MacCaulay
Banned
Now as most folks know, I'm not a WWII buff. I was always more interested in post-WWII technology and politics, but there was always such a dearth of Second World War-themed alt.hist out there that it was unavoidable. There were many of them that were quite good, and these are my ten favourites:
10. Ministry of Space by Warren Ellis. The British manage to get Werner von Bruhn's team to London and then the RAF bombs Peenemunde before the US can get there. It's one of the fair amount of alt.hist graphic novels. This one is (like the vast majority of them) posessed of a dark and fairly spiteful tone though it's distrust of government is one I agree with.
9. The Bush Soldiers by John Hooker. The Allies have an even worse time of it in the Pacific and Australia is invaded by the Japanese. A few months after that happens a group of Aussie soldiers go on a mission across the outback to take an enemy held mine and start encountering more enemies than the Japanese. What I like about this book is that it doesn't just say "Hey! I'm in alternate history, so I'd better have some cool AH-money-shots to make sure people know it. This is going to be some folks out in the middle of nowhere in a character study."
8. MacArthur's War by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson. The Battle of Midway goes south, and MacArthur uses the opportunity to gain operational control of the entire Pacific theater. There's an invasion of Japan in this one that is just epic.
7. The Moscow Option by David Downing. The Nazis go for Moscow, and Downing tells the entire story of an alternate Second World War after that happens. Basically, Greenhill Publishing decided to put a TL into book form. It's well written, if only dry as fuck.
6. SS-GB by Len Deighton. Deighton normally wrote who-done-its, and this is no different. It just happens to be in a Nazi-occupied England. What is great about it is the complete disdain Deighton has for a POD. He's telling a murder mystery, and he doesn't give a damn if you care how the Nazis got to England or not.
5. In the Presence of Mine Enemies by Harry Turtledove. While some folks on the board dislike it, I myself am a big fan of using AH as a way to tell an old story in a new way. And this story presents the Soviet Union and it's vassal states in a very intriguing and fresh persepective. Also, there are scenes in this book that he's just nailed the characterization on.
4. Fox on the Rhine & Fox at the Front by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson. Rommel convalesces much quicker from his near death by an Allied fighter bomber and is assigned to lead the Battle of the Bulge. This goes into all sorts of other spinoffs that I can't give away.
3. Triumph by Ben Bova. FDR quits smoking in the late 30s and Churchill decides to give Stalin radiation poisoning by presenting him with a poisoned sword at Yalta. Hijinks ensue towards the end of the war as Hitler and Stalin both kick the bucket and the 101st jumps into Berlin while the Soviets knock around with their heads cut off.
2. Red Inferno: 1945 by Robert Conroy. Basically everything you could want from a conventional Soviet vs. Allies land war novel. Conroy's an author that can slip between great writing and cheesy schlock but this one's kept mostly in the great writing department. You get the feeling he didn't want to fuck such a great idea up.
1. The Burning Mountain by Alfred Coppel. Imagine Robert Conroy's Operation Olympic opus 1945. Now imagine a film version of that done by Oliver Stone during his Platoon days. That's The Burning Mountain.
10. Ministry of Space by Warren Ellis. The British manage to get Werner von Bruhn's team to London and then the RAF bombs Peenemunde before the US can get there. It's one of the fair amount of alt.hist graphic novels. This one is (like the vast majority of them) posessed of a dark and fairly spiteful tone though it's distrust of government is one I agree with.
9. The Bush Soldiers by John Hooker. The Allies have an even worse time of it in the Pacific and Australia is invaded by the Japanese. A few months after that happens a group of Aussie soldiers go on a mission across the outback to take an enemy held mine and start encountering more enemies than the Japanese. What I like about this book is that it doesn't just say "Hey! I'm in alternate history, so I'd better have some cool AH-money-shots to make sure people know it. This is going to be some folks out in the middle of nowhere in a character study."
8. MacArthur's War by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson. The Battle of Midway goes south, and MacArthur uses the opportunity to gain operational control of the entire Pacific theater. There's an invasion of Japan in this one that is just epic.
7. The Moscow Option by David Downing. The Nazis go for Moscow, and Downing tells the entire story of an alternate Second World War after that happens. Basically, Greenhill Publishing decided to put a TL into book form. It's well written, if only dry as fuck.
6. SS-GB by Len Deighton. Deighton normally wrote who-done-its, and this is no different. It just happens to be in a Nazi-occupied England. What is great about it is the complete disdain Deighton has for a POD. He's telling a murder mystery, and he doesn't give a damn if you care how the Nazis got to England or not.
5. In the Presence of Mine Enemies by Harry Turtledove. While some folks on the board dislike it, I myself am a big fan of using AH as a way to tell an old story in a new way. And this story presents the Soviet Union and it's vassal states in a very intriguing and fresh persepective. Also, there are scenes in this book that he's just nailed the characterization on.
4. Fox on the Rhine & Fox at the Front by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson. Rommel convalesces much quicker from his near death by an Allied fighter bomber and is assigned to lead the Battle of the Bulge. This goes into all sorts of other spinoffs that I can't give away.
3. Triumph by Ben Bova. FDR quits smoking in the late 30s and Churchill decides to give Stalin radiation poisoning by presenting him with a poisoned sword at Yalta. Hijinks ensue towards the end of the war as Hitler and Stalin both kick the bucket and the 101st jumps into Berlin while the Soviets knock around with their heads cut off.
2. Red Inferno: 1945 by Robert Conroy. Basically everything you could want from a conventional Soviet vs. Allies land war novel. Conroy's an author that can slip between great writing and cheesy schlock but this one's kept mostly in the great writing department. You get the feeling he didn't want to fuck such a great idea up.
1. The Burning Mountain by Alfred Coppel. Imagine Robert Conroy's Operation Olympic opus 1945. Now imagine a film version of that done by Oliver Stone during his Platoon days. That's The Burning Mountain.