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Loading... The Man with the Iron Heart (original 2008; edition 2008)by Harry Turtledove
Work InformationThe Man with the Iron Heart by Harry Turtledove (2008)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. An interesting "alternative" history of the end of WWII. However, I found the ending rather lame. TurtleDove seemed rushed to bring the book to an end, after building the main story scenario in detail. Is is that the author ran out of ideas, was forced by editors to end the project, or did some unschooled editor at Ballentine royaly botch the author's efforts? ** spoiler alert ** The first book that I ever read by Harry Turtledove was Guns of the South, and I remember really enjoying it. I saw this book at the library while randomly browsing through the new releases, so I immediately picked it up. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as good as I thought it would be. The premise is interesting enough - a viable German resistance after World War 2 has officially "ended," carried out by a still-living Reinhard Heydrich - but the execution left a lot to be desired. In reality, this is less of an alternate history novel and more a thinly-veiled commentary on the current Iraq war. Apparently the reader is supposed to believe that the Second World War and the Iraq war are quite similar to one another, which is ridiculous. The big difference, of course, is that Germany declared war on the United States (which really gave us no option but to fight against them), while the United States invaded Iraq by choice. This changes the whole perspective - except in Harry Turtledove's world. So, really, reading this was like reading the news headlines from a few years ago, except replace "Iraqis" with "German Freedom Fighters," "Reinhard Heydrich" with "Saddam Hussein," "Harry Truman" with "George W. Bush," and "Diana McGraw" with "Cindy Sheehan." Also, the Democrats are the "good" guys now (they want to "stay the course," even if it takes forty or fifty years to do it), while the Republicans are those pesky people who think bringing home the troops is a good idea. Turtledove's bias was obvious throughout the story, sometimes overwhelmingly so. Ironically enough, Truman isn't portrayed in a particularly rosy light, so I wonder if Turtledove is a fan of Bush and his policies. Regardless, it's definitely clear that Turtledove does not support bringing the troops home any time soon. Cindy Sheehan - oh, wait, I'm sorry, Diana McGraw - is a particularly troublesome character to me. Her son, Pat, was killed after victory was declared in Europe. Angered by his death, she begins protesting, eventually spearheading a national movement that ultimately results in America withdrawing from Europe. During this, she becomes something of a pop icon and rubs elbows with a lot of famous/powerful/rich people. This makes her grow increasingly unsatisfied with her "boring" life at home with her "boring" husband, so she has a one-night stand with a man whose last name she doesn't even remember. I'm not sure if it was intentional (although I would be surprised if it WASN'T intentional), I got the distinct impression that the moral of that story was that the little woman should have stayed at home where she belonged. If only she hadn't decided to go out into the world, instead of staying in the kitchen, she never would have become dissatisfied with her life and an adulteress. It really left a bitter taste in my mouth. Turtledove's constant harping on rape (both violent and non-violent but coercive) was also troubling to me. Yes, I am quite aware that there was an epidemic of rape after Germany was invaded, especially as carried out by the Russians. However, that doesn't mean that I want to read about it every twenty or so pages. As for most of the others who appear in the book, there's little character development. You're introduced to dozens of characters whose only purpose is to die, which just doesn't make me feel connected to them, or their stories, at all. I had to force myself to finish this book, and I was left greatly disappointed with it after finishing it. Maybe if I reread Guns of the South I wouldn't be so impressed with it (it's been several years since I read it), but I was expecting a much better story than what I got. And, as someone who has never supported invading Iraq, I found myself grinding my teeth regularly. I got the distinct impression that Mr. Turtledove thinks that people like me are idiots (those like me in the book were certainly portrayed in a less than favorable light), and that really soured the novel for me even more. I'll definitely think twice before picking up another book by him. no reviews | add a review
What if V-E Day didn't end World War II in Europe? What if, instead, the Allies had to face a potent, even fanatical, postwar Nazi resistance led by SS Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, the notorious Man with the Iron Heart? How might today's clash of troops versus terrorists have played out in 194 No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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As I read this book, it soon became apparent to me that Turtledove drew much of his inspiration for the book from the then-ongoing American experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, both in terms of the occupation and in the reaction to it on the home front. Much of it comes across as a metaphor that serves as commentary on modern-day events, one that is much less subtle than in earlier novels. Yet as I read this, I couldn't help but think how much more interesting his premise would have been in a new volume of his "Southern Victory" series, which ended in a place similar to where this novel begins. Perhaps he could not have done what he wanted as easily had he stuck with his earlier series, but this book suffers by comparison from the much more interesting world that he spent so many years assiduously developing. Because of this it seems a poor substitute for what he had entertained his fans with in the past, an abandonment of fruitful effort in order to make a heavy-handed point. ( )