Robert Conroy (1938–2014)

I can't help myself! Sure, Conroy's books tend to be formulaic, and make too much use of coincidental contacts between the main characters and major historical figures. But sometimes a guy just wants a good, old fashioned yarn thats an easy read! Conroy's books are just that. He makes good use of the alternative history genre by using an easily imaginable alternate decision in a historical event, not relying on some supernatural or alien intervention. And, he cleanly wraps up each book at show more the end, not leaving you hanging, waiting a year for the next book to come out (ala H Turtledove). He fleshes out the major characters nicely, yet not going overboard in explaining exactly what a character was thinking/speaking in excessive, flowery language (sorry Eric Flint). Perfect for a summertime read at the cabin, or curled up in front of a warm fire on a winter weekend. Please keep them coming, Mr. Conroy! show less

Washington’s birthday was coming up. Baen was giving away copies of this book for review. I had been curious about Conroy’s work which I had seen around. However, most of what I had seen was in the very popular vein of alternate World War Twos and American Civil Wars. It was also, to top it off, seemingly from publishers whose product I wasn’t familiar with. (Actually, most of Conroy’s work seems to have been published through Baen. Somehow I conflated him with the much more prolific show more Peter G. Tsouras.) But, being more interested in alternate America Revolutions than alternate World War Twos, I thought this was a good time to sample Conroy.

Washington’s death is the opening of this book. He’s beheaded at the Tower of London in the Prologue. Conroy doesn’t make you guess where this timeline deviates from ours. His introduction explains that, in this history, the French fleet does not turn back the British fleet in 1781’s Battle of the Capes. General Cornwallis gets his relief. Washington loses the Battle of Yorktown, and the American Revolution seems over. The leaders and officers of the rebellion are imprisoned in Jamaica or, like our hero Will Drake, thrown in a prison hulk to die.

The idea of liberty is not dead though. Out in the west, Fort Washington, near modern day Chicago, is the site of a new locus of rebels. After fortune frees him from imprisonment, Drake, an ex-spy for the American rebels, heads there. So, does Sarah Benton after resisting the attempted sexual extortions of the local sheriff, Braxton. So, does Welshman Owen Wells after deserting the Royal Marines.

And commissioned, by Governor General Charles Cornwallis, to go out west to put an end to this flare up of rebellion, is General Burgoyne, prideful enough to want to redeem his reputation after losing the Battle of Saratoga and smart enough not to repeat his mistakes. With him is our main viewpoint character amongst the British, Burgoyne’s staff officer and distant cousin, Major James Fitzroy.

Along the way we meet several other viewpoint characters, historical and fictional and some for only a chapter, in an all seeing god’s-eye view of things in opposition to the constricted, worm’s-eye view of events we get from alternate history’s main practioneer, Harry Turtledove. Conroy’s keeps things going at a pretty good clip throughout the book. Yes, there are plenty of cases of characters’ paths intersecting, diverging, and reuniting again. But not always in ways you would expect.

Conroy’s alternate history seems plausible in not only some of the weapons and methods the rebels resort to when fighting the British but in an issue seldom talked about in history, academic or alternate: would things really have gone back to normal if the colonials lost their bid for independence? Or would, as they do here, the British have reverted to the same heavy handed policies of taxes and administration that alienated the colonials to begin with? To me, Conroy’s speculation seems well grounded. Of the many historical characters we see, I only know enough about Benjamin Franklin, Benedict Arnold, and General Cornwallis to say they seemed realistic. The British characters come in many shades here from the decent Fitzroy to gentlemanly Burgoyne to villainous Banastre Tarleton (probably most familiar to people through his portrayal as a general killing civilians in the Mel Gibson movie The Patriot and , later in his career, as a politician opposed to abolition in the film Amazing Grace) to the thoroughly evil Braxton who enjoys a campaign of raping, torturing and killing civilian rebels.

And, because Conroy is attempting a serious alternate history instead of one, say, where Queen Victoria was a vampire or a zombie plague struck 16th century London, I’m going to pay him the left-handed compliment of pointing out two areas where I don’t think his historical speculations convinced. 1784 seems far too early for the French Revolution to have broken out and put pressure on the British Crown to wrap the American rebelion up quickly so troops can be sent to reinforce the monarchists of France. And, to a lesser extent, and Conroy gives detailed arguments on this one, I don’t think a constitution under the circumstances of this book would have eliminated slavery.

Still, a worthwhile book in terms of drama and alternate history, and I do look forward to reading more Conroy. show less

Robert Conroy’s latest book begins with a premise familiar to fans of alternate history: an extended attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 that not only cripples the U.S. Pacific Fleet, but destroys the fuel bunkers and drydocks as well. Unable to maintain its fleet, the bulk of the U.S. Navy withdraws, leaving the Hawaiian Islands vulnerable to a hastily-assembled Japanese invasion. Their forces quickly conquer the poorly defended island, but the Japanese soon find themselves facing an show more organized guerrilla movement and an angry America determined to take the islands back.

This is Conroy’s fourth alternate history novel, and its structure is similar to those of his earlier works. The story is told through the experiences of a series of characters (most of them fictional), with events moving more rapidly towards what is nonetheless an outcome similar to that of the actual history. It’s an entertaining book, yet one which suffers by comparison with Harry Turtledove’s “Days of Infamy” series, which developed a similar premise into a much richer portrait of a Japanese-occupied Hawaii. Conroy posits a different set of events, but his characters are not as well developed and the pacing feels far more rushed, both of which cost his novel a degree of verisimilitude that is one of the great strengths of Turtledove’s work.

Ultimately, while not as good as his last novel, , Conroy’s book is a solid entry in the alternate history field, one that shares the strengths and weaknesses of his earlier novels. Nitpickers will find a fair share of flaws, many of which are likely problems with editing rather than research and few of which detract from enjoying the work overall. For its plot, Conroy’s postulations on events, and its satisfying conclusion, this is a book that fans of the genre will enjoy. show less

I'll admit that I have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder these days regarding the "Plucky American" trope (too many stupid proclamations about American Exceptionalism will do that for a person), and I do sense some missed opportunities here in this first of Conroy's novels that I've tried. That said, I find it much easier to gloss over any issues I might point to with this book by regarding it as a sort of diesel-punk adventure and just let things slide while seeing how the author ties show more all his plot threads up with the climactic battle; that's where the joy is in this sort of thing.

Apart from that I do respect Conroy for not kidding himself that he had more than a novel's worth of ideas and stretching things out interminably. On the other hand, he has created a jumping off point to an alternate Twentieth Century that I wouldn't mind seeing further developed. show less