Days of Infamy

October 11, 2004
Alternate-history master Turtledove (Ruled Britannia
) presents a starkly realistic view of what might have been had the Japanese followed the bombing of Pearl Harbor with a land invasion and occupied Hawaii. U.S. airman Fletch Armitage, held in a POW camp under horrifying conditions (the Japanese never signed the Geneva Convention), keeps hope alive even as he slowly starves. His ex-wife, Jane, keeps her head down in occupied Wahiawa, tending her assigned garden plot and hoping she won't be raped. Fisherman Jiro Takahashi, a native Japanese, welcomes the Rising Sun in Hawaii, but his sons, who consider themselves American, aren't so sure, even though the white Americans begin treating Japanese-Americans with contempt, particularly those who act as translators for the invaders, further widening the racial divide and increasing tensions. As the Japanese strengthen their hold on the islands, each side comes to grudgingly accept the courage of the other, despite the cultural chasms that separate them. The Americans vow to retake the islands, setting the scene for a final showdown that pits mastermind Commander Genda and maneuverable Zero airplanes against American strategy that includes technology the Japanese lack: radar. A less than neatly wrapped-up ending leaves room for a sequel. With an emphasis on tactics and warfare technology, this exciting, well-researched alternate history will please history buffs and SF fans alike. Agent, Russell Galen.

October 15, 2004
The Japanese attack on Hawaii in 1941 does not end with Pearl Harbor. Soon, Japanese soldiers occupy the Hawaiian Islands, and U.S. soldiers suffer in makeshift POW camps. The master of alternate history begins another series covering World War II, this time focusing on the war in the Pacific. Factions come alive, from the Japanese warriors to the Americans who make Hawaii their home to the natives who find their loyalties torn. Turtledove excels at showing the big picture through the eyes of the individual men and women whose daily lives reflect the urgency and desperation of their times. A solid addition to sf or fantasy collections, particularly where Turtledove has a following.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2004
Turtledove's latest twist on history has the Japanese invading Hawaii in December 1941. It recalls most closely " Ruled Britannia" (2002), except that this book is almost certainly the first volume of another WWII alternate history. The strategic consequences of the U.S. being backed up against its own West Coast, with most of its navy's aircraft carriers sunk, are too extensive to be dealt with in one novel, and one viewpoint character, Joe Crosetti, is training as a naval aviator for the battles to come. But as usual, Turtledove provides an extensive range of characters, civilian and military, of both sides and all ranks. Minoru Genda and Mitsuo Fuchida, both real historical Japanese officers, perform with their expected brilliance. On the other hand, Corporal Shimizu rides ashore in a landing barge and gives a grunt's-eye view of the Japanese army, whose motto is, quite understandably, "Hard work!" U.S. artillery officer Fletcher Armitage and his wife, Jane, were on the verge of divorce when the balloon went up and are now even more thoroughly separated as he labors in a POW camp, and she survives off her turnip patch. Oscar van der Klerk goes from surf bum to amateur spy, and the fishermen of the Takahashi family are divided, father Jiro favoring the Japanese occupiers, and his sons, who considered themselves Americans, disgruntled, to say the least. Demanding, irresistible, and magisterial--to say the very least. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)