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Title: Fox at the Front by Douglas Niles, Michael Dobson ISBN: 0-7653-0479-1 Publisher: Forge Pub. Date: 01 November, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.83 (6 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Ick.
Comment: I enjoy a good piece of military alt-hist, which this, unfortunately, is not. It's an interesting premise, where Hitler dies in the July 20 assasination attempt, but one that's been done too many times over. It's not even done that well. The book reads like an Arnold movie, with the hero saving the day, and the noble bad guy switches sides, and the good guys win in the end. This second part is no different. It's pretty much just the same story as the first novel, wrapped up in a different package. I give it an extra star for creativity, but this is really just absurd dreaming about what it would have been like to have Rommel on the "good guys'" team.
Rating: 4
Summary: An exciting sequel to "Fox on the Rhine"!
Comment: I was very pleased to see that authors Miles and Dobson followed up the entertaining "Fox on the Rhine" with a continuation of the story line to a more satisfying conclusion.
At the end of the first novel , "The Fox" , Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel , has rather preemptorally surrendered to the allied army after the bridges across the Meuse were bombed by allied aircraft , stranding a large segment of the Panzerarmee on the other side without a chance of resupply.
In "Fox at the Front" , we are treated to the reasons for Rommel's prompt capitulation. We then see Rommel as a true German patriot , wanting to save his homeland from further devestation and subjugation by the Soviet Union. The other really central and essental character is US general George S. Patton , old "blood and guts" himself. Initially , Rommel's surrender order is obeyed by the elements of the Wehrmacht under his immediate control , but the agressive Obersturmbahnfuhrer Jochen Peiper of the SS prevents the forces under general Heinz Guderian from complying with the order. The SS divisions wind up attacking the remaining Wehrmacht forces , causing the emergency formation of an Allied-German alliance with the surrendered forces under Rommel's command.
Basically , the war continues : "German Republic" forces , allong with Patton's 3rd Army continue to pursue Peiper's SS forces through the Rheinpfaltz , and force the crossing of the Rhine itself in an effort to terminate the conflict. Enter the Russians ; Stalin sees an opportunity for an easy victory in the east , and hence breaks the "truce" earlier negotiated with Heinrich Himmler.
Many subplots and new characters keep the reader well entertained. Many of the characters from the first novel , such as Rommel's devoted driver , Kark-Heinz Claussen , find expanded roles in this sequel. Through many exciting twists and turns , we are brought to a rousing finish at the siege of Berlin -- a standoff between the Grman-American-British forces facing the Soviet juggernaut of Marshall's Zukhov and Konev.
My general "take" on this AH novel : MUCH better than the first effort ; the authors cleaned up their usage of the German military ranks , including the somewhat arcane SS ranks. The characters are not as "cartoon-like" as in the "Fox on the Rhine" , and are much more three dimensional. There are actually exceptional descriptive writing passages later in the book. The writing styles have improved alot , and the action tends to flow more seamlessly than before. Overall a strong 4 star effort , and definitely "must read".
Rating: 5
Summary: Brilliant!
Comment: This is an absolutely riveting, page-turner of a book. The plot is amazingly sophisticated -- diverging from real events in absolutely plausible ways that demonstrate just how contingent history is - and the characters are brilliantly drawn and so true to life one gets a deeper understanding of the real personalities that shaped (actual) history. This is, for instance, one of the best portraits of Patton since George C. Scott's immortal movie portrayal, and a completely engrossing dissection of Rommel, his nemesis cum ally in this alternative universe. The character of Franklin Roosevelt is drawn with a fine and subtle insight, befitting the man himself, and Stalin is absolutely chilling - the more so for his almost seeming normality. If you want a book that you can't put down and that brings the strategy, tactics, horror and triumph of war alive, read Fox at the Front.
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Title: 1901 by ROBERT CONROY ISBN: 0891418431 Publisher: Presidio Press Pub. Date: 30 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Fox on the Rhine by Douglas Niles, Michael Dobson ISBN: 0812574664 Publisher: Forge Pub. Date: 17 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: In the Presence of Mine Enemies by Harry Turtledove ISBN: 0451529022 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The War That Never Was by Michael A. Palmer, Michael Palmer ISBN: 0743474511 Publisher: I Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: 1634 : The Galileo Affair by Andrew Dennis, Eric Flint ISBN: 0743488156 Publisher: Baen Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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