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Product Description
Product Description
What if - you went to sleep as usual in 2004 - and woke up in 1934? What if - you had vital knowledge about the forthcoming Second World War, and could prove that you came from the future? What could you do to affect British policy, strategy, tactics and equipment? How might the course of the conflict be changed? And what if there was another throwback from the future - and he was working for the enemy? The novel follows the story of these two 'throwbacks' as they pit their wits against each other. A very different Second World War rages across Europe, the Mediterranean, Russia, the North Atlantic and the Pacific, until its shocking conclusion.
About the Author
Anthony G Williams is a military technology historian. He is the
author of 'Rapid Fire: The Development of Automatic Cannon, Heavy Machine
Guns and their Ammunition for Armies, Navies and Air Forces', and the
co-author of 'Assault Rifle: the Development of the Modern Military Rifle
and its Ammunition' (with Maxim Popenker) and the three-volume series
'Flying Guns: Development of Aircraft Guns, Ammunition and Installations'
(with Emmanuel Gustin).
author of 'Rapid Fire: The Development of Automatic Cannon, Heavy Machine
Guns and their Ammunition for Armies, Navies and Air Forces', and the
co-author of 'Assault Rifle: the Development of the Modern Military Rifle
and its Ammunition' (with Maxim Popenker) and the three-volume series
'Flying Guns: Development of Aircraft Guns, Ammunition and Installations'
(with Emmanuel Gustin).
'The Foresight War', set in an alternate Second World War, was his first
novel, published in 2004. His second novel, 'Scales', was published in
2007.
The author lives in England and maintains a website at
quarry.nildram.co.uk
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I know it's a cliche, but it's true. I have missed two deadlines for a work project because of this book!
Absolutely fascinating. Well researched and fairly well written. It's obvious that this is Williams' first fictional work because the character development is so weak. However, the historical timeline is unfurled at such a pace that one hardly has time to notice.
One reviewer felt that it was unfair that the German time traveller was constrained by his morality. In fact the storyline adequately covers the problems of conscience Professor Hermann faces, and it seems inconceivable that any sane person from our time could go back and voluntarily help the Nazis win the war.
Some reviewers have mentioned they felt the book could have been longer. My feeling is it's a good job it isn't - I need my life back! Seriously, I agree that the book could have been longer. There would have been many opportunities for the author to pad the text with accounts of specific events. But I think the result would have been less entertaining, and in danger of becoming turgid. I do see the opportunity for Williams to repeat this formula for other conflicts and political events of the century. If he does that, I would urge him to have future work professionally proof read. There are a number of typos and errors in the text.
If you read and loved Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising", then you absolutely must read this book.
Absolutely fascinating. Well researched and fairly well written. It's obvious that this is Williams' first fictional work because the character development is so weak. However, the historical timeline is unfurled at such a pace that one hardly has time to notice.
One reviewer felt that it was unfair that the German time traveller was constrained by his morality. In fact the storyline adequately covers the problems of conscience Professor Hermann faces, and it seems inconceivable that any sane person from our time could go back and voluntarily help the Nazis win the war.
Some reviewers have mentioned they felt the book could have been longer. My feeling is it's a good job it isn't - I need my life back! Seriously, I agree that the book could have been longer. There would have been many opportunities for the author to pad the text with accounts of specific events. But I think the result would have been less entertaining, and in danger of becoming turgid. I do see the opportunity for Williams to repeat this formula for other conflicts and political events of the century. If he does that, I would urge him to have future work professionally proof read. There are a number of typos and errors in the text.
If you read and loved Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising", then you absolutely must read this book.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm a fan of alternate history books and with the exception of a couple of flaws at the beginning and end, this was a very good read. It is fast-paced with a mix of historical and fictional figures, technology appearing early (e.g. jets) and has a familiar if somewhat different path that WWII follows.
