Weapons of Choice (The Axis of Time Trilogy, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

by John Birmingham (Author)
Key Phrases: multinational force, combat goggles, chopper bay, Slim Jim, Leyte Gulf, Lieutenant Commander Black (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
At the start of Australian author Birmingham's stellar debut novel, a United Nations battle group, clustered around the U.S.S. Hillary Clinton (named after "the most uncompromising wartime president in the history of the United States"), is tasked in the year 2021 with stopping ethnic cleansing by an Islamist regime in Indonesia. When an experiment goes horribly wrong on a special ship doing research on wormholes, most of the battle group is deposited in the middle of the U.S. fleet on its way to Midway in 1942. The WWII carriers and supporting vessels attack a Japanese Self-Defense Force ship, triggering devastating computer-operated defensive fire from the 21st-century fleet. While the action sequences are outstanding, this book really shines in depicting the cultural shock that both navies experience. The Clinton group reflects a multicultural society that finds the racist and sexist attitudes of 1942 America almost as repugnant as those of the Axis powers, while the mere thought of non-whites and women not just serving in uniform but holding command drives many Allied officers and civilian officials apoplectic. The author also subtly shows the ways in which 20-plus years of the War on Terrorism have changed our attitudes. Unlike many alternate histories, the novel avoids the wish-fulfillment aspect inherent in the genre. This is the first of what should be a hugely (and deservedly) successful series.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
"This is an excellent combination of near future military SF and alternate history, and a riveting story to boot."–Eric Flint, author of 1632 and 1634: The Galileo Affair

"This book has everying: time travel, the British royalty, things that go boom, and unrelenting action. Read the opening at your own risk: you won't be doing anything else until you finish it."–Sean WILLIAMS, co-author of Heirs of Earth and Star Wars: Force Heretic: Reunion


From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345457137
• ISBN-13: 978-0345457134
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (143 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,675 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Axis of Time Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

139 of 151 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not Great, August 10, 2004

By	A Guy from Central Illinois "Central Illinois... (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Weapons of Choice (The Axis of Time Trilogy, Book 1) (Paperback)

'Weapons of Choice' is a good book, but like all books that are intended to be series, one gets the feeling that while the Author could've wrapped up the whole thing, they left a lot of threads dangling just to lead you into the next book.

That's the case here - a 21st Century Naval Fleet winds up in WWII, and while they could've eviscerated the Japanese Navy "midway" through the book (heh, heh) they don't. Yeah, there are story reasons why they didn't but the main reason seems to be so that the Japanese navy will be around in books 2 and 3.

When all 3 books are published, the series itself will probably rate 4 or 5 stars. However, ya gotta rate the book as a standalone entity.

Good things in the book:
- Nice forward looking history. The fleet is from 2021 and an ongoing war against Terrorism and Militant Islam has shaped its men and women
- Nice treatment of the mismatch between 1940/2021 mindsets
- Great techno warfare stuff, especially how body armor/advanced ammo changes the land battle paradigm
- Recognition that the characters from 2021 would hold certain 1940s characters in awe - Spruance for one, others you'll have to find out about - and how the 1940s characters react to this
- Great overall update on the "Final Countdown" scenario
- Subtle nods throughout the book at other alt history characters and scenarios. You'll know 'em when you see 'em.

Things which hacked down the star rating
- The scene in which the fleets first meet is just ~too~ drawn out in some places and too short on description in others.
- A few times in which suspension of disbelief extends all the way to enabling seasoned warriors to make decisions that result in expension of precious advanced ammo. The reasons for doing so are given in the book, but they're not believable....
- The 2021'ers are generally paragons of behavior and professionalis- not a black sheep in the family, which any military vet will tell you just isn't realistic.
- A slight lack of depth. Too many of the characters are all surface, and in some cases (the female reporter) they're all surface even at their inner core. The forties characters are generally given a two-dimensional treatment, which is unfair to them and their time.
- Constant use of the term "Jap". I'm not big on PC and never understood why that term wasn't as acceptable as "Yank" or "Brit" or "Aussie", but anyway, its used A LOT in this book, by characters from both times. For all the multicultalism of the modern characters, no one objects to the use of the term. The author is Austrailian - perhaps the term isn't pejorative down under?

Overall, this review comes out a bit harsher than I'd like. I read the whole thing in a day, and I'll read the whole series. I'm glad I bought it.

Even so, there are a lot of things in this book that are "4 and 5 Star" but the book itself just doesn't quite make it to that level.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seal of Approval from a 1942 "Temp" , July 24, 2005

By	C. Saxe - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Weapons of Choice (The Axis of Time Trilogy, Book 1) (Paperback)

I will not add yet another summary of this book, as there are plenty of reviews already posted that serve this purpose. (My only gripe: the first meeting of the Multinational fleet from the future and the '42 fleet was a bit drawn out.) I shared this book with my father, who served on the USS New Orleans from 1943 until 1946 (she was stuck on China Service clearing mines for a full year after the Nipponese surrender). Keeping in mind some of the comments posted here (that the 1942 contemporaries - or Temps - were a bit two-dimensional), and the fact that the New Orleans is sunk at the beginning of the book, I was curious what he thought. Well, he loved it from start to finish. He thought the concept was great, and the writing was sound. In fact, he was practically giddy reading it!

We discussed the whole aspect of the racism/ignorance of the Temps. He did not deny it was rampant, especially since many sailors did not know better. And what's more, he was certain they would not have been receptive to wartime "sensitivity training"; since fatalism was rampant. Why pay attention to it, when a sudden torpedo or kamikaze could end it all? Besides, there was a war to win. This "lack of sensitivity" carries over to Spruance and Halsey's discussion (in the book) as to whether a POW rescue is a wise use of resources.

My dad's only gripe, the name of the futuristic supercarrier, and the fact it wasn't sunk at the onset. But I think he is willing to forgive!

47 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great new entry into the alternate-timeline genre, June 2, 2004

By	bubicus (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Weapons of Choice (The Axis of Time Trilogy, Book 1) (Paperback)

I'm embarrassed to say that I picked up this book only because I noticed the tagline, "World War II - with an astonishing twist." Since the book was in the sci-fi section of the bookstore, I guessed it was an alternate-history type of book. However, I was so engrossed in the story that I ended up spending an hour and a half reading through the first 250 pages of the book at the bookstore, and I eventually bought it (partially influenced out of guilt, hehe). The book extends the current "war on terrorism" into 2021, then takes a task force of that violent, future time and drops them into 1942. The imagination of the author far outstrips anything like the movie "The Final Countdown". Imagine what would happen if laser-guided, wide-area cluster munitions were unleashed upon early 20th-century fortifications, supported by attack helicopters and other combined arms. It's simultaneously frightening and compelling. Add to that a comparison of the social conditions of the 1940s with the multinational, multiethnic cultures of the 21st century, and you get an excellent book. I can't wait for the next one in the trilogy!