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Walk in Hell

By: Harry Turtledove
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Del Rey Books,U.S.
ISBN: 0345405617
ISBN-13: 9780345405616
Released: 01 Aug 1999
RRP: £14.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Good installment in Turtledove's alternative history series - By: Mark Klobas, 02 Aug 2004
In "The Great War: Walk in Hell," Harry Turtledove continues his tale of an alternate world in which the United States & Confederate States fight the "war to end alll wars." From the vantage point of the characters he introduced in The Great War: American Front (The Great War), the reader follows events from the falll of 1915 - with the sides deadlocked in a bloody stalemate & facing rebellions at home - to the end of 1916. Though some characters are better defined than others, the overalll depictions are strong enough to sustain a reader's interest throughout the novel. Together their experiences convey the grinding misery of the conflict, with the deaths of a couple of his main characters effectively underlining the tragedy of war. As a result, while suffering from some of the drag inherent in any middle novel of a series that seeks to sustain action without reaching conclusion, "Walk in Hell" is an entertaining read & a good addition to his developing tetralogy.
USA vs Confederacy: Round 3, part 2 - By: , 29 Jun 2001
1915. The USA & Confederate States of America are finding out that wars in the early 20th Century are long & grinding businesses, as this second book in the "Great War" tetralogy unfolds. This book can't be read in isolation, you'll have to get the first one (Great War: American Front) to get any enjoyment from it. Very much the middle book in an engrossing series.
Very fascinating and very annoying - By: , 02 Dec 2000
OK, I found this book both fascinating & annoying. Fascinating because I've always been interested in the great "What ifs" in History & they don't come much greater than the Great War. Annoying for a number of reasons I'll detail soon. Assuming you've read the first book but are yet to read this one I'll attempt to review this without spoiling the story.

The action goes on into late 1916 so we're through over half the war by the end of the volume. The storytelling is fascinating, showing the action develop largely from the viewpoint of those who are fighting the war. In keeping with both Turtledove's writing style & the nature of the War, a number of pivotal characters die in this volume & I'm expecting some more to go in the next two. Don't take anyone for granted here. Extra characters are introduced & there are a few cameo appearances from people who fought in the First World War but didn't become famous till WWII. The rebellions in both the USA & CSA are drawn to a close & here it is that I have my first problem. For the CSA deal with their rebellion entirely too sensibly for my tastes. In the USA the Mormons are dealt with the way you'd expect a nation to deal with a rebellion during wartime - viciously & stupidly, the same way we dealt with the Irish Rebellion in 1916. But the CSA seems to come over alll sensible & this doesn't reallly make sense. Why are the CSA behaving better than alll the other powers? This is the first problem I have.

The second is with the introduction of Tanks. Having seen Hollywood's latest rewriting of History where an American submarine crew do what the British actuallly did, having heard that the Americans are about to escape from Colditz in a new Hollywood film, something they never did 60 years ago (but, again, the British did), I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see the USA inventing Tanks. But I find it unforgivable. Tanks were a British invention, a very secret British invention & the idea that both the USA & Britain could simultaneously develop Tanks... well it's ridiculous. It would have been far better to have had the CSA deploy Tanks in America first, having got them from their British Ally.

That's the main reason I downgraded my review to 3 instead of 4. Also annoying, though acceptable, are the tantalising hints of what is happening in Europe. Italy stays neutral, the Irish Rebellion continues past Easter as the rebels are armed by the USA & the French lose Verdun. The last is the first major indication of how a Western front lacking the Canadians & some British would go different to how it went. On the other hand, the Blockade of Germany still continues & that was crucial in winning the war. Though I complain about this, I find it fascinating & reallly do want to see what will happen. I will by the next book

Very fascinating and very annoying - By: , 02 Dec 2000
OK, I found this book both fascinating & annoying. Fascinating because I've always been interested in the great "What ifs" in History & they don't come much greater than the Great War. Annoying for a number of reasons I'll detail soon. Assuming you've read the first book but are yet to read this one I'll attempt to review this without spoiling the story.

