Favorite Forstchen Novel?

T

TheRedDuke

Spaceman
Anyone read any of Forstchen's non-Wing Commander works? I just finished reading 1945, a book which he co-wrote with Newt Gengrich. Very entertaining read; it had a lot of the same elements that I felt made End Run and Fleet Action so great. I was also a fan of his Lost Regiment Series when I was younger, although I haven't read any of the later books.
 
1945 is an interesting what-if take on the second world war. I was actually disappointed when the sequel was cancelled (I can see why it might not have sold a lot of copies) because I was curious as to how they planned to wrap up the situation that had started....
 
I happened to notice the Lost Regiment books at Barnes and Noble the other day. Having never read a Forstchen Book, I wanted to ask if they are any good. I have always been interested in the civil war and combining it with sci-fi sounds interesting if it's done well.
Actually, about a century ago I did read a WC book that was basically just a retelling of Secret Missions 2. Was that by Forstchen?
 
The only WC novel set around SM2 was Freedom Flight, by Mercedes Lackey and Ellen Guon (WC2 writer). Covered some of the points of SM2, but for the most part went off in its own little world, so to speak.
 
I only read the first two books in my youth, but I feel that Lost Regiment is sort of a love it or hate it series; it has a good amount of Civil War stuff if you're into historical fiction, but it is very abstract and requires a bit of a leap of faith as far as the premise is concerned. I loved the action and the dialog, which I feel Forstchen has a very firm grasp of. Colenol Kane is a very likeable and real-feeling character in Rally Cry, and definitely brings the story into perspective. I say pick up #1 for a couple of bucks, and if you like it, keep reading. I think there's 9 or 10 books currently in the series.

And if you're into Civil War alternate history, definitely check out Harry Turtledove. Guns of the South is a classic, as is How Few Remain.
 
Thanks, I'll definitely look into those. Have you ever heard of a series called "The Great War" or something like that? I think it takes place in an alternate civil war/WWI history where the Confederacy is allied with Germany in 1914.
 
Does anyone remember a novel written by Forstchen and Raymond E. Feist (of the Riftwar and Krondor series)?
 
I have not read any of Turtledove's Great War series, but I've read some pretty good reviews about most of the books in the series. I'd be curious if anyone here has a take on them.

I did however read some of his World War Series (also referred to as the Balance Series) and I wasn't overly impressed. A classic concept - aliens are invading the Earth, this time during the height of WWII, but the plot (particularly In the Balance) was kinda jumpy and uneven. Not his best.

Dundradal, I was also dissapointed to learn that the sequel to 1945 will probably never happen. It's too bad too, because the cliffhanger left me wanting more immediately. The planning for war at the end reminded me of the scramble for ships towards the end of Fleet Action. The "to be continued..." at the end of 1945 would be like reading FA right up to the eve of the Battle for Sirius, then never finding out what happens :D
 
yeah definately an uneasy feeling...."So it's going to be Patton vs Rommel?" I was curious to see how not only the battle of the atlantic would unfold but also the invasion of england...that book also gave me an interest in Otto Skornezy, he definately was one bad ass mofo...
 
I´ve read two books on Forstchen "Ice Prophet" series and I must say they're kinda bad. The backdrop is interesting enough, but the plot is a shameless copy of Dune. He is REALLY sadistic with the main characters (same thing in his WC novels) and murders, tortures and make them suffer a lot. The deaths are very gory and gruesome. Everybody speaks in clichès only. The Ice skating ships and the religious orders are the only interesting things.
 
Not to go off topic but I've got some other fairly well written (and one patheticly bad) alternate WW2 books (kinda got a thing for them) but was wondering what ones other people had read...I'll post the titles when I get home tonight...
 
To add to my Civil War alternate history post, Forstchen's new Gettysburg series looks very good too. Sure, alternate Civil War history has been done a thousand times, but for me, it never gets old.

Dundradal, not specifically WWII alternate history, but I got a copy of What Ifs? of American History for Christmas, and it's an excellent collection of essays from various historians. "No Pearl Harbor? FDR Delays the War" and "If Eisenhower Had Gone to Berlin" are two excellent analyses of classic WWII questions.
 
TheFraix said:
Does anyone remember a novel written by Forstchen and Raymond E. Feist (of the Riftwar and Krondor series)?
Click to expand...

Forstchen co-wrote Murder in Lamut and Honoured Enemy; haven't read 'em though.
 
Forstchen. Nice guy (even offered to set me up with his agent once my novel is finished!), and great author. Rally Cry is my favorite. It's probably the simplest of the Lost Regiment books, but that's part of its charm. Haven't read Gettysburg yet (waiting for paperback), but 1945 was great, too (Sergeant York? Come on, that's great!).

As one who have read many Harry Turtledove novels, I must say, he's a chore to read, but what he does with history is great.
 
What's the novel about? Forgive me if you've discussed this before, I'm still somewhat of a newbie. I just read the beginning of Justified Cause, part 5 and was very intrigued; I'm currently going back to read to read it from the start. Very well done, IMO.
 
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