This would have deserved 5 stars if:
- We knew how and why the time travellers arrived when and where they did. Why no similar travellers arriving in Italy, Russia, France or the USA?
- The ending didn't appear rushed, leaving some story threads unresolved such as the war in the Pacific.
This would have deserved 5 stars if:
- We knew how and why the time travellers arrived when and where they did. Why no similar travellers arriving in Italy, Russia, France or the USA?
- The ending didn't appear rushed, leaving some story threads unresolved such as the war in the Pacific.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
...and no bad thing! I enjoyed this, its a densely-packed fast-paced novel that charts on the progress of an alternate WWII where both Britain and Germany get the chance to correct some of their 'mistakes' in advance. It's a little short on characterisation, but this isn't suprising given the ground it has to cover.
How much you will ultimately enjoy The Foresight War will probably depend on how much you agree with the author's conclusions; I think most of his views are sound (certainly the behaviour of the Nazi leadership), although ironically, given the author's area of expertise, I'm a bit dubious about some of the the technical assets at Britain's disposal; (*spoiler* the helicopters and tank carrying hovercraft were very cool, but in the real world neither vehicle was really useful until powerful gas turbine engines were available; I don't think piston engined versions would have been up to it). Finally, the ending felt a little rushed, and a couple of major plot points (nuclear weapons and the fate of Japan) were left unresolved; unless of course the author is planning a sequel...
How much you will ultimately enjoy The Foresight War will probably depend on how much you agree with the author's conclusions; I think most of his views are sound (certainly the behaviour of the Nazi leadership), although ironically, given the author's area of expertise, I'm a bit dubious about some of the the technical assets at Britain's disposal; (*spoiler* the helicopters and tank carrying hovercraft were very cool, but in the real world neither vehicle was really useful until powerful gas turbine engines were available; I don't think piston engined versions would have been up to it). Finally, the ending felt a little rushed, and a couple of major plot points (nuclear weapons and the fate of Japan) were left unresolved; unless of course the author is planning a sequel...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The best Alternative History story I have ever read
I am totally exhausted having read this book in one sitting last night and into the early hours of this morning
I could not put it down - and the way in which each... Read more
I could not put it down - and the way in which each... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Jon Hickey
I enjoyed it thoroughly
Although it's true, as alleged by other reviewers, that character development is poor, the story is so densely packed and so rich of technical and "historical" details that it's... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Eugenio Mastroviti
Brilliant alternative history novel
I came across this book whilst looking for a secret santa present for a fan of WW1 and WW2 history. I ended up buying an extra copy for myself based on the excellent review of the... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2010 by Mr. S. Wilson
Very Thought Provoking
Based on some of the reviews I was reluctant to purchase this book but picked it up second hand and, like another reviewer then found I could not put it down. Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2009 by MR GEOFFREY W FABRON
A Technical Approach to Alt Hist
First and foremost, the two time travellers are there purely as props - there is almost no characterisation and they exist soley as narrators or providers of information. Read more
Published on 19 Aug 2009 by Phillip H
good idea, more depth needed
Good idea, but characters are one dimensional, too much detail on weapons sizes/capability ect not enough tension created. Read more
Published on 18 Dec 2008 by T.
A Great Idea - that deserves more respect.
The lead up to and consequential World War Two are so well documented that a better researched series of novels should have been the result. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2008 by Mr. Richard I. Carling
A rather poor "alternative history" novel
I bought this book expecting an exciting and clever alternative history novel featuring time-travel, something like the movie "The final countdown". Read more
Published on 27 July 2007 by George
Such a Brilliance for a first Book
Ill keep this short, sweet and to the point its a 4 star book but is so close to 5 stars that you can taste it. Read more
Published on 6 July 2007 by P. Walker
Started rereading immediately!
As a wargamer and a fan of alternative history fiction I loved this book. The criticisms of the characterisation are unfair given what the author set out to do - enough hints are... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2007 by Richard D. Coates
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