Triumph [Hardcover]

Ben Bova (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1993

In an alternate past, World War II winds down to a radically different conclusion with the United States and Great Britain making a dash for Berlin while Goering sues for a separate peace.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The prolific SF author of the Voyagers series suggests what might have happened at the end of WW II if Stalin had died and Roosevelt had lived. In Bova's scenario, Winston Churchill presents Joseph Stalin with a ceremonial sword at the 1943 conference in Tehran. Fearing a Soviet attempt to dominate Europe once Germany is defeated, and loathing Stalin as a dictator worse than Hitler, Churchill slips a piece of plutonium into the sword, dooming Stalin to death by radiation poisoning. Further, FDR has given up smoking, thus preventing the stroke that in reality caused his death toward the end of the war. And so a radically different postwar Europe comes into being. Featuring Eisenhower, Patton and other known figures, and covering the 30 days of April 1945, this tale had potential. Written in functional, mechanical prose and devoid of narrative drive, it seems less a work of fiction than facile historical speculation.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As World War II winds to its inevitable close, a secret message from London to Moscow launches a daring strike at the "heart" of the Soviet Union, the infamous Josef Stalin. Part wishful thinking, part historical re-creation, Bova's venture into alternate history demonstrates his talent for revealing those lucky or unlucky "accidents" by which history is made. World War II buffs and sf readers in general will want this sf veteran's latest work.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 253 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312853599
• ISBN-13: 978-0312853594
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,528,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A different take on alternate history, February 5, 1998

By 

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This review is from: Triumph (Mass Market Paperback)

Triumph, by Ben Bova, details a single month, April, 1945, at the end of World War II. However, Bova's World War II is different than the one in our world. Franklin Delano Roosevelt has given up smoking and does not die on April 12. Churchill, meanwhile, has put a small piece of plutonium into a ceremonial sword he presented to Joseph Stalin at the Tehran Conference and has arranged to have the plutonium removed from its lead casing and placed in Stalin's proximity.

Triumph is pure alternate history with no real science fictional content. The sort of story which makes the reader wonder why alternate history is included as a subgenre of science fiction. Nevertheless, it fails to completely satisfy the reader in a number of ways.

Bova uses a large number of viewpoint characters during the 250 page book, ranging from the Roosevelt, Churchill and Patton down through the ranks to Grigori Gagarin, Kim Philby and fictional US army grunts. Because of the large cast, Bova is not fully able to define each character, relying more on the reader's own impression of the historical figures than trying to bring his own interpretation to them. Because there are so many characters, Bova is frequently not able to tie up all the plot threads he has begun. Grigori Gagarin's younger brother, for instance, is Yuri Gagarin. He appeared in a couple of scenes with his older brother, extolling the virtues of piloting and spaceflight, but Bova doesn't give any indication that the altered events of April, 1945, including Grigori's death, will change the course of Yuri's life.

Another failure on Bova's part is in description. Although he tells us the story takes place in April, 1945, there is little descriptive indication that the story is set in the 1940s. The major players, Stalin, Khrushchev, Churchill, Patton, could almost be in any time, shielded from the larger world and its incidentals by the trappings of state. The lower levels, Gagarin, the American soldier Jarvik and others also slog their way through a world which has no feel of a particular era. Except for the tactical and strategic situations Bova creates, they could as easily be fighting World War I or Viet Nam for all the details and atmosphere Bova creates.

When all is said and done, very little seems to have changed between our world and Bova's alternate world. April ends nearly the same as it did in our own world, Roosevelt is alive while Stalin is dead. There are a few other minor changes as well. Bova gives no indication how these changes will continue to effect the world. He hints that an atomic bomb or two will still be used to end the war in Japan, but mostly he seems to have shown a case of divergent history which converges at the same time.

Triumph stands as a rebuttal to the "Great Man" theory of history. In this book, it doesn't matter if Stalin or Roosevelt live or die. While most alternate history takes the opposing viewpoint, Triumph shows where Bova stands on the issue. The same issue is raised in Connie Willis's recent novel, To Say Nothing of the Dog, in which rival Victorian historians argue whether history is created by forces or individuals.

Triumph is a well-written, easy to read book. Although it differs from most alternate histories in its stand on the idea that individuals matter, that very difference, which should make it stand out, tends to dilute the message of the book by creating the feeling that very little happened in the novel.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying End-of-WW2 Alternate History, November 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Triumph (Mass Market Paperback)

Cliches can't be avoided here--this is a page-turner. Bova's point of divergence is original: Instead of Roosevelt dying in April 1945, Stalin does--at the instigation of Churchill. From this premise, Bova posits (and answers) several intriguing questions: Who will succeed Stalin? Will the Soviets figure out how Stalin died, and if so, how will they react? Will the Western Allies be more receptive to a compromise peace proposed by Goering, or will they try to take Berlin instead?

Bova deftly handles these scenarios and brings the (relatively) short novel to a convincing and believable conclusion. It was well worth the money in hardcover, and alternate history fans should snap it up in paperback. It is a worthy addition to any serious AH collection.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice main-stream alternate history novel, January 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Triumph (Mass Market Paperback)

What if Roosevelt had lived on, and Churchill had got rid of Stalin? This novel is mostly about what these events would have meant to the USA and to Russia in 1945 -- the novel ends with the war, so the long-term consequences are not discussed. So where good alternate history makes you wonder how our world is just a result of random events, this novel mostly lets you see what Beria, Khrushchev et al. would have done when Stalin died in the middle of the war. The book is well written, so it's nice to read. But don't expect it to change your life!