Abouts Books

By Sunil Tanna

Final Impact is the third and final volume in John Birmingham's Axis of Time trilogy (the first two volumes being Weapons of Choice and Designated Targets). It is now two years since a 21st century multi-national (principally American, British and Australian) naval task force has been accidentally transported back from 2021 to 1942, triggering changes all over the world, and in the course of World War II.

This novel deals with the end of the war. A race to get the atomic bomb, an alternate D-Day, the death of Hitler (in a suitably ironic and fitting fashion), and the Soviet re-entry in the war on the Allied side (a ceasefire between the Germans and Soviets having been established in the previous novels).

Perhaps the key change is that in this history is that Stalin knows about the eventual collapse of communism and the Soviet Union - so plans to make changes to avert it. I won't give away all the details, but at the end of the book, the world is left in a situation with a much stronger and much more aggressive Soviet Union.

I did feel, just a little bit, that John Birmingham was starting to run out of steam when writing this novel, and that the ending is a set up for potential sequels in an alternate Cold War, but nevertheless, as with the previous novels in the series, this is enjoyable and entertaining book. Yes, it contains a large element military technologist, but it's a better and more intelligent book than just that.

By S. Tanna. First published at http://www.alternatehistorybooks.com/p1_books_final_impact.php. For more alternate history books, please visit http://www.alternatehistorybooks.com/