Russian Amerika

mutt

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From Publishers Weekly
Military SF fans will welcome Compton's debut, an alternative history in which the Russians still control Alaska. It's 1987, and Capt. Grisha Grigorievich, a former Imperial army officer now in command of a naval vessel in Alaskan waters, is chafing at the social restrictions that his mixed-blood parentage imposes upon him. He also increasingly resents the arbitrary and petty assertion of czarist authority by any two-bit Cossack in this backwater of the Russian empire. When Grisha is unjustly condemned for killing a government spy, he's sent to a labor camp. After he's freed in a raid on the camp by a surprisingly well-organized Native American separatist movement, Grisha seizes the opportunity to get revenge. Compton creates a plausible backstory for his time line (the Communists never took over Russia), which comes out naturally in bits and pieces. His depiction of warfare under extreme arctic conditions is horrifyingly realistic and vivid. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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http://www.amazon.com/Russian-Amerika-Stoney-Compton/dp/141652116X


I was just browsing amazon when I happened across it, anyone read it?, good bad indifferent?:confused:
 

Seryozha1987

Iamwinterborn said:
*Looks at cover*

Dang. 1987? And they/we are still using prop driven planes?

Ah book covers. The poor artists who draw them never get enough info. Or maybe they just don't care enough. :rolleyes::p:D
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They never get enough info. My roommate is an illustration major who submitted her work for consideration for a publisher. When the revision list came back, she emailed the author whose work she wanted to illustrate to ask stylistic questions, and the publisher had told her to include things that had nothing to do with the novel. It's not the artists' fault. Though I do blame the artists for making the Drow on the covers of Forgotten Realms books look friggin old.

This reminds me of a TL I did where the Pale of Settlement stipulated that all the Jews go to Alaska instead of Poland. Though I never quite got to the revolution, but I'm immensely interested in finding a copy of this book and reading it.
 
Fenrir_Angerboda

Fenrir_Angerboda

Iamwinterborn said:
*Looks at cover*

Dang. 1987? And they/we are still using prop driven planes?

Ah book covers. The poor artists who draw them never get enough info. Or maybe they just don't care enough. :rolleyes::p:D
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considering it's tsarist russia they should be glad they don't have Biplanes:rolleyes: or worst, no planes.
no offense to anyone of course.
 

Sachyriel

Banned
It could be the Native American separatist planes. Propeller-driven planes are probably easier to maintain or cheaper to buy or something, therefore better for a resistance movement.
 

Sovereign12

I'm almost finished this now.

The plane is a Republic of California P-61 (just read that part while on the train). The book started off promising, but I'm rather disappointed in it.
A balkanized NA I could see, but not as the nations they have in the book.

USA
CSA
French Canada, not a free French Quebec; a Canada controlled by France
British Canada, again not free, but part of the British Empire
New Spain, instead of a Mexican Empire
Republic of California
Republic of Texas
Deseret, at least it isn't in Utah; its in OTL Arizona and New Mexico
First Peoples Nation, interesting but implausible borders and too large.

Basically the most popular cliches for North American AH

Throughout the book there are interesting elements, but they are never fleshed out or ignored later on. The war also moves much to quickly. There was still a Great War, and I get the impression that Russia controls Germany.

As it goes I wouldn't recommend it.
 

Bobindelaware

Sovereign12 said:
I'm almost finished this now.

The plane is a Republic of California P-61 (just read that part while on the train). The book started off promising, but I'm rather disappointed in it.
A balkanized NA I could see, but not as the nations they have in the book.

USA
CSA
French Canada, not a free French Quebec; a Canada controlled by France
British Canada, again not free, but part of the British Empire
New Spain, instead of a Mexican Empire
Republic of California
Republic of Texas
Deseret, at least it isn't in Utah; its in OTL Arizona and New Mexico
First Peoples Nation, interesting but implausible borders and too large.

Basically the most popular cliches for North American AH

Throughout the book there are interesting elements, but they are never fleshed out or ignored later on. The war also moves much to quickly. There was still a Great War, and I get the impression that Russia controls Germany.

As it goes I wouldn't recommend it.
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I can agree on most points, but I still enjoyed it. In fact, I'm going to read it again this weekend as the weather here is supposed to be a bit nippy.

Bobindelaware
 

deejay27

wasn't bad

I actually liked how he made some things purposefully vague. Things were there, but they weren't part of the story. Maybe setting up a sequel.

Though I did find a bit far fetched that Russia would give up so quickly after a couple of losses. They are depicting them as a slightly more modernized version of the WWI Czarist Russia. I don't see them giving up that easily, they would just keep massing troops to steamroller over the resistance. Especially in considering it was their own territory.

As for the planes, things are radically different as far as political bodies, it wouldn't be too far fetched to believe that some forms of tech advanced more slowly in some areas.
 
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