F/SF

Audiobook ( )

?A Novel of the Second War Between the States? Pretty good speculation on ?what-if? Confederacy had won the Civil War. This time wins again.

This is a cleverly executed take on "if the South had won the Civil War" novel that takes place about 20 years after the war. It's jam packed with actual historic characters, including military and political figures (Abraham Lincoln, Jeb Stuart, Teddy Roosevelt, Stonewall Jackson, and George Custer are prominent, as are writers such as Frederick Douglass and Samuel Clemens. There are tons of other real people in the novel, and you may find it worthwhile to look up practically every character as you read.

The book is well researched and written. At times it's an interesting study in alternate history, which features some well executed historical figures. Parts are fascinating and entertaining.

Ultimately, though, it's over long and ceases to be of great interest before it ends. The book sprawls with multiple storylines, and Perhaps one or two of those could have been trimmed or excised.

How Few Remain crawls towards its ending. Overall, it's worth reading, but it does become somewhat arduous when the main story is essentially over. ( )

A highly-enjoyable and thoroughly-researched alt history jaunt that explores the repercussions of a Confederate victory during the Civil War. The book jumps between perspectives on both sides of the conflict, and is wonderfully nuanced. People are people, and are complex creatures... though Custer is the easiest one to hate, no question. I do wish there had been some female perspectives as well, but I understand why there were not because of the tight military and political focus, mostly on men who survived the previous conflict--or on rising stars, such as Theodore Roosevelt. Since I wrote about Roosevelt in my own alt-history series, I especially enjoyed Turtledove's take on the impetuous young civilian using his wealth and charisma to gather a volunteer troop almost twenty years in advance of when he actually assembled his Rough Riders. ( )