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Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM |
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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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Gettysburg: A Novel of
the Civil War I must admit, at the risk
of losing my status in the AH world, that I was completely unaware of this book
before discovering it on my Library’s bookshelves. After the disaster of ‘1945’, (see my Blog),
I thought that the odds of anyone agreeing to do a book with Newt
Gingrich to be fat, slim and none. Proving
a glutton for punishment, or so I thought, William Forstchen (Lost Regiment,
1945) has apparently written another book with Newt.
Dear me, I thought, and took it with me on my trip to Bolton.
Much to my surprise, this is actually a very
good stand-alone book, with few of the problems that plagued 1945.
The basic plot revolves around a very different battle of Gettysburg, in
which Lee launches an extra attack on the first day and is convinced that the
Yankees position is too strong to attack directly.
Instead, Lee matches to the Union’s supply depot and captures it,
forcing Meade to launch suicidal attacks and crushing the Union army.
The book is fast-paced and readable.
There are a few problems, such as badly drawn maps and a slight political
bias; the CSA’s commanders are mainly larger-than-life figures, while the
USA’s commanders are fools. The
one competent commander on the Union’s side is a democrat!
Don’t let that distract you, though, as its generally easy to keep
track of the action and follow the battle.
The book also has odd moments of humour.
There is the exposure of a CSA spy though the device of his son taking
the USA troops for CSA troops. There
is also the brave, but stupid boy who is foolish enough to walk in the
battlefield and unlucky enough to be spanked by a trooper from each side.
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