in his attic? I was thinking about that during the AE series, but now I don’t know; I think HT dropped in at least one mention that Dover’s thoughtfulness only goes so far.
Now that LaFollette’s the President, I wonder if Blackford will become Speaker pro tempore.
Overall:
[spoiler]I’m not quite in agreement with JohnT about the level of repetition. Some scenes, like Moss bailing out of his plane, were almost identical; I had to check and make sure I didn’t get an improperly bound copy. And he’s still telling us the same thing over and over. Scipio knows he’s in the Terry when the roads start getting bad. I got it the first time, TYVM. And okay: you coined a slang term. Give it a rest.
Although HT did sidestep himself a few times. There were several instances where I was just starting to think “Shouldn’t they—” and then they did. Like the second time Scipio was asked for his passbook. I was just thinking, “Don’t they know him by now?” and then the other officer did say he knew him. But of course, HT had to drop in another “penguin suit” remark. Yes, I’m sure it is tiresome for Scipio to have to hear that all the time. Doesn’t mean we have to.
Liked the war-themed movies. I was hoping for a closer parallel to Casablanca, but these were good too.
The further I read, the gladder I was that the Union OTL was able to take Little Round Top.
It’s like Moss said in the last book. It’s a matter of who wants it more. The Confederates want it more. And they know how to get it: the reverse of the Great War.
This is more about the numbered dead. More observation: the big picture, not the individual.
Why? Because we have to. Because they’ll do it if we don’t.
[/spoiler]
But do you think Featherston’s going to try for the bomb in the next book. It think he’s going to get wind of the damnyankees building it, and then it’ll be a race.
In this timeline, the reason the South won was because the union found Lee’s orders splitting up his army. So, the only thing keeping us from being a divided country was someone misplacing a piece of paper with two cigars, and someone from the wrong side finding it.