Designated Targets - Axis of Time, Bk 2 Author:John Birmingham It’s World War II and the A-bomb is here to stay. — The only question: Who’s going to drop it first? — The Battle of Midway takes on a whole new dimension with the sudden appearance of a U.S.-led naval task force from the twenty-first century, the result of a botched military experiment. State-of-the-art warships are scattered across t... more »he Pacific, armed to the teeth with the latest instruments of mass destruction.
Nuclear warheads, rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47s, computer-guided missiles–all bets are off as the major powers of 1942 scramble to be the first to wield the weapons of tomorrow against their enemies. The whole world now knows of the Allied victory in 1945, and the collapse of communism decades later. But that was the first time around.
With the benefit of their newly acquired knowledge, Stalin and Hitler rapidly change strategies. A Russian-German ceasefire leaves the Führer free to bring the full weight of his vaunted Nazi war machine down on England, while in the Pacific, Japan launches an invasion of Australia, and Admiral Yamamoto schemes to seize an even greater prize . . . Hawaii.
Even in the United States the newcomers from the future are greeted with a combination of enthusiasm and fear. Suspicion leads to hatred and erupts into violence.
Suddenly it’s a whole new war, with high-tech, high-stakes international manipulations from Tokyo to D.C. to the Kremlin. As the world trembles on the brink of annihilation, Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Hitler, and Tojo confront extreme choices and a future rife with possibilities–all of them apocalyptic.« less
Really enjoyed this series. Very good military knowledge and some excellent characters. He takes the new technology and shows how it might be used. Our recent ancestors are almost barbarians and know it. The whole war is changed and new alliances are made. Well thought out.
Bobbie H. (BobbieH) reviewed Designated Targets (Axis of Time, Bk 2) on
The second book in the Axis of Time Trilogy. The Emergence is no longer secret, and the historical events that would have unfolded are no longer facts as both sides know the supposed outcomes. The Multinational Task Force has been scattered amongst Allied resources in an attempt to halt a renewed Axis push, and a new kind of arms race has begun.
I am amazed at how much I enjoyed this book. Typically, intensely militaristic SF isn't my thing, but this series just gets better and better. There have been major changes to history, and the author doesn't shy away from characters realizing that and reacting to it. The sudden introduction of a mass of people who believe in and live by civil liberties that haven't even been conceived of, would be a huge shock to a culture. And on a personal level, knowing whom you would have married, and when and how you may have died had events taken a different path? These are the kinds of things that are usually ignored in a book with such a vast cast of characters and battle focus, but I'm pleased to say that here it is not ignored. Again, the action is fast and furious, with scenes that are detailed and graphic. The plotting is great, assuming a logical path of "what would X do with this knowledge?". In my opinion, this is shaping up to be one of the best alternate history series offerings yet!
Stumbled across John Birmingham and the first book in this series and became captivated by this alternate history. The characters are deeply developed, the technology and detail is highlighted but not overwhelming (like I find some Clancy novels to be in moments).
These books are not what I would call an easy read but they have held my attention and I can't wait to read the last of the series.