Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Two Georges: The Novel of an Alternate America by Richard Dreyfuss, Harry Turtledove ISBN: 0-8125-4459-5 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: November, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.15 (66 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: An historical speculation full of insight and intrigue.
Comment: I have to take exception with some other critics who say that "The Two Georges" is a disappointment. While I do agree that the book could have used some shortening (it seems sometimes to develop plot points simply in order that the main characters can explore obscure corners of their "alternative America"), I found the story both intriguing and credible. It's not unreasonable to think that, had it not been for a bit of luck and a growing resentment against onerous British taxation, there would today be no United States. Authors Turtledove and Dreyfuss are not being unpatriotic by suggesting that George Washington (never a particularly strong leader, according to many biographies) could have facilitated the orderly British control of America, rather than being the father of a new nation. They're merely recognizing the obstacles that stood in the way of American independence. And their extrapolation of what the world might have been like, had America remained under colonial restraint and not developed the sort of independent geniuses it did, is wonderful and funny. John Kennedy as the editor/publisher of a revolutionary magazine? The unctuous Richard Nixon as a used-car dealer? Anything is possible when you start changing the timeline as we understand it.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good thing Turtledove was involved
Comment: If this was just a plain old mystery novel, which "The Two Georges" is at its heart, this would be a pretty boring book. Fortunately, Harry Turtledove's alternate world gives it a major boost.
The American Revolution never happened, and without the American Revolution, the French and Russian Revolutions never happen either, so geopolitics are locked in a three-way dance between the British Empire, the Bourbon Franco-Spanish Holy Alliance, and Tsarist Russia. These powers control most of the world, while the lesser powers, Portugal, Denmark, Japan, and Switzerland control the rest. Germany and Italian are nothing more than a loose collection of regional authorities.
One of the crown jewels of the British Empire is the NAU, North American Union, the provinces that would have been much of the United States and Canada. And here, the story begins.
The story is so sterotypical it's not even funny. The protagonist is a hard drinking divorcee, bitter with his life, but dedicated to his job. His partner, friend, and foil is an older black man. He is the hero's moral voice, he's a family man, passed over partially because of his race, but he has the strength and character his partner lacks. The love interest is beautiful and brillant, with a troubled background and strange connection to the case. The villians are a group of radical racist political dissents. The rest of the cast is paint by numbers.
Yes, the plot's a carbon copy, but the setting vitalizes it. British controlled America is less advanced and more polite than the reality.
Turtledove does a good job as usual in adapting the story, but the story itself fails with some points. Because of its unoriginal storyline, the rest of the story suffacates.
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent worldbuilding, cute humor
Comment: In a world where Geogre Washington travelled to England and addressed his issues with George III, the United States never existed. Instead, a North American Union, consisting of both Canada and the U.S. (except Alaska and Hawaii) remains a part of the globe-encompassing British Empire. That Empire is threatened only by the Russians (still an empire) and the combined French and Spanish (still a Kingdom). America is less heavilly populated (no vast migrations from Italy, Eastern Europe, China, or Germany swelled its population) and technologically behind our own science. But it is also a more peaceful society where guns are rare and where years have gone by since the last Mountie was killed in action.
The symbol of the North American Union is the portrait of the Two Georges--Washington and Hannover reconciling their differences. When this painting is stolen, apparently by the terrorist Sons of Liberty organization, Mountie Colonel Thomas Bushell is tasked with tracking it down and returning it to the government--before King Charles III arrives in the new world. Bushell's investigation takes him from California to northwest Canada, to the Pennsylvania coal mines, Boston, and finally Victoria (Washington D.C.). But the portrait and the terrorists who stole it remain ahead of him, almost as if they had been warned of his coming.
Authors Richard Dreyfuss and Harry Turtledove create a fascinating alternate history. There was a time when supporters of complete independence from England were few. Compromise would have been possible if George III had been sane and lucky. And without independence, America would never have become the open door for the world's poor and freedom-seeking. The smaller population (with better treated Indians and African-Americans) would have led to fewer scientific advances. Dreyfuss and Turtledove lace their narrative with historical characters including Sir Martin Luther King, now Governor General, Tricky Dick Nixon (a car salesman shot from the grassy knoll) and John F. Kennedy (editor of a radical newspaper and sexual predator), adding humor to their world-building conjecture.
Bushell, with his continuing anger over his wife's betrayal and his problems with alcohol abuse makes an interesting character. The mystery, however, was a little too simple to support almost six hundred pages of narrative (in the paperback edition). THE TWO GEORGES is an interesting story, fascinating alternate history worldbuilding, filled with quips of humor and references to movies (especially Casa Blanca) and political history. It isn't the best of Turtledove, but it is certainly an enjoyable read.
 |
Title: American Empire: The Victorious Opposition by HARRY TURTLEDOVE ISBN: 034544423X Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 29 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
 |
Title: Gunpowder Empire (Crosstime Traffic, Book 1) by Harry Turtledove ISBN: 076530693X Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 05 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
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 |
 |
Title: 1901 by ROBERT CONROY ISBN: 0891418431 Publisher: Presidio Press Pub. Date: 30 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
 |
Title: Ring of Fire by Eric Flint ISBN: 074347175X Publisher: Baen Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
