Customer Reviews

Triumph

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

 

 

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.

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.

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!

A very nicely written novel. Triumph, by Ben Bova, does not attempt to paint detailed character maps or development. What the book does is take characters we are already familiar with, i.e. Stalin, Roosevelt, etc, or those that we can immediately relate to and use them to tell a tightly scripted tale.

This is not a traditional fiction novel or even a traditional alternate history tale. This book covers a very few days, about one month, and explores how events in April 1945 would have changed if Franklin Roosevelt had not died in mid April but Stalin had. The book is not as concerned with story telling as plausibility.

Triumph is a relatively short, tightly written book that I recommend with no reservations.

On one level, this book is a pleasant surprise: a serviceable narrative from a writer whose recent offerings have been unmitigated trash.
But on any further consideration, it's simply more of the same. The idea of the Stalingrad Sword possessing an actual malignant effect (in this case provided by plutonium) is brilliant, but little is done with it. The writing is typical first-draft churn-it-out stuff (Bova was the editor of two major fiction magazines during his career. Take a look at the prose here and consider this man advising anybody - ANYBODY - on writing. Any aspect of writing.)
The historical research is pro forma, as revealed in passing by the slandering of Wehrmacht general Gotthard Heinrici, portrayed as committing suicide out of loyalty to the fuhrer. Now, Heinrici was one of the great figures of German military humanism, a Nazi-hater (his wife was Jewish) who was forced into retirement over his defiance of the Gestapo and SS, and brought back only at the last possible moment for the defense of Berlin. He did a lot else too, much of which can be found in John Toland's "The Last 100 Days". You won't see it here.
The final point is a little abstract, though none the less pertinent. The progenitor of this book is one of the masterpieces of World War II literature, Evelyn Waugh's "Sword of Honor", which deals with the same presentation sword on a symbolic level, as representing all the hideous errors made by the democracries during the war. There's nothing new--or even particularly wrong--with pulpsters tearing off ideas from master writers (they got to get 'em somewhere), but when they do, I think a little bit in the way of acknowledgment would be nice. Perhaps an appearance by Captain Waugh himself? Anybody seeking a deeper treatment of the themes present in "Triumph" is strongly encouraged to go on to Waugh's trilogy. (and oh yeah; pace the reviewer a few slots down--it's pretty EZ 2 RD.)

(Let me add in passing that the book suffers from truly lousy copyediting -- Adolf becomes "Adolph" a couple pages on, etc. If they're going to take two years to put a book out, I think it's fair to expect 'em to put a little work in.)

I'm not sure what Ben Bova was trying to accomplish with this novel. He takes an interesting idea - that the British manage to assassinate Stalin in the dying months of WWII. He makes a logical conclusion - that the Western Allies would use Stalin's death as an excuse to ignore the Yalta treaties and push through Germany to Berlin. But ultimately what is the consequence of this action? We never get to find out, because the novel ends just as it is about to diverge from actual history (no one could believe that the loss of Stalin or Churchill in April 1945 would have any more effect on the result of WWII than did the loss of FDR). This is the most frustrating aspect of the book - that Bova sets up his new world so convincingly, but then doesn't make any conclusions about the effect of his alternate-history scenario.

So the plot is not the reason to read this book. For me, the most interesting and entertaining aspects are the depictions of the most famous of the characters. Gen. Montgomery and Harry Truman seem a little over-the-top, but the characterizations of Churchill, Roosevelt, Marshall, Patton, Hitler and Goering and most others are, from the perspective of 60-years later, spot-on. The book also is very easy to read, moving quickly and cutting between different perspectives to make it interesting. I think WWII afficionadoes will find a lot of little gems here - walk-on historical figures abound, and it appears that Bova has done his homework. But an intimate knowledge of WWII is not necessary to enjoy the book - you do not need to know who Eden and Beria and Kaltenbrunner are, because Bova's writing makes it clear what positions each character is, without it sounding like exposition.

Ultimately, this is a fun and entertaining book, an easy read with well-realised characters. Unfortunately, it's too short to allow for any kind of development of his alternate universe.

This is a great book about WW II. More a spi book then a soldier book. Well worth your money.

A very nicely written novel. Triumph, by Ben Bova, does not attempt to paint detailed character maps or development. What the book does is take characters we are already familiar with, i.e. Stalin, Roosevelt, etc, or those that we can immediately relate to and use them to tell a tightly scripted tale.

This is not a traditional fiction novel or even a traditional alternate history tale. This book covers a very few days, about one month, and explores how events in April 1945 would have changed if Franklin Roosevelt had not died in mid April but Stalin had. The book is not as concerned with story telling as it is with plausibility.

Triumph is a relatively short, tightly written book that I recommend with no reservations.

Although in my opinion this is almost more of a novella than an actual novel Ben Bova does a respectable job with his first foray into alternate history. The premise is quite believable as Churchill had a multitude of reasons for wanting Stalin out of the way and the method used would quite possibly have worked. (Slipping a sliver of plutonium into a ceremonial gift to Stalin.) By showing how the random events of history can be so easily altered Ben Bova leaves us to speculate on the possibilities of what could have been which is one of the main objectives of alternate history novels. In this case this novel accomplishes its objective. However, as a fan of Harry Turtledove's I have come to expect a little bit more. As other reviewers have stated this book does leave the reader hanging at the end. My only true complaint is I wish Mr. Bova had invested a little more time and effort in this book and fleshed it out a bit more. Or as one other reviewer stated perhaps he will eventually come up with a sequel. By itself it is a decent piece of specualtive fiction that could have been so much more.

Ben Bova's novel, 'Triumph,' is a look at just how the closing days of World War Two could have been different if Stalin had not survived to enslave Eastern Europe. April, 1945: Winston Churchill, fearing the coming cold war with Soviet Russia, gives an order that will change history- the assassination of Josef Stalin. The events that follow from this fantastic decision alter the course of the war slightly, but very definatly. Bova's use of historical characters is first rate. From General George S. Patton seeking a way to beat the Russians to Berlin, to an insane Adolf Hitler hidden in his bunker, to Franklin Roosevelt overseeing the final victory, to a young Yuri Gagarin with dreams of traveling to the stars, this a fun and interesting look at what might have been.