Customer Reviews

Branch Point

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ever have the fantasy of going back in time and fixing something from history? My own favorite is trying to prevent the Civil War. Branch Point takes that idea and gives it a twist -- the heroes prevent the nuclear war that (in their alternate future) came from the Cuban Missile Crisis, but then had to keep doing it again and again as the world insisted repeatedly on obliterating itself.

This book, like Overshoot, is probably of more interest to Boomers than younger folks, as much of its appeal comes from the heroes living through the '60s, early and late. I mean, what person now in his or her '40s did not, as a child, want to meet and talk with Jack Kennedy? The treatment of Kennedy, incidentally, is in considerable depth, depicting a realistic outgrowth of his less delightful characteristics as well as the Camelot image. The characters of Jeffrey and of the narrator's Russian lover also come clear and deep.

One of the twists to the story is when the last jump is made, and the last preventive fix is in place, and the book ends -- and you realize where YOU are living, compared to where the heroine now is. Less serious than Overshoot, Branch Point moves faster and is more of a lark.

Crafting a book to be both idealistic and pessimistic seems like a tall order but Branch Point wrangles with both extreme outlooks. The human race's inability to escape the lure of nuclear destruction pervades this book-in Clee's vision, once we were armed ourselves with these weapons, we were doomed to use them But the notes of hope and grace that her characters express give the book the feel of an idealistic manifesto. Quite a nice balancing act. The addition of historical personages does not distract from the overall picture as in so many books. The private personas of the Kennedy brothers are deftly handled and help flesh out the stresses of the Cuban missile crisis. Although this is clearly the realm of science fiction, there is no science in the book. Scientists create a time machine, full stop. If you want to know how time machines work, pick another book. If you want see what people determined to prevent the earth's destruction do with such an invention, then pick up Branch Point.

I'll read any novel involving time travel or alternate worlds, but this one's at the top of my list. The depth of historical detail is impressive -- Clee certainly did her homework. As a San Franciscan, I thoroughly enjoyed how the final "branch point" in the book (no spoilers!) made use of a little-known but pivotal event in California history. The characters were vivid and believable (especially the narrator, Anna), the pacing of the story just brisk enough, and the book wound up with a very satisfying ending.

I loved this book. I especially liked Clee's keen grasp of recent history. I even learned a couple of things. Without giving anything away, I can say that the history courses I took (during the height of the cold war) never mentioned those particular Russian forts. If you are interested in recent social history or alternate history/time travel this book should interest you. It is well-written and the first line of the book is one of the best hooks I've ever read. I just wish I could get a hardback copy.

This is a time travel/alternate worlds book that is highly entertaining. The cover plug is right on about "beautiful, poetic prose" but the writing style is also very accessible and draws you right into the story. The book has a serious side in addition to the humor and to Clee's vivid re-creation of several period in recent (and not so recent) history. I hate books that are obviously written with sequels in mind, and this isn't one of them. Hopefully there will be one -- I spotted one place where I think Clee left the door open for a second book, not as free of the spectre of nuclear war as the one surviving main character would have wished.

"Branch Point" is what the series "Sliders" *ought* to have been. This is the cleverest treatment of time-travel and its inherent paradoxes that I've ever read, and the narrator's dry wit makes this book a sheer pleasure to read.

In "Branch Point," two young heroines and a hero live in the year 2062, in a parallel universe. In their universe, President John F. Kennedy severely miscalculated during the Cuban Missile Crisis. There was a catastrophic nuclear war in this universe, and pretty much all surface life was killed off, except for some lichens. The only human survivors are left inside an underground complex, which is simply called The Bunker. Fortunately, this bunker contains some real scientific geniuses, and they are eventually able to create a time machine. They use this time machine to send the three young people back to 1962, where they talk some sense into JFK. This conversation causes a "branch point," which makes the home universe of the three young people forever inaccessible to them, but at least creates a universe where there was no nuclear war. This new universe, incidentally, looks exactly like ours -- until the next time they need the time machine. They use the time machine to prevent war several times, and the branch points they exploit involve Bobby Kennedy's assassination in 1968, and in Russia, Boris Yeltsin's election by acclaim in 1991. Then, in 2013, there's another crisis looming...

Mona Clee has written a book for us about the most important things. Most of us, when we hear the phrase "the most important things," automatically think of some homey image of raising a family in the suburbs, or possibly a religious belief you hold dear, or, if you're incredibly far-seeing, maybe a charitable organization for feeding impoverished children across the world. Mona Clee helps us to see that we're missing the big picture by thinking this way. The most important thing to worry about is nuclear war. None of the other things we imagine to be important will even exist if there's a nuclear war. In her book, the heros have a time machine to help prevent a nuclear war. Do you have a time machine? (If you do, please e-mail me). If you don't, you need to think about the message Mona Clee is presenting here. Human nature is not going to change. Therefore, nuclear war is almost certainly inevitable. If it ever happens, then we all need to start thinking about the basics. Think about growing your own food indoors, think about shelter. And if you have free time, you might want to spend some of it looking at oncology sites on the internet, just to be safe... Just to drive home the reality of what Mona Clee is talking about -- if you can find a copy, look for a video called "Threads," which was a BBC made-for-television movie about nuclear war, made in 1985 by Barry Hines. It's so graphic, it makes "The Day After" look like "The Sound of Music" by comparison.

Mona Clee's book is both terrifying and entertaining. Sometimes the characters can be a little flighty, and unattractively immature, but I don't think that's very significant. Her main goal is clearly to get her readers thinking about nuclear war. Well, as you can see from this review, her book worked on me. Two thumbs up.

Since I wrote this book, I have to give it the same number of stars as my readers's average. :-) That said, I would like to point out that on pages 232-235, I briefly introduce the first black President of the United States, as a young child in the mid-1990's. Ladies and Gentlemen, on this day of Barack Obama's inauguration, I can only say: I LOVE being wrong. Please join me in hoping and praying that I'm just as wrong in my second book, Overshoot.

The best of alternative history changes one event and sees what will happen afterward. The best of alternative history teaches us about true history and possibilities. The best of alternative history forces us to grapple with the ethics of our decisions. This is the best of alternative history.

Branch Point describes a world destroyed by nuclear war, and the people who go back in time to save it and create an alternate world. Which gets destroyed by nuclear war. Which they attempt to save. I am in no way giving away the ending; this is merely the theme.

Clee has come up with an ingeneous device to explore alterate worlds through one coherent story. Written as if from a woman's diary, the sometimes colloquial or substandard English can be forgiven, as it is phrased as recollections of an individual. The characters are artfully expressed, and one truly comes to delight in the protagonist, Anna.

What would the world be like if more politicians than Bobby Kennedy had been assasinated? If John Kennedy had attacked Cuba? If the Yeltsin had been assasinated? These and other quesions are thorougly explored by Anna as she attempts to save the world. While the final scenario is replete with Rube-Goldbergesc effects, they remain believable, and provide a fascinating and engaging lesson in history.

The book is not merely an engrossing read, but more so, repeated ethical quandries. The reader will have to decide as they read whether they agree with the decisions of the protagonists or not, and if the reader would have done the same thing. Is it right that one man die to save millions? Is time travel even ethical? Read here to begin that journey.

Mona is a wildly inventive author, and this book proves it. Like Overshoot, a powerful cautionary tale with incredible plot twists and turns. Great speculative alternate history.