Final Impact - Axis of Time, Bk 3 Author:John Birmingham It started when a wormhole experiment went horribly wrong, sending an American-led naval fleet eight decades back in time -- dropping fully-armed 21st century warships into the middle of what was to be the most spectacular U.S. triumph of World War II. But by thier very presence, the time-displaced sailors rendered their own history null and voi... more »d. And when state-of-the art military technology wound up in enemy hands, it was anyone's guess how history would unfold.
Now it's 1944, and a storm of events has led to a tipping point. With full knowledge of how the war had been fought and how it is supposed to end, the Axis powers are working feverishly to build their own version of the atom bomb. In the Southern California think tank called the Zone, uptime researchers are working just as hard, turning out what locals call 'advanced' technology but uptimers consider museum pieces. And there are those who want to see 21st century laws and customs fail. Meanwhile, old-fashioned warfare wages on land and at sea.
In Europe, hardened reporter Julia Duffy battles the Nazis alongside 20th century forces led by General George S. Patton. Under Himmler's nose, Major General Paul Brasch works to misdirect German funds into genetic research while passing secrets about Hitler's nuclear program back to the British. Hard-won intelligence indicates that Stalin may be about to unleash another catastrophic wave of destruction across an already devastated Europe. And on the retrofitted U.S.S. Hillary Clinton, Admiral Phillip Kolhammer deals with Jisaku Hidaka, the Japanese governor responsible for the atrocities on Hawaii, and wonders what price he and his uptime warriors will pay for disrupting their own past...« less
Great ending to a great "what if" trilogy. Fans of alternate history should not miss this. This book ties up the story lines nicely but still leaves us wanting more. Here's hoping Birmingham revisits this universe again.