Customer Reviews

Napoleon Disentimed

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An excellent book long overlooked. I read this book back in the late 80's when it was part of Ben Bova's "Discovery Series". Don't let the new cover art throw you (yes, I think the cover art [is not good]) the book itself is a hilarious romp through an alternate universe that has the French Empire leading the world (thank God it's just fiction, eh?). The McNair of McNair is thrust into this universe and proceeds to make a mess of things for the established Napoleonic monarchy. Meanwhile the original Napoleon has been snatched away though the use of time travel by a group of disgruntled English scientists determined to change history and set the world on a more "English" course. Of course things really start to go wrong when, upon being kidnapped to the future, Napoleon suddenly makes a face like that of a gasping fish and drops dead from a heart attack..leaving the history of this alternate world in a tad bit of trouble..

This isn't serious alternate history, but it is a bit of fun to read. It's the story of how a conman, Napoleon Bonaparte, and a third man switch places in time and alternate history, with all sorts of missteps and manipulations as each party tries to use the situation for his own advantage. The main part of the story takes place in an alternate history where France won the Napoleonic Wars, giving rise to a long-lived empire lasting until the early 1990s, when the story takes place.