The action goes on into late 1916 so we're through nearly half the war by the end of the volume. The storytelling is fascinating, showing the action develop largely from the viewpoint of those who are fighting the war. In keeping with both Turtledove's writing style & the nature of the War, a number of pivotal characters die in this volume & I'm expecting some more to go in the next two. Don't take anyone for granted here. Extra characters are introduced & there are a few cameo appearances from people who fought in the First World War but didn't become famous till WWII. The rebellions in both the USA & CSA are drawn to a close & here it is that I have my first problem. For the CSA deal with their rebellion entirely too sensibly for my tastes. In the USA the Mormons are dealt with the way you'd expect a nation to deal with a rebellion during wartime - viciously & stupidly, the same way we dealt with the Irish Rebellion in 1916. But the CSA seems to come over alll sensible & this doesn't reallly make sense. Why are the CSA behaving better than alll the other powers? This is the first problem I have.

The second is with the introduction of Tanks. Having seen Hollywood's latest rewriting of History where an American submarine crew do what the British actuallly did, having heard that the Americans are about to escape from Colditz in a new Hollywood film, something they never did 60 years ago (but, again, the British did), I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see the USA inventing Tanks. But I find it unforgivable. Tanks were a British invention, a very secret British invention & the idea that both the USA & Britain could simultaneously develop Tanks... well it's ridiculous. It would have been far better to have had the CSA deploy Tanks in America first, having got them from their British Ally.

That's the main reason I downgraded my review to 3 instead of 4. Also annoying, though acceptable, are the tantalising hints of what is happening in Europe. Italy stays neutral, the Irish Rebellion continues past Easter as the rebels are armed by the USA & the French lose Verdun. The last is the first major indication of how a Western front lacking the Canadians & some British would go different to how it went. On the other hand, the Blockade of Germany still continues & that was crucial in winning the war. Though I complain about this, I find it fascinating & reallly do want to see what will happen. I will by the next book.

Very fascinating and very annoying - By: , 30 Nov 2000
OK, I found this book both fascinating & annoying. Fascinating because I've always been interested in the great "What ifs" in History & they don't come much greater than the Great War. Annoying for a number of reasons I'll detail soon. Assuming you've read the first book but are yet to read this one I'll attempt to review this without spoiling the story.

The action goes on into late 1916 so we're through nearly half the war by the end of the volume. The storytelling is fascinating, showing the action develop largely from the viewpoint of those who are fighting the war. In keeping with both Turtledove's writing style & the nature of the War, a number of pivotal characters die in this volume & I'm expecting some more to go in the next two. Don't take anyone for granted here. Extra characters are introduced & there are a few cameo appearances from people who fought in the First World War but didn't become famous till WWII. The rebellions in both the USA & CSA are drawn to a close & here it is that I have my first problem. For the CSA deal with their rebellion entirely too sensibly for my tastes. In the USA the Mormons are dealt with the way you'd expect a nation to deal with a rebellion during wartime - viciously & stupidly, the same way we dealt with the Irish Rebellion in 1916. But the CSA seems to come over alll sensible & this doesn't reallly make sense. Why are the CSA behaving better than alll the other powers? This is the first problem I have.

The second is with the introduction of Tanks. Having seen Hollywood's latest rewriting of History where an American submarine crew do what the British actuallly did, having heard that the Americans are about to escape from Colditz in a new Hollywood film, something they never did 60 years ago (but, again, the British did), I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see the USA inventing Tanks. But I find it unforgivable. Tanks were a British invention, a very secret British invention & the idea that both the USA & Britain could simultaneously develop Tanks... well it's ridiculous. It would have been far better to have had the CSA deploy Tanks in America first, having got them from their British Ally.

That's the main reason I downgraded my review to 3 instead of 4. Also annoying, though acceptable, are the tantalising hints of what is happening in Europe. Italy stays neutral, the Irish Rebellion continues past Easter as the rebels are armed by the USA & the French lose Verdun. The last is the first major indication of how a Western front lacking the Canadians & some British would go different to how it went. On the other hand, the Blockade of Germany still continues & that was crucial in winning the war. Though I complain about this, I find it fascinating & reallly do want to see what will happen. I will by the next book.