SpitfireIX
Posts: 264
Joined: 1/9/2003
From: Fort Wayne IN USA
Status: offline
|
*****Spolier Warning for Days of Infamy--don't read if you don't want to be spoiled*****
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
quote:
ORIGINAL: Blackhorse
I just read the book over the Christmas - New Year Holiday.
IMHO, this is not Turtledove's best work, and I'm a fan of his.
I agree it's not his best work, and I'm also a fan.
quote:
He portrays a Japanese invasion of Oahu as a mirror-image of Malaya Campaign -- Americans falling back while the Japanese, moving down from the north, outflank the defenders by crashing through seemingly impassable terrain. The Americans are portrayed as plucky, but nevertheless in constant retreat, in the end fighting no better than the British colonial troops in Southeast Asia.
Interesting comparison--I was thinking that it mirrored the fight in the Phillipines, but you make a good point. One thing that bothered me is that after Yamamoto tells Genda that one division will not be enough troops, Turtledove never tells us how many divisions the Japanese actually use in the invasion. Another thing that bothered me was Turtledove's portrayal of the use of unemployed sailors from Pearl Harbor as emergency infantrymen as ineffective, due to lack of training. One thing that I did find realistic, though, was the advantage in ground combat that the Japanese gained from their total air supremacy.
quote:
While Turtledove does lip service to the idea that the invasion would be a strain on Japanese logistics, the supply strain doesn't have any consequences in the book, nor does the diversion of resources from other fronts: the Japanese advance in other theatres is as rapid (or more) as it was historically.
I think this is the most unrealistic part of the book--I kept expecting to read about how the Japanese had been slowed down in the Phillipines and elsewhere--instead, things happened pretty much historically, plus the Japanese were able to capture Port Moresby in May 1942 because the US Navy was too preoccupied to oppose them.
quote:
Turtledove is not a particulary engaging writer. The joy of reading his books is in the interesting, plausible twists he brings to his Alternative Worlds -- most evident in his Earth in the Balance series (which I highly recommend) that features an Alien invasion in the midst of WWII.
Actually, the series is called Worldwar and is among Turtledove's better works. My favorite Turtledove books (which I think most WitP players would enjoy) are those that follow the alternate timeline started with How Few Remain. The premise of this book is that the South wins the American Civil War (due to Turtledove's changing just one event during the Antietam campaign), and a re-match takes place 20 years later. After this, the three books of The Great War series cover World War I (with North and South on opposite sides, of course), and the three books of the American Empire series cover the inter-war years. The Settling Accounts series (the first book of which came out last summer), will cover World War II.
I agree in general with your comments about Turtledove's writing. I would add that I find his command of historical and cultural detail very enjoyable in general, though sometimes he goes overboard and seems to be trying just to show off his knowledge. He also has an annoying (IMO) tendency to insert bad jokes in his writing. For example, in the Worldwar series, after an alien spacecraft carrying nuclear weapons is destroyed in the Ukraine, causing widespread radioactive contamination, the reader learns that the action is taking place right next to the village of Chernobyl. Turtledove used to limit these to about one per book, but lately their frequency has increased. He also tends to push the envelope on his descriptions of sex scenes--this bothers me to the extent that it distracts me from my reading. As the saying goes, good writing is transparent--frequently when I read Turtledove, I find myself thinking about the writing, and not the story.
quote:
But I found the set-up to Days of Infamy unconvincing, and the few other historical twists that were introduced -- an alternative-history Doolittle Raid, and the not-Midway June, 1942 carrier battle -- was poor payment for slogging through pages of wooden dialogue by uninteresting characters.
Another thing that bothered me about DoI were the ease with which US carriers seemed to sink in only a couple of hours (or less) from 3-4 bomb and/or torpedo hits. Even when carriers were sunk during the war, they often took more than a day to sink. For example, the Hornet was hit by three bombs, two torpedoes, and two kamikazes, and was still able to control her fires. She was under tow and still able to fire her 20mm guns when another torpedo from a subsequent strike caused the Americans to abandon her. Two destroyers fired all of their torpedoes and over 400 5" shells into her, and she still didn't sink. The Japanese ended up administering the final blow with a spread of Long Lance torpedoes.
What I do like about DoI is the realistic portrayal of life under Japanese occupation, and in Japanese prison camps. DoI also does a good job of showing that the Japanese didn't treat their own troops much better than they treated PoWs. I have to say that on the whole, the book is pretty depressing--I imagine that the sequels will be more cheerful.
_____________________________
"I know Japanese. He is very bad. And tricky. But we Americans too smart. We catch him and give him hell."
--Benny Sablan, crewman, USS Enterprise 12/7/41
|
Printable Version
Has anyone else read Days of Infamy yet? - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread