Customer Reviews

Alternate Generals III

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This wonderful book is a collection of thirteen short stories; all based on historical "what-ifs" - alternative history. As you might expect with any collection of short stories by different authors, this book is a bit of a mixed bag. Overall, I found the early stories to be interesting but not great, but found that each story got better than the last. My favorite stories in the book are "East of Appomattox" by Lee Allred (in which the South won the Civil War, but lost the peace), and "First, Catch an Elephant" by Esther M. Friesner (in which a hopelessly incompetent soldier derails Hannibal's invasion of Italy).

So, if you like good alternative history stories, then this book is for you. I highly enjoyed this book, and think that you will too!

As with the other two volumes in the series, this book ranges far and wide through the what-if universe. My particular favorite is Old Hickory's stand in Savannah, written as a series of letters between two brothers. This is a well written collection. However, I did not like "First, Catch an Elephant" at all, it doesn't seem to fit the tone of the book, especially when compared to "Murdering Uncle Ho."

Just finished Alternate Generals III. LOVED IT!

I'm a military buff and often feel like I've already read everything worth reading about my favorite historical figures. So, I consider a well written alternate history story a real treat.

When the genre is handled well, the author stays true to the characters and only changes enough physical circumstances to get a new story rolling - leaving the reader with the excitement that comes with seeing a good sequel to a favorite movie. And that's how this book feels.

The one about Eisenhower, Patton and Dolittle in the Phillipines when Pearl Harbor gets hit was my favorite.

Oh all of the stories the kindest thing you can say about most of them is "uninspired." For the last time people Alternate History means Alternative not one more meaningless series of reversal stories and superman stories.

Reversal stories are what I call those stories where the historical events are the same but the players are on opposite sides. An example of this would be John Paul Jones fighting for the British Navy(Granted this appeared in Alternate Generals #1 but the theory is sound).

Superman stories are where the greatest military minds in history just so happen to be present for a particular battle at a particular time. One example of this story in this volume is "I shall return" where Billy Mitchell, George Patton and Omar Bradly stop the invasion of the Philippines.

The only story worth anything in this hum-drum so-so installment is about the conversion of the Mongols to the Jewish faith.

Overall-Are these stories all that bad or do I just read to many of them? I wish I knew which.

The dustjacket cover is a piece of irrelevant silliness; there are no stories in this volume involving Lee and Grant as Roman commanders. What it does contain is thirteen original short stories premised in a variety of different histories. The stories are:

"A Key to the Illuminated Heretic" by A. M. Dellamonica - Joan of Arc fails to recant, and instead survives to lead a sect of Christian dissidents fighting for their survival.

"The Road to Endless Sleep" by Jim Fiscus - A Roman centurion loyal to Marc Antony finds himself the commander of Cleopatra's bodyguard after their triumph over Octavian.

"Not Fade Away" by William Sanders - General Douglas MacArthur does not escape from the Philippines in 1942 but instead ends up a prisoner of the Japanese.

"I Shall Return" by John Mina - Having been assigned to the Philippines, Dwight Eisenhower and his subordinates George Patton and Jimmy Doolittle mount a much more successful defense of the islands from Japanese invasion.

"Shock and Awe" by Harry Turtledove - Instead of a religious following, Jesus inspires a military uprising against the Romans.

"A Good Bag" by Brad Linaweaver - During a 1910 seance, General Francis Younghusband receives a message from the distant past that warns of the necessity of war between Britain and Germany.

"The Burning Spear at Twilight" by Mike Resnick - Jomo Kenyatta devises a very modern campaign to drive the British from Kenya.

"'It Isn't Every Day of the Week'" by Roland J. Green - A daring naval decision by Captain Stephen Decatur leads to a very different War of 1812.

"Measureless to Man" by Judith Tarr - Genghis Khan's conversion to Judaism creates a much different Mongol Empire - and spawns a doctrinal conflict with their counterparts in Europe.

"Over the Sea from the Skye" by Lillian Stewart Carl - The Duke of Cumberland's defeat at the hands of Bonnie Prince Charlie creates a difficult situation for a young woman.

"First, Catch Your Elephant" by Esther M. Friesner - Hannibal's pachyderm-equipped invasion of Italy faces difficulty when his men run out of food in the Alps.

"East of Appomattox" by Lee Allred - Robert E. Lee is sent on a diplomatic mission to London for a victorious Confederacy facing difficulties.

"Murdering Uncle Ho" by Chris Bunch - In a North Vietnam occupied by invading American forces, a squad of commandos is sent on a mission to eliminate the surviving Communist leadership.

Like any short story collection, individual readers will have their own favorites from among the offerings, but the range of tales offers something for just about any fan of alternate history. Overall, this is a good entry to a solid series, one that offers intriguing tales into worlds that might have been.

Harry Turtledove edits ALTERNATE GENERALS III, which provides a series of alternate reality stories recreating history as it could have been had decisive battles and encounters been different. Any fan of alternate history science fiction will find this an excellent collection.

I like alternate history stories. That's what this is. Each short story asks "what if" to change an important point in history. They are generally very entertaining to me.

That being said, I did not care all that much for the first volume. The second was a great improvement and I had high hopes for this one. Instead, it fell somewhere between the first two.

The stories are generally creative and are technically well written but are not always that interesting. That does not keep the occasional nugget from being present but they are too far between.

I didn't even realize this book was out until I happened to pick it up. An excellent collection of stories, from the subtle to the totally weird, this collection is worth looking into. If you like alternative histories you won't be able to help liking this one.

The premise of this terrific alternate military history collection is to change circumstances of famous war heroes (depending on which side the reader is on) by placing them in some other scenario whether that is Joan of Arc not being burned or Robert E Lee named as ambassador to England for the triumphant Confederacy, etc. Modifying a pivotal moment or placing a victorious leader into a difference circumstance to "determine" whether they would remain winners are the underlying themes behind this strong anthology. Readers will appreciate all thirteen tales starring a diverse bunch of conquerors and generals, but not quite in the role that history reveals to us. Each tale is well written and fans of alternate history will complete the book in one sitting. Especially enlightening is how much other factors besides strong leadership play in success and how easily yet disconcertingly the Iraq freedom invasion seems so analogous even when looking for a missing elephant in Ancient Rome. This is a great series of tales that will keep the audience reflecting on war and leaders.

Harriet Klausner