Score One for Dr. Forstchen! (June 16, 2008)

[Bandit LOAF]

Congratulations to veteran Wing Commander novelist Dr. William Forstchen for reaching the New York Times Bestseller List with his new book, Days of Infamy. Co-authored with Newt Gingrich, Days of Infamy is the second part in an 'alternate history' story about the second World War. The book debuted at 11 on the Fiction Bestseller list -- an impressive start! It's too bad all these people don't know what they're missing in his other books... You can find a press release about the event here.

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Original update published on June 16, 2008

 

[Dundradal]

I recently finished this book and thought it was a nice read. It has a few points that bothered me, but overall definitely worth the price if you are interested in alternate-WWII history.

 

[Farbourne]

Not having read his other books yet, here's a dumb question. Is Forstchen (and Gingritch, I guess) a better author of alternative history than Harry Turtledove?

I ask because it seem like there are two different skills necessary for writing good alternative history--you have to be able to come up with interesting, credible, well-researched storyline ideas, and then you have to actually be a good writer that can produce realistic characters and engaging action.

Most alternative history fiction I've read does one or the other well, but rarely both.

 

[Dundradal]

Forstchen and Gingrich essentially take the first six months of the war and repackage it into their longer Pearl Harbor battle. This is one of the things that bothered me about the book (WWII Naval Aviation has become my speciality as a MH). They almost borrow too much so that it becomes predictable at points. You can tell they did their research (although they may have relied on older sources for some things) but at times it just didn't click for me.

The first book (December 8th) I thought was weaker, but had an interesting story. This book does a nice job of fixing some of the problems and providing an exciting read for someone not as familiar with the events. I read it not long after finishing my Master's thesis on the evolution of American Fast Carrier doctrine so my mind was not as ready to accept some of what Forstchen was saying.