Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite characterization of Robert E. Lee, 4 Oct 2003
On one level Harry Turtledove's "The Guns of the South" reminds me of the Saturday Night Live skit which asked the question, "What if Napoleon had a B-52 at the Battle of Waterloo?" This alternative history novel about the Civil War asks "What if the South had AK-47s during the Civil War?" The answer is, of course, that Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia would have destroyed the Army of the Potomac and anything else Abraham Lincoln threw at the them and the Southern Confederacy would have won their independence. However, "The Guns of the South" disposes of both the Union army and the Civil War rather quickly, because this alternative history is ultimately about what type of nation the Confederacy would have become. Specifically, what would have happened to the institution of slavery in the wake of a Confederate victory in which conquering hero Robert E. Lee succeeds Jefferson Davis to the presidency? Turtledove certainly makes an interesting case for the angels of the better nature of the Southern Confederacy, however, for me the most ironic aspect of this novel is that this fictional work provides what I have come to consider the most realistic portrayal of Robert E. Lee; yes, more than "The Killer Angels," which is the obvious choice. As a historical figure, Lee has always been distanced by the reverence with which he is held and his own reticence, which made him rather unique as just about the only Civil War general who survived and did not write his memoirs. Turtledove's Lee has clearly come down off the pedestal and there is something so compelling about the way Lee anguishes over political decisions. Of course, this is all imaginative speculation, but I happen to like imaginative speculation. I do not need anyone to work out the theoretical rationale for the time machine that allows the South African patriots to ship back weapons to the Confederacy. The strength of this novel does not rest on physics but on characterization and even though the idea that Lee's personal charisma would have been sufficient to get the Confederacy to abandon slavery, it is simply one of those idealized beliefs I would like to hold on to. "Guns of the South" is a good read, and whether you come to it as a Civil War buff or a fan of alternative histories, I think either way you will enjoy the novel.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly enjoyed this - impressed with Turtledove's work., 6 Jan 2001
By A Customer
Harry Turtledove has the ability to write a novel of such stunning fiction that it takes your breath away. Unfortunately, he also has the ability to write a novel of such numbing inanity that it, again, takes your breath away. This, however, is one of the former types. The book starts innocently enough, but quickly twists and turns, in characteristic Turtledove style, into a maelstrom of different stories, all weaving together into a cohesive whole.Very few authors have the capacity to pull so many threads together, but Turtledove is one of them, and he produces his magic with a flourish, as suddenly everything you thought you understood about the plot is turned on it's head and yet another new development is unleashed. Have you figured out I liked it yet? It was excellent - I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading science fiction. I won't use the cliche "impossible to put down", because if you read it without putting it down and thinking about what is happening, you will miss some of the finer nuances in the plot. Well, to be honest, you'll lose some of the major "nuances" in the plot as well :) In short... A Very good book. Recommended to all who like Sci-Fi, and Fantasy novels, for that matter. Enjoy.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
High schoolers Like it too!, 17 Sep 1998
By A Customer
While only a sophomore at the time I read the book last year, and not really being much of a history buff, I couldn't put this book down at night. I don't know a whole lot about the Civil War, I admit, but nearly every minute I was reading this book I was simply amazed and intrigued at the concept let alone the outcome. Reading it, I didn't know what to expect, and what happened in the end was certainly not what I expected. Something that interested me very much was the storyline after the war had ended. The ideas that Mr. Turtledove thought of were not only incredibly in-depth and imaginative, but amazingly accurate to what I, a sophomore in high school, might think would really have happened if the outcome of the Civil War was something like this. This book is not only for history lovers, but for people who love to think of what the past would be like if it had occurred differently. Being this type of person, as well as someone interested in science fiction, I couldn't have found a better book. It made me wonder even more about a little fantasy I have about showing someone like Ben Franklin the technology of today. My thanks to Mr. Turtledove for such a perfectly excellent novel that someone like myself could enjoy. Marc D. Biedermann
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